Day 61

BSC Originals Week winds down with our namesake Black Snow as he appears in the graphic novel Black Snow: Two Drink Minimum. https://blacksnowcomic.com/bstdm/ Day 61 of the #365daychallenge

I’ve drawn this character more times than I can count, and I can count pretty high. It’s a character Alex and I came up with as teenagers, and he hasn’t really changed all that much in that time. He’s generally either angry, sad, or angry and sad while drunk. He looks pretty angry here.

Alex recently told me that Lone Wolf in I’m Famous! is basically our collective Id. If that’s true, Black Snow is our collective vices and negativity. He’s angst, self pity, aggression, addiction, sarcasm, bravado and more. So why is he a superhero? Why is he the star? Why is this company named after him?

Because he is all of us. The scrappy underdog we root for, and all picture ourselves to be. Our own uncertainty and self doubt. I’ve had people ask me if I could create any superhero why did I pick one that is so pathetic. Why not make him awesome? Because perfect is boring. Superman, when he is portrayed as the all powerful boy scout, is boring. Batman with his damaged past and questionable motives is much more interesting. Spider-man who has to juggle regular everyday life with heroic responsibilities is more entertaining than a gung-ho beat up the bad guys Captain America.

Maybe it was being an angsty teen. Maybe it was the the remnants of 90s attitude. But I wanted a broken superhero. Something that pushed the anti hero to the limits. A parody of what we knew the superhero to be, without being a straight satire. Someone who you had to pay close attention to if you wanted to find the redeeming qualities. An unpredictable entity that you hoped would do the right thing when times became desperate.

It makes me sad to say that we’ve yet to see his full story-arch. Alex and I always had a vision for where life would take him, and you’ve only seen part of that story. I hope we finish it one day soon!