For more than 20 years, Dan Sehn has been building a world of superheroes, supervillains, and larger-than-life adventures through Argo Comics and its sister imprint, Thunderzone. What began as one creator’s passion for traditional superhero comics has grown into an impressive independent publishing operation featuring more than 100 comic books, numerous original characters, and collaborations with creators from around the world.
At a time when major comic book publishers continually reinvent their established characters, Sehn has taken a different approach. He has created his own superheroes, developed their histories, and built a publishing company around them. His comics celebrate the excitement of traditional superhero storytelling while introducing new characters, relationships, and adventures.
And with Thunderzone, Sehn has expanded that vision into something even more ambitious: a shared superhero universe where independent creators can bring their own characters together.
Dan Sehn’s love of comic books began during his childhood on Long Island, New York. Growing up in the 1970s, he developed an appreciation for Superman, the Justice League of America, the Avengers, and the X-Men.
Superhero team books particularly appealed to him. Rather than following the adventures of a single costumed crimefighter, Sehn enjoyed stories featuring multiple heroes with different personalities, abilities, and backgrounds.
That enthusiasm eventually inspired him to create his own characters.
Long before Argo Comics became a publishing company, Sehn was developing superheroes and sharing his work through amateur press associations, including the Super Team Amateur Press Association, better known as S-TAPA.
These publications provided an opportunity for aspiring writers and artists to exchange stories, experiment with characters, and develop their creative abilities before the internet made independent publishing considerably easier.
Sehn also pursued interests outside comics, earning a degree in exercise science and becoming a successful competitive bodybuilder. His professional writing began with articles for bodybuilding and fitness magazines.
However, comics remained an important part of his life.
In 2005, Sehn officially entered independent comic book publishing with the Argo Comics Pin-Up Special.
The following year brought the Argo Comics Pin-Up Spectacular, followed by the Argo Comics Anthology.
These early publications helped introduce readers to Sehn’s growing collection of original superheroes and established the foundation for what would become the Argo Comics Universe.
At the center of Argo Comics is Argo 5, the company’s flagship superhero team title.
Created and written by Sehn, Argo 5 follows a team of powerful heroes operating within a shared universe populated by numerous other costumed adventurers.
The series reflects Sehn’s lifelong affection for classic superhero team books, particularly the Avengers and Justice League. However, he has emphasized that he wants his characters to establish their own identities rather than simply imitate familiar Marvel and DC heroes.
Among the characters associated with the team are Gladiatra and other original heroes who have appeared throughout the company’s growing continuity.
The series combines superhero action, character relationships, humor, and the kind of continuing adventures that helped define classic monthly comic books.
Sehn illustrated the first issue himself but soon recognized that his responsibilities as writer, editor, letterer, and publisher demanded considerable time.
He began collaborating with other artists, allowing multiple issues to move through production simultaneously.
This approach helped Argo Comics maintain a consistent output despite the challenges facing independent publishers.
For the first 36 issues, different artists contributed to the series. Beginning with issue #37, Leo Gondim became the regular artist, with color work from Téo Pinheiro and Periya Pillai.
Francisco Zamora also became the series letterer beginning with issue #26, taking over duties previously handled by Sehn.
By 2024, Argo 5 had reached issue #44, an impressive accomplishment for an independently published superhero series.
The title has also welcomed guest appearances by characters belonging to other independent creators.
In Argo 5 #3, Sehn staged a dimension-spanning crossover featuring characters from other publishers. Later issues incorporated additional guest stars, including characters belonging to Kickstarter supporters.
These appearances demonstrated Sehn’s willingness to collaborate with fellow creators and his enthusiasm for expanding the possibilities of independent superhero storytelling.
Although Argo 5 remains the company’s best-known title, Argo Comics is much more than a single superhero team.
Sehn has developed an extensive collection of titles exploring different corners of his universe.
SORORITY OF POWER
One of Argo Comics’ longest-running series, Sorority of Power focuses on a team of female superheroes.
The series provides another perspective on the Argo Comics Universe, allowing its heroines to headline their own adventures while occasionally interacting with characters from other titles.
The series has featured guest appearances and crossovers, including a confrontation between Sorority of Power’s Leopard Lass and Argo 5’s Gladiatra.
IMPACT INTERNATIONAL
Impact International takes the superhero team concept onto a worldwide stage.
Among its characters is Night Ranger, a skilled fighter and master tactician who leads the team’s Impact Gold division.
The organization can divide into two groups, Impact Gold and Impact Silver, with the latter led by Rama, a magically powered hero from India.
The international approach allows Sehn to explore superheroes operating beyond the traditional American setting.
TEAM NORTH AMERICA
Another superhero team title, Team North America contributes additional characters and adventures to the publisher’s expanding universe.
