Bing Gloom

Bing Gloom made their comics debut in Don Simpson's Megaton Man #1 back in 1984, arriving at the tail end of the Bronze Age with a sensibility that was equal parts superhero satire and genuine affection for the genre. Over four decades of publication history — spanning Megaton Man, Bizarre Heroes, and Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon — this character has proven remarkably durable, sharing pages with the likes of Megaton Man, Yarn Man, Donna Blank, and Dragon across a delightfully eclectic corner of the Image universe. With 36 catalogued appearances and at least one collector-significant key issue to their name, Bing Gloom is exactly the kind of cult discovery that rewards the dedicated back-issue digger — a character rooted in one of indie comics' most inventive creative visions and still turning up decades later.