Comic Book Wings

[Abishai100]

There are two special American comic book characters that capture our artistic fascination with self-image.

Comic books are a great medium, since they are like modern hieroglyphs of society daydreams.

Two American comic book characters, Phantom (a sleek and wily Earth defender) and Toyman (a diabolical super-terrorist controlling various bombs that look like toys) capture our curiosities about self-control.

Coordinating such art with social dialogue in our age of convenience consumerism access (i.e., eBay, eTrade, etc.) reveals the real human demand for relevant control-paranoia Hollywood (USA) movies such as "Hellraiser" (1987).

 

[Abishai100]

A Host of Highballs (DJ'd by the Green Goblin)


There's no reason to create an oligarchy in the world of comic books, which is part of the magic of comic books.

Phantom (KFS - King Features Syndicate) and Toyman (DC Comics) are the 'two pillars of wisdom' in the comic book world.




However, there are other, less symbolic comic book characters that capture a social fascination with self-image priorities:

1. Sandman (Marvel Comics): a villain who can shape-shift and make instant weapons

2. Scarecrow (DC Comics): a villain who uses fear toxins against the innocent

3. Daredevil (Marvel Comics): an undercover superhero who defies the schemes of tyranny

4. Aquaman (DC Comics): an aquatic superhero who defends the seas

5. Green Goblin (Marvel Comics): a jet-soaring terrorist ghoul who throws pumpkin bombs





Of these five handsome/hideous characters, Green Goblin (Marvel Comics) stands out since he represents the emotional anarchy associated with pure relentless mayhem.

It is the populism-fertile world of comic books that allows an art historian or sociologist (or cartoon critic) to devote an entire period of study to the psychology-iconography features of the tricky Green Goblin.





Green Goblin (Wikia)

 

[Abishai100]

Spider-Man Symbiote: Science-Fiction Schoolyard


In the world of Spider-Man (Marvel Comics), a strange alien substance called the Symbiote merges with eccentric human beings and creates enhanced monsters. Such is how a man named Eddie Brock and a man named Cletus Kasady become brutish/maniacal super-villains named Venom and Carnage.

Venom and Carnage are re-presentations of rage and chaos, and the Symbiote controlling them leads them towards mayhem. Then, Venom and Carnage soon spawn another symbiote-creature named Toxin who fortunately is persuaded to control his urges and use his strength/force for policework.

There is a special Venom versus Carnage comic book issue as well as issues devoted solely to Toxin. These Symbiote-related characters reveal the science-paranoia themes inherent in comic book literature, themes about regeneration failures, enhancement disasters, and biological transformation anxieties. We see how comic books can cast a new light onto the world of science-fiction (and science-fiction horror).





Venom versus Carnage

Toxin (Wikipedia)

Leviathan (Film)

 

[Abishai100]

Theme Markets: The Child's Golem


One last note I wanted to add to this thread about general art appreciation for comic book media and stylistics in modern society concerns the thematic tones of comic book art.

Unlike primal expressionism or abstract cubism or classic impressionism or Dadaism sketchings, comic book art seems to embrace a child-like 'baby-block' constructive approach to pedestrian consciousness.

Comic book characters such as Aquaman (DC Comics) and Deadpool (Marvel Comics) embody a general curiosity about basic silhouettes that speak to a direct focus on simplified behaviors (i.e., vigilantism).

Comic book adapted films are all the rage in Hollywood (USA) now and perhaps this trend began with exposition-simplification films such as "Ishtar" [1987] and "Toys" [1992].



Deadpool

 

[Abishai100]

The Oscorp Dianetics

Spider-Man (Marvel Comics) tackles all kinds of eerie ghouls such as Carnage (Kletus Casady) and Hobgoblin (Roderick Kingsley).

These ghouls symbolize a human curiosity about transformation and strength (and greed).

The Gray Goblin (Gabriel Stacy) is a wandering 'son of perdition,' while Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) is a mad scientist. They both travel on jet-gliders and carry pumpkin-bombs.

Norman Osborn is the head of the science research firm Oscorp, which studies the biophysical impact of 'other-worldly transformations.'

Oscorp signifies a comics art investment in terrifying science-fiction themes, so we can use it to understand/evaluate 'political cartoons' about science playspaces.



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GRAY GOBLIN: You're just an insect, Spider-Man!
GREEN GOBLIN: What New York needs is real monsters!
SPIDER-MAN: Oscorp should have studied medicine more than 'mad science.'

GRAY GOBLIN: I've transformed into a god!
GREEN GOBLIN: I've transformed into a prophet!
SPIDER-MAN: Oscorp has the potential to cure you.

GRAY GOBLIN: We don't want a cure!
GREEN GOBLIN: We want revolution!
SPIDER-MAN: Oscorp must benefit mankind, not the human ego.

