Saturday, May 12, 2007
Comic Art
Anybody note any coincidental appearance here? Maybe just a little? Think it is an accident? Guess again. Hermes is not just luggage. Hermes, the statue on the left, in the Greek pantheon and Mercury in the Roman were the god of speed and they were a classic image in the public mind long before comic books. I have seen such statues dating back, of course to the Roman Empire, but also through the centuries since the fall of that empire and the invention of the comic book. On the right, of course, is the original comic book speedster, the Golden Age Flash.
Of course the comics knew they could be too derivative so they simply co-opted the mythological characters for the comics. The model became the derivative in this instance. You have to admit that such is incredible creative power.Other things associated with Hermes/Mercury are the caduseus, the symbol of medicine used to this day, and; of course, the FTD Florist network. There could be some interesting lawsuits here.
The winged feet are also a very cool imagery, picked up most notably in the Marvel character of Namor. Anyway, when you think about it, there are no new ideas under the sun, even comic speedsters.
Related Tags: comics, comic books, comic art, speedsters, Golden Age Flash, Hermes, Mercury
