MEETING MADMAN
Around fifteen years ago my comic shop of choice was Superior Comics located in the heart of Santa Monica, mere blocks away from home. While it's defunct now it was a fantastic store, supporting everything from the biggest superhero books to the smallest, self-made indie comix. At the time I was purely a superhero addict. I had never ventured much farther than The Big Three. With the lone exception of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, all my comics were full-color with page after page of city smashing brawls and reality altering wars.
Then one day I found a new superhero. Well, what I thought was a superhero anyway. On the new release rack that week a book with a guy who appeared to be part of the regular Long Underwear Club. However, I cracked the book and found out I was dead wrong.
Madman was not an ordinary superhero.
I thought the first Madman mini-series was really bizarre. His costume was deceptive, this book was entirely different from any other I had read. First, once again besides the aforementioned teenage turtles, it was black and white. In my eyes superheroes never came in black and white. They certainly didn't use yo-yos as their primary weapon. Then, most of all, the guy ATE SOMEONE'S EYEBALL. I put that in Caps to stress just how much that one scene blew my young mind. The most violent I had ever seen a costume avenger get was in Dark Knight Returns and even that was tame in comparison. However, even that wasn't surprised me most.
Immediately after the gruesome act Frank, as in Madman's alter ego Frank Einstein, regretted it and fell into a bout of semi-existentialist self doubt. He felt stupid for trying to look tough and going so over the top.
This wasn't like anything I had ever read.
At this point, I became an addict and couldn't get enough.
The book transformed in the second, full-color series. What once read, as I realized later on in life, a black and white art house adventure movie transformed into a pop art adventure involving robots, time travel, dinosaurs and alien encounters. While it was very different Mike was able to make the evolution natural. This continues in the rest of the run, but it's a thrill to see Mike figure out the series with each panel, starting off great but shaky, perhaps even unsure then changing into what's become one of the most revered creator owned books on the market.
If you haven't read the first two Madman mini-series you can do so today as we've put them together under one big cover. Just ask your retailer for JUN071892 MADMAN VOL. 1 TP, the first of three tradepaperbacks which will cover the entire run of the series before MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS began. In addition, definitely be sure to grab JUL071933 MADMAN AND THE ATOMICS TP, the compilation of the entire ATOMICS mini-series which featured Frank Einstein in every single issue.
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