Gary Carlson was exposed to Dr. Weird (who originally appeared in the fanzine "Star-Studded Comics" #1 in 1963) in one of the character's earliest collected appearances, "Comic Crusader Storybook" #1 (Al Greim, 1977), in a story by Howard Keltner and Dennis Fujitake. ("The Comic Crusader Storybook" was a trade paperback fanzine anthology which included short stories featuring the work of many independent artists and writers.) In 1994, Carlson co-created the "Big Bang" anthology series, alongside artist/writer Chris Ecker. (In the 1990s Carlson wrote "Berzerker" for Caliber Press; one of the first canonical appearances of a Big Bang Comics character was by the Knight Watchman in "Berzerker" #1 1993.) In 1993, Carlson and Edward DeGeorge acquired all rights to Dr. Weird from Howard Keltner, eventually folded him into the Big Bang universe and making him the only character with a genuine pedigree.