With Baz Lurhman's Elvis Presley biopic tearing up the box office, now is as good a time as any to celebrate The King in whatever medium he appears. Elvis' pompadour hairstyle was famously borrowed from the Fawcett/DC Comics character Captain Marvel Jr, but his connection with comics goes the other way too.
Presley, or characters bearing a suspicious resemblance to him, have a long history of appearing in American comic book universes. These are often cameos using Elvis' iconography to signpost time periods or cultural moments. Sometimes, these are affable gags paying homage to the King, and occasionally, The King is a comic book star in his own right.
10 Archer & Armstrong Once Bumped Into The King In A Hollywood Hotel
Archer and Armstrong have a proud tradition of busting up conspiracies in the Valiant universe. However, Archer & Armstrong Vol. 2 #20 by writer Fred Van Lente and artists Père Perez and David Baron is quirky – even by their standards. The plot kicks off with Archer and Armstrong traveling to Hollywood to uncover Archer's destiny.
However, they quickly bump into a frightened person who looks exactly like Elvis from his iconic dance sequence in Jailhouse Rock. The next time they meet him, he's followed by several other, supposedly dead, celebrities like Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix.
9 Move Over Nixon, That Handshake Was Meant For Deadpool
Discontent with letting Punisher have all the fun, Wade Wilson gets in on the superhero serial killing action during the arc, Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe, which is written by Cullen Bunn with art by Dalibor Talajic and colors by Lee Loughridge. Of course, no superhero murder spree would feel complete without a cameo from the King.
As the 'Merc with a Mouth' races towards the climax of his rampage in #4, he bounces around the Nexus of all Realities. While there, he glimpses an alternate universe where Deadpool stood in for president Nixon in his infamous photograph with Elvis Presley.
8 Harvey Pekar Shared His Elvis Recommendations In American Splendor
Harvey Pekar's long-running American Splendor series took pride in its portrayal of Cleveland and its history, making it inevitable for Pekar to explore the subject of Elvis and his famous connection to the city. That's exactly what happened in the story illustrated by Gary Dumm, which was collected in the American Splendor: Our Movie Year graphic novel.
Pekar may have been a Jazz man, but he clearly recognized the sovereignty of the King of Rock 'n' Roll. The short comic makes clever use of Elvis, who's arguably the poster child for the folly of celebrity. This is all in service to Pekar's contemplation about his own stardom in anticipation of the American Splendor film adaptation.
7 Elvis Met The Skrulls, Courtesy Of Fred Hembeck
Marvel's Bug – a proud Micronauts and Guardians of the Galaxy member – received a one-shot comic in 1997, which was meant to act as a pilot for his (still unpublished) solo series. While the Bug comic is a standard post-Image '90s superhero origin story, it featured a delightful backup written and drawn by Fred Hembeck.
Hembeck made his mark parodying major superheroes, which eventually led him to Elvis Presley. The King shows up in a cheeky gag within a two-page spread that attempts the (futile) task of making sense of Marvel continuity.
6 Elvis Showed The Badger His Karate Kicks
The Badger was a superhero comic published by Capital then First Comics, which were the eighties' progenitors to Image. The Badger, created by writer Mike Baron, was a Vietnam veteran with mental health issues, which may have contributed to his ability to speak to animals.
In issue #65, penciled by Neil Hansen, The King is a prominent guest star who teams up with the Badger to bring down a drug dealing colonel, who's definitely not Tom Parker. As if two martial arts masters weren't enough for a single issue, Bruce Lee also shows up halfway through the tale.
5 (The Chief) Perry White's Iconic Catchphrase Conjured The King
Perry White is surely on the Mount Rushmore of comic book catchphrases. From "great Ceaser's ghost!" to "...and don't call me chief!", the chief can punctuate any Daily Planet scene with a splashy remark.
In Superman: The Man of Steel Vol. 2 #53, writer Louise Simonson and artists Jon Bogdanove and Denis Rodier pay homage to White's all-time best catchphrase – "great shades of Elvis!". Also, if the Lois & Clark TV show is any indication, the chief was a major Elvis fan, so he surely regretted missing his chance to meet the King.
4 The Justice Society Confronted Pax Americana With A Nod To The King
Among other things, Elvis is a cultural touchstone that artists frequently use to signpost moments in recent history. For example, it's why most montages that zip through the '50s tend to include a snapshot of the King, as was the case with both #1 and #4 of America vs. The Justice Society.
The four-issue miniseries was written by Roy and Dann Thomas and illustrated by Rafael Kayanan, Jerry Ordway, and Rich Buckler. Set on the pre-Crisis Earth-Two, the series used the mythology of the Justice Society to make an ambitious, if crude, commentary on McCarthyism.
3 Elvis Became A Part Of The Bruce Campbell Comic Book Universe
Army of Darkness/Bubba Ho-Tep is an epic comic book crossover that pairs two cult Bruce Campbell characters: Ash from the Evil Dead franchise and Elvis Presley. The Campbell incarnation of the King appeared in the 2002 film Bubba Ho-Tep, which featured an aged Elvis trapped in a retirement home after recovering from a coma.
The comic book miniseries, by writer Scott Duvall and artist Vincenzo Federici, strung out a lot of humor from Ash and Elvis' chemistry as they teamed up against undead hordes. This version of Elvis also starred in another comic book, Bubba Ho-Tep and the Cosmic Blood Suckers.
2 Elvis Pops Up During A Nightmare In Vertigo's Sandman
In Sandman Vol. 2 #1, writer Neil Gaiman and artists Sam Keith and Mike Drigenberg began one of the most revered stories in the history of comics. In their iconic first issue, Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, sentenced his former captor (Alex Burgess) to a singularly horrific form of torture – the waking dream.
As Morpheus began his attacks on Burgess' subconscious, he conjured a nightmare where his victim was transformed into a clown and dejected at a party populated by pop culture icons. The lineup includes John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, and of course, Elvis Presley.
1 Even In Death, Elvis Had To Play The Casino Circuit
In the aftermath of World War Hulk, writer Greg Pak spun out the adventures of Hercules and his trusted ally Amadeus Cho. In The Incredible Hercules #129, produced with co-writer Fred Van Lente and artists Ryan Stegman and Terry Pallot, the Marvel incarnation of the famous demigod travels to the underworld.
Hercules and Amadeus soon end up in The Erebus, a Vegas-style casino constructed by Hades for the hordes of the undead. While rushing past the gambling room, they even spot the ultimate Elvis impersonator: the King himself.