Dont' Snitch: Megs Swallows the Cosmic Cue-Ball!

As I've discussed elsewhere, I've had to suffer for years the charge that I "ripped off the Tick" (even though Megaton Man predates Ben Edlund's character by two or three years). As I work up more Megaton Man material (which, yes, has taken forever!), I fear I'll be accused of one or two other non-existent rip-offs. Among them is the "Time Turntable" from Megaton Man #1 (Kitchen Sink Press, December 1984), which bears a startling textual similarity to J.K. Rowling's "Time Turner" device (from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, 1999, and more recently, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, 2016) -- I've discussed the Tick and Turner here.

Another Harry Potter retroactive similarity that is sure to come up (since I reference the event in some of the new stories I am plotting) is the moment when Megaton Man swallows the Cosmic Cue-Ball in Megaton Man #9 (Kitchen Sink Press, April 1986). This is a crucial moment, since it ultimately results in Megaton Man losing his powers and becoming an ordinary Civilian (see Return of Megaton Man #1-3). I explore this complication further in some of the new material I'm writing, but that's all I'll say for now.

Megaton Man swallows the Cosmic Cue-Ball, Billiard of Great Power, in Megaton Man #9 (1986). Characters and concepts are ™ and © Don Simpson 2018, all rights reserved.

So, just for the record, let me recall that sphere swallowing scene from 1986, of which no doubt future fans will accuse me of mimicking the moment when Harry Potter swallows the Golden Snitch in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's [Philosopher's] Stone, 1997. Okay, I confess!

Many have perished in pursuit of the Orb of Omnipotence, including Dr. Braindead (from Megaton Man #9, 1986). Characters and concepts are ™ and © Don Simpson 2018, all rights reserved.

I've written elsewhere about having come to and read Harry Potter only belatedly, although I've yet to adequately confess how much I love those books (and films and world), and how much I've learned from them from other writers in the burgeoning "YA" genre (whether it's a genre, movement, or just a marketing label that's overused).

So let me just stipulate now, for the record, I used the Time Turntable/Turner to jump ahead to the future and rip off all my ideas from Ms. Jo Rowling! -- Don Simpson, 2018.

Okay, So I Ripped Off J.K. Rowling: It's Table-Turning Time!

The "Time Turner," a time-traveling device that figures so prominently in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999) and the current Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, was the obvious inspiration for the "Time Turntable," a contraption that first appeared in Megaton Man #1 (1984) and later used as a dimension-hopping device for the Man of Molecules in The Savage Dragon vs. The Savage Megaton Man #1 (1993), admits satirist Don Simpson.

The first appearance of the Time Turntable: Megaton Man #1 (Kitchen Sink Press, December 1984), by Don Simpson.

"Fans are totally right," the cartoonist confesses. "I traveled fifteen years into the future and swiped the idea for the Time Turntable from Jo Rowling, just as I swiped the idea for Megaton Man from Ben Edlund's The Tick -- two or three years ahead of time. No detail is too insignificant to escape the notice of discerning comic book fans!"

Megaton Man uses the Time Turntable to hop dimensions over to the Image Universe in The Savage Dragon vs. The Savage Megaton Man #1 (Image Comics, 1993) by Erik Larsen and Don Simpson.

Despite the discovery of Simpson's blatant "homage," the creator reveals that the Time Turntable still figures prominently in the just-complete Megaton Man graphic novel, Return to Megatropolis, and will play a significant role in the new prose work-in-progress, Megaton Meltdown. "I expect the chronology police to be on my tail even more when I introduce the Time Turnstyle into the narrative," says the cartoonist.

No timetable for publication was divulged.

(Just kidding, JKR fans! See what Don Simpson really thinks of HP and the wonderfully inventive, brilliantly orchestrated Prisoner of Azkaban here!)

See also: Alan Moore Ripped Me Off! | I Ripped Off Alan Moore!