Magellan

About Magellan

Magellan is a free serialised superhero webcomic by Stephen (xmung) Crowley. There are two new pages added every week (Wednesday and Friday) and, with over 600 pages already online, there's a lot of great reading in the archives.

"Even if you're not a fan of superhero comics, you'll very likely enjoy the keen story, the pleasant visuals, and the engaging characters. If you are a superhero comic fan, chances are that you'll really dig what Magellan has to offer you - a new take on an old concept, which is a breath of fresh superhero webcomic air." Comixpedia.com

Nominated for a Webcartoonists Choice Award 2005 & 2006 & 2007 – Best Superhero or Action Webcomic
[Parents: Magellan contains mature themes, swears and some violence so might not be suitable for children!]

Want to start reading the comic?
Current page: A new chapter commenced in November 2011. Titled Lock(e)down this new story builds on almost eight years and 650 pages of Magellan back history but is still an ideal stepping on point for new readers (and even for those who haven’t caught up with the cadets and various goings on at Magellan Justice Academy for a while - you know who you are!)
[read the current page][read from start of latest chapter]

Archives: The Magellan archives are free - reading from the first scene is the best way to get started! Use the [Next][Previous] buttons at the end of each page to navigate/ move through the story. Happy reading!

Chapters and short stories: a quick stepping stone to the start of each section.

Chapter 1: Wannabe - Kaycee Jones meets her fellow first year cadets at Magellan Justice Academy.
History: some background on the Golden and Silver Age up to present.
Chapter 2: Great Leap Forward - Kaycee tackles her first big hurdle... the gauntlet and her own classmates!
Chapter 3: Daze - Go!Anna digs into the mystery of a recovered artefact.
Chapter 4: Bad Karma - The past/present and future collide in this story which coud mean the end of Magellan Island!
Gifford Foss: Reckless Hero - Gifford Foss, punished by his own people for his reckless adventuring, now has to call on that spirit to save the village children.
Rochelle Kwan/Mindmistress - cadet Rochelle Kwan believes she's too smart for everyone, except maybe her tutor (a Magellan/Mindmistress crossover)
Chapter 5: Worst Field Trip Ever - a visit to OzMagellan becomes lethal as the survivors of clandestine experiments seek revenge.
Redux: Whatever Happened to Gola Beh? - Former superhero Gola Beh is on the search for her missing memory and finds more than she has bargained on!
Chapter 6: Lock(e)down - what dramas lay ahead in the ultra-security containment facility on Locke Island?

The least you need to know...
There's a lot going on in Magellan and a fair bit of back story running behind the main action. This guide should help you get a handle on the main points.

Magellan: Not only is this webcomic titled Magellan, the name is used in a whole variety of ways throughout. So what is the story behind the name...?

Magellan - the man/hero/myth
Magnus "Magellan" Mitchell was a superhero in the 1960s thru 1972 - his principle powers were strength, flight and invulnerability. Magellan died in 1972 during a Q'Arth demon attack, his sacrifice saved the Earth and humanity from near certain destruction.
See: [4.04-4.07]

Force Magellan
Following his death, Magellan's super powered colleagues from the International Justice Force (IJF) rebranded themselves as Force Magellan. The seven point star, previously the symbol on Magellan's costume, became the logo of Force Magellan. The membership roster has changed over the years but the group continues to this day.

Magellan Island
Force Magellan is based on an uncharted Pacific island. Almost 100 square kilometers in size, the island was named Magellan Island. Its exact location remains a secret from the world at large although its actual existence does not.
See: [1.19]

Magellan Justice Academy
An Academy was established at Magellan Island to train super-hero aspirants in the various aspects of law, combat and team work. The course takes six years. Graduates operate as superheroes in signatory countries and include the Magellan star insignia in their costume design. The story principally follows Kaycee Jones, a young woman with no actual super powers, as she commences her cadetship.
See: [1.48]

Other Magellan Forces
Regionally based branches of Force Magellan have been established in other countries: Magellan USA (United States); Oz Magellan (Australasia); Euro Magellan (Europe); Sino Magellan (China), etc.
Oz Magellan featured in Chapter 5; Magellan USA in Redux.

