Madman 971184 209530613 2008-05-01T19:52:07Z 139.60.210.5 {{Cleanup-comics|date=October 2007}} {{Superherobox|<!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics--> image= [[Image:Madman-adventures.jpg]] |caption=''Madman: The Oddity Odyssey'' cover |comic_color=background:#c0c0c0 |character_name=Madman |real_name=Zane Townsend |publisher=various |alliances=[[The Atomics]] |debut=''[[Creatures of the Id]], 1990 |creators=[[Mike Allred]] |alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0 |aliases=Frank Einstein |powers=Possesses the supernatural aptitude to learn things, [[List of superpowers#Psychometry|Psychometry]], [[List of superpowers#Empathy|Empathy]] and [[List of superpowers#Superhuman Reflexes|Supernatural Reflexes]] |}} :''This article is about the Mike Allred comic book 'Madman'. For other uses, see [[Madman (disambiguation)]]. '''Madman''' is a comic book series set in one of the many [[Parallel universe (fiction)|parallel worlds]] existing in the Multiverse. [[Mike Allred]] is the creator of the Madman comic book and all its characters. Madman's world is particularly strange. It is a world where [[mutant]]s, [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]]s and [[freak]]s run rampant. The comic book takes place in Snap City, which is home to the planet's only [[superhero]]: the Madman. ==Character History== Madman (aka Frank Einstein) is not your average hero. Named after [[Frank Sinatra]] and [[Albert Einstein]], his name is also a pun on [[Frankenstein]]. Frank was a hitman who was killed in a car accident, then stitched back together and brought to life by a pair of [[mad scientist]]s, Dr. Egon Boiffard and Dr. Gillespie Flem. This resurrection leaves Frank with supernatural reflexes and a slight degree of [[precognition|precognitive]] and empathic power. Frank doesn't remember anything about his former life. Frank has only faint, troubling memories relating to his death. Madman's costume is based on the only thing he remembered from his past: a fascination with a comic book character called Mr. Excitement. Frank Einstein now lives as a jack-of-all-trades wanderer, accompanied by a variety of allies. Only one of Frank's reanimators; Dr. Flem, is still around. Dr. Boiffard, in attempt to boost his brain power, transmuted his entire head into neural tissue, thus leaving him an invalid in a hospital. Despite the fact Frank has blue skin criss-crossed with Frankenstein-like scars, he has a steady girlfriend, a secretary by the name of Josephine Lombard aka Joe. Madman's other allies include [[Mott the Hoople|Mott, an alien from the planet Hoople]] who was saved by Frank when the crazy alien, Zenelle, wanted to marry and eat Mott. Gale, an invisible female scientist who was tattooed by mutant clones and while attempting to remove the tattoos, became invisible. Astroman and Machina, a pair of robotic humanoids. Astroman was built to be an aid to Frank and was loaded with some of Frank's lost information. Astroman grew to love Frank's girlfriend, Joe, which made Machina very jealous. And finally, Marie and Warren, two artificial intelligences from the future. Madman has also encountered [[Superman]] and [[Lois Lane]] once, due to a plot by the mischievous [[Mister Mxyzptlk]] where the two switched dimensions, becoming physical hybrids of each other, and then had to retrieve portions of Superman's powers, which had been doled out amongst various people across both worlds, including a spoiled little girl and the owner of a healthy fast food store. Finally, the two confronted Mister Mxyzptlk, with Madman defeating him in a game of [[Twister (game)|Twister]] before tricking him into saying his name backwards. ==Antagonists== One of Madman's primary enemies is Mr. Monstatd, his former employer (or so it is hinted). Madman has also fought runaway renegade robots from Dr. Flem's lab who were controlled by the mysterious and super-intelligent Factor Max. Other antagonists include the Mutant Street [[Beatniks]], the Moonboys, the Puke, and the G-Men from Hell, Mattress and Crept. However, the G-Men are occasional allies, and several of the Mutant Street Beatniks become allies as well. ==The Atomics== Former enemies, now allies, are the Mutant Street [[Beatniks]] who were originally just ordinary beatniks. When Mott first arrived he was being chased by Zenelle, a female alien from a species