Comics2Film: Words From Here: Mike Allred

Dan Rivera was the person responsible for getting me into Mike Allred's completely original character Madman. Another situation where someone said "Read this," handed me a strange square bound comic with a guy holding a yo-yo of all things... and I haven't looked back since.

I was sitting here thinking "What is the first thing that pops into my mind when I think of Frank Einstein." At first, the word 'innocence' did. Then I remembered that great eyeball eating scene in The Gravity series, and I threw the word 'innocence' out the window.

What struck me first about the book was the artwork. Its clean style, fine lines and graphic use of the only color in the book, a pale blue (very similar to what Dave Mckean did with Cages, many years later). The characters are portrayed with such wonderfully tight renderings, and are developed with a great story and great dialog.

The comics, with humor at the forefront, should be taken with complete seriousness. After the first series alone, it's obvious that Madman is one of the best characters created in the last 10 years.

Madman's first issues were published by Tundra/Kitchen Sink, the company Kevin Eastman started after his stunning success with those Ninja Turtles. I was lucky enough to find a set of the first printing of the Gravity series, signed and numbered (number 214 of 400). It's one of my prized possessions in my comic collection.

Another Madman series was published by Tundra, after Gravity took home a Harvey Award for Best New Series. This time it was called Madman Adventures, and noted celebrities in the comic industry took notice of Allred's abilities to tell a story and to draw with flawless precision. Soon, guest artists began drawing pin-ups and back covers, like Geof Darrow, Mike Mignola and a host of others. His series became so popular that a poster was issued with over 30 different artists contributing to different strange floating things around a twirling Madman.

The headline to Madman Adventures 3 states: "Nominated for 3 Eisner Awards and 2 Harvey Awards, including "Best Cartoonist". It was shortly there after that Madman became one of the books published by Dark Horse with the LEGEND label. The name LEGEND was synonymous with other publications in Dark Horse, including Mignola's Hellboy, Miller's Sin City and Paul Chadwick's Concrete, among others.

The books became famous, and it didn't hurt that people like Miller, Mitch O'Connell, Alex Toth, Dave Stevens (!!!), Kevin Nowlan, Bruce Timm and Darrow were doing back covers for the Madman books.

Following in its own fame, DC and Darkhorse co-published the Superman/Madman Hullabaloo!, another wonderfully drawn series that brought the Madman character farther out into the mainstream.

I should stop and say that from the first Madman books to the Dark Horse issues, Laura Allred (Mike's better half) has contributed heavily, from lettering to coloring, and has done a wonderful job. Her sense of color and design can be easily compared to Lynn Varley, Frank Miller's regular colorist and wife(?), whose exceptional work brings out Miller's incredible work perfectly (especially in DK). We're lucky, as the readers, that the Allred's work so well together.

Allred's first book, Graphic Music, has become almost a cult favorite in the minds of Madman fans, where the character Frank Einstein first appeared. He next worked on a one-shot called Creatures of the Id with Bernie Mireault, written by Jeffrey Lang. From there, the Madman series was born. His latest efforts have been in the form of a new series, co-starring the ever popular Madman called The Atomics. This is designed having the old Marvel Team-Up's in mind, it looks like. Allred created a group of superheroes using existing characters from the original Madman series (the Beatniks). Everything from the covers to the creative writing to the incredible artwork has brought Allred to the forefront of independent comics, where he belongs.

AAA Pop Comics, Allred's company, produces The Atomics solely, the way it should be. It's a trend most other influential artists and writers should follow. The production of this comic is well done and worth the price tag. Following Allred's popularity in comics, this was a natural progression. But it wasn't the first step in his process to grow as an artist/writer.

After the popularity of Madman, Mike did what he'd always wanted to do. He made a movie. Astroesque, written and directed by Mike Allred, starring Mike Allred (and a large number of the Allred clan), and, from what I've come to understand, produced as well. The film came to mixed reviews. A lot of people didn't think Allred should have ventured out of his field, while others praised him for doing what he wanted, either on a whim, or a childhood dream to make a film, what-have-you.

