Superman / Madman Hullabaloo!
Can you imagine a Superman comic book in which another superhero, while sitting on a swing in a park, asks Superman if he believes in God? If you can, you might think it would be very difficult to pull off without being entirely silly (in a bad way). Well, give Mike Allred a great big prize for his wonderfully enjoyable and off-center comic bookThe Superman Madman Hullabaloo!Not only is there a conversation about the existence of God, this story features mutant underground street beatniks, a super zombie, a health-food food fight, and a skyscraper with legs. That Allred could get away with writing and drawing such a subversive take on one of the most tightly controlled characters in comics is, as Matt Wagner says in his introduction, a testament to the "Allred chutzpah." Perhaps you are wondering what sort of hullabaloo this is. Mike Allred's lovable hero, Madman--a chap whose real identity is unknown even to himself, and who has no real superpowers--runs into Superman. Literally, in a cross-dimensional vehicle, he runs into Superman. That collision leaves them both a bit mixed up, and they're going to have to go from Snap City to Metropolis and back to solve this one. It's no wonder the back cover proclaims this book is "more bizarre than Bizarro."--Jim Pascoe