Madman Volume 1

Madman Volume 1 by Mike Allred
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Madman volume one collects Madman 1-3 and Madman Adventures 1-3.

In a lot of ways, the 1990s sucked for comics. Style over substance and gimmicks were the norm. Because of speculators, the market swelled and almost died. It will never be what it once was. However, comics in the 1990s did have some bright spots.

I first encountered Madman on the school bus sometime around 1993. A friend of mine had Madman Adventures #1 and was gushing about it. After I got tired of making fun of him for not being into X-Force like the rest of us, I gave it a chance and was instantly a fan.

The last time I read these was before the turn of the century so it was almost like rediscovering Madman for the first time. Madman helps bring his creator back to life, meets a lovely girl, goes back in time, runs from dinosaurs, and encounters an alien. It's all more complex than that, of course. Basically, it's Michael Allred's love letter to the comics of his youth.

Madman isn't a gun-toting bad ass like most of his 1990s contemporaries. He's sensitive and has low self esteem. He wears his costume mostly to hide from himself, a more thought-out throwback to the Lee and Kirby days.

The art is as gorgeous now as it was the bygone day I first saw it. It's no wonder most of the comics I read this year had Michael Allred art. Love for the medium is apparent in every panel.

Coincidentally, Madman is featured in one of my favorite panels of all time:


Madman is one of the few comics from the 1990s that has stood the test of time and will continue to do so. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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