The Men in Black (comics)

The first series consisted of three issues and was published in 1990 by Aircel Comics, cover-dated January to March 1990.[2] After Aircel was acquired by Malibu Comics, a second series appeared, The Men in Black Book II #1-3 (May–July 1991).[3]

Malibu was purchased by Marvel Comics in 1994, and when the feature film Men in Black was released, Marvel published a number of one-shots in 1997, including a prequel,[4] a sequel,[5] a movie adaptation,[6] and a reprint of the first issue of the original Aircel miniseries.[7]

The first series was collected into a trade paperback (June 1990, ISBN 0944735606).[8]

The Men in Black is an international intelligence organization which oversees and investigates both good and evil paranormal activity on Earth. Their remit includes alien life, demons, mutants, zombies, werewolves, vampires, legendary creatures and other paranormal beings. In order to keep their investigations secret, much of the global population are unaware of their activities, and are liable to be neuralyzed to blank their memory of any interaction with the agents or phenomena connected to them.

Notable members include Zed, Jay, Kay and Ecks. Ecks later becomes a rogue agent after learning that the MIB seeks to keep the supernatural hidden in order to manipulate and reshape the world in their own image.

An agent may use any means necessary, including death and destruction, to accomplish a mission. Agents sever all ties with their former lives, and (thanks to the neuralyzer) as far as the world is concerned, they do not exist.

Beginning with the release of the 1997 film Men in Black, the series has been adapted across a wide variety of media, spawning an entire franchise. Starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, the film proved a huge box office success for Columbia Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, resulting in two sequels: Men in Black II and Men in Black 3. The popularity of the films subsequently led to many tie-ins and spin-offs, including an October 1997 to June 2001 animated series titled Men in Black: The Series, novelizations, soundtracks of each film, video games and an amusement park ride. A spin-off was released June 14, 2019, titled Men in Black: International. It continues the universe of the first three films, instead of adapting the original material from the 1990 comic book series.

Despite sharing the same basic premise, the various adaptations differ greatly from the original comic series. Some of these differences include: The secret organization exclusively policing extraterrestrial activity on Earth while omitting the other paranormal elements, using memory erasure rather than killing witnesses, the agency's main goal being to maintain order on Earth rather than to direct it, Zed physically appears rather than being an unseen character, Ecks is absent in the film and is replaced by Dr. Laurel Weaver (later Agent L) and Agent J is an African-American man instead of a blonde-haired Caucasian man. The tone of the series was lightened, exchanging the comics' dark and bleak approach for comedy.

• Men in Black at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
• Men in Black II at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
• The Men in Black at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on February 17, 2016.