Madman #1
Madman #1 (Tundra, March 1992) launched the first dedicated solo series for Frank Einstein — a.k.a. Madman — giving Mike Allred's pop-art superhero his own stage after two years of anthology appearances and firmly establishing what would become one of the defining creator-owned properties of the 1990s independent comics movement. Running deliberately counter to the grim, hyper-muscular superhero aesthetic that saturated the Direct Market at the time, Allred's clean, retro-inflected linework and whimsical existential tone stood apart from virtually everything else on the stands in 1992. The three-issue Tundra miniseries earned enough critical momentum to win the 1993 Harvey Award for Best New Series, seeding the expanded Dark Horse run that followed and eventually a decades-long, multi-publisher universe. The issue also introduced readers to the core ensemble — Madman, Dr. Egon Boiffard, and Dr. Gillespie Flem — whose intertwined fates would power the character's mythology across every subsequent series.
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Mike Allred had been refining Frank Einstein since 1990, when the character debuted in the Caliber Press anthology Creatures of the Id and then appeared again in Caliber's Grafik Muzik later that year — two early outings that created lasting fan debate over which constitutes the true first appearance. Tundra Publishing, the Kevin Eastman-funded creator-owned house launched in 1990 with an explicit mandate to give cartoonists full control over their work, provided the platform for Allred to expand the character into a self-titled, black-and-white-with-blue-accent three-issue miniseries beginning in March 1992. Tundra's philosophy of minimal editorial interference and high production values (the publisher was noted for glossy paper stock and premium binding) suited Allred's singular vision, and each issue of the run incorporated a now-celebrated flip-animation in the page corners. When Tundra was absorbed by Kitchen Sink Press in spring 1993, the Madman property transferred forward intact, eventually landing at Dark Horse and then Image — with Allred retaining creator ownership throughout.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First issue of the first dedicated Madman solo series, cover-dated March 1992, published by Tundra Publishing; story titled 'Trapped by Gravity.'
- Written, drawn, and cover-illustrated entirely by Mike Allred — a fully creator-owned production from inception.
- Frank Einstein (Madman) appears here as the lead for the first time in his own ongoing narrative context; his character had previously debuted in Creatures of the Id #1 (Caliber Press, October 1990) and Grafik Muzik #1 (Caliber, November 1990).
- Dr. Egon Boiffard — one of Madman's two reanimating scientists and the character who named him after his heroes Frank Sinatra and Albert Einstein — appears as a central figure; the series opens with Boiffard's death at the hands of villain Mr. Monstadt, which drives Madman's quest to find Dr. Flem.
- The three-issue Tundra miniseries was printed in black-and-white with blue accents, and featured a flip-animation in the bottom corners of the pages — a tactile novelty that became a signature of the original run.
- Tundra Publishing was founded by TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman in 1990 as a creator-owned imprint predating Image Comics; it also published From Hell, The Crow, and Understanding Comics before folding into Kitchen Sink Press in 1993.
- The series won the 1993 Harvey Award for Best New Series, with Allred also receiving a Harvey 'Best Cartoonist' nomination that same year.
- The material from Madman #1–3 has been reprinted multiple times, including in the Image Comics hardcover Madman Gargantua! (2007) and most recently in Dark Horse's Madman Library Edition and Madman Omnibus Volume 1 (2025).