Personally, if I'd busted my ass, written/drawn an award winning comic book and was becoming a celebrity in the comic industry... I'd do the next thing that was on my list. Make a movie. I have yet to see the film, but I think I would take Billy Wilder's stand on the issue. Wilder would clap at the end of each movie the man saw, regardless of how bad it was... because the man knew how difficult it was to create a film and get it finished. Allred deserves more than a round of applause.

Speaking of movies, Madman has been taken into the heart of one of Hollywood's younger directors, Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez is a huge fan of the comic books and has decided to helm the project himself... but with one small snag. His newest feature Spy Kids has gotten such enormous favor from the industry heads that they have contracted Rodriguez for a sequel, which he has accepted. Read more about the Madman movie here!

I had the opportunity to ask Mike Allred some questions about himself, his life and his work.

John Painz (JP): Could you tell me who or what influenced you the most, to decide to get into comics?

Mike Allred (MA): My Pal, Charlie Custis, who kept throwing great comics at me til the bug bit me, and Steve Seagle the first comics pro I met who helped show me the ropes and turned me on to LOVE and ROCKETS, the comic that showed me comics can do anything.

JP: How would you describe the direction of the industry (comic industry), as of today, and where it might be heading in the future?

MA: Well, not the best of directions, financially. The reality is that the industry thrives or dies based on how the big two are doing and what they're doing--which leads me to the optimism I feel for the future of comics. I feel a renewed sense of energy and enthusiasm from the folks pulling the levers. Specifically, folks like Joe Quesada at Marvel and Bob Shreck at DC are spreading the word and giving the love. On the creator-controlled front, I'm hearing from some powerhouse creators flirting with the jump to self-publishing. HUGE names that would make a HUGE impact if they actually make the move. Don't ask because I can't tell.

MA: YUP. I suppose you want me to list them and then fall in the trap of forgetting to list someone? Let's see who I manage to leave out. I'm mostly creator driven--I'll pick up anything that is touched by talent like Paul Pope, Jay Stephens, Matt WAgner, Kevin Nowlan, Kyle Baker, Frank Quitely, Frank Miller, Charles Burns, Steve Rude, Andi Watson, Frank Cho (see the trap?), and I still spend as much time drowning in past favorites like Frazetta, Jack Cole, Steve Ditko, Kirby, Toth, Roy Crane, Neal Adams...

Current titles I've been picking up would include Powers, The Authority, 100 Bullets, Sparks, and infrequent masterpieces like Acme Novelty Library, Eightball and that Hernandez Bros. touchstone which I'm thrilled to see coming back.

JP: What would you say to a young'un if they were interested in entering this industry?

MA: 1- Brian Jonestown Massacre/Zero 2- The Dandy Warhols/Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia (By far the best album I've heard in the last five years) 3- The Dandy Warhols/Tales from Slabtown 4- The Very Best Of Badfinger 5- Almost Famous Soundtrack

MA: 5- Saving Silverman 4- Hannibal 3- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (By far the best movie I've seen in the last five years) 2- Santch 1- O' Brother, Where Art Thou?

JP: I wonder, was it easy for you to find help in artists? Were their egos not so blown up?

MA: Everyone has been great. Not one bad experience. But it has to be a face to face exchange. Human contact is essential. With one exception (a non face to face that was also extremely positive): Years ago, I somehow obtained Charles Burns' phone number and called him to ask what he uses to ink. He very politely and patiently told me.

JP: Thank you for your time Michael, and good luck with all of your future projects!

There's also a great interview on the Dark Horse website for those interested. Here's the link.

This interview was conducted February, 2001.

Click here to learn more about John Painz and to find more Words From Here creator profiles.

Send John e-mail at stilesjp@wordsfromhere.com.

Published by Comics2Film with permission.