Complete Megaton Man Interviews and Podcasts

There's been a flurry of promotional interviews and a podcast or two in relation to The Complete Megaton Man Volume I: The 1980s, which collects all the Kitchen Sink Megaton Man titles (series, mini-series, and one-shots) into a single 608-page volume (Volume II will collect the 1990s Fiasco Comics Bizarre Heroes). While the immediate hype was for a Zoop crowdfunder for the exclusive hardcover edition of Volume I (which has now closed), the book is just going to press, and there will also be a softcover edition released through Fantagraphics' usual distribution channels (bookstores and local comics shops).

Here are links to the interviews and podcasts:

https://fanbasepress.com/press/interviews/comics/item/55926-fanbase-press-interviews-don-simpson-on-the-launch-of-a-zoop-crowdfunding-campaign-for-megaton-man-the-complete-megaton-man-universe-volume-one-the-1980s-with-fantagraphics/

https://majorspoilers.com/2024/11/17/waynes-comics-podcast-667-interviews-with-steve-mcgarry-rick-stromoski-and-don-simpson/

https://awesomecomics.podbean.com/e/episode-491-talking-about-a-megaton-of-comic-goodness/

https://www.comicbookyeti.com/post/reflections-from-don-simpson-on-the-first-megaton-man-collection

https://comicbookclublive.com/2024/11/12/don-simpson-megaton-man-zoop-interview/

From the Editor's Desk: Dave Schreiner and Megaton Man

Reproduced here is a two-page letter dated February 13, 1987 from Dave Schreiner (1946-2003), offering his assessment of the Megaton Man cast of characters. Dave was the editor at Kitchen Sink Press from 1983 to 1993, and was particularly crucial as a sounding board for me on Border Worlds (1985-1987); I've often said the recaps he wrote of the previous issues where more coherent than my comics. In this document, Dave is responding to a plot outline I sent to him (it may be this one or an even briefer synopsis of Megaton Man #11 and other comic book ideas I was cooking up at the time).

Megaton Man Minus the Dragon! File Photocopies

 These are some of the file photocopies of my portion of the art and lettering from The Savage Dragon vs. The Savage Megaton Man (Image Comics, March 1993) before finishing by Erik Larsen and letterer Chris Eliopoulos (although some of the layouts here were started by them). I will leave it to the discerning art lover as to which layouts were mine and which were Erik's; we each did a dozen in the book and the other guy added their characters, lettering, and backgrounds. But it should be obvious as Erik has a distinctive sense of layout, storytelling, and body language to his figures (although I was trying my best to "Image it up"). Looking back, it's shameful the way I ballooned Megaton Man's proportions, almost to Giant Man-size, but I hadn't at that point had much experience drawing the Man of Molecules interacting with more "realistic" superheroes (although Erik later beefed up the Dragon considerably as a response). This is probably as close as you'll get to a second printing of this fan-favorite story, so enjoy!

A Lost Megaton Man Story from Before #1!

I drew this six-page Megaton Man story (scroll down for images) in 1983, before embarking on Megaton Man #1. It was something of a trial balloon for the character and an effort to reconcile all the myriad impulses and influences I was experiencing at the time.

Kiss Me, Deadly: A Retro Reject Returns!

This is a cover concept I had that went unfinished for a number of years. It dates from probably the early 2000s, and I was apparently pondering taking the Megaton Man Weekly Serial strips and collecting them into a print comic (newsflash: print has been a problematic prospect since the late 1990s!). For whatever reason, I inked only the Megaton Man and moll figures and completed the lettering at the time; I left the generic bad guys on the periphery uninked until just recently.

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.

"Stella's Story": The First-Person Narrator in Megaton Man #5

It had completely slipped my mind until now, but I realize I did an unusual thing for the fifth issue of Megaton Man (Kitchen Sink Press, August 1985): I told the story entirely from Stella Starlight's point of view. Throughout the issue (except for "George Has a Gun," a "back-up feature that features Stella but takes a more objective view of her and her affair with Martian Anton Drek - yes, you read that right), we see events, including flashbacks, from her perspective.

Megaton My Day: Some Fall Break 2018 Sketches!

