BURFIANS
Classification: Extraterrestrial humanoid
Location/Base of Operations: Planet Burf in
deep space
Known Members: Elfin, PZ-42
(half-Burfian?),
Sam Space
(half-Burfian)
Affiliations: Omnus, Planet Terry, Robota
Enemies: Ruby Monster
First Appearance: Planet Terry#4 (July, 1985)
Powers/Abilities: Burfians have advanced technology and have mastered interstellar warp travel. They are friendly and quickly accommodating of new alien species.
Traits: Burfians are very friendly to
outsiders. However, they place high value on status symbols, especially
the ruby that male youths have to steal as a rite of manhood. This
affects
job prospects and romantic opportunities. Of note is that they have
large protruding pointed ears. While many have head hair, most adult
male Burfians experience hair loss (or shave).
Burfians have two names; their official name
is coded to their
address, occupation and the like, represented by a short set of letters
and numbers.
Oddly, Burfian boys are nude in public (and also lack any visible external genitalia) while
Burfian girls wear skirts. Burfian adults wear full attire.
Type: Humanoid
Eyes: Two (on head)
Fingers: Four (including opposable thumb) as juvenile; five
(including opposable thumb) as adult
Toes: None
Skin color: Mostly yellow, juveniles with body spots; those associated
with justice system are green (see comments)
Average height: 5'9" (adults)
History:
(Planet Terry#4 (fb) - BTS) - Burfians developed
advanced technologies, including space travel. Dangerous criminals were
kept on a high security prison called Alphatraz on a small planet in
space; this housed prisoners of many extraterrestrial species.
Burfians developed amicable
relations with extraterrestrials and were generally helpful. However,
an enduring custom was that each Burfian boy had to undergo a rite of
manhood by taking a special ruby from the necklace of the Ruby Monster
located on a distant planetoid. Each Burfian youth had only three
attempts and reaching the terrifying creature involved a series of
dangerous tests. The ruby was immediately self-replicating and so the
custom endured. The ruby would be proudly worn by Burfian boys
successful in their quest and girls preferred dating boys with a big ruby.
There were also greater job opportunities for Burfian boys with rubies.
The origin of the custom, going on for thousands of years, is unknown.
(Planet Terry#4) - Seeking his
parents, Planet Terry
and his pals Omnus and Robota arrived at the planetoid 17Z. Following a
trail, they came across the Burfian Elfin, who was attempting the ruby
test and was successful with his newfound friends' help.
(Planet Terry#5) - Omnus was adversely affected by
the ruby and they rocketed to Burf where Elfin's father, a doctor,
promised to help. Identifying Omnus from a catalog of aliens, Elfin's
father identified a cure that sent Terry offworld on a quest for a
gemaphobe.
(Planet Terry#6) - Triumphant, Terry rushed back to
Burf General Hospital where the operation to revive Omnus was
successful. Initially angry, Omnus relaxed, but the Burfians were still
cautious about Omnus' scary Fearzum form. Elfin still wanted to help
the wistful Terry find his parents and took Terry to his half-Burfian
uncle Sam Space, a somewhat muddled private detective.
(Planet Terry#7) - Sam Space took
Elfin and Planet
Terry with his friends into the Burfian suburbs in orbit to meet
research scientist PZ-42, who had a missing child case. His son had
been kidnapped, but Terry and his friends soon rescued him. They found
out Terry's parents were at the Burfian prison Alphatraz.
(Planet Terry#8) - Back on Burf, Planet Terry, Omnus
and Robota went to the Burf Hall of Justice but were denied access to
Alphatraz by the (green-skinned) justice Burfians. The trio quickly
caused chaos, including ripping the clothes off the Chief Justice. The
trio were immediately sent to Alphatraz as criminals, where they found
the Burfian guards forced to act as servants by prisoners who had
secretly taken over the jail. However, Terry's parents evacuated all
the guards and they escaped in the melee.
(Planet Terry#9) - Planet Terry and pals rocketed back to Burf
on a new ship.
(Planet Terry#10) - Back on Burf, Planet Terry was
duped by a fake message sent by the nefarious Vermin the
Vile. The heroic trio took their original spaceship and blasted off
to investigate (apparently without saying any farewell to a Burfian).
Comments: Created by Len Herman, Warren Kremer, Vince Colletta.
It seems odd that the Burfians associated with the
justice (jail) system are green compared to the rest of the population.
Maybe their skin has been treated against... criminal diseases?
