loon22181-tyingloon22181-face LOON

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth-22181) human mutate

Occupation: Unrevealed

Group Membership: "Skin-stripped"

Affiliations: None known

Enemies: Abraxas, John Isaac, Xlexu;
    possibly Captain Rotwang and his crew (or whoever captured them)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    formerly the belly of Abraxas

First Appearance: Epic Illustrated#14 (October, 1982)

loon22181-hidePowers/Abilities: Loon, as his name might imply, was crazy (see comments).

    Like the rest of the skin-stripped, Loon did not have any skin, but rather had some sort of transparent membrane that otherwise protected his deeper tissues.

    He seemed to be sensitive to bright light, and he appeared to have pink eyes...perhaps he was albino prior to being skinned? I'm not sure that he had any sort of eyelid mechanism, so that may have contributed to light sensitivity.

    Loon practiced illeism, referred to himself in the third person, saying "Loon does this" rather than "I do this," for example.

loon22181-songdance    He was willing and able to spontaneously come up with a simple song and dance, and he believed that his dance had magical powers.

    Unlike John Isaac, he could not project his aura/soul (see comments).

    He had a canoe, and he could navigate it through even the "roller coaster of foaming rapids" that made up part of Abraxas' gastrointestinal tract.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'8" - 6')
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 150-180 lbs.)
Eyes: Pink
Hair: None (his hair color before the removal of his skin is unrevealed)

History:
(Epic Illustrated#15 (fb) - BTS) - Like numerous others, the man who would become known as Loon was brought from Earth by whalers.

    The insectoid extraterrestrial Xlexu stripped each of these people of their skin, replacing it with a transparent membrane suited to the atmosphere within which they would have to work.

    These people were then dropped into the space whale Abraxas and given the mission to find their selves. Most, if not all, of these people were rendered mad by the process.loon22181-canoe

    Most of the skin-stripped people dwelled in large derelict ships in the third chamber of Abraxas' stomach.

(Epic Illustrated#14 - BTS) - John Isaac -- the most recent of humans transformed thusly by the Xlexu (who also merged the two halves of his brain (presumably referring to the cerebral hemispheres)) -- was also able to release a powerful aura, which the Xlexu referred to as his new self.

(Epic Illustrated#14) - Flung into Abraxas' maw during a conflict between the whale and his hunter, Captain Rotwang, Isaac used his aura to light the way around him. Pained by the light, Loon cried out thusly, noting that he could not find his self in the blinding light. Isaac was surprised to find that Loon was speaking English, and Loon considered that maybe Isaac was Loon's self.

(Epic Illustrated#15) - Pained by a metallic ship it had swallowed that was piercing his stomach (as well as from chemical waste, that may or may not have been from the same ship), Abraxas bellowed, agonizing Loon, Isaac and the rest of the beings within Abraxas.

    Concluding that a magical dance may quiet the whale, Loon danced and sang.

    Appreciating that Abraxas' bellowing was too much to take -- and appreciating that it was enough to have driven Loon mad -- Isaac unleashed his aura and for the first time sent him conscious mind with it, appreciating that this is likely what the Xlexu meant by awakening into his true self.

    While Isaac's aura soothed Abraxas' pain and ended his bellowing, however, Loon -- believing Isaac to be the self he was supposed to find and not wanting this self to escape -- bound Isaac with Isaac's own skin (which he had worn like a cape, with its arms tied around his neck).

    Returning to his physical form, Isaac insisted Loon untie him, but Loon refused and apologetically explained his reasons, further noting that he must bring his "self" to show others.

    En route, Loon explained how there were many others like them but that none of them had been able to find self. With his own perceived success in this regard, Loon proclaimed himself to be the cleverest of all.

    Appreciating that Loon was "completely off his rocker," Isaac resolved to allow Loon to bring him to the others and that maybe they all could figure out what was wrong with Abraxas; Isaac further considered that if things got too dangerous, he could hopefully awaken into his aura/self again.

    Loon told "self" (Isaac) to relax and enjoy the view, as he didn't let just anyone ride in his boat. As they hit a patch of rapids, Loon advised Isaac to hold on, as this part could get a little hairy, but Loon somehow safely guided his canoe into the whale's second stomach chamber. Within that, Isaac saw a metallic derelict ship piercing the stomach in a score of places; at Isaac's query, Loon told him that that metallic ship had been there longer than any within Abraxas could remember and noted that it never seemed to digest like the other ships. Isaac appreciated that this was because the other ships were made of wood while this ship, the product of high technology, was constructed of very dense metal.

    When Loon noted that they were in a bad part and that it was unhealthy to hang around there, Isaac replied that the chemical waste therein (which they were all too familiar with  back on Earth) was another sign of high technology.

