Ashkan Honarvar’s Heroes - The Artist - Charlotte Joyce Kidd

1 – Faceless, roughly drawn man lies naked at the bottom of some kind of pit, surrounded by dark foliage.

MAN: Oh God, what am I doing here?

2 – Sits up, looks around.

MAN: I’m in some kind of undergrowth. A jungle, maybe? Why am I all messed up?

3 – Close up of man in the dark.

MAN: Where’s the light? How did I get here? Was I drunk last night?

4 – Man looks up.

MAN: Or was it you? Yeah, you! What, you didn’t think I knew you were up there?

5 – A giant pencil appears above the man’s head.

MAN: Get your shit together, buddy.

As an added bonus, Charlotte graced us with her personal rendition of the script:

Why Ashkan Honarvar’s Heroes? - Charlotte Joyce Kidd

Because the world of comics is still a foreign one to me. I’m less than a tourist, I’m someone looking in a window onto a world that intrigues me, that I want to keep watching, but that I don’t necessarily know how to step into.

The first time I read a comic book was at a Best Western motel on a road trip with my parents. I must have been eight or nine. The Best Western had some kind of cross-promotional thing going on where kids who stayed at the hotel got a comic book and a disposable camera. I can’t remember what I took pictures of – in fact, I can’t even remember where we were going on that road trip – but I still remember the comic book. It stuck with me. I think there must have been some oversight or else poor decision making on the part of Best Western marketing management, because the comic book was one where Batman and Superman fought over Lois Lane, and it was sexy and dangerous in a way that clearly indicated that I was not its target audience. I felt the same way, reading it, as I did when I accidentally stumbled upon (and read cover to cover) a paperback teen drama in my elementary school library: that I was getting away with something, that unbeknownst to the adults, I was educating myself in the ways of a world that I didn’t yet understand.

And I guess I’ve felt that way about comics ever since. They exist in a sort of parallel universe, and though they’re all unique, they share a common language of fantasy without the loss of logic. People who read comics don’t just read them, they’re knowledgeable about them. They trace evolutions in characters, art and themes. They know who the masters are. As evidenced by Marvel’s current push toward diversity, they care about their world and even self-police it – make sure it’s a place with a conscience. I admire these citizens, but I’m not one of them.

So when I saw this series of collagesby Ashkan Honarvar, I was intrigued by them. They’re full of superheroes as confused by themselves as I sometimes am by them, wandering through dark foliage, fighting many-limbed faceless creatures and wandering what it’s all about. I get these heroes. I want to know their stories.  

Just Imagine - Wide-Eyed-Wonder - Charlotte Joyce Kidd

1 – A city street on Halloween night. It’s dark but light spills onto the sidewalk from the open door of a bar. As Wonder Woman walks by, a young woman dressed as Wonder Woman almost stumbles into her.

GIRL: Hey, we’re wearing the same costume!

WONDERWOMAN: Watch where you’re going.

2 – Wonder Woman walks away. She starts to pull her coat on.

WONDERWOMAN (thought): God, I hate Halloween. That get-up wasn’t even remotely accurate. Every year, these silly girls --

The thought is interrupted by a scream off-panel.

3 – Outside the bar again, a man has his arms wrapped around the girl.

GIRL: Get off me!

MAN: C’mon sweetie, you’re wearing the costume...

4 – WW drops her coat, runs back to the bar, and has thrown the attacker to the ground before he knows what’s happening.

5 – WW reaches out to help the girl up.

WONDERWOMAN: Are you okay?

GIRL: Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you so much.

WONDERWOMAN: Well, we’re wearing the same costume. What’s your name?

6 – The girl takes WW’s hand.

GIRL: I’m Diana. What’s yours?

WONDERWOMAN: Maria. Nice to meet you.

Writer-in-Residence - Charlotte Joyce Kidd

You didn't think we forgot, did you?

Perish the notion!  Good things come to those who wait, and I'm thrilled to introduce another goody for our readers, our next Writer-in-Residence, Charlotte Joyce Kidd!  Charlotte is a talented prose writer whose work I've admired for a good while.  In particular, I've always appreciated her precise diction: every word carefully selected for a specific purpose.  Their purpose may vary, her words invariably draw you in - but rarely in the direction that you're expecting.

I'm quite eager to see how she brings that style to the comic book genre.  Thankfully, she was just as eager to try her hand at the challenge.  Let's give her a warm welcome and see what she comes up with.

Should you (understandably) be interested in checking out her prose, some of her work can be found at her blog as well as at Word and Colour.