infamous throughout the galaxy for devouring their mates after the wedding night. Zenelle left behind a trail of [[spores]] as she tracked Mott through the city, exposure to which caused the beatniks to mutate into disgusting, warty versions of themselves. Zenelle fell in love with one of these [[mutants]] and carried him away, much to the relief of Mott. Blaming Madman for their deformity, the Mutant Street Beatniks remained bitter enemies until they discovered that their deformation was simply the first stage of their mutation, which gave them super powers such as elasticity. Discovering these powers cleared up their skin condition, so they no longer hate Madman and have formed a super-hero team calling themselves The Atomics. Around this time, their missing comrade returned from space, revealing that Zenelle had actually fallen in love with him to the degree she went against her culture and refused to eat him. Because of the different time-flow between Snap City and Zenelle's planet, when their comrade returned he brought with him his teenage son, the product of his union with Zenelle. ==Publication History== *Madman #1-3 (published by Tundra publishing). black, white and blue. 1992 *Madman Adventures #1-3 (published by Tundra Publishing). full color 1992-1993 *Madman Comics #1-20 (published by Dark Horse Comics). full color. 1994-1996 *Superman/Madman #1-3 (published by DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics). 1997 *Nexus Meets Madman one-shot (published by Dark Horse Comics). 1996 *Madman/The Jam #1-2 with Bernie Mireault (published by Dark Horse Comics). 1998 *The Atomics #1-15 (published by AAA Pop Comics) *Mr. Gum one shot (published by Oni Press) *It Girl one shot (published by Oni Press) *Madman Picture Exhibition #1-4 (published by AAA Pop Comics). A collection of Madman pinups by various famous artists. 2002 *MADMAN KING-SiZE SUPER GROOVY SPECIAL (published by Oni Press) 2003 *MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #1-Ongoing (published by Image Comics) 2007-Present ==Powers and Abilities== Frank's resurrection altered his body giving him various supernatural abilities. After his resurrection, Frank's mind possesses supernatural intuitive talent for learning things. This supernatutal ability allows him to instinctively learn any skill and gain knowledge at a superhuman rate. Franks had also manifested numerous psionic abilities that border also on the supernatural. The first is psychometry, he can obtain information about an individual through paranormal means by making physical contact. Second is empathy, he has the paranormal ability sense the emotions of others also through physical contact. Last, Frank has the ability of clairvoyance. He is able to perceive the future, sometimes manifesting in vague dreams while asleep, other times have displayed in clear thought and had occurred at will. Unfortunately he does not have complete control over his psionic abilities. Frank possesses supernatural physical coordination. His agility and reflexes are far superior to those of an ordinary human. His tendons and connective tissues are more elastic and his nerve endings transfer stimuli faster. In combination with his ability to learn new things and his psionic abilities, Frank can perform any feat of derring-do with ease. ==Collections== ===Trade paperbacks=== *Madman Comics: Yearbook '95 [[Dark Horse Comics]] (Collects MADMAN Comics #1-5) 1996 *The Complete Madman Comics Vol. 2 [[Dark Horse Comics]] (Collecst Madman Comics #6-10) 1996 *The Complete Madman Comics Vol. 3 (Originally Madman Comics 3: The Exit of Dr. Boiffard) [[Dark Horse Comics]] (Collects Madman Comics #11-15) 2000 *The Complete Madman Comics Vol. 4 (Originally Madman Comics: Heaven and Hell) [[Dark Horse Comics]] (Collects MADMAN Comics #16-20) 2001 *The Superman/Madman Hullabaloo! [[Dark Horse Comics]] (Collects The Superman/Madman Hullabaloo! #1-3) 1998 *Madman Boogaloo! [[Dark Horse Comics]] (Collects Nexus Meets Madman and Madman/The Jam #1 and #2) 1999 *Madman, Vol. 1: The Oddity Odyssey [[Oni Press]] - (Collects MADMAN #1-3) 2002 *Madman, Vol. 2: Madman Adventures [[Oni Press]] - (Collects MADMAN Adventures #1-3) 2002 *The Atomics: Spaced Out and Grounded in Snap City [[Oni Press]] - (Collects: It Girl one-shot; Mr. Gum one-shot; Spaceman one-shot; Crash Metro & the Star Squad one-shot) 2003 *Madman