Mr. Monster X Megaton Man 1/3 Inked!
Four Pages of Chilling Lettering and Linework!
Here’s a look at four inked pages from Mr. Monster X Megaton Man (or more precisely, my 12-page half of the project; Michael T. Gilbert has already written and laid out a companion 12-page tale!), a micro-sequel of sorts to Megaton Man: Multimensions (crowdfunding campaign currently running).
[Notes on the story at the bottom (scroll down).]
Spoiler Alert: reading these pages now will spoil everything! (The published project will not appear before the end of 2025.) But if you are into process—and enjoy seeing an idea go from thumbnail layouts to finished art, here is a taste. Pages are not contiguous:
Story notes: I wanted to use the Tomb Team, first seen in the Bizarre Heroes series (Megaton Man vs. Forbidden Frankenstein #1 or Bizarre Heroes #16) as well as in the Megaton Man Weekly Serial web strip from the late 1990s. Since the team is established in Ypsilanti, Michigan, not far from Ann Arbor, the story had to occur in a precise point in Megaton Man continuity, since in the stories I’m working on since have seen the characters move back east to Megatropolis (New York City).
The android version of Stella Starlight is an important plot element in the new stories I’m developing, and I hadn’t explained how she got to New York. This interlude seemed like an opportunity to address this question. What is surprising is how sentimental it was for me to draw the first two pages—the characters were saying goodbye to Ann Arbor, the setting for much of the series since Return to Megaton Man #1 (1988).
For my part, I wanted this story to take place in Megaton Man continuity rather than be the usual extra-curricular team-up story; those can be fun, but I find having some narrative stakes makes the prospect more challenging and meaningful. I don’t suppose it’s going to matter too much to readers, but I’m happy with it and hopefully it won’t be seen as too much of a self-indulgent intrusion into the proceedings.
The normalman-Megaton Man Special, for example, happens outside continuity; The Savage Dragon vs. the Savage Megaton Man also took place outside of continuity initially, although the glimpse of the reconstituted Megatropolis Quartet and the nemesis Slagg Heep have since become integral to the ongoing Megaton Man narrative.
Beautiful work!
Nice “going up the stairs” perspective on page two. I’ve seen a lot of those where you can’t tell if they’re going up or down. And as always your lettering Don…brings a tear to my eye. Best damn letterer in America.