Bizarre Heroes - Don Simpson's Megaverse Epic
Don Simpson's self-published superhero universe epic spanning 17 issues, weaving Megaton Man with characters from his junior high sketchbooks into an interconnected indie mythology.
đź“– Fiasco Comics • Started 1990
Bizarre Heroes is Don Simpson’s sprawling self-published superhero universe—the series where his entire creative history collides on a single page. Part Megaton Man spin-off, part repository for characters he’d been doodling since seventh grade, this 17-issue epic represents Simpson at his most gloriously unfiltered: a kitchen-sink approach to worldbuilding where every idea he ever had finally gets to share panel space.
What It Is
The series began as a 1990 one-shot from Kitchen Sink Press—ironically, that publisher’s first “straight” superhero title. When Simpson relaunched it in 1994 under his own Fiasco Comics imprint, he used the financial windfall from his Image Comics crossovers to finally bring his personal cast of characters to life. The premise is classic superhero science fiction: a group of lab-created “megapowered” clones break free from their creators and must navigate a world that fears and hunts them. But the real hook is watching Simpson weave together characters from every phase of his career—the Meddler (created in junior high), the Phantom Jungle Girl, the Slick, B-50 the Hybrid Man, and inevitably the cast of Megaton Man, who quickly began taking over the narrative.
Publication History
The series ran under two titles: Don Simpson’s Bizarre Heroes #0–8 (May–December 1994) followed by Bizarre Heroes #9–15 (February 1995 – January 1996). The final two issues—#16 and #17—were alternately titled Megaton Man vs. Forbidden Frankenstein #1 and Megaton Man #0, marking the point where Simpson’s flagship character fully absorbed the series. The run earned two Eisner Award nominations and one Harvey Award nomination, cementing its place in indie comics history. Fantagraphics has announced that The Complete Megaton Man Universe Volume II will collect the Bizarre Heroes material for a new generation of readers.
Perfect for fans of Dave Sim’s Cerebus, the sprawling cross-company ambition of 1963, and anyone who loves watching a single creator’s entire imaginative universe unfold across hundreds of pages of gloriously weird, self-published comics.