I'm busy grading papers, but I took some time out to let off some steam with these sketches - mostly to remind my new, improved left-brained self that I can still draw! Sketches are in light blue Col-Erase and graphite pencil with Sharpie liner pen colored in Photoshop.

Hembeck's Man of Molecules and the Boys of 'Summer'!

Fred G. Hembeck has been a presence in the comic book industry since the 1970s, when his distinctive interpretations of every single character ever created began appearing in fan publications and trade journals like the Comics Buyer's Guide and Amazing Heroes - he also destroyed the Marvel Universe, as I recall!

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.

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!

Plot, Script, Comic: Megaton Man #11 Complete!

Maybe the earliest surviving example of my evolving working method is the plot and partial script of Megaton Man #11 (published as The Return of Megaton Man #1 in July 1988 only after a needlessly bruising exchange with my publisher), dating from January 1987 (thirty years ago).

In the first ten issues of the series, I worked more or less in a "Marvel method," based on the way it was imagined Stan Lee worked with his artists: developing a loose plot, then breakdowns of pencils, then final script.

Back and front covers to Return of Megaton Man #1 (Kitchen Sink Press, July 1988)

After my own fashion, and after experimenting wildly with Border Worlds (which seemed to veer wildly between writing the script first one issue then working out the visuals first the next), I settled on a plot-script routine that was still very much homemade and ad hoc.

As noted on the typescript, the plot envisioned a single 64-page issue. This material was subsequently expanded into three 24-page issues, which I envisioned as Megaton Man #11, #12, and #13.

Between the plotting stage and the scripting stage, I seem to have either created thumbnail sketches of the page layouts, or actually sketched out the panels roughly (called "breakdowns") on the pages of Bristol board themselves. This seems likely because the typewritten script features only dialogue, with no scene summaries or descriptions (or even directions such as "close-up," "long shot," etc.).

 

 

At this point (page 14), the script ends. The remainder may be lost, or I may have never typed one. It is entirely possible that I may have just written the dialogue directly on the art boards. By the end of the issue, I may have felt "warmed up" enough to wing it. Or not!

One hand-written fragment of script remains, the big entrance of Yarn Man and Kozmik Kat, who arrive in Ann Arbor as a curtain-closer for the issue. It was written on plain bond (typewriting paper), like the rest of the plot and script, but appears to have been hand-trimmed with scissors.

No other script fragment remains. (Note: the white-on-black Spirit T-shirt design on the inside back cover was suggested by me. It was from a Spirit page reproduced in Jim Steranko's History of Comics, Volume II.)

What is evident about these materials is that they clearly demonstrate that I took the time away from Megaton Man to totally rethink the strip, in the hopes of putting any ongoing narrative on a more sound footing. The emphasis on character over action (or slapstick humor), and on a rational basis for the unfolding events, speaks for itself. This makes the publisher's characterization of my hiatus from the strip as a betrayal that deserved punishment, instead of a necessary creative recharge, all the more sad and demoralizing.

The Return of Megaton Man mini-series ran three issues. In the following installment, Megaton Man Meets the Uncategorizable X+Thems #1, I seem to have used a completely different method, breaking down the story in half-size thumbnail sketches I enlarged on a photocopier, light-tabled (traced) onto Bristol board, lettered, and inked. I will scan those soon and post here!

Thank you for enjoying the Megaton Man blog!

Read also: "Whatever Happened to Megaton Man #11?"

_____

An all-new YA prose novel - new chapter every week: The Ms. Megaton Man Maxi-Series!

 

Bad Guy and the Gamble Universe!

One of the more interesting character odysseys in the Megaverse has been that of Bart Gamble, the all-purpose villain known as Bad Guy! Quickly evolving into a combination of Marvel's Kingpin, a notorious New York real-estate developer, and a generic gangster, Bad Guy has bedeviled the Man of Molecules in fight scenes, land grabs, underworld schemes, android takeovers, comics publishing, and other evildoings! You name it -- Bad Guy is probably behind it.

Bad Guy first appeared without origin or secret identity in a two-page fight scene that turned into a dream sequence involving World War III in Megaton Man #3 (Kitchen Sink Press, April 1985).

The opening splash page for Megaton Man #3, wonderfully colored by Ray Fehrenbach.