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Oscorp

Gray Goblin

Green Goblin

 

[Abishai100]

The Lamp of Patriotism


In any engaging comic book story about heroes dealing with villains, we find greater social intrigue when the targets/arenas presented have great sociological significance/relevance/symbolism.

So if Green Arrow and Green Lantern are tackling the Mad Hatter and Gray Goblin in Washington, D.C., then we know that the story is drawing our attention to an American appreciation of the nation's capital.

While American comics speak to a pedestrian 'optimism' towards democracy, they also deal specifically with how everyday people 'feel' about a society's value-system, which is why comics are terrific entertainment media for the presentation of 'digestible/intelligible ethics messages' as they relate to national-cultural values (i.e., patriotism).


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The valiant duo of Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) were tackling the evil alliance of the Mad Hatter (Jervis Tetch) and the Gray Goblin (Gabriel Stacy) in Washington, D.C. on Halloween Eve. Hatter and Goblin wanted to 'introduce' themselves to the nation's capital on Halloween, since their outlandish 'costumes' would be mistaken for 'cheerful' Halloween festivity, which is exactly what Arrow and Lantern predicted. When Arrow and Lantern confronted Hatter and Goblin in Washington, the first thing the heroic duo stated out loud to the stunned crowd of witnesses was, "We will not let anyone destroy Halloween in D.C.!"

Hatter and Goblin became enraged, and Goblin pulled out his megaphone and said, "You two 'do-gooders' have no sense of style or fun!" before throwing four pumpkin-bombs right into the White House. Arrow shot four well-aimed arrows at each pumpkin-bomb before they reached the windows of the White House, and the bombs detonated before crashing through the glass windows. Lantern then pulled out his green power-ring and shined his blinding green-light from it to blind the eyes of the Hatter who was about to throw tear-gas grenades into the D.C. crowd of witnesses.

Arrow pulled out a very thick green rope (made of sturdy and re-wrapped bamboo leaves) and used it to tie up Hatter and Goblin around their necks. Lantern kept the two evil-doers debilitated by keeping his blinding power-ring green-light shining in their eyes to block their line-of-sight. As Arrow and Lantern carried off Hatter and Goblin to Arkham Asylum (the nation's premier center for incarceration and treatment for society's most dangerous criminally-insane individuals), Arrow grabbed Goblin's megaphone and said into it towards the crowd of witnesses, "Remember this day when the Arrow-Lantern team put an end to Halloween terrorism by rescuing the Mad Hatter and the Gray Goblin from themselves!"

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[Abishai100]

Mutant World: Scribbled Shamanism


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A young man named Preston was a magical chocolate-cooking 'elf' who lived in the forests of the Pine Barrens and drew various child-like stick-figure drawings of unusual-looking creatures, beings, and 'superhumans' (who may or may not correlate to folk myths about elf-like creatures and hobgoblins). Preston believed the world was beautiful and worshipped everything in nature. Preston's greatest hatred was reserved for eco-pollution.

An evil mad scientist living in NYC named Dr. Norman Osborn decided to unleash onto the world the dark influence of three 'super-ghouls.' One was a corrupt NASDAQ-titan named Kingpin who had ties to the underworld; another was a criminally insane beautiful young woman named Felicia Hardy who terrorized cop cars at night dressed as an 'anti-heroine' named Black Cat; the third was Osborn himself mutated by a deadly eco-toxin which turned him into a muscular soaring menace named Green Goblin. Kingpin, Black Cat, and Green Goblin comprised the anti-human 'army' that would invade the forests of the Pine Barrens and Preston's otherwise peaceful kingdom.

Preston could not fight all three villains simultaneously, so he made them a deal. He would cook his delicious magical insatiable chocolates for a restaurant and amusement park the three could build together right outside the Pine Barrens. Osborn agreed to the deal, and Preston would distribute, among other things, frozen chocolate sheets covered with a digestible sugar-paper with food-dye embossed transcriptions of his stick-figure drawings of elfin creatures (meant to signify the fun of playing with food!). The restaurant and amusement park were called Mutant World, and it made millions in New Orleans and San Francisco and became bigger than Eurodisney.

At the end of his life, Preston wrote in his diary, "I have no regrets becoming a chocolatier-ally of Osborn and his 'army' and helping the three gargoyles build Mutant World and see it proper in incredible ways. If capitalism can literally save the day and dissuade humanity from outlandish acts of terrorism and malice and mayhem, then we can argue that mercantilism can be used in this age of the free market to seek economic routes to conflict-resolution. I am also very happy with the sales and compliments our Elf Candies have received at Mutant World. Perhaps the magic of life is in the everyday metaphysics of 'simple things' (such as candy!)."

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PRESTON and one of his DRAWINGS:

KINGPIN, BLACK CAT, and GREEN GOBLIN: