Cyclone!

Cyclone!
Front cover of Cyclone Comics Quarterly #1
Publication information
Publisher	Cyclone Comics
Schedule	irregular
Format	Ongoing series
Publication date	1985-1992
Creative team
Artist(s)	David de Vries Gary Chaloner Glenn Lumsden Tad Pietrzykowski
Creator(s)	David de Vries Gary Chaloner Glenn Lumsden Tad Pietrzykowski

Cyclone! was an Australian superhero anthology comic book originally published in 1985.

The title featured four ongoing stories:

The initial run of Cyclone! was eight issues, after which the anthology format was dispensed with and it was renamed Southern Squadron.

The Southern Squadron was Australia's first published superhero team. The classic lineup of The Southern Squadron comprises the following members:

The Southern Squadron was formed by the government of Australia, in 1982, to deal with superpowered crime and to give local superheroes guidance, training and legal authority. The Southern Squadron are based in Canberra, Australia. They cooperate closely with their New Zealand counterparts, the Waitangi Rangers. The supervisor/advisor to the squadron is Colonel Ralph Rivers (formerly the Crimson Comet, a winged superhero from the golden age of Australian comics). The squadron is occasionally joined by Flash Damingo, an alien bi-pedal platypus with a cybernetic arm - a former member of the Space Rangers.

The Southern Squadron was also published in two four issue mini-series by Eternity in America beginning in 1990, reprinting stories from the original Australian stories, as well as introducing entirely new material.

The Dark Nebula receives his powers from the two souls occupy the dead body of Colonel Mark Medula, an Australian astronaut, who on returning from a routine shuttle mission, encounters an alien war lord, Cerellus of the planet Caileu. Medula and Cerellus battle and kill each other and when their souls are brought before Death for final consignment they are instead melded within Medula’s body. From Cerellus he receives psionic abilities (telepathy, telekinesis etc.), from Medula he receives the dark fire (a powerful mystical force, which although Medula is unaware of it at the time he is descended from a long line of witches). There is a constant battle for control of the host body with Cerellus constantly attempting to take over Medula's body at every opportunity.

The character debuted in a graphic novel titled The Dynamic Dark Nebula in 1982. The character subsequently appeared in Cyclone! for eight issues before being given its own respective title in February 1989.The Dark Nebula ran for eight issues, with The Golden Age Southern Cross as the back-up feature. The character was then included in several short stories in Southern Aurora Comics Presents.