The cast list is HUGE!
If it sounds like there are a lot of characters... there are! But please don't let that put you off - check out the extensive and (almost entirely) up-to-date cast page.

Not another @#$% superhero comic?!
Yeah, I know the genre's been done to death, and then some. But as far as comics are concerned, it's a first love for me. As a kid I always wanted there to be people out there that could fly, stop trains in their tracks and beat the crap out of evil do-ers. Possibly I didn't get out much, but that's another story.

I might add at this point that Magellan was around well before Sky High and Avengers Academy, but (obviously) not before the X-Men. Conceptually, Magellan actually owes a bit more to Hogwarts than Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. The original idea was for a school where the aspiring superhero could study everything about being a super-hero... and then grew into something more than that, more like an entire publishing line squashed down into a single title.

One of my fave scenes in X2 was where Logan and Bobby Drake chatted over a root beer in the x-mansion kitchen (before all hell broke loose!). I prefer 'Slim Jim' depictions of Cyclops and Spiderman rather than mega-muscular versions. I kinda think skimpy costumes on jumbo breasted women serve no practical purpose. Some of my favorite Batman books are the ones that aren't directly about him (and no, I'm not being sarcastic, I dig Bats) - especially Gotham Central. I love comics that can mix humour, action and real human relationships and emotions. I don't know how much of a picture this paints about where I might be coming from with Magellan but these concepts are pointing me in that direction.

Magellan ties together a number of loose threads for me - old ideas and new ideas and ideas that evolved as I worked with them. When I first started the concept for this story, it's scope was much much smaller than what it has become. Kaycee Jones didn't exist in the original treatment and yet, somehow she has become one of the central characters. As have others, and I hope their stories, as they unfold over the coming months, are entertaining and prove there is still a bit of life left in the superhero genre.

Cheers
Stephen - xmung-one@bigpond.com

Credits, copyright and disclaimer
Magellan concept, story, art and web-site design by Stephen (xmung) Crowley.

© © © ©
All material on this site is copyright © 2000-12 xmung/Stephen Crowley. Artwork and text may be downloaded or hardcopied for your personal use. Further reproduction, especially for profit, would be rather unnice don't you reckon? Contact Stephen for express written permission if you would like to use this material in any other way: xmung-one@bigpond.com

Nitty gritty
Names, characters, places, and incidents featured in this web-site either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons (living, dead or mutated), events, institutions, psychopathic planetoids or locales without satiric intent, is coincidental.

Magellan: Not only is this webcomic titled Magellan, the name is used in a whole variety of ways throughout. So what is the story behind the name...?

Magellan - the man/hero/myth Magnus "Magellan" Mitchell was a superhero in the 1960s thru 1972 - his principle powers were strength, flight and invulnerability. Magellan died in 1972 during a Q'Arth demon attack, his sacrifice saved the Earth and humanity from near certain destruction. See: [4.04-4.07]

Force Magellan Following his death, Magellan's super powered colleagues from the International Justice Force (IJF) rebranded themselves as Force Magellan. The seven point star, previously the symbol on Magellan's costume, became the logo of Force Magellan. The membership roster has changed over the years but the group continues to this day.

Magellan Island Force Magellan is based on an uncharted Pacific island. Almost 100 square kilometers in size, the island was named Magellan Island. Its exact location remains a secret from the world at large although its actual existence does not. See: [1.19]

Magellan Justice Academy An Academy was established at Magellan Island to train super-hero aspirants in the various aspects of law, combat and team work. The course takes six years. Graduates operate as superheroes in signatory countries and include the Magellan star insignia in their costume design. The story principally follows Kaycee Jones, a young woman with no actual super powers, as she commences her cadetship. See: [1.48]

Other Magellan Forces Regionally based branches of Force Magellan have been established in other countries: Magellan USA (United States); Oz Magellan (Australasia); Euro Magellan (Europe); Sino Magellan (China), etc. Oz Magellan featured in Chapter 5; Magellan USA in Redux.

The cast list is HUGE! If it sounds like there are a lot of characters... there are! But please don't let that put you off - check out the extensive and (almost entirely) up-to-date cast page.