Larry Todd
| Larry S. Todd | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 6, 1948 Buffalo, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist, Writer, Artist |
| Pseudonym(s) | Lou P. de Loupe |
|
Notable works
|
Dr. Atomic |
| Collaborators | Vaughn Bodé, Mark Bodé, Larry Welz |
Larry S. Todd (born April 6, 1948) is an American illustrator and cartoonist, best known for Dr. Atomic and his other work in underground comix, often with a science fiction bent.
Born in Buffalo, Todd studied art at Syracuse University where he crossed paths with Vaughn Bodé; the two became friends and collaborators. Todd created comics for Galaxy Science Fiction, as well as doing some writing for the science fiction magazine If. Todd later collaborated with Bodé on a series of cover paintings for Galaxy and magazines published by Warren Publishing.
After a brief period in New York, Todd moved in 1971 to San Francisco, where he created Dr. Atomic, initially for John Bryan's short-lived Sunday Paper and then as a comic book series published by Last Gasp. Comics historian Don Markstein described Dr. Atomic:
He first appeared in some of the transient underground newspapers of the early 1970s, where his first task was to build his robot assistant. . . . The character's back story included having been a lieutenant in the Luftwaffe in 1941, which would make him a good deal older than most of his 20-something readers. (Another clue was his bald head and thick, white beard.) Still, he had more in common with Billy Kropotkin, the dope-smoking hippie next door, than with Hank the heavily armed redneck next door on the other side. Billy and Dr. Atomic had one drug-addled sci-fi adventure after another, for six issues. The last came out in 1981. There were also T-shirts and suchlike—no lunch boxes or Underoos, of course, but one spun-off product was absolutely unique. Dr. Atomic's Marijuana Multiplier, which was published in 1974, provided instructions for a chemical process that allegedly enhanced cheap, low-quality pot. The chemicals are said by others to have been fairly dangerous if handled by non-professionals. Nonetheless, people bought a great many copies, and it is still in print.
...
Wikipedia