Real Name: Unknown

Identity/Class: Extratemporal (Earth-691 @ 21st century) human mutant

Occupation: Scribe/artist

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Dr. Druid (Earth-691)

Enemies: Martians

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Ireland

First Appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy Annual#3 (1993)

Powers/Abilities: The Calligrapher possessed omni-sight, giving him the ability to view any and all recent and near future events. This was coupled with an artistic flair for putting it on paper, his skill being equal to that of the Ionian Monks who had originally scribed the Book of Kells many centuries before.

He looked about 60 with white hair and a long ponytail, and he dressed in traditional Celtic garb.

History: (Guardians of the Galaxy Ann.#3 (fb)) - After the Martians conquest of the U.S.A., they turned to Europe, with the first stop being Ireland. Dr. Druid, who had retired in Ireland, had sensed the Martians' approach, and removed the Book of Kells from Trinity College. He then brought the book to the reclusive Irish mutant called the Calligrapher. Dr. Druid knew of his abilities to see and draw any and all recent and near future events.

Dr. Druid gave the Book of Kells to the Calligrapher and authorized him to write new material in it, recording all that the Calligrapher could see of the Martians' attack and the ensuing War of the Worlds. The Calligrapher thus scribed what would be seen as the definitive history of the Martian invasion, which he did so near a stained glass window that showed Cuchulain, the ancient Irish warrior. The Calligrapher's skills matched those of the original authors of the Book of Kells, the Ionian Monks. The Calligraper finished his entries with a grisly vision of his murder at the hands of a Martian in green armor. His vision of his death came true. But the last thing he drew was a triple spiral. This provided a clue to the Book of Kells' whereabouts. His work was under the guardianship of Shamrock and Cuchulain, who later passed the Book of Kells to the Guardians of the Galaxy so that Tarin might use it for educational purposes.

Comments: Created by Michael Gallagher (writer), Colleen Doran (penciler) & Steve Montano (inker).

You can find more info on the Book of Kells here, while stunning actual artwork can be found here.

Profile by Grendel Prime

Clarifications:

Calligrapher has no known connections to:

• Any other "Callig" characters.

The Irish Book of Kells is one of the most celebrated medieval books. Written and drawn on thick vellum, it was finished in the Monastery at Kells between the mid-8th and 9th Centuries. It was decorated with rich Celtic ornamentation, but was later stolen for the gold in its housing. It was eventually found preserved in a peat bog. It was later put on display at Trinity College in Dublin. However, when Mars' second invasion of Earth was about to hit Ireland, Dr. Druid took the Book to the Calligrapher for him to document his precognitive vision of the Martian attack. Dr. Druid then took the book and then summoned Shamrock to the Giant's Causeway to pass the Book to her and act as its guardian. Because the Martian victory would not be enduring and as humankind would rise once more, the Book needed to be safeguarded. Dr. Druid resurrected Cuchulain to aid her in protecting the book, and Cuchulain and Shamrock then journeyed to Newgrange to hide the book.

The Martian invasion destroyed many structures on Earth, and much of Earth's historical records were lost. Centuries later, the Earth Literary Corps excavated the site of the old New York City Public Library, where they found the triple spiral. This was passed to President Tarin of Earth, who contacted the Guardians of the Galaxy to aid in the search for the Book of Kells. As the Punisher gangs had destroyed the library computer system, there was little literature left to facilitate the education and rehabilitation of Realiteevee addicts. The American population had once more been inspired by Captain America's shield, and wanted to learn more about their past history and past religion.

The triple spiral clue led the Guardians to Newgrange, described as a prehistoric passage tomb, older than the pyramids or Stonehenge, full of spirituality, found in the valley of the Boyne River in Ireland. Its Guardian Stone depicted the triple spiral. The Book's two guardians then spoke of the book with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Samhain, the Celtic spirit of death, then sought to destroy the Book, but was foiled by the heroes. Afterwards, the Guardians and the two Irish warriors gathered in the tomb where the Book was hidden, and waited briefly for the sunrise, with the sunbeam traveling down the passage, hitting the Book of Kells, sparkling the inner chamber in a golden glow. With that, the Book was passed to the Guardians of the Galaxy. Later, the galactic heroes took the Book to Vice President Redd and they looked at some of the pages. One showed Killraven with Old Skull.

The Book had a large decorative cross on its cover, with this version being apparently very easy to slip in extra pages, and was quite hardy.

-- Guardians of the Galaxy Annual#3

images:
Guardians of the Galaxy Annual#3, p14, panel 2 (at work),