Process: Megatropolis
Megaton Man and the Good Old Days of 2001
In previous posts, I’ve discussed current projects, including Megaton Man: Megatropolis. This is the storyline I created following the online Megaton Man Weekly Serial, 1996-2000. After I wrapped that up (the last print back-up feature appeared in Savage Dragon #87), I took a break from posting the online web comic, but still planned to continue the adventures of my characters.
I was not far along in creating further material when September 11, 2001 took place.
In 2002, I wasn’t connected to the print comic book industry at all—I was working part-time in a Borders Books and Music in the North Hills of Pittsburgh (store #74, to be exact).
As I’ve written elsewhere, it seemed like Harry Potter accounted for a sizeable proportion of sales in those days, and it’s not a coincidence that when that book and movie series ended, so did Borders—series like Eragon tried, but just couldn’t sustain the cashflow to disguise numerous management miscalculations and competition from Amazon, etc.
Meanwhile, badly shaken, with my marriage to a native Long Islander in serious trouble, and in therapy for a while—and utterly appalled by the comics industry response to 9/11—Thor picking up a girder, etc.—which I considered wholly insufficient, I decided to incorporate the terrorist attacks into the Megaton Man storyline.
Call it therapeutic, but it was all I had to work with.
The blowback, particularly from the late Batton Lash—almost the only cartoonist in printed comics I kept in touch with in those days—was emphatic. Batton, a native Brooklynite who had transplanted to San Diego, happened to be visiting Manhattan during the attacks. Somehow, Batton had a view of one of the smaller buildings in the World Trade Center complex—I want to say building seven—topple from up the avenue somewhere closer to midtown.
In any case, the verdict was: Too soon.
Perhaps I was putting too much emphasis on one person’s opinion. In any case, discouraged, I set aside the storyline and, long story short, went back to college. In 2013, I received a PhD in art and architectural history. Talk about procrastination.
In 2014, in between adjunct college teaching, I resumed the Megaton Man storyline. I honestly don’t know if the sketches below are from 2002 or 2014—I believe 2002, because I plotted out and roughed out quite a bit of material before setting it aside. In any case, the sketchbook scans below date from 2014, as I resumed the project, refining the roughs and inking on Clearprint vellum.
[CORRECTION: The inked line art in this sequence was drawn with pen and ink on Bristol board and dates from 2002, and was completed before my return to college; the coloring is more recent. Later sequences from the story from 2014 (not shown here) used Clearprint vellum (I plan to post some examples in the future). Sorry, the ol’ memory bank needs warming up …]
I am still coloring Megaton Man: Megatropolis, the art for which was completed in 2016. Following many recent reprint projects, I hope to have it ready to share with the world very shortly. Below are highlights from a key sequence in which my characters return from their long sojourn in the Midwest to New York City, a.k.a. Megatropolis.
It should give you a pretty good idea of the situation our protagonists are getting themselves into. I think the term for it is just “Twenty-First Century”—and unfortunately, it’s only gotten more grim. Christ—2001 almost seems like the good old days!
Now back home, as it were, the cast has a multitude of story possibilities, and I am continuing their narrative from there. I plan to post more as I finalize coloring, and if you follow me on Facebook, you will see plenty of new material as it comes off my drawing board and computer.
