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dantastic's review
4.0
Madman Library Edition Volume 1 collects Madman 1-3, Madman Adventures 1-3, Madman Comics 1-10, and They 1-3, the Allred brothers' first attempt at a super hero comic.
I'm a Madman fan from way back and I had this on my watchlist until it fell into my cheapness zone. Fortunately, it did just that AND was part of the 3 for 2 deal Amazon was doing.
I've read most of this before in separate volumes but forgot a lot of the wrinkles of the plot so there was a lot of rediscovery. The oversized format is great for showcasing Michael Allreds' art.
Reading these through older eyes makes me catch a lot of things I missed on earlier readings. Now that I've read the Silver Age Doom Patrol omnibus, I see Bruno Premiani's influence in Allred's style, as well as some European influences with his clean line style. There's also the Alex Toth influence but that's always been apparent. Another thing I never noticed before was how great Allred's panel composition is. Even the panels where people are standing around talking have a sense of movement to them. He's got almost got the Jack Kirby "Every panel is a pinup" thing going.
The world Allred has created, with it's Silver Age style with modern sensibilities, is a place I love to visit. Robots, aliens, mad scientists, and funky gadgets are all in full effect. The stories are simplistic on the surface but have a lot of metaphysical things happening just out of sight.
The first two miniseries are my favorite parts of this collection, old favorites who have just gotten better with age. The Madman Comics run is good too but I think it leans into the metaphysical stuff a bit too much. It might also be too much of a good thing. I'm sure Michael Allred didn't have people reading a twenty issue omnibus of his material when he was creating it.
Madman LIbrary Edition Volume 1 is a must have for Madman fans. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
I'm a Madman fan from way back and I had this on my watchlist until it fell into my cheapness zone. Fortunately, it did just that AND was part of the 3 for 2 deal Amazon was doing.
I've read most of this before in separate volumes but forgot a lot of the wrinkles of the plot so there was a lot of rediscovery. The oversized format is great for showcasing Michael Allreds' art.
Reading these through older eyes makes me catch a lot of things I missed on earlier readings. Now that I've read the Silver Age Doom Patrol omnibus, I see Bruno Premiani's influence in Allred's style, as well as some European influences with his clean line style. There's also the Alex Toth influence but that's always been apparent. Another thing I never noticed before was how great Allred's panel composition is. Even the panels where people are standing around talking have a sense of movement to them. He's got almost got the Jack Kirby "Every panel is a pinup" thing going.
The world Allred has created, with it's Silver Age style with modern sensibilities, is a place I love to visit. Robots, aliens, mad scientists, and funky gadgets are all in full effect. The stories are simplistic on the surface but have a lot of metaphysical things happening just out of sight.
The first two miniseries are my favorite parts of this collection, old favorites who have just gotten better with age. The Madman Comics run is good too but I think it leans into the metaphysical stuff a bit too much. It might also be too much of a good thing. I'm sure Michael Allred didn't have people reading a twenty issue omnibus of his material when he was creating it.
Madman LIbrary Edition Volume 1 is a must have for Madman fans. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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