Saturday, April 11, 2009
Comic Art
SO BAD, THEY'RE GOOD
Many people read comics and "fall in love" with the villains - they reach an iconic status that for this guy is hard to understand. Boba Fet or Darth Vader would be classic examples for me. Why all the focus on them - they are just fodder for the Jedi blade. But there is one bad guy, opposite Batman, that when he is done right, he absolutely steals the show - Two-Face.
Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, did not really come into his own as a villain until the 1980's. His appearances were rare before then, but after Miller reinvented the Crusader in the '80's and Andrew Helfer reinvented Two-Face in the wake of that in the book you see on right here (my personal nominee for best written comic book - ever), well Harvey went from a gimmick to the real deal.
Now, what ever you do, do not let the movies tell you about this guy. The Tommy Lee Jones portrayal from the Joel Schumacher/Val Kilmer film was awful - just awful. Jones is better than that, but I think Jim Carrey's over-acted Riddler and that ridiculous make-up forced Jones over the top - not to mention the script from hell. Aaron Eckhart's Two-Face from the most recent film is much better, but still falls short of the the mark. Harvey Dent is no man's pawn, not even the Joker. In fact the Two-Face I know and love would have killed Joker for the attempt - which, by the way, would have deepened the hero/villain chasm that defines this character and made him that much more interesting.
Nope, if you want to know Two-Face, and trust me, you do, you want to find yourself a copy of Batman Annual #14. You want to read it over and over and over again, and you will find the real nemesis Batman has always deserved. Both Harvey and the Joker are capable of unspeakable evil, but unlike Joker, Two-Face is redeemable - and therein lies the deliciousness of the character.
And the key question is - if Batman is ever able to permanently redeem Harvey Dent can he find the redemption he needs so deeply?
Many people read comics and "fall in love" with the villains - they reach an iconic status that for this guy is hard to understand. Boba Fet or Darth Vader would be classic examples for me. Why all the focus on them - they are just fodder for the Jedi blade. But there is one bad guy, opposite Batman, that when he is done right, he absolutely steals the show - Two-Face.Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, did not really come into his own as a villain until the 1980's. His appearances were rare before then, but after Miller reinvented the Crusader in the '80's and Andrew Helfer reinvented Two-Face in the wake of that in the book you see on right here (my personal nominee for best written comic book - ever), well Harvey went from a gimmick to the real deal.
Now, what ever you do, do not let the movies tell you about this guy. The Tommy Lee Jones portrayal from the Joel Schumacher/Val Kilmer film was awful - just awful. Jones is better than that, but I think Jim Carrey's over-acted Riddler and that ridiculous make-up forced Jones over the top - not to mention the script from hell. Aaron Eckhart's Two-Face from the most recent film is much better, but still falls short of the the mark. Harvey Dent is no man's pawn, not even the Joker. In fact the Two-Face I know and love would have killed Joker for the attempt - which, by the way, would have deepened the hero/villain chasm that defines this character and made him that much more interesting.Nope, if you want to know Two-Face, and trust me, you do, you want to find yourself a copy of Batman Annual #14. You want to read it over and over and over again, and you will find the real nemesis Batman has always deserved. Both Harvey and the Joker are capable of unspeakable evil, but unlike Joker, Two-Face is redeemable - and therein lies the deliciousness of the character.
And the key question is - if Batman is ever able to permanently redeem Harvey Dent can he find the redemption he needs so deeply?
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