Dr Archeville
Publication information
PublisherDuke Hospital
First appearanceGeektastic Comics #1977.06.02 (June 2, 1977)
Created byKathy Howell
David Howell
In-story information
Alter egoJonathan Benjamin Howell
Team affiliationsNorth Carolina State University
Notable aliasesBig Jon, Batty, GodFather, Hand of Vecna, Dr Archeville, Doc, Archie.
AbilitiesHigh intelligence and a broad knowledge of many topics.
Decent karaoke performer.
Good cook.

Dr. Archeville is the alias of Jonathan Howell, a Library Assistant at the NCSU Libraries.

User Information edit

History edit

Jonathan has always been interested in comics - some of the first things he remembers reading were some old JSA comics. He tries to keep an even balance between DC and Marvel comics, and has read the occasional "sideline" title. Personal faves include Avengers, Dork Tower, Evil Ernie, Fantastic Four, Hellboy, Iron Man, JLA and JSA, Knights of the Dinner Table, MetaDocs, X-Men, and The Walking Dead. He likes both DC and Marvel roughly equally, but has had more exposure to and experience with Marvel than any other.

Jonathan's also a big fan of cartoons, especially the plethora of action-oriented (and, honestly, blatantly commercial) 'toons of the 1980s and 1990s. He's also quite fond of the CGI series Beast Wars and ReBoot.

Jonathan also likes most anything relating to zombies, and to a slightly lesser extent fantasy, horror & science fiction in general. He loves the works of H. P. Lovecraft; other fave authors include Greg Bear and Robin Cook.

Contributions to the Wikipedia edit

I created and/or heavily edited/modified the following articles:

Comics Related, DC


Comics Related, Marvel


Roleplaying Game Related


Television & Movie Related

Published Works in Other Media edit

  • "Machines of Doom", an article detailing nearly 100 devices used by the nefarious Doctor Doom, translated for use in the Mutants & Masterminds superhero tabletop roleplaying game. This was published in the first issue of Super Samurai, a free-to-download .pdf fanzine available here.
  • "Upon a Pale Horse", an article detailing dozens of diseases and poisons, used both in the real world and in comics throughout history, translated for use in the Mutants & Masterminds superhero tabletop roleplaying game. This was published in the second issue of Super Samurai, a free-to-download .pdf fanzine available here. This second article is far less "rules-heavy" than the Machines of Doom article, and is more easily accessible to the non-gaming layperson.
  • "Down on the Farm", a Four Color/Silver Age-style adventure for the Mutants & Masterminds superhero tabletop roleplaying game. This was published in the third issue of Super Samurai, a free-to-download .pdf fanzine available here.
  • Not content to be published in free fanzines, Jonathan Howell soon broke into the field of freelance writing. His essay, "Growing Up Super: A Study of the Metahuman Lifecycle from Conception to Death. Part One: Powerful Conception" discusses "the difficulties metahumans face in conceiving offspring and during pregnancy, written by preeminent physician Dr. Viktor Archeville, a specialist in metahuman physiology and psychology." The essay is written in the style of an article taken from the pages of the [fictional] Journal of the Metahuman International Medical Association. In the context of this work, metahuman is a term used to describe any human being with super powers. This is the first in a multichapter series of treatises detailing the metahuman lifecycle. Available at e23, Lulu, and RPGNow.
  • "Growing Up Super - Part Two: Born to Fly", detailing the difficulties superpowers impose on the birthing process, and how the stresses of birth can affect superpower. Available at e23, Lulu, and RPGNow.
  • "Growing Up Super - Part Three: When Toddler Attack", detailing the difficulties metahumans face while raising and caring for small children who may themselves have super-powers. Available at e23, Lulu, and RPGNow.
  • "Growing Up Super - Part Four: Kids Do The Darndest Things", detailing the difficulties educators, and metahuman parents, face in the educational system and when disciplining metahuman children. Available at e23, Lulu, and RPGNow.
  • "Growing Up Super - Part Five: Titanic Teens", a discussion of the difficulties associated with puberty, late adolescence, and teen culture when raising metahuman children. Available at e23, Lulu, and RPGNow.
  • For Halloween of 2006, Jonathan released "The Journal of franklin von Mookenstein", which contained both journal entries from that famed monster hunter and detailed notes on ten undead monstrosities, suitable for use in a superheroic campaign, a game of post-apocalyptic mayhem, supernatural horror or heroic fantasy (as long as the Mutants & Masterminds RPG system is what's used). Available at e23, Lulu, and RPGNow.
  • For Halloween of 2007, Jonathan released "The Second Journal of franklin von Mookenstein", which contained both journal entries from that famed monster hunter and detailed notes on several shapeshifting (and shape-stealing) monstrosities, suitable for use in a superheroic campaign, a game of post-apocalyptic mayhem, supernatural horror or heroic fantasy (as long as the Mutants & Masterminds RPG system is what's used). Available at e23, Lulu, and RPGNow.

Trivia edit

  • Jonathan recently discovered that his long-repressed theatrical flair makes him an excellent karaoke performer, as he amazed the crowd at the 2004 Seasonal Library Staff Party with his rendition of George Thorogood's Bad to the Bone.