A Distant Soil #6
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeA Distant Soil #6 (June 1985) carries a double bill of first appearances that reach well beyond Colleen Doran's own science-fantasy saga: the backup strip titled 'The Chronicles of Panda Khan' introduces both Li Yang — the anthropomorphic warrior panda who would soon cross over into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and earn a slot in the Playmates toy line — and the character known as Panda Khan, making this a key issue in the overlapping worlds of Copper Age independent comics. The issue also marks a structural milestone for the WaRP run itself, being the first issue of A Distant Soil to appear in the standard comics-format pamphlet rather than the magazine format used for earlier issues. Doran's series as a whole stands as one of the earliest American graphic works created solely by a female writer-artist, and one of the first to feature openly gay characters as romantic leads, so each issue of this short-lived WaRP run has outsized historical weight given that the entire nine-issue run has never been reprinted.
In "All Together Now," Colleen Doran crafts a pivotal moment in A Distant Soil as Galahad is pulled through a temporal gate into the future, where he pledges his allegiance to the enigmatic Rieken and becomes part of a new resistance force. Meanwhile, Beys guides Jason through the revelation of his origins, setting him on a path to join the fight. With Doran handling every aspect of the interior art and inking, and the cover by Doran and Dave Garcia capturing the story’s emotional weight, this 1985 WaRP Graphics issue marks a key turning point in the series.
In "All Together Now," Galahad is thrust into the future through a temporal gate during his battle with Lord Raven, where he pledges his loyalty to the enigmatic Rieken and becomes part of a new resistance. Meanwhile, Beys guides Jason through the truth of his origins, setting him on a path to join the fight.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
A Distant Soil originated as fanzine work by Colleen Doran as far back as 1979 before WaRP Graphics — best known as the publisher of Elfquest, founded by Wendy and Richard Pini — contracted her to produce it as a proper comic series beginning in 1983. Issue #6 was edited by Richard Pini and published in June 1985; the backup Panda Khan strip was written by Monica Sharp and drawn by Dave Garcia, who had befriended the TMNT creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird through the indie-comics circuit and signed on with WaRP under parallel circumstances. Doran would depart WaRP after only nine issues over a bitter ownership dispute in which WaRP was accused of attempting to claim copyright and trademark on her work; following a legal settlement in 1988, all rights in A Distant Soil reverted to Doran, who subsequently discarded the entire 300-page WaRP body of work and redrew the series from scratch — meaning the WaRP issues, including #6, remain permanently unreprinted and exist only in their original printings.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Li Yang / Panda Khan, the anthropomorphic warrior panda created by writer Monica Sharp and artist Dave Garcia, debuting in the backup feature titled 'The Chronicles of Panda Khan.'
- First appearance of Li Yang (catalogued separately as a named character distinct from his Panda Khan alias) — both names index to the same debut in this issue.
- The main story, 'All Together Now,' is written and drawn by Colleen Doran; it advances the plot with Galahad being transported into the future and Jason joining the Resistance.
- Issue is 32 pages, black-and-white, with a painted cover — the WaRP run was produced in an all-pencil style distinct from Doran's later, fully inked Image Comics iteration of the series.
- This is identified as the first issue of the WaRP run to appear in standard comics-pamphlet format.
- A second printing of this issue was produced, making first-printing identification relevant for collectors.
- The Panda Khan material from A Distant Soil #6–9 was later remastered and reprinted (with additional pages added) in The Chronicles of Panda Khan #1–2, published by Abacus Press beginning in 1987.
- Panda Khan was subsequently incorporated into Playmates Toys' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action-figure line in 1990, and the character's rights were acquired by Gaelstone Media in May 2020 for development of an animated series.
Cast · 2 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in A Distant Soil #5 (1993), A Distant Soil #20 (1997)
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