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Written and drawn by Don Simpson,Megaton Man first appeared in 1984. Published by various companies it was one of the earliest of the 80s parodies of the superhero tropes. Sadly the series got over-shadowed by The Tick. Simpson has tried many times to bring it back. But these revivals never last long. Simpson has long stated he thinks Ben Edlund stole the basic idea of Megaton Man and slightly changed it with the Tick. And I can see why he might think that. They have many similarities. As far as I know there is no trades or hardcovers reprinting the various series. But I do see the issues in the cheap bins fairly often. If you like the Tick or just comedy/parody comics this is one to track down.
Created by Max Collins and Terry Beatty,Ms Tree first appeared in the early 80s. Not too long after her first appearance she got a long running series that was mostly published by Renegade comics. Michael Tree is a female PI. Who not too long after getting married her husband is killed by the mob. It wasn't until this past spring that I got into Ms. Tree. I had heard of the series for years. Then at a con I got close to 30 issues for around a quarter an issue. Most issues have two chapters of the current storyline. Then at least one or sometimes two 2 or 3 page short mysteries. This series became known for tackling controversial issues. And you can see how Frank Miller and Brian Michael Bendis were influenced by it with their film noir/mystery/crime comics of the 90s.
Created,written and drawn by the highly under-rated Rick Veitch,this early 90s mini series was fairly controversial when it came out. But over the years it seems to have been forgotten. Veitch took the concept of teenage sidekicks and went to a very dark place. For years various articles had been published speculating on a possible homosexual relationship between Batman and Robin. Well in Brat Pack Veitch addresses that. With the Batman analog Midnight Mink and his sidekick Chippy. This along with Maximortal was suppose to be the first 2 parts of a 4 part series of interlocking mini series from Rick Veitch. As of 2013 the other 2 parts have not been published. But if you loved Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns this is a series to check out.
TIE
This 6 issue mini series is the best thing to come out of the first 4 years of Image comics. Written by Alan Moore. 1963 was a homage and a parody of the silver age of comics. With each issue focusing on 1 or 2 heroes or teams. You had the Fantastic Four like Mystery Inc,the Spider-Manish Fury and others. Each issue was made to be a stand alone read. But if you read all 6 you could see there was a underlying plot. Which was suppose to be wrapped up in the never published 1963 annual. I have heard many stories and lots of speculation as to why the annual never came out. And now Alan Moore and another of the creators of this great unsung gem have had a falling out. So the chances of this getting reprinted as a trade or a hardcover are very slim. But thankfully this series came out in the early 90s boom so finding the issues cheap won't be a problem.
2.Squadron Supreme
Starting in the summer of 1985 this was a 12 issue mini series. Where Mark Grunwald took Marvel's JLA parody and got dead serious. The last time the Squadron had appeared their world was devastated.So they took over the USA and set about a plan to create a Utopia. And over the course of the series we how a Utopia will never work. To me this is as good if not better than the much better known 12 issue mini series Watchmen. And I wouldn't be surprised if Alan Moore didn't read this and become inspired. I have seen how over the past decade this series is finally slowly starting to get some of the praise it has deserved.
In 1982 Alan Moore took Marvelman,a UK ripoff of Captain Marvel, and revitalized him. This story was serialized in the acclaimed UK comic anthology Warrior. But Warrior went under. Thankfully over in the States Eclipse comics picked it up and continued the series. Alan Moore and various artist did 16 issues. By issue 16 the now known as Miracleman had created a perfect Utopia. And that is where Moore ended his run on the series. He handed the writing duties off to at the time an almost unknown Neil Gaiman. Gaiman plotted out 3 storylines. Each to run 6 issues. The first was called The Golden Age and dealt with Miracleman and the rest of the world dealing with the new Utopia. The next storyline,titled the Silver Age, only had 1 issue printed before Eclipse went bankrupt. And for years it felt like this series was forgotten. Then Todd McFarlene tried to bring Miracleman back in his Spawn comic. But it turns out that Neil Gaiman and others own part of the rights to the character. So for years and years it looked like not only would this amazing storyline not be finished but also wouldn't be reprinted. Finally this year Marvel comics announced they had all the rights issues sorta out and sometime in 2014 they will start reprinting the 24 issues. And then Neil Gaiman will get to finish what he started back in the 90s. While with Alan Moore his Swamp Thing and Watchmen work gets so much praise,to me this is the best thing he has ever done. And with Neil Gaiman,Sandman gets all the hype and praise. But that is shit compared to what he did on Miracleman. Maybe now that it can be reprints more people will read what I consider one of the best comics of all time.
