Last week, I rounded up some of recently deceased entertainer Michael Jackson's connections to the world of comic books in a post that generated quite a bit of buzz around the comics scene. Unfortunately, I left out one particular cameo by the King of Pop that should have come to mind earlier -- mainly because it occurs in a comic I own.
As ComicMix points out, issue #16 of DC's late-'80s, adult-oriented anthology series "Wasteland" featured a story chronicling the downward spiral of a lonely girl named Shari Evenson whose obsession with a familiar-looking "dark prince named Michael" eventually leads her to take her own life. It's a small cameo, and writer John Ostrander never identifies the "Michael" as Jackson -- but it's pretty clear who the character is meant to represent.
Titled "Heartshadow," it's a pretty dark story that deals with the psychology of obsession, depression and the way the two feed into each other. It's also an interesting counterpoint to many of Jackson's more jokey, parody-fueled cameos by in various comics over the years.
"Heartshadow" was drawn by Rick Magyar. Issue #16 of "Wasteland" was published in 1988 by DC Comics.