This issue of Madman is all about splits. Allred arranges the panels horizontally parallel to cut the story into two halves that happen simultaneously before uniting them through the presence of a super-villain.

The top group of panels details Frank Einstein's and the Atomics' endeavors to reach Dr. Flem's headquarters. Because Flem wants to surprise Frank, he has taken the liberty to set up some robotic pets to slow him down. This allows for witty Madman action that while breaking no new ground still suits the manic nature of the character.

The bottom flow of panels unfolds the fission of Luna and Joe into perfect clone bodies. Joe also gains a modified Madman costume; indicating that she developed a taste for adventure as part of the amalgamated Lunajoe and will join Frank in the future as an equal partner.

Everything has gone surprisingly well up until now. There's no gotcha like Joe resenting Frank for fooling around with the body of another woman, or in fact loving another woman. Joe and Luna remain close. The transference has left no side-effects. This corroborates Dr. Flem's brilliance. Allred even addresses the reasons why Flem cannot clone himself a new body and rid himself of the neck-brace that holds his head and original form together. He also foreshadows the return of Adam, the armored Atomic who met an unfortunate fate. The villain of the piece is a familiar name if not face, and it's he that throws a spanner, a pair of them in fact, into the works.

The artwork by the Allreds first attracted me to Madman and kept me interested even when the plots took a downturn. This issue features some of their most coherently super-heroic artwork as Frank battles mecha and he and the Atomics team-up to fight the villain in the final act. The emotional drama of the fission is beautiful to watch thanks to Mike Allred's skill at illustrating body language, natural interaction and expression. Laura Allred's acrylic-like colors at once creates a gorgeous tapestry within the story and distinguishes Madman from other super-hero stories. Like The Simpsons, Madman sports colors and shades found nowhere else.

The latest issue of Madman satisfies the science fiction and super-hero fan. An old villain raises his less than ugly head and joins a bisection of beautiful artwork.

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