Batholomew Gamble (named, finally) next appeared in Megaton Man #6 (October 1985), having “served nearly five years of [his] ten-lifetime sentence—for countless murders, robberies hijacks, and world takeover attempts as the Mega-criminal Bad Guy.” He is dressed as inmate #613123 at Megatropolis State Penitentiary.

Spread from Megaton Man #6.

Because he was a “model inmate,” he was forgiven “seven-eighths lifetimes” of his sentence. He recalls his last battle with Megaton Man in Radioactive Tales #326 as a “Fiasco.”

Gamble is described by the liberal bleeding-heart Green Mellow thus: “Bad Guy has had a very lucrative career in crime… he’s managed to sock a lot dough away in investments in all sorts of capitalist enterprises. He plans to tear down this entire neighborhood to build a munitions plant to handle big Pentagon contracts! Churches, homes, schools, businesses…a whole world swept away for the sake of corporate tax write-offs and weapons in outer space!” (page 4).

In the following issue (#7, December 1985), Bad Guy appears in a limousine with another elegant gal, apparently a real-estate developer and arms merchant, tied in with the nefarious Arms of Krupp. (At the time, a certain New York real-estate developer was beginning to make headlines--wonder whatever became of him?)

Spread from Megaton Man #7.

He appears only in civilian clothes until his next appearance (Megaton Man #9, April 1986), when he has been drafted to become the "Presidential Hero" Good Guy at the landing of the Partyers from Mars in Central Park.

Tier from Megaton Man #9.

After flattening Manhattan in a fight scene in Megaton Man #10 (June 1986), Bad Guy is raptured into heaven by Mars, God of War while Megaton Man loses his powers, becoming Civilian Trent Phloog. It is promised that a "parody" of a certain New York real-estate developer will rebuild Manhattan.

From Megaton Man #10.

When next they meet (Return of Megaton Man #2, August 1988), Megaton Man learns that he is under contract to Bad Guy and the Gamble Comics Corporation, and a bullpen of insufferable, self-indulgent, pretentious creators!

From Return of Megaton Man #2.

In Return of Megaton Man #3 (September 1988), a labor revolt ensues, led by a writer (who will much later in the Megaton Man narrative be identified as Bad Guy's son Paul Nabisco, creator of Gower Goose).

From Return of Megaton Man #3.

From Return of Megaton Man #3.

After another thrashing, Bad Guy again decides to retire from Megavillainy, but not before signing the Original Golden Age Megaton Man to a binding contract.

From Return of Megaton Man #3.

Bad Guy teams the revamped Original Golden Age Megaton Man with the Uncategorizable X+Thems in Megaton Man vs. the Uncategorizable X+Thems #1 (April 1989). When that team falls apart, Bad Guy introduces a juiced-up Yarn Man teamed up with the Y+Thems.

Bad Guy continued to bedevil Megaton Man (and Paul Nabisco and Gower Goose) in the Megaton Man Weekly Serial (from the late 1990s) and subsequent adventures as the leader of an army of android replicas, including that of the See-Thru Girl. He continues to play a role in current Megaton Man continuity that is being prepared for publication, including The Return to Megatropolis graphic novel. Who knows? With his background in New York real estate, he may even make a bid for the White House! See other posts on this blog for the further exploits of Bart Gamble!

Read the Secret Origin of Ms. Megaton Man!

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!

Completing the Concordance: Frenzied and Fanatical Footnoting for Megaton Man!

The Simpson Scholarship of Steve Replogle
 

Megaton Man completist Steve Replogle recently contacted me requesting information on compiling a complete and exhaustive list of every single Megaton Man comic book appearance of the past three decades, so as to organize his own collection. Then he proceeded to compile his own concordance! Herewith are Steve's labors so far, cut and pasted from actual emails! Can you help Steve (and me) with any missing data?! Comment below so that the Complete and Exhaustive List of Megaton Man Comic Book Appearance can live forever online! -- Don Simpson.

________

Dear Don,

I was lucky enough to be have the very first Megaton Man issue recommended to me by my comic shop guy, lo those many moons ago - and I continue to be a great fan of your work. I am very excited to see your new Border Worlds and Megaton Man material come to fruition.

