It Came From the Eighties: Chuck Dixon’s Evangeline

Even legends have to start somewhere.

Today I’m going to take a dive into the lore of the tragically forgotten warrior nun who started it all.

Chuck Dixon is a writing machine.  Even his worst critics can’t deny it. The breadth of his work covers every genre in existence and created a couple that have never been seen before. Anybody who has read comics for the last forty years, even casually has come across his stories.  His catalog is so vast it’s rather intimidating:

• Detective Comics

• Robin (vol. 2)

• Nightwing (vol. 2) – Notably launched the solo series

• Birds of Prey – Co-created the original concept with artist Gary Frank

• Green Arrow – vol. 2 (brief run)

• Batgirl: Year One

• Gotham Knights

• Batman: GCPD

• Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight

• Catwoman

• Azrael

• Huntress: Year One

• The Joker: Devil’s Advocate

• Justice League: Task Force

• Connor Hawke: Dragon’s Blood

• Bane: Conquest – A later series returning to one of his major character creations

• Team 7

• The Punisher: War Journal

• The 'Nam

• Savage Sword of Conan

• Marc Spector: Moon Knight

• What If...?

• Marvel Knights

• War Machine

• Way of the Rat

• Brath

• Crux

• El Cazador

• Sigil

• G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

• Snaked

• Airboy (Eclipse Comics)

• Alien Legion (Epic/Marvel)

• Winterworld (Eclipse Comics, later IDW)

Oh and Batman.  

PLUS his work for Arkhaven.  I’m sure I’ve missed a few titles here and there.

However, this journey of a thousand miles began with a single step and that was the now tragically obscure Evangeline. It is a comic that at one time inspired an album track and likely the start of Firefly. 

The first issue of Evangeline was published in 1984 by the late and lamented Comico publishing house. Now you hear warrior nun, and 1980s, your first thought is that it was a comedy title but no.  Dixon played it absolutely straight and in consequence, Evangeline got him noticed by the comic book world by both publishers and readers. 

Evangeline was a truly unique blend of science fiction, action, and Christian themes.  The feel of it, especially the first issue, was very much akin to Cowboy Bebop.  So much so, you would be tempted to say that Dixon had been heavily influenced by it, except Spike and company wouldn’t come along for another decade.

Evangeline started very much as a collaborative effort between Chuck Dixon and his then-wife Judith Hunt.  He did the writing and she did the penciling.  She also drew the covers which if I’m being honest is what initially attracted me to the title back in the day.

Hunt used a process that was unusual at the time. Each page was hand-painted by Hunt and then color-separated. I know that sounds nuts today but back in the 1980s printing methods were cheaper than they are now, due to volume if nothing else. 

Hunt Described Evangeline as a skilled but naive feminist character who was created "to explore the infinite conflict between good and evil and the powerful religions which would be involved in manipulating the politics and economics of the future"

It is alleged that Chuck described her as “A sexy killer, vigilante nun.”  There was a reason he was the one doing the writing. 

Evangeline got her marching orders direct from the almost but not quite sinister Cardinal Szn of the Vatican.   

The first stories, Guns of Mars and Hate Boat were both published by Comico. Guns of Mars was the first story where we meet Evangeline.  She has the kind of shoot ‘em-up action scenes that The Legend is so rightly famous for.  She finally poisons the antagonist after having drinks with him.  He had killed a convent of nuns to get the MacGuffin she was trying to reclaim for the church. Her being a nun was the surprise ending to the first story. 

After the Hate Boat storyline was finished, the title went into hiatus due to the conflicting direction the co-creators wanted to take the character.  I’ve pretty much outlined the differences they had for her already. 

I don’t know if this is what led to their divorce because neither of them has talked about that.  However, Hunt was the one who walked away from the project first. 

Lodestone Comics published a single special in 1986.  After that Dixon moved the title to First Comics. That was where Evangeline and her very, very erstwhile love interest Johnny Six start in on their most famous story, Dinosaur Farm. 

It’s pretty much what you think it is, Cowboy Bebop landed on Jurassic Park Planet.  By then she was regularly in the company of her outlaw with a heart of gold trope, Johnny Six. This was where Chuck Dixon’s gift for gritty dialog and hard-hitting action scenes made itself truly felt.  It was a call back to the pulp era and it worked exceptionally well for Generation X readers that hadn’t had those around when they were growing up. 

I’m not going to say that this freshman work was flawless.  The romantic subplot that developed between Evangeline and Johnny Six, for example, was never going to go anywhere.  Not without completely destroying Evangeline’s character.  Dixon was too good of a writer even then to do that, so that subplot was fundamentally pointless. 

Regardless, when it was first launched the general reception was extremely positive.  Evangeline was a morally grey character in a comic book era that was only just starting to get into that. The title was widely viewed as an exceptional experiment in mashing up genres that had never really crossed paths before.

Evangeline had a great run from the early to late 80s.  Although, by 1989 it was clearly running out of steam.  I’m afraid that with Hunt’s departure, the quality of the artwork noticeably slid and Dixon by then was seriously in demand by just about everyone in the industry.  At the end of the year Evangeline went on hiatus. 

Ben Dixon, Chuck’s son attempted to revive the title as a webcomic in the 2000s, with unfortunately no real model for generating income. He wasn’t alone there. Don’t go looking for it, the URL will land you on a Russian gambling site. 

It’s a real pity.  Evangeline was never reprinted and is now very difficult to find.  Anna’s Archive is your only real hope if you’re curious. I will say this, it was a bold first effort by a writer who would become a comic book legend that combined action, rebellion, and faith. It‘s well worth digging up.

Discuss in the comments below