This weekend’s light-hearted and escapist superhero blog post here at Balladeer’s Blog will examine the unjustly overlooked character the Heretic, a NON-Marvel and non-DC character.
THE HERETIC
Secret Identity: Dominic DeMarco
First Appearance: The Heretic #1 (November 1996)
Origin: Much of the Heretic’s past remains shrouded in mystery. In his early adult life he left the seminary and joined the Brotherhood of Cain, a covert order of religious assassins who presented themselves as righteous warriors crusading against evil.
That turned out to be a lie, so the disillusioned figure left the order and was branded a heretic, a label he embraced as his nom de guerre. Acting independently, he used the skills and abilities he learned from the order to begin his own war against the crime and corruption at all levels of society, including government and organized religion.
Gaining bizarre superpowers, the Heretic also battled the infernal forces behind all Earthly evil, from the lowest street crimes to the bloodiest wars. He learned that God and Satan exist. Heaven and Hell exist. And there’s no predicting which side the rest of us will end up on. Continue reading
THE TERRORNAUTS (1967) – Simon Oates of Doomwatch fame stars as yet another maverick scientist in this effort from earlier in his career. Oates is running a British version of the SETI project and is forever trying to intercept signals from space … signals that might indicate intelligent life forms. 
Wild coincidences like that are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of this ridiculous movie’s plot holes, inconsistencies and lack of logic. 
It’s been nearly six years since the finale of the 18 episode run of new Twin Peaks chapters on cable. Like many other fans I’m still debating my final verdict on the series in light of the gloriously dark and nightmarish conclusion, so this particular blog post applies ONLY to the original Twin Peaks television series, the 1992 film Fire Walk With Me and its deleted scenes from The Missing Pieces. 
THE ADVENTURE OF CONNLA THE BEAUTIFUL, SON OF CONN OF THE HUNDRED BATTLES (Echtra Condla Chaim meic Cuind Chetchathaig) – Amid the monuments and landmarks on the Hill of Uisnech in central Ireland, Connla and his father Conn, a High King of Ireland, are relaxing with several of their troops around them. 
King Conn and others nearby ask Connla who he is speaking to, because only he is able to see her. As the smitten Connla continues “chatting her up” his father and others hear the woman speaking but still cannot see her. She makes it clear that she is inviting Connla to come with her to Mag Mell forever, prompting the panicked Conn to call for his Druid Corann. 
SANTO VERSUS THE RIDERS OF TERROR (1970) – Called Santo Contra Los Jinetes del Terror in its native Mexico, this is one of my all-time favorite hidden gems among the wacked-out movies about the Mexican wrestler called El Santo. 
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA Vol 1 #123 (October 1975) 
THE FEAST OF BRICRIU (Fled Bricrenn) – The Book of the Dun Cow version of this tale is dated to around the 700s A.D. and is considered the forerunner of the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in British legends. 