In anticipation, I have begun currently reorganizing my collection. Sooooo.... I am wondering if there a listing or concordance of the various Megaton Man/Fiascoverse titles, giving their proper and correct order. Is it mostly chronological? I will refer to each comic's indicia, of course, and maybe also use comicbookdb.com - if you think that is correct. Just wondering if there are other resources out there.

Thanks, and bets of luck -

Steve Replogle

Steve Replogle

Hey Don,

I have found the information I was looking for, mostly from your blog. This is what I have:

1. Megaton Man (Kitchen Sink, November 1984-June 1986), 10 issues

2. The Return of Megaton Man (Kitchen Sink, July-September 1988), 3 issues

3. Megaton Man Meets the Uncategorizable X+Thems #1 (Kitchen Sink, April 1989)

4. Yarn Man #1 (Kitchen Sink, October 1989)

5. Bizarre Heroes #1 (Kitchen Sink, May 1990)

6. Pteranoman #1 (Kitchen Sink, August 1990)

7. The Savage Dragon vs. The Savage Megaton Man #1 (Image, March 1993)

8. The normalman/Megaton Man Special (Image, June 1994)

9. Don Simpson's Bizarre Heroes #0–8 (Fiasco Comics, May-December 1994) and then Bizarre Heroes #9–17 (Fiasco Comics, February 1995-July, 1996) The final two issues (#16 and #17) are alternately titled Megaton Man vs. Forbidden Frankenstein #1 and Megaton Man #0

10. Megaton Man: Hardcopy #1 & 2 (Image, 1999)

11. Megaton Man: Bombshell #1 (Image, 1999)

Further appearances:
Megaton Man Daily Reruns (some episodes reprinted or repurposed into Hardcopy and Bombshell)
Asylum (reprinted and purposed)
Megaton Man blog: The Atomic Aftermath (and more)
Red Anvil Comics' War of the Independents #1 (2013) and #4 (2014)

CBLDF Liberty Annual 2010 ("Megaton Man and the Liberty Alliance in: ''Columbia Rising!''")

And there have been other cameo appearances, too - I think I remember a cameo in 1963 #6.

Well, it will take me a while to catalog or properly list or weed through the "further appearances." In the meantime, thanks!

Hi Steve,

Yes, I think except for a few stray pin-ups and previews (Spirit #7), you have the main works. The Weekly Serials that weren't reprinted in the three Image issues (Hardcopy and Bombshell) ran in the Savage Dragon, something like the #50s through the #80s. Toward the end I skipped a few issues here and there.

I've been working on more so save some space in your collection.

Thanks for this list; I should probably post it, if you don't mind.

Best,

Don

Hi again, Don -

Here as promised (or kind of promised) are the rest of my notes on Megaton Man's publishing history. As you'll see, there are lots of gaps and missing bits. Maybe this will help you, or maybe you already have your own much-more-complete chronology somewhere. I hope so.

I guess I am showing my own regressive Marvel genes by sifting through this information with such fan-boy enthusiasm! It takes me back to the days when I was trying to figure out what happened before (and after) Captain America guest-starred in Daredevil #43. Your Fiascoverse is really fun in this way, with all the various #1 issues, crossovers, back-up appearances, and online episodes.

Well, if you do have your own "master list," I'd love to see it! But not as much as the new Megaton Man pages you're working on - that's the real stuff.

Best wishes,

Steve

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Further Frenzied and Fanatical Footnoting for Megaton Man

The Megaton Man Weekly Serial is now only available as "Don Simpson's Megaton Man Daily Reruns" at http://www.worldfamouscomics.com/megatonman. It offers an Archives page that lists episodes 1 - 103 with titles, but not later episodes.

Publication dates given below are from the Comicbookdb.com.

1. Hardcopy #1, February 1999
Contains online episodes 1 - 55

2. Hardcopy #2, April 1999 
Pages 1 - 9: online episodes 56 - 71
Pages 10 - 12: three new (or possibly new?) pages related to Gower Goose's radio show
Pages 13 - 22a: online episodes 72 - 89
Pages 22b - 28: new episodes (or at least not listed in the current "Daily Reruns" archive)

3. Bombshell #1, July 1999
All new episodes (or at least, these are not listed in the current "Daily Reruns" archive)

4. Savage Dragon Back-ups (Erik Larsen, Image Comics)
Comicbookdb.com  lists the following issues of Savage Dragon as having Megaton Man back-ups: 52, 54, 55, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 73, 80, 86, 87. But wait! This incorrectly excludes at least some Megaton Man appearances. I know for sure that it's missing at least SD 56, 76, 77, 78, 79.

