Timeless Beach Scenes: Ms. Megaton Man Flaunts It!

Back in the days when Amazing Heroes published an annual swimsuit issue, the cast of Megaton Man figured in two out of three of my contributions. In both of these, Clarissa James (Ms. Megaton Man) figured prominently.

Megs Takes a Swipe at the Culture Wars!

Proving once again I utterly lack the subtle touch for editorial cartooning of my social betters (although the threshold has been lowered in recently decades), I offer my half-baked commentary on a current controversy in comics. Namely, should we kick the crap out of bigots, or ask for their autographs at cons?

Megaton Man #1000: The Grand Extravaganza that Never Happened!

Megaton Man #1 (Kitchen Sink Press, December 1984) begins with the Megatropolis Quartet trying to climb into the cover of Megaton Man #999, a completely fictitious issue from another dimension. The rough draft below imagines the following issue, Megaton Man #1000, featuring the long-awaited wedding of Megaton Man and Pamela Jointly.

Rough fine-liner pen over blown-up print out of the original pencil sketch, 11" x 17".

In the scene, Simon Phloog, son of Megaton Man and the See-Thru Girl, and Simon's neighborhood friend Deirdre crash the wedding, courtesy of a trip on the Time Turntable! With Preston Percy, Stella Starlight, Yarn Man, and the Human Meltdown, with city editor Rudy Mayo presiding.

Original sketchbook rough, blue and graphite pencil, 6" x 9".

Megaton Man #999, from the opening splash page of Megaton Man #1 (Kitchen Sink Press, 1984).

Bonus: See the Time Turntable in Megaton Man #1!

Random Chromology II: New Megaton Man GN Coloring Continues!

More pages from the all-new graphic novel Megaton Man: Return to Megatropolis, as they roll off the ol' digital drawing board!

The group in Ann Arbor decides to return to Megatropolis in the wake of unthinkable terrorist attacks!

Our heroes run into problems over New York City!

Megaton Man draws fire away from the Q-Mobile!

Megaton Man, Yarn Man, and X-Ray Boy survey Ground Zero with a wobbly Colonel Turtle!

Even the MQ HQ is fraught with security issues!

Connie's Cab Ride: Meet Me at the Doomsday Factory!

In this newly-inked sequence from the Megaton Man: Return to Megatropolis graphic novel (now in production, publication details TBD), Megaton Man transports new roomie and sidekick Connie Carlyle to Bayonne, New Jersey to introduce her to the Doom Defiers and the whole blamed extended Megaton Man nuclear family! Connie's status as a semi-pro beach volleyball player will be a boon in the team's upcoming match against the Bronx Bombers, if she doesn't fall asleep during practice! Simon Phloog is just glad be spending time with his dad, although he seems enthusiastic about this sandball ringer in general. At the same time, Kozmik Kat looks on as a mysterious delivery is made to the Doomsday Factory...

(Fun drawing the container cranes of the Port of New York and New Jersey, along with the Statue of Liberty!)

To see the original pencil roughs, go here; to read on, go here!

Megaton Meltdown: Meet Simon Phloog!

Here is the first colored page-and-a-half of the opening introduction to the graphic novel currently in progress, Megaton Man: Return to Megatropolis. The 160-page all-new adventure is composed of five 32-page issues forming a single, post-9/11 storyline created in 2002, 2005, and 2014-2016 (okay, the creator took a decade off to go back to college!). This new material will transplant the extended Megaton Man family firmly back in New York (or Megatropolis), where the Megaton Man Narrative will have manifold possibilities for future development! Simon Phloog, heir to both the Megaton and Meltdown nuclear family trees, will emerge as a major character (Megaton Meltdown?) in this and subsequent graphic novels. See previous posts on this blog and on Ms. Megaton Man's blog for more preview art, and stay tuned for forthcoming publication details!

Simon flashes back to Megaton Man #1-4 (Kitchen Sink Press, 1984-1985).

The framed photo shows Simon from Return of Megaton Man #3 (1987); Clarissa gains her powers in Megaton Man vs. The Uncategorizable X+Thems #1 and her costume in Yarn Man #1 (1989).

