Megaton Man vol. 1 – The World’s Most Bombastic Hero!
Kitchen Sink Press
Created by: Don Simpson
Writer: Don Simpson
Pencilers: Don Simpson
Reviewer: Derrick T. Crow
Summary: Meet Donald Simpson’s Megaton Man – America’s only nuclear-powered superhero! He’s got a manly jaw. He’s got powerful muscles. He can fly. And… he’s got a teeny-tiny brain! For hard-hitting, hilarious parody and satire, it’s Donald Simpson’s Megaton Man, volume 1!
Review: You know, after reading this, I would totally understand if someone with better knowledge than I came up to me and said this book was the inspiration for The Tick. Appearing just 2 whole years before the manly jawed, powerful muscled, named after a gross bug other satirical hero with a teeny-tiny brain; Megaton Man features the same exact kind of shenanigans I would expect to see in a slightly raunchier Tick adventure series. And while the Tick is definitely something I can compare this too, I refuse to consider this being Tick 2.0 or just another variation of sorts. This came first, and so I must treat it as such. Also I just enjoy both heroes for separate reasons: Megaton Man is more of a superman parody, and the Tick is just that, the Tick to me.
Megaton Man appeared on the scene of comics in 1984, and I recently picked up this trade that collects the first 4 oversized issues for about $3 in a used comic bin. I was originally drawn to it by the appearance of the Silver Server, which is featured on the back cover – a parody of the Silver Surfer, my favorite comic book character – but when I really got into the story it sucked me in as a wildly fantastical ride through old 70s and 80s comics that I hadn’t read in quite a while. This series, whether Don Simpson meant to or not, really put the fun back in comics for me; that sort of fun whether literally anything can happen and you just got to role with it. To me, comics have gotten pretty dang serious in the last decade and while I love me a good, deep, serious story, once in a while I just love seeing my favorite characters interact with one another in a fun, spacy romp that doesn’t always make a lick of sense.
In the foreward by William Messner-Loebs, he says: “If a satirist isn’t metaphorically willing to pour gasoline on the fire consuming the home of his enemy and to laugh maniacally in triumph as the flames roar up to consume him as well – what good is he anyways?” This is the definite foreshadowing for the entirety of Megaton Man, as Don Simpson doesn’t just lightly poke fun at certain things here and there in the mainstream comics of the day, but he pours it on and on and tackles as many dang concepts and ideas as he can think up at one time. Example, Megaton Man’s origins features being the last of a dying world, being bitten by a mutant frog, suddenly getting caught in a space-time continuum blast AND downing top secret premium soldier syrup… among others! It’s absurd! And yet totally wonderful. Even Megaton Man’s entourage of supporting cast feature a rompy break down of the Fantastic Four in the Megatropolis Quartet. One of the members being, I kid you not, the See-Thru Girl with the ability to turn herself naked at will.
Now, as much as I am gushing at this book, I have to admit it probably isn’t for everyone. To once again compare it to the Tick, and just going off the fact that I’ve only ever seen the Tick animated series, this comic is sort of the slightly more adult version of the Tick. If you want to get your kids in on the fun with this one, I don’t really suggest it. Instead go watch the Tick with them, or even Freakazoid. Save this one for yourself when you want to laugh at some adult humor in childish, crude situations about the crazy, zany life of being a superhero.
The art is very cartoony, and not consistent all the time. I’m not exactly sure if the inconsistency in art is purposeful, but it gets a bit jarring and confusing to read at times. I like the cartooniness of it all, but the busyness and inconsistencies make this sometimes a difficult read. So set aside an evening perhaps for this one. Each issue tells about 4 stories in one, which is great. I can’t remember the last time I read a comic where I got not only a full story, but up to FOUR in one issue at least. And they all, in some way or another, connect to each other and the overall main narrative of adventure. Nowadays you get lucky if an issue of a comic has a third of a story in it it feels like.
Really though, this isn’t a book that is meant to be taken seriously. It’s just a lot of fun, and there’s a lot to love here. You can tell that, for all intents and purposes, Mr. Simpson really loves comics and all the fun stuff that can come from them. In fact in the foreword he’s mentioned as having been working at DC Comics by the time he started this book, but I’m not at all sure what he worked on. I recommend this book, if you can find it. It shouldn’t be too hard. And there’s even more adventures out there to be had of this character as Megaton Man, if I remember correctly, now resides at Image Comics in the main shared universe created by Todd Mcfarlane, Eric Larsen and company. “Woo!” – Megaton Man
Final Score: 4 Peeks at the See-Thru Girl out of 5 (because by the 5th time, you’ve been noticed and thrown out of a window)
Kitchen Sink Press
Created by: Don Simpson
Writer: Don Simpson
Pencilers: Don Simpson
Reviewer: Derrick T. Crow
Summary: Meet Donald Simpson’s Megaton Man – America’s only nuclear-powered superhero! He’s got a manly jaw. He’s got powerful muscles. He can fly. And… he’s got a teeny-tiny brain! For hard-hitting, hilarious parody and satire, it’s Donald Simpson’s Megaton Man, volume 1!
