Monday, July 16, 2012

Radioactive Man: Radioactive Repository Volume One


From Harper Design and Simpson's creator Matt Groening comes the first collection of Radioactive Man adventures reprinted in a large hardback edition.

Radioactive Man is the superhero created by Matt for The Simpson's animated TV show.  Labeled the world's greatest superhero, Radioactive Man is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the superhero genre in comic books over the decades.

Parodying and paying tribute to the comic books he loved as a child, Matt's Radioactive Man borrows heavily from Marvel, DC and other comic book companies in its stories.  

Look carefully and you can spot tributes to famous covers, stories and artists in each issue.  As a long-time comic book fan I get a real kick out of the clever way Radioactive Man writers and artists sneak in famous scenes, pivotal moments in comic books, all with a humorous twist.

Born in the Plutonium Age of Comics, Radioactive Man is playboy Claude Kane III who is accompanied by his boy sidekick Fallout Boy (Rod Runtledge).  The Irradiated Duo fight crime in Zenith City against such memorable villains such as Dr. Crab, Magmo, Hypno-Head, Larva Girl, Larceny Lass and Richard Milhous Nixon.  

But his enemies are not just relegated to Earth.  Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy also face off against the Superior Squad and other far-flung, universe-spanning bad guys.

The book is a fun read with lots of 'in' moments and tributes and also includes introductions by Morton Mankiewitz (Radioactive Man's fictional creator) and Paul Dini.  Don't miss it!