DEATH SQUAD
Death Squad explores a darker side of superhero storytelling, including a confrontation with a deadly supervillain competition known as Ultimate Massacre.
TEEN MACHINE
Teen Machine brings younger heroes into the Argo Comics lineup, expanding the universe beyond its established adult superhero teams.
HAVOC PATROL
Another team-based series, Havoc Patrol adds to the variety of superhero organizations operating within Sehn’s fictional world.
LAUREN ORDER
Lauren Order introduces additional characters and stories that have subsequently connected with other Argo Comics publications.
PINK PUMA & RED ROOSTER
This title allows another pair of original heroes to headline their own adventures.
ARGO COMICS DOUBLE SHOT
Inspired by classic superhero team-up comics, Argo Comics Double Shot brings together characters from different titles.
The anthology format also provides opportunities for guest writers and artists to contribute stories within Sehn’s universe.
Together, these publications establish Argo Comics as a genuine shared superhero universe, with its own characters, teams, rivalries, and continuing continuity.
While Argo Comics primarily features characters created by Dan Sehn, Thunderzone operates under a different philosophy.
Thunderzone is a separate publishing imprint designed to bring together superheroes belonging to multiple independent creators.
Sehn has compared its structure to the early Image Comics universe, where individual creators maintained ownership of their characters while participating in a larger shared setting.
That distinction is important.
Thunderzone is not simply another collection of Dan Sehn superhero titles. It provides a common fictional world in which different creators can tell their own stories and, when appropriate, bring their characters together.
The arrangement gives the imprint opportunities for crossovers, team-ups, and interconnected adventures while allowing the individual properties to retain their identities.
For independent comic book creators, that concept offers an appealing combination of creative freedom and collaboration.
Thunderzone has introduced an expanding collection of superhero titles, including several created by Sehn himself.
NATURE MAN
One of Sehn’s Thunderzone creations, Nature Man brings another original hero into the shared universe.
Stories featuring the character have also appeared in Exciting Comics, published by Antarctic Press.
BIG HOUSE BLUES
One of Thunderzone’s more unusual concepts is Big House Blues, a superhero series set within a high-security prison for supervillains.
The Mega-Villain Reformatory, nicknamed the Devil’s Den, houses dangerous costumed criminals.
Rather than focusing exclusively on heroes fighting villains in the streets, the series examines the people responsible for keeping superpowered criminals incarcerated.
Its central character, Lee Coleman, is the facility’s head corrections officer.
Coleman is also Alloy, a superhero possessing superhuman strength, bulletproof durability, and enhanced reflexes.
Despite his extraordinary abilities, Coleman is also a devoted husband and father.
The series mixes superhero action with prison drama, institutional pressures, and murder mysteries.
By issue #4, the story had concluded an arc involving the murder of an inmate, financial cutbacks, and growing tensions inside the prison.
It is an interesting way to examine what happens after superheroes defeat their enemies and those villains are placed behind bars.
JUNKYARD JOE
Another Dan Sehn creation, Junkyard Joe adds its own distinctive hero and adventures to the Thunderzone Universe.
Like several other Thunderzone properties, the title has been promoted through crowdfunding campaigns.
SUMO BOY
Sumo Boy is another of Sehn’s original Thunderzone concepts.
Stories featuring the character have appeared in Antarctic Press’s Exciting Comics, with plans for publication in their original full-issue format under the Thunderzone imprint.
WEIRDO
Weirdo further expands the range of characters and stories available within Thunderzone.
Its stories have also been featured in Exciting Comics.
MARSHAL STRONG
Created and written by Michael Desharnais, with artwork by Elton Thomasi, Marshal Strong follows a military psychiatrist who becomes a powerful metahuman superhero and leader of APEX, a team protecting the world from extraordinary threats. However, his enhanced abilities come with a dangerous side effect: metahuman psychosis, which threatens his mental stability. Combining military intrigue, superhero action, and psychological drama, the series introduces characters such as the Secret Shogun, Magnum, and Deacon Hammer. Marshal Strong adds another distinctive dimension to the shared Thunderzone Universe.
G.W.P.: GUYS WITH POWERS
One of Thunderzone’s newer superhero teams is G.W.P., short for Guys With Powers.
Written by Dan Sehn, with dialogue by Ray MacKay and artwork by Ron Charles Williams, the series introduces a team of heroes confronting powerful opposition.
The lineup includes:
- Cosmos, also known as Hal Johnston, who possesses superhuman strength, flight, and cosmic energy manipulation.
- Radioactive Girl, also known as Jazmin Wayne, a physics graduate student who gained extraordinary powers after exposure to a rare isotope.
- Phaze.
- Dominico.
- The Turbo Twins.
The series represents another effort to establish original superheroes within Thunderzone’s interconnected world.
Perhaps the clearest demonstration of Thunderzone’s collaborative philosophy is Thunder Guard.
This superhero team book brings together characters created by different independent comic book publishers and creators.
The first issue features a team assembled under the direction of Major Payne to confront a threat involving a breakdown in reality and an alien invasion.
The assembled heroes include:
- Meta, created by Ezekiel Zhong-Han Azib.
- Thunder Woman, created by Dan Hoins.
- Vulcan, created by Francisco Zamora.
- Singapore Sling, created by Jerry Hinds.
- Realmer X, created by Damion Waldbrunn.
- Capitan Honduras, created by Dan Sehn.
The international roster illustrates Thunderzone’s determination to bring together heroes from different creative backgrounds.
Rather than existing only as separate independent titles, these characters have an opportunity to participate in adventures that connect their individual worlds.
Other Thunderzone titles and projects include SupaCross, Night Claw, and Subject Alpha.
The result is an expanding fictional setting with considerable potential for future collaborations.
One of the most interesting aspects of Dan Sehn’s publishing career is his willingness to work with other independent creators.
For decades, superhero readers have enjoyed the excitement of seeing characters from different comic books meet.
Marvel and DC developed elaborate fictional universes built around that concept.
Independent publishers have occasionally attempted similar arrangements, but coordinating multiple companies and independently owned characters can be challenging.
Sehn has embraced those challenges.
Even before Thunderzone, Argo Comics featured guest stars from other independent publishers.
Through Thunderzone, creator collaboration has become a central part of the publishing philosophy.
This approach also reflects a broader tradition within independent comics.
Creators can maintain control of their original properties while enjoying the promotional and storytelling opportunities provided by a larger universe.
The possibilities extend beyond simple guest appearances. Characters can develop relationships, establish rivalries, join teams, and participate in major events affecting multiple titles.
For fans who enjoy shared-universe superhero storytelling, Thunderzone offers a particularly interesting experiment.
Operating an independent comic book publisher for more than two decades requires considerable dedication.
Unlike major publishers with large editorial departments, Argo Comics has depended heavily on Sehn’s ability to manage multiple responsibilities.
In addition to writing, he has worked as an artist, letterer, editor, and publisher.
He has recruited artists through comic book conventions, professional contacts, recommendations, and social media.
His collaborators have included emerging independent talent alongside established comic book professionals who have contributed covers and pin-ups.
Sehn’s publishing strategy has also evolved.
Print-on-demand services such as IndyPlanet have allowed Argo Comics and Thunderzone to keep their catalogs available without the expenses associated with large traditional print runs.
Kickstarter has provided another avenue for financing new publications and connecting directly with readers.
Meanwhile, the appearance of Thunderzone material in Antarctic Press’s Exciting Comics has introduced some of Sehn’s characters to additional audiences.
This combination of independent publishing, crowdfunding, and collaboration has allowed the company to continue producing comics in a challenging marketplace.
One of the greatest challenges facing independent superhero publishers is convincing readers to try unfamiliar characters.
Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and the Avengers have decades of publishing history, widespread recognition, and major entertainment franchises supporting them.
Independent creators rarely have those advantages.
Nevertheless, publishers such as Argo Comics demonstrate that the superhero genre remains open to new ideas.
Sehn clearly appreciates traditional superhero storytelling. His comics feature colorful costumes, powerful characters, larger-than-life villains, team adventures, and interconnected continuity.
However, he has also spoken about the importance of developing original ideas rather than simply producing imitations of established characters.
That philosophy is particularly evident in the differences between his titles.
Argo 5 provides traditional superhero team adventures.
Sorority of Power expands the roles of female heroes within his universe.
Impact International explores an international superhero organization.
Big House Blues examines the extraordinary problems of operating a prison for supervillains.
And Thunderzone introduces the additional dimension of connecting characters belonging to different independent creators.
Together, these concepts demonstrate the flexibility of superhero storytelling.
When Dan Sehn released the Argo Comics Pin-Up Special in 2005, he was taking the first step toward building his own superhero publishing company.
More than two decades later, Argo Comics and Thunderzone represent an impressive body of work.
The company has produced over 100 comics, established multiple continuing series, introduced numerous original characters, and provided opportunities for artists and writers to contribute to a growing fictional universe.
Perhaps most importantly, Sehn has continued creating new projects rather than allowing the company to become defined entirely by its earliest successes.
Thunderzone, in particular, offers a model for what independent superhero publishing can accomplish when creators collaborate while retaining ownership of their characters.
There is something particularly appealing about that approach.
The superhero genre was built on imagination. A writer or artist could invent an extraordinary character, give that character a colorful costume and remarkable abilities, and invite readers into an entirely new world.
Dan Sehn has spent more than 20 years doing exactly that.
With Argo Comics, he has created a superhero universe of his own.
With Thunderzone, he has invited other creators to help build another one.
About Author
