Dogs of War is a comic book series originally published by Defiant Comics

Defiant Comics

Defiant Comics was a comic book publishing imprint of Enlightened Entertainment Partners, LP. Defiant was established in 1993 by former Marvel Comics and Valiant Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter.- Publication history :...

 from April 1994

1994 in comics

-Year overall:* Huge changes in the marketplace force many retailers and small publishers out of business...

 until August 1994. The series lasted only five issues before Defiant ceased publication of the title.

The book was based on characters created by Jim Shooter

Jim Shooter

James Shooter is an American writer, occasional fill-in artist, editor, and publisher for various comic books. Although he started professionally in the medium at the extraordinarily young age of 14, he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comics' ninth...

. Most of the issues were comceptualized by Shooter, and written by Art Holcomb and penciled by artist Georges Jeanty

Georges Jeanty

Georges Jeanty is an American comic book penciler best known for his work on The American Way, an eight-issue American comic book limited series produced under DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint, and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics.-Early...

.

Characters

• Shooter - Elvis Mazerov, an ex-military officer, was the feature character of Dogs of War. Nicknamed after his creator, Jim Shooter, Elvis gained his powers — the ability to turn invisible — when he was abducted by aliens
  Extraterrestrial life
  Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
  
  , taken to another planet and had his DNA
  DNA
  Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
  
   altered through bioengineering.

• Moose - Moose gained his powers when he was abducted by aliens, taken to another planet and had his DNA altered through bioengineering.

Publication history

Elvis' story began in the Warriors of Plasm

Warriors of Plasm

Warriors of Plasm was the flagship title of Jim Shooter's Defiant Comics comic book company.Besides the original first issue of the comic , there was also a zero issue of Warriors of Plasm which was released as an insert in Previews magazine, and as a trading card set that could be put together...

comic where he was originally introduced and featured. Dogs of War is a spin-off

Spin-off (media)

In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...

 of Warriors of Plasm.

The Schism that never was

Originally, Jim Shooter, the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Defiant Comics, had planned to publish an inner-company "crossover

Fictional crossover

A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...

" featuring all the characters and titles in the Defiant universe.

The crossover was a concept Shooter had originally developed during his tenure as Editor-in-Chief at Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

. His Secret Wars

Secret Wars

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars is a twelve-issue comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter with art by Mike Zeck and Bob Layton...

crossover with Marvel was originally a big hit with comic fans. Shooter would later revive the idea again while Editor-in-Chief at Valiant Comics

Valiant Comics

Valiant Comics is a comic book imprint published by various publishers since its inception with Voyager Communications, Inc. in 1989, later Acclaim Comics, Inc. Its assets were purchased from the bankruptcy of the Acclaim Entertaintment by Valiant Entertainment, Inc. in 2007.-Voyager...

, with the Unity

Unity (Comics)

Unity is a company-wide crossover story published by Valiant Comics in the summer of 1992.-Overview:The Unity story comprises eighteen issues and nine comic book series, published by Valiant during August and September 1992. It tells of Erica Pierce, the Mothergod, trying to rewrite reality and...

crossover; another big hit with fans in the summer of 1992

1992 in comics

-Year overall:* Image Comics explodes onto the scene, releasing eight ongoing and limited series, starting with Youngblood in April; followed by Spawn in May; Savage Dragon in July; and Brigade, Shadowhawk, and WildC.A.T.S. in August....

.

This time the crossover was to be called Schism. However, only two issues (Dogs of War #5 and Warriors of Plasm #13) made it onto comic store shelves before the company ceased publication of all its titles.