went backwards and gave him a history. His father was to be an old circus performer and owning a junkyard now." Publication history In June, 1976, DC Comics began publishing the bi-monthly comic book series Ragman (volume 1). The series began in June, 1976 (cover dated September, 1976) and only lasted 5 issues before ending in April, 1977 (cover dated July, 1977). Ragman was created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert. The title character Rory Regan was presented as a vigilante who focused on standard urban crime threats such as gangsters, drug dealers, and thieves. After criminals cause power lines to fall to the ground, Rory, his father, and some friends of the family are simultaneously electrocuted. Rory is the only survivor, gaining the collective abilities and physical traits of the other men. The mini-series depicted Rory Reagan as a young man and former active member of the US Marine Corps who had served during the Vietnam War. The letters page of Ragman #3 specifically stated the character was intended by Kanigher and Kubert to be of Irish descent. After his mini-series, this incarnation of Ragman did not appear regularly in the DC Comics universe beyond a minor cameo during the company-wide crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths. This same crossover resulted in much of DC Comics superhero canon being revised or rebooted. A new incarnation of Ragman with a new origin story was then presented in an 8-issue mini-series Ragman (vol. 2) which was published from July, 1991 (cover dated October, 1991) until March, 1992 (cover dated July, 1992). The mini-series was plotted by Keith Giffen, scripted by Robert Loren Fleming, illustrated by Pat Broderick, and colored by Anthony Tollin. The mini-series reinterpreted Ragman as a magic-empowered character native to Gotham City who deals not only with urban crime but also mystical threats. Rory Regan is still a veteran of the Vietnam War, with the story establishing him now as a divorced man who is "pushing middle age" when he first dons the costume. The mini-series reveals that Rory's father was a Jewish man born with the name Reganiewicz, which he changed after immigrating to the United States. The mini-series established the Ragman costume as a mystical "Suit of Souls" created during the 16th century by the same people who created the Golem of Prague (a figure of Jewish folklore). After the Golem is deemed dangerous, it is