Megaton Man #1
Megaton Man #1 is the debut of Don Simpson's creator-owned satirical superhero universe, arriving at the precise moment the direct-market independent-comics boom was reshaping the industry; it demonstrated that a solo cartoonist working entirely outside the Marvel/DC duopoly could build a fully realized, commercially successful superhero parody world from scratch. The issue introduces not just Trent Phloog (Megaton Man) but the entire Megatropolis Quartet — Human Melt-Down, Liquid Man, See-Thru Girl, and Yarn Man — whose pointed resemblance to the Fantastic Four would later trigger a Marvel cease-and-desist letter that became one of the defining parody-vs.-trademark skirmishes of the era. Simpson's approach, blending Harvey Kurtzman–style absurdism with Lee/Kirby visual bombast, helped establish a template for superhero self-awareness that would influence later works, including Ben Edlund's The Tick. It also marked Kitchen Sink Press's strategic pivot from underground-comix and strip-reprint publishing into the burgeoning indie-comics marketplace.
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Don Simpson conceived Megaton Man as a one-shot and spent thirteen months between 1983 and 1984 writing, penciling, inking, and lettering the debut issue entirely by himself, drawing on Steranko-inspired page design filtered through advice from artist Keith Pollard. He submitted photocopies to roughly fifteen publishers — including Eclipse, Epic, and Fantagraphics, all of whom passed — before Denis Kitchen not only agreed to publish it but asked Simpson to develop it as an ongoing series. Production was delayed much of 1984 while Kitchen Sink searched for a new color printer, giving Simpson an extended gestation period in which he generated far more material than fit a single issue; that surplus was later cannibalized into issues #3 and #4. Kitchen Sink editor Dave Schreiner would become an important creative voice throughout the run, eventually urging Simpson to trust his characters as genuine dramatic figures rather than pure parody vehicles.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance and origin of Megaton Man (Trent Phloog), the satirical 'Man of Molecules,' created, written, and drawn entirely by Don Simpson (Kitchen Sink Press, November 1984).
- First appearance of the entire Megatropolis Quartet: Human Melt-Down (Chuck Roast), Liquid Man (Rex Rigid), See-Thru Girl (Stella Starlight), and Yarn Man (Bing Gloom) — a Fantastic Four parody whose characters later triggered a Marvel cease-and-desist letter in summer 1985.
- First appearance of supporting cast members Pamela Jointly, Preston Percy (the 1980s X-Ray Boy, who later turns villain), and villain Doctor Software; the issue's story titles are 'They Call the Doctor… Software!' and 'The Origin of Megaton Man!'
- The 32-page, full-color issue was Simpson's professional debut and first completed long-form comic; a second printing was subsequently produced by Kitchen Sink.
- The issue also represents Kitchen Sink Press's entry into the original indie-comics market, marking a third distinct publishing phase for the company after its underground and strip-reprint eras.
- Marvel's legal objection (1985) focused specifically on the Megatropolis Quartet as introduced in this issue; Kitchen Sink responded that the characters constituted protected satire, and Marvel took no further legal action.
- The issue has been reprinted at least four times: in the Yugoslav anthology Super Strip Maxi #8 (Vjesnik, 1986), in a Kitchen Sink second-edition one-shot (1989, with new cover and character list), in a Don Simpson's Megaton Man trade collection (ibooks/Simon & Schuster, 2004), and in The Complete Megaton Man Universe Vol. 1: The 1980s (Fantagraphics, 2025).
- Megaton Man predates both Ben Edlund's The Tick and The Simpsons' Radioactive Man, making it a foundational text of the superhero-parody genre in American alternative comics.