Heroes Jargon
by Bob Butman
illustration by David Dawson
This month, I’d like to try to take some time to talk about the Dark Age of comics and some of the pioneers that are taking us there. The true passion of the pen and pencil are coming together like never before. The reality of life, death, rape, murder, brutal violence and mental illness are being brought to our attention in new ways. The days of “me good-you bad” type dialogue are over with this emerging genre of comics. Today’s heroes are not always the good guys with gigantic muscles and flowing capes. The new breed of characters are multi-dimensional with a good as well a clearly delineated evil side. This is not the diabolical evil of Mephisto we’re dealing with, but the realistic dark side in all of us.
Neil Gaimen, Sam Keith, James O’Bar, Kelly Jones, Jim Starlin, Frank Miller and Matt Wagner are just some of the creatively intelligent artists and writers that have brought the comic industry greater respect. These are the people responsible for the way people view comics in today’s society. And now they’re actually starting to be taken seriously by more than just those of us who are hardcore fans.
The most recent breakthrough for this type of comic literature was a film about one of the characters created by James O’Bar entitled The Crow. For many of you who were already long-time Crow fans, like myself, the film was somewhat of a disappointment. But for those who had never heard of The Crow, the film was an utter success. One different from the Bat-craze a few years ago, which had everyone, including kids and adults, buying up just about anything with a bat symbol on it. In this shallow process of popularity, the soul of the character was watered down to the point where everyone had forgotten just what it was that had made the DarkKnight great. It’s almost as if no one really cared what happened to the Batman just as long as it kept their most recent Bat purchases in the big $$ category.
The reason the film version of The Crow was a such a milestone was that people didn’t have all of the overwhelming media and merchandising, yet it was still a huge success. At most, filmgoers had going in was a limited series with a very limited print run. So anyone that was actually interested in the character really had to work at getting to know more about it and the Crow Graphic Novel was basically the only feasible way to accomplish that. The simplicity of it all tricked people into caring about the character and the story instead of just the hype. (By the way if you have never read The Crow, you are missing out on one of the most influential comics of today.)
Another comic that has had a huge impact on the comic world is The Sandman written and created by Neil Gaimen. Much of the influence that came from this comic was through art as well as writing. This book created what comics in these Dark Ages look like. The brilliantly bizzarre pencils of Sam Keith, Kelly Jones and Dave McKean forged the eerie perceptions and gloomy environments for our fledgling heroes of the 90’s. It also brought a new way as to how we look at our female characters, which is extremely important as more and more women are starting to enjoy comics. The Sandman’s sister is Death. For me, she is the first female character that I’ve read about and wished that she was real. I guess the whole point that I’m getting at is that there are some beautiful pieces that are being sculpted that are being ignored by the mainstream.
These people are the Shakespeares, Salingers, Michelangelos, and Dalis of the comic world and it saddens me that they are not able to be appreciated by more people due to their preconceived notions of comics. There is a passion and brilliance in comics that you can’t find anywhere else.
Alright, enough with my feeble pleas to the ignorant masses. Let’s finish with the old who’s a schmuck and who’s not. First is who’s not. Jae Lee is one of the newest members in the industry and is a welcome addition to this so-called Dark Age that I’ve been rambling about. His book is entitled Hellshock and shows the kind of potential that will continue to give comics the respect that they deserve. So quite frankly, what I’m saying buy the damn thing!
Well, now comes the fun part, Schmuck time. There’s nothing like finishing with a good old bash on one of the people who encourage others to think that comics are stupid. That right, my favorite boy is back. Rob Liefeld has done it again. In his latest installment of paper excrement, he introduces a wonderful new character, Warwolf. The funny thing is that he probably spent more time thinking what to name it than creating what it looks like. Sad, but oh too true. Liefeld is such a jerk! Does think that we’re all retarded! This character is exactly the same as Sabertooth. I hope Marvel tries to sue the shit out him. What a LOSER! I’m going to have to stop now, before I get out of hand, otherwise the men in white will come and I don’t want that. Bye, Bye.
(Comics courtesy of SuperHero Universe.)
