Don Simpson (cartoonist)

Don Simpson
Simpson in April 2016
Born	1961 (age 55–56) Livonia, Michigan, US
Area(s)	Writer, penciller, inker
Pseudonym(s)	Anton Drek
Notable works	Megaton Man, King Kong

Donald Edward Simpson (born 1961) is an American comic book cartoonist and freelance illustrator, most noted as the creator of the series Megaton Man, Border Worlds, and Bizarre Heroes, as well as the official comic book adaption of King Kong. He also freelanced for nearly every major comic book publisher. His most widely seen work are the illustrations he created for Al Franken's 2004 bestseller, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right.

Drawing since the age of five, Simpson was encouraged by artists James Malone and Keith Pollard, among others. Simpson debuted as a comic book artist in 1984 with his creation Megaton Man, a Kitchen Sink Press title that sometimes satirized superheroes cliches. In April 2013, Simpson received his PhD in History of Art and Architecture from the University of Pittsburgh.

Simpson wrote and drew the 10-issue Kitchen Sink Press comic-book series Megaton Man (Nov. 1984 – June 1986) and its three-issue miniseries sequel, The Return of Megaton Man (1988). Thereafter, subsequent installments of the previously color Megaton Man series appeared as black-and-white Kitchen Sink one-shots, including Megaton Man Meets the Uncategorizable X+Thems" #1 (April 1989), Yarn Man #1 (Oct. 1989), and Pteranoman #1 (Aug. 1990).

In summer 1985, Marvel Comics objected to Simpson's parody superhero team, the Megatropolis Quartet, claiming that Rex Rigid (Mr. Waterballoon/Liquid Man), Stella Starlight (the See-Thru Girl), and Bing Gloom (Yarn Man) too closely resembled its group the Fantastic Four, and issued a "cease and desist" letter. The publisher responded that the characters fell under the Fair Use doctrine, and Marvel pursued no further legal action.