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BLACK DIAMOND

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Full Name: Tiana Matthews
Codename: Black Diamond
Nationality: American
Organization: Info Com Three
Occupation Agent

Creator: Mike Frankovich jr.
Time Span: 1983 - 1985

ABOUT THE SERIES

Tiana Mathews, aka Black Diamond, is an agent with IC3.

That acronym stands for Info Com Three, an international intelligence organization with its headquarters in New York City. It seems to function largely as a foil to a powerful and ultra-deadly Quansa. "Like a giant octopus, Quansa, the international crime cartel, spreads its evil tentacles around the world." Tiana Matthews, in her guise as Black Diamond, is the agent out to stop them", we are told. Her handler at IC3 and assignment coordinator at that agency, is a man named General Leon Van Pelt and while it is likely IC3 personnel frequently go up against other opponents, there is no doubt that Quansa is a very large and worthy nemesis.

We are told in the introduction to the first recorded adventure the following: "To the world at large, Tiana Mathews is involved with Multmonde in the glamourous world of international high fashion modeling. Beneath the glitter she is in reality an agent for Info Con Three. Her jet-set travels provide the perfect cover for the beautiful but dangerous lady spy!" This extremely fit and gorgeous blonde-haired woman seems always ready for action, especially if it means going up against the various forces that Quansa is able to muster. And being extremely popular with the various fashion houses around the globe, there seems to something going on somewhere that she can use as a reason for heading to a city where Quansa is being particularly troublesome.

We learn through a dream sequence right after we meet her that she had had a lover named Jack Burton,  an fellow operative and someone she seriously considered spending the rest of her life with. To her dismay, she learned through a captured dossier that he was in fact a double agent and as such, needed termination. "Jack got what he deserved. It's a dirty game", she tells herself. The fact that apparently it was she that did the deed still haunts her but shows how committed she is to her oath of service.

As all good secret agents out in the field, she has her share of nifty gadgets, starting with a dart gun she is able to pull from her bag and shoot instant sleep inducing projectiles and moving up to a plastic gun (remember, this is the mid 60s) which fires bullets with compressed air, not to forget her wrist watch which not only tells "precise time and performs bio-rhythms", it also "fires miniature shurikens". She is also extremely good at hand-to-hand combat which is good because just about everywhere she goes, there is someone (or more) wanting to knock her very beautiful head off.

Good Lines:
- After saving a man's life by taking out two armed secret police officers and being given the backhanded compliment of being "quite resourceful, for a woman", she snarkily adds, "And I can cook, too!"

COMIC BOOKS, GRAPHIC NOVELS, AND MANGA

Number of Stories:5
First Appearance:1983
Last Appearance:1985

In the first Black Diamond comicbook, Bill Black, writer, artist, and head honcho for AC Comics, explains the very interesting origin of Black Diamond - the comicbook and then potential movie, not the actual character.

Black had, in the course of creating AC Comics, made a comment in an article in a sister publication about a possible movie of the character Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. That tidbit wound its way to 80s film beauty Sybil Danning who tried out for the role. She did not get it but in talking with Black to thank him for the tip, she mentioned that she was in pre-pre-development stage on an action spy movie about a character named Tiana Mathews, aka Black Diamond. She put him touch with that character's creator, Mike Frankovich and when Black made the call, the two men got to talking about doing a comicbook around the spy.

The movie would not ever get made, which is a pity as seeing Ms. Danning in any capacity at any time was a pleasure - I still remember fondly Roger Corman's Battle Beyond the Stars and even more the epitome of women-in-prison movies, Chained Heat with Linda Blair of Exorcist fame. But though we do not have the film, we do have a half dozen comicbooks thanks to the initial tip.

A year after the last of the 5 Black Diamond comics was printed, she made a guest appearance in another AC Comics, a one-shot special entitled Colt.


1 The Darkfire Affair: Gauntlet The Darkfire Affair: Gauntlet
Published by AC Comics
Contributors: Bill Black (writer and artist), Mark Beachum (pencils), Reb Black (colors)
Copyright: 1983

Published in Black Diamond #1, May 1983.
A story in two parts:
Gauntlet: Black Diamond is ordered to New York City to take on an elite group of female mercenaries working for Quansa and led by the roughest of them all...Vanessa Cord...aka Darkfire.
Mindtrap: Though the attacks before she even left for her mission to NYC slowed her down, Black Diamond nevertheless heads to that metropolis to take on Darkfire.
Note: This and the subsequent issue were said to be graphic novelizations of the movie envisioned for Sybil Danning, said flic never actually being made.

2 Doomflight Doomflight
Published by AC Comics
Contributors: Rick Burchett (writer and inks), Don Secrease (writer and pencils), Reb Black (colors), Bill Black (letters)
Copyright: 1983

Published in Black Diamond #2, July 1983.
Black Diamond heads to Prague to learn what she can about a project known as Tricycle involving a mole agent deep inside the American space program. This investigation will take Tiana Mathews literally out of this world.

3 Mindkill! Mindkill!
Published by AC Comics
Contributors: Don Secrease (writer and pencils), Kevin Dzuban (inks), Reb Black (colors), Wayne Jasper (letters)
Copyright: 1983

Published in Black Diamond #3, December 1983.
With an IC3 conference soon to take place, Tiana Mathews, aka Black Diamond, is worried that Darkfire might have used mind control to make her a threat to her fellow agents.

4 Shadow Hunt Shadow Hunt
Published by AC Comics
Contributors: Don Secrease (writer and pencils), Kevin Dzuban (inks), Reb Black (colors), Wayne Jasper (letters)
Copyright: 1984

Published in Black Diamond #4, February 1984.
Tiana Mathews is sent to investigate the sudden deaths of two IC3 agents and traces the causes to a mission to a Central American jungle where Quansa was said to be setting up a base. There the agents had accidentally discovered a hidden treasure cave and then been not so nice about it.

5 Dark Intruder Dark Intruder
Published by AC Comics
Contributors: Paul Daly (writer), Don Secrease (pencils), Kevin Dzuban (inks), Reb Black (colors), Bob Pinaha (letters)
Copyright: 1984

Published in Black Diamond #5, 1984.
A strange, unusual ship has been spotted at the sea floor off Crete. Tiana Mathews, aka Black Diamond, will be sent by IC3 to join the investigation and will find a lot of trouble from Quansa - and sharks.

6 Colt ... Colt ...
Published by AC Comics
Contributors: Don Secrease (writer and pencils), Kevin Dzuban (inks), David Zimmerman (inks), Wayne Jasper (letters)
Copyright: 1985

Published in Colt Special #1, Summer 1985.
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MY COMMENTS

As mentioned above, Black Diamond was supposed to be a movie starring the highly entertaining Sybil Danning and these comicbooks adventures just a really cool sideline. It did not work out that way as the movie never got made but I really enjoyed the graphic adventures today and if I had known about them back in the day, I would happily have put down my $2 for more. The artwork is really well done and the plots are, by comicbook standards, pretty good also. The best thing about the storylines is that they really pulled off the need-to-stop-an-evil-organization while actually giving the main character a background and a personality.

GRADE

My Grade: B

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