As Mike Gordon (a.k.a. Supermike) - the pompous, egotistical brat from the East who arrives in the American Wild West with the blind ambition of a conqueror looking to be the talk of every town - the blonde haired young man is, in a way, Zagor's exact antithesis. Whereas The King of Darkwood is a humble and compassionate individual, never interested in personal achievements, but in prosperity and endurance of both the whites and the Native Americans to co-exist together, Supermike is a boastful punk whose only interest is his own vanity. He simply wants to be the best. At everything. And yes, that includes both knitting old sweaters and being the fastest gun in Zagor's neck of the woods. No one said that arrogance was an uncomplicated character flaw.
Peculiar nicknames apparently lead to peculiar egos.
Gordon's eventual arrival in Darkwood is soon followed by various infractions, committed mostly to embarrass and enrage Zagor - who had earlier given him a public licking after Mike had maliciously murdered a notorious gunslinger for the sheer purpose of bloviating his own unmatched ego. Strutting around in his newly designed yellow costume, consisting of a large "M" on his chest (another antithesis of Zagor's own Eagle symbol), Supermike blows up a U.S. Army bridge, nearly destroys a village of Native Americans, and physically assaults Zagor several times, and does it all with a smile on his face. But Zagor finally has enough: he proposes a challenge to Supermike, a contest where their physical abilities will be put to the test, and the loser will eventually have to leave Darkwood forever. Soon it's game on, and one - or perhaps even both - of them will not make it out of it alive.
Written by the legendary Sergio Bonelli (under the pseudonym Guido Nolitta) and illustrated by Zagor's graphic creator, Gallieno Ferri, Zagor versus Supermike (Epicenter Comics, 312 pages, $16.99) is an unforgettable adventure of that famed and long running Italian comic book hero (second only to Tex in longevity and popularity), and has been ranked among Zagor's top 10 adventures of all time by his faithful fans ever since its initial release in the early 1970s. The bold, kinetic new cover artwork for this Epicenter issue is by Michele Rubini, and it pits Zagor against Gordon's screwy alter-ego atop of an elevated, old-school type of boxing ring, like two Gladiators whose so-called "seventh" round truly was a fist-fight to the death, so to speak.
A challenge, a challenge... my kingdom for a challenge.
More than just a standard Zagor's action tale - which typically involves the Darkwood King going up against crooked bootleggers selling illegal alcohol to the Natives, fighting injustice at any cost, or even facing his immortal nemesis, Professor Hellingen - Supermike pits our acrobatic hero against a foe who isn't interested in the extermination of the American Indians - as serials with similar themes generally tend to focus on - but a delusional man who's obsessed in creating his own legend in the Darkwood forest. That of course, includes surpassing the myth that Zagor has built for himself during all these years. The problem is that, although Supermike is physically as gifted as Zagor, he simply lacks the humility and decency to ever look past his own reflection in the mirror. The man is a reincarnation of Narcissus himself, but instead of staring at himself in the water, he gawks at Zagor's aura, and deems it an obstacle that he must overcome, at any cost.
As Zagor and Supermike face one another, Darkwood residents enjoy their iconic mano-a-mano bout.
Zagor has fought many notable enemies during his life, and hopefully, he will continue to entertain his loyal readers by fighting many more in the years to come. He has, however, seldom had an adversary who was as charming as he was diabolical like Mike Gordon. Chances are, he may never face the likes of him again. Or perhaps he might. That would surely be a super occassion, just like the first ever publication of this quintessential episode in English.
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