BY DAVE ROLLAND
SERVING DELICIOUS NEW YORK PIZZA
Local Boy Done Super
Mike Allred among the talented at the
Eugene Comic and Collectables Show.
iving in Eugene today without reading
comic books would be the equivalent of
ignoring rock ‘n’roll in 1963
Liverpool. Local comics creator
Mike Allred puts that same energy
and panache into his work that the
Beatles crammed into their
music. And while you can’t take
a time machine to the Cavern
Club, you can go to the Lane
County Fairgrounds from 10
am to 5 pm Sunday, April 27
and meet a master of comic
art.
More than 10 years
ago Allred pumped out a
comic book called
Madman, combining
angstful existentialism with yo-yos
and superheroes. Each panel Allred drew was
reminiscent of a Roy Liechtenstein painting.
The plots were filled with humor and a zest
for life while the colors were brightly pro-
vided by Mike’s wife, Laura. He created a
universe filled with aliens, private investiga-
tors, and an amnesiac Santa Claus that left
readers with a false sense of déjà vu of a
Hanna-Barbara cartoon that never existed.
With Madman the quality was consistently
fantastic, but the quantity of new work be-
came unfulfilling.
Allred focused on making independent
movies, getting a Hollywood production of
Madman rolling and doing everything but
what made him beloved by strangers: writing
and drawing comic books. But at the dawn of
the millennium Allred made a New Year’s
resolution to stop putzing around. He created
a comic book company called AAA Pop
Comics, turned the Madman movie over to
Robert Rodriguez (director of Spy Kids), and
cranked out 15 issues of The Atomics. The
Atomics were a group of beatniks turned su-
perheroes where Allred continued with his
themes of alienation, self-loathing, pop cul-
L
ture obsession, and the notion that love con-
quers all. The characters were distinct and in-
triguing while the art always threw amusing
jokes into the background.
But The Atomics
abruptly ended when the
big boys of Marvel Comics
came knocking at Allred’s
door. Allred along with writer
Peter Milligan were assigned
to revamp a second rate X-Men
rip-off called X-Force. Under
their new creators X-Force
(which is now available monthly
but under the name X-Statix) be-
came a comic book about people
who became superheroes for fame
and fortune rather than to help their
fellow man.
These characters were obsessed
with marketability rather than nobility. The
superheroes range from Phat, an Eminem
wannabe who is now struggling with his ho-
mosexuality, to Venus Dee Milo, a young vir-
gin (but only because she does not have a
physical body), to Mister Sensitive, a charac-
ter impaired with acne and hypersensitivity.
But fear not, despite their descriptions, these
characters are anything but poignant. They
are fleshed out and very real but Allred and
Milligan remembered this is still a Marvel
Comic, so they keep it simple. A comic that
teenagers of all ages can enjoy.
Allred’s comic books are, like the early
Beatles, filled with simple fun and charisma
rather than layered with meaning and a desire
to change the world.
All of Allred’s work, (Madman, The
Atomics, X-Force and X-Statix) is compiled
in trade paperback or you can attempt to col-
lect the original back issues from the many
vendors at this Sunday’s comic book conven-
tion. And while you’re there you can bug
Allred about when the heck we are going to
see Madman again.
ew
-BY THE SLICE AND BY THE WHOLE PIZZA PIE-
11:30AM-MIDNIGHT MON-SAT ★ 3:30PM-MIDNIGHT SUNDAY
$ 2.00
OFF
COUPONS GOOD UNTIL
MAY 8, 2003
ANY 18” LARGE OR
16” MEDIUM PIZZA PLUS
2 FREE 20oz. SODAS
686-9598
10¢ OFF PLUS A SLICE
®
1 FREE 12 OZ. SODA
1211 ALDER
ON CAMPUS NEXT TO SACRED HEART HOSPITAL
T a s ty Th ai Ki t ch en
MAY DAY
BALLROOM BLUES
Deb Cleveland
with the Vipers
Bourbon Renewal
Eagle Park
Slim Band
Thursday, May 1 • 8 pm
$5/advance • $7/door
Upstairs in Vet’s Ballroom
1626 Willamette Street • Eugene
Call for reservations:
541-344-8600
T r a di ti o n al
Sp e ci al s
by Owner and
Chef Pismai
$2.95 - $7.50
•Vegetarian
Menu
•Dine In or
Take Out
11 am - 9:30 pm Mon - Fri
4 pm - 9:30 pm Sat
12 pm - 9:30 pm Sun
80 E. 29th & Willamette
302-6444
APRIL 24 2003 27