Don Simpson's Megaton Man Volume 1

by Don Simpson

Collecting the orignal Megaton Man series of the 1980s, an early superhero satire. Armed with a highly developed sense of justice, superhumanly developed biceps, and a brain the size of a pea, Megaton Man strides through thte city determined to bring evildoers to task-regardless of the chaos he causes. With an introduction by Al Franken.

Genres: Comics, Surreal, Graphic Novels, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1990

About the author

Donald E. Simpson is a Writer-Artist-Teacher-Learner and the Cartoonist-Creator of the graphic novel Megaton Man™ as well as the comic series Border Worlds™ and Bizarre Heroes™.
Under the pseudonym Anton Drek, he created Wendy Whitebread and Forbidden Frankenstein. During the ‘80s and ‘90s, Simpson cartooned for almost every major and independent comic book publisher including Marvel, DC, Image, and Archie. He has more recently published his works with Fantagraphics. In 2013, Simpson earned a PhD in art and architectural history from the University of Pittsburgh. In 2023, he finally paid off his student loans without any government forgiveness.

Reviews

[Newly Wardell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay so superheroes, right? I mean can no one make this genre funny? This looks like a task for DON SIMPSON. In a world where people line up to masticate Stan Lee's wrinkly nuts, one man and only one man, strikes a blow for humorists everywhere. Armed with premise so close to what its parodying there were acres of cease and desist orders littering the faceless side of Mount Rushmore, Don Simpson has struck a blow for comedy. Is the story the most original heck no, but that's the point. (The illustrations are top notch.) It's funny or as funny as a graphic novel written in the 80s parodying a lesser know bunch of heroes can be. Does it stand up to the test of time? Not remotely, but if you are familiar with the quad squad and a certain super someone, this should make you smile.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don Simpson's groovy artwork recalls prime-period MAD Magazine and prefigures the Maxx (while bearing at least a passing resemblance to Dave Sim's Cerebus). Megaton Man isn't exactly a cult classic--the jokes are only occasionally funny and the narrative structure is weak--but it's a shame Simpson (who is now a Ph.D. student at Pitt) missed out on the kind of screw-you money that Tick creator Ben Edlund made.

[Arpad Okay · Rating 4 out of 5]

One word: WOO!

[J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. At it's best, this is a campy parody of '80s Marvel comics. Unfortunately, it spends most of its time caught up in the very thing it's trying to parody.

[Bryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this has not aged well at all.