I've verified a few of the episode numbers for the back-ups listed below, but most are not listed at "Daily Reruns" archive. I haven't found any online resources either, so I just had to go by what I found after poking around at my local comic shop! Oh, the irony! Anyway, that's how I also found out the CBDB had made some mistakes.

Finally, I've added the "next issue tag lines" given at the end (or fourth episode) of almost every SD excerpt I could find, because it seems that may be related to the title of the one of the next issue's episodes.

Okay, then...

(Possibly SD 49 or 51?) (Episodes 90 - 93... or are these possibly not reprinted anywhere?)
SD 52, August 1998 - (presumably episodes 94, 95, 96, 97?)
SD 54, October 1998 - (presumably episodes 98, 99, 100, 101?)
SD 55, November 1998 - Episodes 102, 103 (and presumably 104, 105?)
SD 56, December 1998 - not noted by CBDB, but verified at my local comic shop!
SD 58, February 1999 
SD 60, April 1999
SD 61, May 1999 
SD 62, June 1999 
SD 63, June 1999 
SD 64, July 1999 
SD 65, August 1999 - (Next issue tag: Batter Up!)
SD 66, August 1999 
SD 67, September 1999 
SD 73, March 2000 
SD 76, June 2000 - this issue not noted by CBDB
SD 77, July 2000 - (Next issue tag: Bombs Away!) - this issue not noted by CBDB
SD 78, August 2000 - (Next issue tag: Wings of Desire) - this issue not noted by CBDB
SD 79, September 2000 - (Next issue tag: The Ol' Switcheroo!) - this issue not noted by CBDB
SD 80, October 2000 - (Next issue tag: Unmasked, Unleashed!)
SD 86, April 2001 - (Next issue tag : Megs Cops Out)
SD 87, May 2001 - ?

5. Asylum
(These excerpts re-present material from Megaton Man: Bombshell #1)
Issue #7 (August 1996)  - "Megaton Man vs. Unleash"
Issue #8 (September 1996) - "Megaton Man vs. Bombshell" 
Issue #11 (Jan/Feb 1997) - "After Megaton Man"

6. The CBLDF Presents Liberty Annual, October 2010
Megaton Man and the Liberty Alliance in: ''Columbia Rising!''

7. One-Pagers
These were originally printed in "Hero, Illustrated," a magazine about comics . I'm not sure how many MM appearances there were, but three were reprinted in "The Apocalypse Affliction."
A. The Blue Web
B. YarnBlood
C. No title (MM relaxing by the pool with Stella and Yarn Man)
__________
Anyone with further info, please comment! I'm too busy writing new stuff! Best, Don.

_____

An all-new YA prose novel - new chapter every week: The Ms. Megaton Man Maxi-Series!

Red Alert: Coloring the Return to Megatropolis Graphic Novel

Preview of the Megaton Man: Return to Megatropolis graphic novel, conceived as five "issues" but planning to release it as a single 160-page book, I have been working on issues #4 and #5 in recent blog posts.

This particular page is from earlier in the book, #2 which I began around 2005, but put aside when industry insiders reacted badly to the 9/11 theme, and didn't ink until 2014. (What did I do in the intervening decade? Long story.)

This page reflects the coloring style I am considering for the graphic novel: flat, bold, with some subtle modulations or "glazing." It recalls the Atlas (Marvel) monster comics (Fing Fang Foom, et al), which was in fact one of the models for the coloring of the early Megaton Man comics at Kitchen Sink Press (colored by Pete and Bill Poplaski and Ray Fehrenbach). While those overlay-cut comics were severely limited in color choices, Photoshop allows for an unlimited range of colors, although I do want to keep them flat. I call it "reinvented retro," and in any case would like to avoid the overly modeled look of airbrushed Photoshop that smothers so much drawing in comics these days. Comments?

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!