The comic is set in a world in which larger-than-life pulp science heroes and villains have existed since the early 19th century. The original super was an escaped convict named Kenneth Lee who became Black Death. His powers came from
a radioactive object which landed in New England over 200 years ago. Other notable supers include the descendants of the soldiers who were chasing him including the Doc Savage-esque "Professor Zeppelin" and the Shadow-esque "Lazarus". After World War II, the SOS agency created by Zeppelin has kept most stories about the supers out of the news, portraying them as freak weather events. The comic deals with former science villain Zack Overkill, who is in the
Witness Protection Program after giving testimony against Black Death. Zack is required to take a drug that eliminates his super abilities and delivers mail in an office. To escape the boredom of a normal life, Zack experiments with illegal drugs. He discovers that they interfere with the power-blocking drug and he once again has his super strength. He begins wearing a mask again and searches for action in the streets and back alleys, acting as a vigilante rather than a supervillain. His actions reveal to Black Death that he is alive; several of Black Death's soldiers attempt to kill Zack for his testimony. During the story, Zack learns about the origins of heroes and villains, and his own connection to Lazarus. After working with Professor Zeppelin's daughter Zoe, Zack decides to work with SOS to avoid boredom and Black Death's agents. In the second series,
Bad Influences, Zack is now an agent for the SOS, and given a new assignment: appear to go rogue so he can go underground and bring back an SOS agent who infiltrated Level 9, a science-villain organization. But while doing so, someone is using the identity of Lazarus to wipe out science villains. SOS incorrectly believes Zack had gone rogue, and he is imprisoned in the same prison as Black Death. ==Collected editions==