Vol. 1 [[Image Comics]] - (Collects MADMAN #1-3 and MADMAN Adventures #1-3) 2007 *Madman Vol. 2 [[Image Comics]] - (Collects MADMAN Comics #1-11) 2007 *Madman Vol. 3 [[Image Comics]] - (Collects MADMAN Comics #12-20 and MADMAN KING-SIZE SUPER GROOVY SPECIAL) 2007 *Madman & The Atomics Vol. 1 [[Image Comics]] - (Collects The Atomics 1-15) 2007 ===Hardcovers=== *Madman Limited Edition Box Set [[Dark Horse Comics]] - (Collects MADMAN Comics #1-10) 1997 *The Atomics Super Deluxe Limited Edition [AAA Pop Comics] - (Collects The Atomics #1-15) *MADMAN GARGANTUA HC [[Image Comics]] - (Collects MADMAN #1-3, MADMAN Adventures #1-3 and MADMAN Comics #1-20, MADMAN SUPER KING-SIZE GROOVY SPECIAL) 2007 ==Appearances in other media== ===Film and Television=== *Allred did the artwork for the fictional [[Bluntman and Chronic]] comic in the film ''[[Chasing Amy]]'' (in which he appears in a cameo as himself). The pages were collected as part of the film's published screenplay, where one can see Madman in one panel beneath the light of the "blunt signal". *Many have felt that the short-lived animated series ''[[Freakazoid!]]'' was [[plagiarism]] of ''Madman''. There are undeniable similarities between the tones of the two series, as well as the designs of the titular characters (both wear skin-tight jump suit – of opposite colours to one another – with a chest emblem of an exclamation point). Throughout the run of the show, Allred remained silent. However, in 2003, he responded to the situation on the messageboard of his official website (See External Links below), saying that he did notice the similarities and asked for credit. He received no response, but he chose not to pursue legal action. ====Madman the Movie==== {{main|Madman (film)}} *According to [[Mike Allred|Allred]], he was first offered the chance to sell the movie rights to ''Madman'' back in [[1992]] (he has not said who made the offer, only that he declined). *Since 1998, film-maker [[Robert Rodriguez]] has owned the film rights to ''Madman''. Both he and [[Mike Allred|Allred]] have given numerous signals as to the start of production over the years with no result. Although both have been occupied with other projects ([[Mike Allred|Allred]] was instrumental in connecting [[Robert Rodriguez|Rodriguez]] with [[Frank Miller (comics)|Frank Miller]], leading to the production of ''[[Sin City (film)|Sin City]]''), both have been eager to see this film made. At the [[2006]] [[WonderCon]] in [[San Francisco]], [[Mike Allred|Allred]] announced that ''[[Madman (movie)|Madman the Movie]]'' was in pre-production and hoped to begin filming before the end of the year. He teased fans in attendance by saying that the titular role had already been cast "but I can't tell you who it is yet... When we announce it, you're gonna be like 'What?', then you'll think about it for a second and see that it's perfect." ====Action Figure==== Madman's first action figure was a part of the [[Big Blast]] toy line from [[Graphitti Designs]] in 1998. The figure came in classic White with red lightening bolt as well as a Black Suited Variant with Yellow accents and lightening bolt. [[Wizard Entertainment]] offered a Variant of the Madman Big Blast toy without his traditional mask, showing Frank's face. Other toys in the line included [[Matt Wagner]]'s [[Hunter Rose]] [[Grendel]], [[Kevin Matchstick]] from [[Mage]], and [[Christine Spar]] as [[Grendel]]. Also available were a [[Mike Mignolia]] [[Hellboy]] figure and a two-pack of [[Jay and Silent Bob]] from [[Kevin Smith]]'s movies. Madman appears as part of the first wave of the Legendary Comic Book Heroes action figure series in 2007, along with [[Judge Dredd]], Savage Dragon, and Sara Pezzini of [[Witchblade]]. ==External links== *[http://www.aaapop.com/ The official Mike Allred site] *[http://www.darkhorse.com/news/interviews.php?id=695 Interview with Mike Allred] (from DarkHorse Comics site) *[http://www.comicscommunity.com/boards/allred/?noframes;read=9834 Allred responding to the similarities between ''Madman'' and the show ''[[Freakazoid!]]''] *[http://www.toonopedia.com/madman.htm Madman] at [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]] *[http://www.geocities.com/allredfaq/ The Allred FAQ] [[Category:Dark Horse titles]] [[Category:Dark Horse Comics superheroes]] [[Category:Oni Press titles]] [[Category:Tundra Publishing titles]]