Saturday, May 24, 2014
Comic Art
SO BAD, THEY'RE GOOD - "SAY IT ISN'T SO" EDITION
I suppose it was inevitable. Somewhere buried in my comic collection is the beginnings of a character known as "The Creeper." I will admit, that even at its Steve Ditko drawn inception, the character made little sense, but he was so inviting to look at. Even more than Spidey or Doc Strange, the character seemed to be tremendously suited to Ditko's drawing style and I was hooked. I figured they'd resolve the bizarre origins and motivations eventually.
The character did not last long in its original run and has since shown up and disappeared in small spurts, still stuttering towards a cohesive story. There are two hallmarks of the character. One, he was crazy as a loon. The second hallmark flowed from that, he walked the razors edge between good and evil.
By the time this is published the comics in questioned will be old news, but as I write they are yet to be published. As DC Comics gave their entire universe over to the villains in the fall of 2013, up popped the Creeper as one of the baddies. I suppose it was inevitable given how evil looking the artists had been drawing him in recent years.
I am certain that at some point, the character will be redeemed - that is the way of comics. But come on guys! Yes, we all struggle with our dark sides, but can their be no character that wins, consistently?
While not as dramatic as a true turn to the total darkness, I honestly worry that we are redefining the human condition in a fashion that means we have to, at some point, give into our dark sides. I have actually had someone argue with me that by giving in to our dark sides an recovering we discover our true humanity. As if good is not good unless it flows in opposition to evil.
I try to not get preachy in this space, so I will stop now, but....
Creeper comic art comic books comics villain
I suppose it was inevitable. Somewhere buried in my comic collection is the beginnings of a character known as "The Creeper." I will admit, that even at its Steve Ditko drawn inception, the character made little sense, but he was so inviting to look at. Even more than Spidey or Doc Strange, the character seemed to be tremendously suited to Ditko's drawing style and I was hooked. I figured they'd resolve the bizarre origins and motivations eventually.The character did not last long in its original run and has since shown up and disappeared in small spurts, still stuttering towards a cohesive story. There are two hallmarks of the character. One, he was crazy as a loon. The second hallmark flowed from that, he walked the razors edge between good and evil.
By the time this is published the comics in questioned will be old news, but as I write they are yet to be published. As DC Comics gave their entire universe over to the villains in the fall of 2013, up popped the Creeper as one of the baddies. I suppose it was inevitable given how evil looking the artists had been drawing him in recent years.I am certain that at some point, the character will be redeemed - that is the way of comics. But come on guys! Yes, we all struggle with our dark sides, but can their be no character that wins, consistently?
While not as dramatic as a true turn to the total darkness, I honestly worry that we are redefining the human condition in a fashion that means we have to, at some point, give into our dark sides. I have actually had someone argue with me that by giving in to our dark sides an recovering we discover our true humanity. As if good is not good unless it flows in opposition to evil.
I try to not get preachy in this space, so I will stop now, but....