The exact status of Planet Terry is not yet fully defined. Issue 4 states it is set in a "far-off day in the future!" Yet a Planet Terry appears in Earth-616's Drax and Asgardians of the Galaxy while a version appears in the Mojoverse in X-Babies.
The Planet Terry Complete Collection trade paperback,
with its
higher quality reprinting, has the Burfians colored in pale yellow
(except the green justice system Burfians). BTW
- a really nice clean quality coloring job throughout the tpb, I
recommend it if you want to check out the complete Star Comics run plus
extras from Marvel Age.
Is it just me or does "Burf" sound like a cross
between "burp" and "barf"?
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Burfians have no known connections to:
The planet Burf had many continents with no great
oceans and had twin suns. The continents themselves appeared to be made up of
patchwork plates while the surface seemed flat with occasional
mountains and little vegetation amongst the high-tech and sleek
architecture. The suburban areas were large residential
clusters in orbits called Suburba-Rings. Burf also had a maximum
security prison called Alphatraz set on a small planet in deep space.
Planet Terry had his spacecraft parked at the Burf spaceport while he
went on several space adventures.
--Planet Terry#4 (Planet Terry#5-10
PZ-42 was a research scientist living with his wife
in the
orbiting suburbs around planet Burf. His son had been kidnapped by
Queen Repugna, who sought his anti-gravity device; however, the
scientist's invention was a flop. He engaged the services of private
detective Sam Space, but coincidentally also gained the attention of
Planet Terry, who was looking for his parents. Terry, his friends and
Sam Space rescued PZ-42's son.
On top of his significantly diminutive height compared to other adult Burfians, his skin color was different to other Burfians, suggesting that he and his wife were half-Burfians like Sam Space (It may also just be another race on Burf or he's just an alien with the usual alien pointy ears).
--Planet Terry#7
The Ruby Monster was a large purple creature that
lived in a deep cavern on planetoid 17Z. Its species are long-lived and
require only seven seconds of sleep per day. The Ruby Monster wore a
special large ruby around its neck that negated certain alien powers,
but was highly prized by Burfians and its retrieval came to be a test
of manhood. The ruby had a special property that whenever the ruby
disappeared from the monster's neck, a new one would appear.
One day, after the Ruby Monster watched
television, it became angry when it smelled alien intruders and chased
Planet Terry, who was seeking his parents, Omnus, Robota and the
Burfian Elfin. In the chaos, Elfin grabbed the ruby, unnoticed by the
Ruby Monster as a new ruby instantly appeared. Outside the cavern, the
Ruby Monster encountered statues created by the local Chippas and
smashed through them, but this triggered giant defensive steel arrows.
Planet Terry saved the Ruby Monster from harm and it ran scared back
into the cavern.
--Planet Terry#4
images: (without ads)
Planet Terry#4, p10, pan1 (main image)
Planet Terry#6, p6, pan2 (Burfian adult male (doctor))
Planet Terry#6, p21, pan1 (3 adult Burfians (medics))
Planet Terry#8, p4, pan3 (Burfian adult male (Chief Justice, clothes ripped))
Planet Terry#7, p9, pan5 (PZ-42)
Planet Terry#4, p19, pan6 (Ruby Monster running)
Planet Terry#4, p20, pan2 (Ruby Monster, headshot)
Planet Terry#7, p, pan (planet Burf from space)
Planet Terry#7, p, pan (Suburba-Rings)
Appearances:
Planet Terry#4 (July, 1985) - Len Herman (writer), Warren Kremer
(pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Sid Jacobson (editor)
Planet Terry#5 (August, 1985) - Len Herman (writer), Warren Kremer
(pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Sid Jacobson (editor)
Planet Terry#6 (September, 1985) - Lennie Herman (writer), Warren
Kremer (pencils), Jon D'Agostino (inks), Sid Jacobson (editor)
Planet Terry#7 (October, 1985) - Stan Kay (writer), Warren Kremer
(pencils), Jon D'Agostino (inks), Sid Jacobson (editor)
Planet Terry#8 (November, 1985) - Dave Manak (writer), Warren Kremer
(pencils), Jon D'Agostino (inks), Sid Jacobson (editor)
Planet Terry#9 (December, 1985) - Dave Manak (writer), Warren Kremer
(pencils), Jon D'Agostino (inks), Sid Jacobson (editor)
Planet Terry#10 (January, 1986) - Dave Manak (writer), Warren Kremer
(pencils), Jacqueline Roettcher (inks), Sid Jacobson (editor)
First Posted: 02/27/2023
Last updated: 02/27/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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