    Isaac further considered that there were tons of such waste leaking into Abraxas' digestive tract, which was presumably the reason that he was screaming.

    Apparently in the third chamber of Abraxas' stomach( or possibly between the second and third chambers), Loon called out to the other skin-stripped people, telling them to come honor Loon as he had found self.

loon22181-ei16-embraced    While the others, who were also "mad as hatters," swarmed over Isaac, calling him "self," Loon asked a woman if she wanted to sleep with Loon, as he might introduce her to "self."

(Epic Illustrated#16) - Within the massive headcase from which Abraxas' song originated, the other skin-stripped people chanted and carried the helpless Isaac, while Loon, with a pair of skin-stripped women embracing him, told Abraxas "like the Xlexu told us, we're here to give self you!"

    Isaac argued that the true "self" was a state that each of them could awaken into and that that was what the Xlexu wanted. Loon shushed "self," telling him that he was ruining the ceremony and that this was Loon's big day.

    Despite Isaac's protestation, the skin-stripped shoved him into some sort of aperture.

    Thereafter, Isaac's aura exploded out of him, as if of its own volition, and it shrieked and howled through Abraxas' nervous system. loon22181-ei16-skinlessdeaths

    After Isaac awakened into his true self again, he encountered the mind of Abraxas. Joined by the soul of the recently perished Staub, Isaac communed with Abraxas, freeing his soul as well.

    Now speaking with his true voice, Abraxas called out, destroying Loon and the rest of the skin-stripped within him and expelling the craft within him that had been causing him pain.

Comments: Created by Rick Veitch.

    I don't know whether Loon and/or the rest of those skin-stripped by the Xlexu also had the two halves of his brain joined by them...maybe that was the difference between John Isaac and the rest of the Loons.
    Additionally, the skin-stripped group did not seem to have a have a name (they MAY have been called Loons somewhere; I thought I recalled that, but I could not find it when I looked for it), so "skin-stripped" works as well as anything.

    Loon was also certainly a derivative of the term lunatic, which generally refers to someone who is mentally ill, dangerous, foolish and/or crazy.
    Courtesy of Ye Olde Wikipedia:

The term "lunatic" derives from the Latin word lunaticus, which originally referred mainly to epilepsy and madness, as diseases thought to be caused by the moon. The King James Version of the Bible records "lunatick" in the Gospel of Matthew, which has been interpreted as a reference to epilepsy. By the fourth and fifth centuries, astrologers were commonly using the term to refer to neurological and psychiatric diseases. Pliny the Elder argued that the full moon induced individuals to lunacy and epilepsy by effects on the brain analogous to the nocturnal dew. Until at least 1700, it was also a common belief that the moon influenced fevers, rheumatism, episodes of epilepsy and other diseases.

    This was part of the 8-part story "Abraxas and the Earthman" featured in Epic Illustrated#10-17.

Earth-22181 Insectoid Xlexu stripped various Earthmen (brought to them via whalers) of skin and guided them to attune their aura/soul with the space whale Abraxas. Eventually achieved success via John Isaac who -- with Abraxas -- then sought to lead humanity to the same harmony. Epic Illustrated #10 (1982)

    It is possible that this reality and others created by Rick Veitch (including Earth-84202, from the Heartburst graphic novel) existed in a shared reality; however, without information to support that, I'm considering each reality as unique.

    This profile was completed 10/01/2024, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Loon should be distinguished from:


images: (without ads)
Epic Illustrated#14/3, pg. 8, panel 1 (hiding from light);
          panel 2 (face);
    #15/5, pg. 1, panel 3 (song and dance);
       pg. 4, panel 1 (tying Isaac with own skin; launching canoe);
    #16, pg. 1 (tiny figure, with two women embracing him);
       pg. 7, panel 4 (skin-stripped destroyed)

Appearances:
Epic Illustrated#14/3 "Abraxas and the Earthman chapter five: In the Belly of the Beast" (October, 1982) - Rick Veitch (writer/artist), Jo Duffy (associate editor), James Shooter (consulting editor), Archie Goodwin (editorial director), Stan Lee (editor and publisher)
Epic Illustrated#15/5 "Abraxas and the Earthman chapter six: The Self" (December, 1982) - Rick Veitch (writer/artist), Jo Duffy (associate editor), James Shooter (consulting editor), Archie Goodwin (editorial director), Stan Lee (editor and publisher)
Epic Illustrated#16 "Abraxas and the Earthman chapter seven: The Awakening" (February, 1983) - Rick Veitch (writer/artist), Jo Duffy (associate editor), James Shooter (consulting editor), Archie Goodwin (editorial director), Stan Lee (editor and publisher)

First posted: 09/10/2026
Last updated: 10/01/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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