Van Jensen, who writes occasional comic articles for the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, spoke with Dean Haspiel, Mike Allred, Philip and Brian Phillipson, Chris Gumprich and Dennis Culver for a part article, part review piece on independent comics:
Another well-known creator who has resisted the urge to move full-on into mainstream titles is Mike Allred, creator of Madman. Like Haspiel, Allred also has worked for large publishers, but most of his focus has gone to very personal projects, such as his ongoing Madman series (Image, $ 2. 99 ). Of the various books he’s worked on, Allred says, “I love them all, but there’s no question that I flat enjoy Madman the most. It flows easy and is a crazy good time. It satisfies all my creative juices without any stress or fear or concern with how it will be received.” Madman tells the story of Frank Einstein, a former hit man who died and was reanimated with superpowers and burning questions about his past. It’s the only deeply existential book that features robots, aliens and beatniks as villains.
Allred also offers advice to aspiring creators, telling them to be their own worst critic, but to “never lose the desire to keep going.”
