Before he was transformed into a "Sentinel of Magic" and given all sorts of strange and eerie powers, The Ragman was just that ... a ragman. Bob Kanigher and Joe Kubert created what I think is a classic urban character that I wish had been given more of a chance. There was a thematic presence in Ragman that, when handled properly, could have easily placed the character up there with Will Eisner's The Spirit. "The Tatterdemalion of Justice" had his own short-lived series in the mid-seventies and then a few team-ups with the Batman before he was hit with a spate of "retroactive continuity" and revamping by Keith Giffen and Pat Broderick. There was both simplicity and a complexity about the character that rivaled Batman.

Rory Regan had survived the horrors of Viet Nam to return home to the city and his father's junk and pawn shop, Rags 'N' Tatters, where they made a modest living in the slums. Rory was still haunted by the memory of the men he had killed in the war. Rory spent most of his time running the shop, helping the people of the slums when they needed money to survive.

His father, Gerry Regan, met every night in rear lot behind the shop for a drink with his three old friends, a former circus strongman named Samson, a former boxer who had once been a heavyweight contender, and a man who was an acrobat and once won a National Prize in the sport.

Life went on this way until Gerry and his friends found a mattress in the back lot that was stuffed with over $2,000,000. The guys hide the mattress amid the multitude of others in the lot, and plan to give the money to Rory. Unfortunately, the man who brought the mattress in comes back for it, gun in hand. Two other thugs, who are also looking for the money, kill him. Gerry and his cronies refuse to talk, so the gunmen shoot down the power lines above them, causing them to slowly be electrocuted.

Rory returns to the shop to find his father and his friends in agony. He tells his father to give the men what they want, but Gerry refuses, saying what they want belongs to Rory. Rory tries to pull his father free from the wires with an old tire, but the gunmen shoot the tire out of his hands, telling him to do it barehanded if he wants to be a hero. With all four men holding hands, Rory takes his father's hand and the current grounds through him. When Rory awoke, he found he was the only survivor. Inside Rags 'N' Tatters, he found a note from his father directing him to a present: A strange costume made of rags. It fit like it was made for him, and Rory swore he would honor his father's memory by staying at the shop, and by continuing his new career as the Tattered Tatterdemalion.

The Ragman was a very local hero. He worked in the slums, only leaving if it was necessary to gather information or right a wrong that had been committed there. He received only a little press in the newspapers, considerably less than The Batman (once it was determined that Ragman's city was indeed the slums of Gotham City). The Batman did very willingly give his respect to both Rory Regan (for his work helping the community through Rags 'N' Tatters) and Ragman (who worked with him twice).

Even after it was established that Ragman was a resident of Gotham City, Ragman only worked with The Dark Knight Detective on those two cases (in Batman Family and The Brave and The Bold). He had had no other contact with the DC Universe, other than the obligatory appearance in the background of Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Ragman's revamping made him a much more important player in the DC Universe's world of magic. The new Ragman is, in fact, a very interesting character (and I hope to profile the current Ragman's career as soon as I can locate the necessary source material). I just don't think that he still has the same innate charm he had back when Kubert and Kanigher created him. I've long been a fan of "un-powered" super-heroes ... The Vigilante, The Crimson Avenger, Wildcat, Batman ... because I've always felt they were a lot more interesting then their meta-human compatriots, since most had to use their heads and come up with solutions that didn't rely on being invulnerable or super-strong.

The Ragman was definitely a super-hero for his time, and of the times of his creators. Ragman was one of the last comic book heroes to really have his origins in the themes of the Golden Age, when anyone could put on a costume and make things right.

Ragman's small cast of supporting characters were oft-times stereotypical, but still very memorable.

Bette Berg, Rory's apparent girlfriend. She was a free-lance photo journalist for the Morning Clarion Call (and later The Blade). Betty was constantly pleading with Rory to marry her and get out of the city, but he refused because of his sense of responsibility to the people.

Opal is a young African-American singer that Ragman saved from a mobster's bullet (and saved her or been saved by her on several other occasions). Opal is very attracted to Ragman, and Rory definitely feels quite a bit of the same for her.

Teddy, the young blind and mute orphan that Ragman rescued from the hands of a hit man. Rory spends a lot of time with him, and naturally Bette is pressuring him to marry her so that they can provide a home for the youngster.

Teddy's cat, a stray that he found while being pursued by killers. Rory keeps feeding it at the shop. The cat has proven to be very resourceful and has been a witness to many strange things around Rags 'N' Tatters.

The various down-on-their-luck residents, and the many criminal elements that made up Ragman's section of town filled out the remainder of the book's cast.

Please see the pull-down menu at the top of this page for links to synposes of Ragman's appearances.