(This is the third
installment of my essay on 2 key influences on me during the period in the
early 1990’s when I was drawing “The Mark”, the first of which is the movie
producer for RKO in the early/mid 40’s, Val Lewton.)
My admiration for Lewton
validated my own dramatic equipoise. In “The Mark In America”, I resolved to
treat the Archon with as much respect, gravitas, and droll (or arch) humor as I
did the Mark and his posse. I would not put my artistic thumb on the balance of
the audience’s decision of who was morally superior; let the reader judge for
themselves based on their interpretation of the events depicted. In fact, one
might find oneself rooting for the Archon and Helda, since they are under
assault by an implacable foe. So be it.
And this is the page where
the assault begins. In case you were wondering, the Archon is equally as
strong, resistant to pain, and equipped with high speed healing as The Mark; I
believe the back story is, both characters came out of the same genetic experimental
program that, for some unremembered reason, ended with the two of them. The
writer, Mike Barr, bragged to me that he was using the freedom and lack of
expectations on the part of the editor, Bob Schreck, to break the traditional
superhero comics rules. One of which was to load down each installment with
fight scenes. Spoiler Alert: The set piece starting here and the climax of
issue 4 are the closest we get to a normal comic book fight scene in the entire
4-issue mini-series, and we never do get the anticipate final knock-down
drag-out that the entire series seems to be building towards. Sorry if I
spoiled it for you (no I’m not). Basically “The Mark in America” is a superhero
series almost completely bereft of fight scenes. We have drama, tension and
confrontations (and droll/arch humor) but no real fight scenes in the classic
(or cliché) sense. Directed, I’m sorry, I mean drawn, by me, with my thumb off
the scales.
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