The first issue of the Madballs comic book was published by Star Comics in September 1986.
The Evil of Dr. Frankenbeans[]
Cast[]
- Screamin' Meemie
- Dust Brain
- Slobulus
- Oculus Orbus
- Skull Face
- Bash Brain
- Aargh
- Horn Head
- Tommy
- Dawn
- Oxford
- Chin
- Tyrone
- Waldo
- Lynn
- Beauregard
- Dr. Frankenbeans
- Snivelitch
Plot[]
A car full of rubber balls swerves to avoid crossing a black cat's path. At least eight of the rubber balls fall into a lake full of toxic sludge near the secret lab of R.U.I.N.(Research Unlimited In Nucleonics). The properties of the toxic lake mutate the eight rubber balls into the Madballs. After their creation, the Madballs come across and befriend eight children. Dr. Frankenbeans then sees the Madballs and sends his assistant Snivelitch to capture the Madballs. After Snivelitch fails, Frankenbeans tries to get the Madballs by pretending to be a nice man and offering a drink. Skull Face is the only one who buys his story and gets the hiccups after drinking the drink. In the end, the Madballs defeat Dr. Frankenbeans and cure Skull Face of his hiccups by scaring him, which is done by showing him his reflection.
Every child keeps each Madball at their homes: Tommy keeps Screamin' Meemie, Chin keeps Dust Brain, Tyrone keeps Skull Face, Dawn keeps Oculus, Oxford keeps Bash Brain, Waldo keeps Slobulus, Lynn keeps Aargh, and Beauregard keeps Horn Head.
Corn-Ered![]
Cast[]
- Bash Brain
- Oculus Orbus
- Aargh
- Dust Brain
- Skull Face
- Screamin' Meemie
- Horn Head
- Slobulus
- Tommy
- Oxford
- Chin
- Tyrone
- Lynn
- Waldo
- Dawn
- Beauregard
- Colonel Corn
- The Cornball
Plot[]
While playing hide and seek with the Madballs, the children hide in a cornfield, only to be captured by the minions of a mysterious new villain. When the Madballs go through the cornfield and search for the missing children, they find a trail of corn leading to an old barn. Inside the barn, they see the kids being held captive by Colonel Corn, who was originally a kernel of corn until he fell into the toxic R.U.I.N. lake, and now is "corn-sidering" ruling the world. The Madballs are at first no match for Colonel Corn due to his horrible corn puns weakening them. Dust Brain temporarily manages to stop Colonel Corn from saying more puns by using his gauze to wrap around his mouth and shut him up. It doesn't last long when Colonel Corn summons his last weapon, a large Cornball that also tells horrible puns. All hope is lost until Lynn pretends to insult the Madballs to make Screamin' Meemie so angry that he glows white hot and makes all of the corn turn into pop corn. Before sending Colonel Corn to the police, the gang watch television while eating the pop corn made from what remains of his minions.
Trivia[]
In the final panel of the second story, the Madballs and the kids watch Care Bears on television. The Madballs and the Care Bears are both properties of American Greetings. Marvel even published a crossover comic of the two franchises.