MADMAN
Continued from Page i
the otht*r superheroes
Allred recently signed .1 deal with Columbia
Tri Stiir to write .1 screenplay (vised on the first
threw issues of tile .Vf.ii/tlMri series The film is
now in pre-production and British a< tor Malcolm
Mi Do wall is set to play the main bail pn Mr
Monstadt Allred s.iid k\le Mm Lachlan of /Win
I’t'uks is interested in ploying Madman
Allred. 10. said he's always wanted to !>e in
solved in filmmaking But the ro.id to Hollywood
has a been a most unusual one. with stops even
where from Rosehtirg to Germany and work in
fields from hroadi .istiug to sculpture
Allred re.id t tunic
hooks as ,i young
bm growing up in
Rosoburg. ami lie
n I so do v hI o pell a
pom limit for draw
ing early in 111• ■
l.voti then, hf lol
lowed his own path
"I've never really
been helped with art
i lasses.” In' said In
fact, in ivinior high,
in v art 11' a i h c r
would have tho t lass
doing sonif projoi ts
and t him ho just
situ k mo out on a
cast*! and lot mo do
what I wanted
The interest in drawing waned a little as he got
older, and Allred went on to slnd\ broadtasting
in college lie wanted to develop Ins interests in
music and movies, although he continued Ins art
work and began sculpting
Allred wrote Ins hrst si reenpluy. l)v.i(! An. dur
ing that time. The si roenplav, in which the resi
dents of Roseburg think a nuclear war has txigun.
hasn't (wen filmed vet
A friend who was interested in cornu books
then suggested that Allred combine Ins writing
and drawing skills
"He started giving me comic books that were
worth a lot ot monev. which made me feel ohli
gated to read them." Allred said "And some
where along the line I read that cornu s were the
poor man's film medium, and that inspired me to
go ahead and trv to draw mv si roenplav
The first thing Allred had published was a
graphic novel version of Dt .tti Air (A lotttii book
is traditionally a magazine with about .10 pages A
{graphk novel is thicker, with more than 100
pages, and is geared toward a larger audience al
though the i om ept is the same as a comic book )
I thought it would just lx- one thing I did so I'd
have something on a bookshelf. Allred said
"But after I did it I wasn't reallv satisfied, so I
started doing it more
By the late 1‘WUs, Allred had Ix-guti a two vear
stmt working at a radio station in t.eimanv Hut
lie < unturned his work with comic books
It got to where mv comic books were earning
me more monev than broadcasting." \llred said
So I moved ku k to Oregon, and my i omic book
i areer has |ust kmd of progressed sine e then
Chat s something of an understatement lb- lx
.in devoting himself full time to comic book
work m l.muarv IW«), and within the last vear.
M.hlm.m bee ante one of the best sellers for lull
dra all independent comic book publishing
house started hv Kevin Kastman, whoc mated /be
/ eenage Aluianl \in/.i Turtlf.
Mired has also done work tur Marvel and !'(
(minis Marvel h.ts railed on him to < re.ttc
among oilier things, i omif hooks based on .1 1 bar
mler tailed The Kvervman And P( reientlv
askeil him in work on some projet is, ini hiding
Th» (■rrk Doom I’.itrol and a H.iinun series
Some of those he \s riles and some he draws
Mul KLitlmail. as Allred said, is ill mine lie
owns the rights to the ( harm ter and the stories
one of the benefits of working for an independent
1 ompany Allred said
U.iiinuin w is 1 rented out ot Allred s frustration
that a series he wrote t ailed C.'rap/iii \fu<u
wasn't really going uiivwhert*
With f.'r.ip/lii \fiisn . it was about a lot . t ihl
ferent things it was also a im ambiguous title
and it lat ked one ventral, norm image Allred
said With M.iilrtuin. I thought I coil id have a lit
tie fun I wanted to strike a h.ilam e between w hat
I could have fun with and really eoiov doing hut
would also have some market potential
\l.ulnuin lias since lie.-a published all over the
world m lour languages Allred said he gets let
ters from as tar away is \ew Zealand and Ireland
Olle of his most failure. Ians is Rohm Williams,
who wore a M.u/imiii 1 shut on the last t omu
Relief spei ial
Ann l agan, dirct tor of promotions tor I'undra.
said one of the reasons \f, 11/111.111 is sum essful is
hci ause readers 1 all pul themselves into the story
"The i liarat ter is like .1 blank slate, like an T.v
ervman I agan said His |M<rsonahtv isn't tullv
formed, he doesn't really know who he is so the
reader can get into it Mud's the sign of a good
1 omu hook, it the reader i an gel into it And
Mike has a good sense of pai e and storytelling
Kagan said Allred's progress has been mipres
sive and she’s ext ited about Ins future
"He's very talented she said II you look at
Ins progress. es|»icially yslien you consider that
it's been interrupted w ith other things like si nipt
mg. it s amazing lie just keeps getting lietter
l ast summer, when Allred y\as at a cornu book
convention, a representative from Columbia I'ri
Star pit ked up a \Uuinuin hoo]fc.<ind gave it to Ins
boss, w ho askeil Allied to w rite a si reenplay
Allred co-wrote it with local novelist Kevin
Welch It's been optioned bv tin studio, wlm h
has lti months to make the movie Imfore the
rights revert bat k to Mired II that happens, lie's
free to sell it to another studio
Allreds contrail is unusual lor .1 first-tune
screenwriter He’s not only the film s 1 n prndiu
er but has 1 ast and 1 lew approval as well
In the story the audiem e meets Mailman,
who’s not sure who he is Hu! Madman knows
that another man, who he saw get lot bv .1 car.
knows who Madman really is Hie last words ol
the dying man. Dr Moiffard are that Madman
should find Hr Mem, who can bring Hr lloiflard
hai k to life Madman runs into all kinds of unsu
vorv characters on Ins quest, including Mr
Monstadt
Although Allred hopes Vf.K I man will he made
into a movie soon, he s try ing to remain realistu
"I’ve heard horror stories about movies even
tieing shot and then having the plug pulled on
them, so I II believe 1! when I see it on the
screen, he said
Allred, who is married and has two young sons
is now working on various 1 omu hooks and he
and Welch plan to write other si reenplays togeth
er Hut the excitement over the possibility' ol a
SUnlllMll movie is obvious
As Kagan jiuts it Che wav we re looking at it
the 1 wnii Imok's doing great and it will i ontinue
to do gie.it, with or Without the movie lull it the
movie hits
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