Tuesday, September 13, 2005

The Final Fate of Radioactive Man?

Another article at The Pulse explains the tragic story behind the genesis of Bongo's new Simpsons Super Spectacular series:

Bongo's Creative Director Bill Morrison said he thinks the Radioactive Man series didn't succeed because his appearances on the TV show were too infrequent. "I think the mainstream Simpsons fans just didn't pick up his book like they do the other Simpsons Comics," Morrison said. "Batton Lash has been doing such a terrific job with Radioactive Man and I was reluctant to see him get cancelled. So, I figured out a way to keep him in print by pairing him with the super-incarnations of more recognizable Simpsons characters. Radioactive Man and Bartman will be the mainstays, but look for appearances by Pie Man, Duff Man, Bumblebee Man and even SeƱior Ding Dong!"
Of course, I don't think the Eisner Award-winning Radioactive Man comic was ever really aimed at the mainstream Simpsons fans. With its perfect satire of the entire history and spectrum of the superhero genre, it deserved a much larger following among comic geeks. Those with a sense of humor, at least.

At the moment, the Super Spectacular is scheduled to be released twice a year. Coming up in issue 2:
Ian Boothby is writing a story for the second issue called "The League of Extraordinary Barts," where various Barts from different dimensions come together to battle an evil Bart who uses Professor Frink's devices in a plot to take over the world. "It's just a good, smack-em-in-the-mouth, silly super-hero story," Boothby said. "It's a lot of fun."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Corey,
Nice job on the site! I have a feeling I'll be referring to it to remember the RM facts I've forgotten.
Feel free to pick my brain as well!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the kind words! High praise indeed from the editor of Bongo Comics (and one of the legendary Radioactive Man writers and artists). If the SuperSimpsons website ever serves as a reference guide for Radioactive Man creators, it will certainly have justified its existence. And thanks for the offer of brain-picking... I definitely have some questions!