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<HEAD><TITLE>Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Timothy Hunter </TITLE> <script language="JavaScript"></script> <META name = "author" content = "Donald D. Markstein"> <META name = "description" content = "Hypertext encyclopedia of comics and animation"> <META name = "subject" content = "Hypertext encyclopedia of comics and animation"> <META name = "keywords" content = "comic books animated cartoons animation comics comix syndicated comic strips"> <META name = "publisher" content = "Donald D. Markstein"> <META name = "format" content = "text/html"> <META name = "language" content = "EN"> </HEAD><BODY> <body onload="if (self!= top) top.location = self.location"></body> <BODY BGCOLOR="FFFFFF" TEXT="000000" LINK="0000EE" VLINK="551A8B"> <TABLE><TR><TD WIDTH=310 VALIGN="CENTER"><IMG GALLERYIMG="NO" ALIGN="LEFT" HEIGHT=360 WIDTH=300 ALT="Timothy Hunter, surrounded by supernatural folk. Artist: Peter Gross." SRC="timhuntr.jpg"> <TD VALIGN="CENTER"> <H1>TIMOTHY HUNTER</H1><FONT SIZE=4> <B>Medium:</B> Comic books <BR><B>Published by:</B> DC Comics <BR><B>First Appeared:</B> 1990 <BR><B>Creator:</B> Neil Gaiman<FONT SIZE=3> <! BEGIN DONATION CODE> <HR><FONT SIZE=2 COLOR="993366"><CENTER> If this site is enjoyable or useful to you, <BR>Please contribute to its necessary financial support. <BR><A HREF="http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/pay/T1237L0BCY25QA" TARGET="_blank">Amazon.com</A> or <A HREF="https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=don%40toonopedia.com&no_note=1&tax=0&currency_cod e=USD" TARGET="_blank">PayPal</A> </FONT></CENTER><HR> <! END DONATION CODE> <P><A NAME="cont"> What slight-built, bespectacled British teenage boy had the potential from birth to become a great and powerful wielder of magic, and is not Harry Potter? If your answer was a Harry Potter clone, you'd be  <P ALIGN="RIGHT"><A HREF="#cont"><FONT SIZE=2><I>continued below</A></FONT> </TABLE> <CENTER><! BEGIN ADSENSE "LEADERBOARD" CODE> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <! END ADSENSE CODE></CENTER> <P><TABLE><TR><TD VALIGN="TOP"> right in most cases. The one exception is Timothy Hunter, a <A HREF="dc.htm">DC Comics</A> character who predated the Potter kid by seven years. The remarkable similarity between the two, juxtaposed with the fact that DC could not possibly have stolen the character from author J.K. Rowling, is, without a doubt, Tim's most commented-upon attribute. <P> Tim Hunter was introduced in <I>Books of Magic,</I> a four-issue mini-series published in 1990-91 by DC's Vertigo imprint (<A HREF="animlman.htm">Animal Man,</A> <A HREF="shade.htm">Shade the Changing Man</A>). He was created by writer Neil Gaiman, who had already given Vertigo <A HREF="sandman3.htm">The Sandman</A> and <A HREF="blorch-2.htm">The Black Orchid.</A> In <I>Books of Magic,</I> Tim found out about his possibilities, and was given a guided tour of the supernatural aspects of the DC <A HREF="glossary.htm#universe">Universe,</A> to help him choose whether or not to act on his potential. <P> The hosts of the tour were <A HREF="phanstrn.htm">The Phantom Stranger</A> (who showed him through the past), <A HREF="helblazr.htm">John Constantine</A> (present), Mr. E (future) and <A HREF="droccult.htm">Dr. Occult</A> (alternate worlds). All were established DC characters, tho Mr. E, whose prior career consisted of filler material in a 1970s horror anthology, was a very obscure one before this. Along the way, Tim met about a dozen other established DC supernatural characters, including <A HREF="fate.htm">Dr. Fate,</A> <A HREF="nt-force.htm">Baron Winters,</A> <A HREF="demon.htm">The Demon</A> and <A HREF="zatanna.htm">Zatanna the Magician.</A> His four guides got together again in 1999, in a mini-series titled <I>The Trenchcoat Brigade.</I> <P> Tim chose to accept his destiny, and is now an established DC character in his own right. <I>Books of Magic</I> was an ongoing title from 1994-2000, and has had several spin-offs. His destiny still isn't fulfilled, but he's getting there. <P ALIGN = "RIGHT">— DDM <P><A HREF="index.htm">BACK</A> to <I>Don Markstein's Toonopedia</I> Home Page <BR><A HREF="today.htm">Today in Toons:</A> Every day's an anniversary! <P><! BEGIN ADSENSE BANNER CODE><CENTER> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </CENTER><! 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