Why I Do What I Do and What's To Come

Some of you have asked me why my main comic idea is morbid and gory when I could do so much more. Muzzle hasn't been my best effort at the comedy style (when it comes back, it'll be better, trust me), but it had potential. But my true comic "love," if you could call it that, is Goria, a truly disgusting, frightening, and disturbing tale that revolves around death (quite often), violence, and anything else negative. But, why do I focus on the negative in this comic?

First of all, when have comics shown a complete positive on anything? Take Spider-Man (way before selling his soul), for example. Several issues had dealt with drug abuse, and even murder (Gwen Stacy). Batman is another example. People used to love the golden age Batman, but think of why he is Batman. His parents were murdered in front of him when he was eight. No way is he going to be as "well adjust" as he acts in the golden age comics. In fact, he would be either scarred for life, or incredibly bitter. Other comics have taken the route of going dark earlier, i.e. Alan Moore's run on Miracleman, in which Kid Miracleman is raped, and, in vengeance, destroys London in an excessively grotesque manner. Alan Moore himself is a good example of dark comics done really well, especially the well known classic, Watchmen, which was a fantastic read, even if the end is a little out dated.

My interest in horror, though, peaked when I was young. I used to watch Nightmare on Elm Street, and Video Dead every Halloween. They scared me, but the creative aspect of monsters intrigued me. As I grew old, I found the ruthless killer kind of monotonous, and grew tired of it. I wanted to be scared by a monster with a brain, with sentient thought. At the same time, I was getting steadily more depressed, and I wanted my emotional, and mental, pain to stop. Around the sixth grade, I drew a picture of a man sitting on a crag, with his skin turning into tendrils. My older brother saw it, and said "Ew. That's gory." That moment, I came up with a name for him: Goria. The character... not my brother.

I formulated his back story, and tried to make it funny, but as the years went by, it was pointed out that it was more scary than anything else. Discouraged, I decided to change the tone and make the comic scary. Instead of the main character, a monster that he maybe, being a ruthless killer superhero, a la Spawn, I made Goria, a.k.a Nathaniel Andrews, emotional. Driven. Human. He had a heart, but wasn't infallible. He was like a normal person, but with his disturbing powers. The enemies were given quirks: HodgePodge suffered every mental disorder known to man at different times, and knew it, but refused to treat himself. Samael was cast out of Hell on to Earth for defying the devil by saying Hell wasn't "cruel enough." Succubus possesses a girl who loves Nathaniel, and battle of duality sets in. Sodom and Gomorrah are two women in love with each other, but conflicted in two ways. Sodom wants to use Gomorrah, but loves her anyway, and Gomorrah doesn't want to kill, but does so for Sodom. TRAC is more intelligent than anything on earth, but his monstrous appearance scares people to the point where he's a nihilist.

Even the supporting characters had quirks that made them more real. Sin watched Samael brutalize her parents. Zeta is Samael's sister. Jillian Dyer, the Provider, is rescued from being one of Belial's sex slave porn stars, only to get possessed by Succubus (her third incarnation). Angeldust, one of the Barnum Ring's Circus gang members, wants to be human to repent for her sins, and Heroin wants to be human so she can be human again. The heroes have their heartwrenching moments, but so do the villains.

Why did I do this, though? It's gory, violent, and horrific, yes. But look beyond the dark, blood red exterior, and look at the storylines themselves. Monster's aren't the physical appearance, but what's inside the person. As sickening as the hero is, he tries to save countless lives, and ultimately feels compassion, even if its not shown to him. Is he still a monster?

Another point in Goria, beyond the psychology and philosophy of it, is Religion. As odd as it sounds, Religion plays a huge part in it. And I don't mean that because the main villains are demons. I mean that in the way that characters act, and their purposes. Goria wants good to prevail, and ultimately tries to save the world from premature Apocalypses three times, despite the fact that its not his destiny. He doesn't do this because he's a messiah, he does this so, as he puts it in World War, "God can end this on his terms." At several points, Goria even prays for guidance and thanks. Does this mean its a religious comic? No. But, as a subject within it, Religion is one of the biggest.

So while it is frightening and gory, oddly enough, for me its cathartic. Goria is by unusual means, a hero, because of what he does in the comic, but also in a sense that he is a way for me to explore concepts that are hard to explore in real life, such as death, crime, violence, and psychology. But the brightness shines through it, too. Through out the death and blood, a ray of hope shines through. Whether its God, or just a man standing up for what he believes in (in the comic, that is), I don't know yet, because the story is far from being over, but ever closer to beginning.

On a last note, I'm doing some concept work and promos for Goria. Right now, I'm drawing a poster of Erica DuPont, Goria's "Gwen Stacy," if you will, and designing the villain REM. Stay tuned.