| The One | |
| Schedule: | Bimonthly |
| Limited: | Y |
| Superhero: | y |
| Publisher: | Epic Comics |
| Date: | July 1985 - May 1986 |
| Issues: | 6 |
| Writers: | Rick Veitch |
| Artists: | Rick Veitch |
| Creators: | Rick Veitch |
| Tpb: | The One: The Last Word in Superheroics |
| Isbn: | 0-9624864-5-0 |
| Subcat: | Epic Comics |
| Sort: | One, The |
The One was a six-issue comic book limited series published by Epic Comics in 1985–1986. It was written and drawn by Rick Veitch.[1]
The One is an ambitious and bizarre fantasy adventure involving monstrous superheroes, the Cold War, and spiritual evolution. An individual of deranged disposition orchestrates a deception, inducing both the United States and the Soviet Union to unleash both their arsenal of nuclear missiles and their superhero operatives against each other. Contrary to expectations of cataclysmic nuclear conflict, this action catalyzes the revelation of the latent cosmic capabilities inherent within humanity.
The One presaged both Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons' Watchmen (1986-1987) and Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns (1986) in its revisionist approach to superheroics. As Moore would later write:
Veitch's own King Hell Press reprinted the series in two trade paperbacks:
In 2018, IDW Publishing reprinted the whole series over a period of six months.[2]