Review: You know, after reading this, I would totally understand if someone with better knowledge than I came up to me and said this book was the inspiration for The Tick. Appearing just 2 whole years before the manly jawed, powerful muscled, named after a gross bug other satirical hero with a teeny-tiny brain; Megaton Man features the same exact kind of shenanigans I would expect to see in a slightly raunchier Tick adventure series. And while the Tick is definitely something I can compare this too, I refuse to consider this being Tick 2.0 or just another variation of sorts. This came first, and so I must treat it as such. Also I just enjoy both heroes for separate reasons: Megaton Man is more of a superman parody, and the Tick is just that, the Tick to me.
Megaton Man appeared on the scene of comics in 1984, and I recently picked up this trade that collects the first 4 oversized issues for about $3 in a used comic bin. I was originally drawn to it by the appearance of the Silver Server, which is featured on the back cover – a parody of the Silver Surfer, my favorite comic book character – but when I really got into the story it sucked me in as a wildly fantastical ride through old 70s and 80s comics that I hadn’t read in quite a while. This series, whether Don Simpson meant to or not, really put the fun back in comics for me; that sort of fun whether literally anything can happen and you just got to role with it. To me, comics have gotten pretty dang serious in the last decade and while I love me a good, deep, serious story, once in a while I just love seeing my favorite characters interact with one another in a fun, spacy romp that doesn’t always make a lick of sense.
In the foreward by William Messner-Loebs, he says: “If a satirist isn’t metaphorically willing to pour gasoline on the fire consuming the home of his enemy and to laugh maniacally in triumph as the flames roar up to consume him as well – what good is he anyways?” This is the definite foreshadowing for the entirety of Megaton Man, as Don Simpson doesn’t just lightly poke fun at certain things here and there in the mainstream comics of the day, but he pours it on and on and tackles as many dang concepts and ideas as he can think up at one time. Example, Megaton Man’s origins features being the last of a dying world, being bitten by a mutant frog, suddenly getting caught in a space-time continuum blast AND downing top secret premium soldier syrup… among others! It’s absurd! And yet totally wonderful. Even Megaton Man’s entourage of supporting cast feature a rompy break down of the Fantastic Four in the Megatropolis Quartet. One of the members being, I kid you not, the See-Thru Girl with the ability to turn herself naked at will.
Now, as much as I am gushing at this book, I have to admit it probably isn’t for everyone. To once again compare it to the Tick, and just going off the fact that I’ve only ever seen the Tick animated series, this comic is sort of the slightly more adult version of the Tick. If you want to get your kids in on the fun with this one, I don’t really suggest it. Instead go watch the Tick with them, or even Freakazoid. Save this one for yourself when you want to laugh at some adult humor in childish, crude situations about the crazy, zany life of being a superhero.
The art is very cartoony, and not consistent all the time. I’m not exactly sure if the inconsistency in art is purposeful, but it gets a bit jarring and confusing to read at times. I like the cartooniness of it all, but the busyness and inconsistencies make this sometimes a difficult read. So set aside an evening perhaps for this one. Each issue tells about 4 stories in one, which is great. I can’t remember the last time I read a comic where I got not only a full story, but up to FOUR in one issue at least. And they all, in some way or another, connect to each other and the overall main narrative of adventure. Nowadays you get lucky if an issue of a comic has a third of a story in it it feels like.
Really though, this isn’t a book that is meant to be taken seriously. It’s just a lot of fun, and there’s a lot to love here. You can tell that, for all intents and purposes, Mr. Simpson really loves comics and all the fun stuff that can come from them. In fact in the foreword he’s mentioned as having been working at DC Comics by the time he started this book, but I’m not at all sure what he worked on. I recommend this book, if you can find it. It shouldn’t be too hard. And there’s even more adventures out there to be had of this character as Megaton Man, if I remember correctly, now resides at Image Comics in the main shared universe created by Todd Mcfarlane, Eric Larsen and company. “Woo!” – Megaton Man
Final Score: 4 Peeks at the See-Thru Girl out of 5 (because by the 5th time, you’ve been noticed and thrown out of a window)