Flashbacks from The Megaton Man Weekly Serial and Bizarre Heroes (1990s).

The Last Shall Be First: Graphic Novel #1 Pencils Completed!

I've wrapped up principal penciling (is that like principal photography?!) on Megaton Man: Return to Megatropolis, a 160-page story created in five "issues" (I still think in terms of 32-page issues, although any publishing plans for MM: TRM would be for a single volume book). I finished issue #5 a few days ago, and created a new 2-page introduction for the beginning of the story. Below are the pencils.

The flashback here depicts events in Megaton Man #1-5 (Kitchen Sink Press, 1984-1985) and one-shots from the late 1980s including Megaton Man Meets the Uncategorizable X+Thems #1 and Yarn Man #1 (1989).

The framed picture of Simon flying refers to The Return of Megaton Man #3 (September 1988), the issue in which he was born. The flashback in the central panel depicts events from Yarn Man #1 (October 1989). See more on Clarissa James and the origin and evolution of Ms. Megaton Man here!

More on the Phantom Jungle Girl!

For more on how these pencil roughs fit into my current cartooning work flow, check out this post on my inking method!

This framing sequence is intended to negotiate between the Megaton Man Weekly Serial storyline (which I created online eons ago, some which was serialized in early issues of Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon), and the opening scenes of the graphic novel (issues #1-2 were posted previously as Atomic Aftermath), which wrap up a few lingering sub-plots.

There's no disguising the fact that I created issue #1 in 2002, #2 in 2005,  #3 is 2014, and #4 and #5 in 2015-2016. Still, my hope is that the narrative will hang together as a cohesive reading experience. In any case, without some kind of introduction, the early scenes (about ten pages) which deal with some dangling plot threads might come across as non-sequitur. I considered cutting these pages out altogether and beginning the story when the main action of the narrative begins (with Megaton Man and X-Ray Boy in high school), but  where to begin and how to introduce potentially new readers to the Megaton Man mythos still remains a problem.

I think including the early scenes with this intro as a framing device will at least demonstrates how convoluted and aimless Megaton Man's life in the Midwest had become before the jarring events of 9/11 call him and his extended family back to Megatropolis. (Besides, many of the characters in these early scenes who exeunt will either return later or show up again in the second graphic novel, which hopefully won't take as long to complete as this one!). Judge for yourself. Your feedback is welcome!

I'm on track to finally completing the graphic novel this Spring 2016! (For more on my thinking behind it, see here.)

Now, on to March Madness: inking "issues" #4 and #5, and coloring the whole 160 pages! Stay tuned for updates...

Beach Bots Beaten Back in Bayonne by Bayonette!

Dr. Winnie Wertz left behind a defense system at the beach house on the Bayonne waterfront adjacent to the Doomsday Factory that the newly-constituted Doom Defiers inadvertantly tripped off! In this sequence, our heroes gain the upper hand, but the Bots battle back! From the current work in progress, Megaton Man: Return to Megatropolis (publication of which TBD). More previews of art on this blog as well as Ms. Megaton Man!

Robo-Beach: The Doom Defiers Defense System!

I thought I had completed the rough pencils for the fourth all-new issue of Megaton Man a day or two ago, but I wasn't satisfied with the last few pages, so I reworked the robots and added a whole additional page (note to self: make sure to add the umbrella to all shots of the lifeguard stand before inking!). In this sequence, Colonel Turtle has just washed up after a bender, interrupting the all-important volleyball practice at the Doom Defiers beach house in Bayonne NJ...

Sandball: The Doom Defiers' Fabulous Beach House!

These are a selection of rough layouts from the All-New Megaton Man #4 (publication TBD) in which Megaton Man brings his new roommate Connie Carlyle to a beach volleyball practice in Bayonne, New Jersey. The Doom Defiers face a challenge match with the Bronx Bombers, and Connie is a semi-pro sandball player and aspiring Megahero. But will she be accepted by the group? Will they come together as a team? And will they be ready for the match?!