Radioactive Man

Today I will review two issues of Bongo comic's Radioactive Man series. Radioactive man is a fictional comic book character from the Simpsons, and I will assume everyone knows what the Simpsons is. The issues I will be reviewing are issues number 412(Steve Vance Script-Layouts Bill Morrison finished art, Tim Bavington Additional Inks, Cindy Vance, Colors and Matt Groening as "spin doctor"), and issue number 88(Steve Vance, script/pencils, Bill Morrison co-plot/finished art, Cindy Vance co-plot/colors). Now, the comic hasn't really been released for 412 issues mind you, the limited series was released "out of order", I guess to poke fun at Super hero books that run for hundred upon hundreds of issues. The whole series is a loving swipe at superhero comics, and it is very enjoyable, to my surprise.
Radioactive Man is really Claude Kane, who somehow had a lightning bolt stuck in his head. In his secret identity form he must always wear a hat to hide the lightning bolt. His partner, Fallout Boy (Rod Runtledge) is a Peter Parker/Robin type character, who has an Aunt and is a bit of a wiener. They also are teamed with the Superior Squad, a Justice League-esque super team of heroes.
Each issue is Packed with little tidbits of comic bookish humor, poking fun at the corny style of old comics, but lovingly so. I think everyone involved has a great love of old superhero comics, but also realizes how inherently funny a lot of them are today.
For one thing, they always explain what they are doing, despite the fact that it is a comic book, and we can plainly see what they are doing, just like old Stan Lee comics and the like. Also, many of Radioactive Man's heroic exploits result in big problems, like in the two images above. There is a section in issue number 88 that covers the origin of Fallout boy, which is similar to Peter Parker's.
There is also a section similar to a classic Stan Lee/Steve Ditko Spidey tale, in which he is trapped under a giant piece of machinery. I never read the issue of spider man, but I saw some art and remembered the plot, I thought it was a cool tribute.
The series art is in the Simpson's style, with a little bit of Jack Kirby thrown in, and I think looks pretty sharp overall. I really like the limited color palette, and I think they capture the look of Silver age comics very well. These comics are really funny, and I am sad I don't have the remaining issues. For a comic based off an existing property, I would say these issues are very impressive. In fact these two issues are just good comics! Great, funny stories and writing, great cartoony/comic style art, no ads to speak of really, except for ads for other Bongo books, as well as Hilarious fake comic ads like this one:
So if you like the Simpsons or old super-hero comics or even both, then pick these up! They aren't exactly new, these issues are from 1994, but they are great stuff!