This is a story about a writer from up North; Jeff Lemire is someone who injects the anxieties and struggles of humanity. Since his early days, Lemire experiences the struggles of finding meaning in a mundane life. Yet a mundane life can be so soul crushing, some people want to leave it; that is until they find that the comforts they take for granted might’ve been safer. But change is inevitable and living in one’s fantasies is no cure for loneliness. It’s for that reason that Lemire finds friends he keeps in touch with on creative projects.
Never Left Home
Born in Essex County, Ontario, Canada, Jeff Lemire attends filmmaking school before shifting to comics. Being an introvert sets him back a bit but he’s in for a surprise later. Discovering Scott McCloud’s 24-hour comic challenge, Lemire enters a comic even though it’s less than ideal. The product Lost Dogs shows the suspenseful atmosphere of some of his later work. The brutality and psychological effects of its content garner enough attention for Lemire to win a Xeric Award and be on exhibit. But like a cigarette butt that short success burns out. So to push forward, Lemire submits work to Top Shelf Productions over the border.
On The Top Shelf
At Top Shelf, despite his American settings, Jeff Lemire brings the feelings from home to his next award winner. While the Essex County Trilogy is not a biography, it does reflect Lemire’s complex relationship with his birthplace in graphic format. Like any home, people are attached to it but feel stuck especially if there is a lack of communication between neighbors. Lester feels like an analogue to Lemire himself; an imaginative kid who draws comics and wants to share his time with others. But people just aren’t willing to get out of their comfort zones. Which is a shame really, everyone looks at Essex differently but they can’t escape the loneliness. It just goes to show that home is both sanctuary and a prison.
Home Follows
Lemire himself goes through several struggles even with all of his success. All of those pressures become apparent with The Underwater Welder. This is a story about a man telling his other self about the fears of fatherhood. The title character Jack feels at home with his job, the isolation actually puts him at ease. It also serves as a great escape from the pressures he feels about becoming a father. Unfortunately, even the jobs you feel at peace with can come with pressures. Jack actually feels pressure that comes from memories of losing his father at sea. Now imagine Jeff Lemire in this position when it comes to comics. It’s like he’s saying that his job is what keeps him going but he worries it’s going to put distance between him and others.
Jeff Lemire Experiences the Vertigo
In those above stories Lemire’s work have these minimalistic art styles that help evoke several emotions. From loneliness to sense of dread; all thanks to shades of black, white, and a little red. Then Jeff Lemire shows up in Vertigo with The Nobody. This is a story about the anxiety of dealing with people’s projections. The two-color art style combines for a story of identity and paranoia. A man in bandages (an invisible man if you will) appears in the town not wanting trouble.
However the longer he stays and answers questions about himself, the more suspicious the townsfolk become. The people begin to project some of their worst traits onto this man without a face. Yet John Griffen, the man in question is more socially awkward than threatening. Rather it’s the townsfolk who feel threatened by someone who stands out so much, all except a high schooler who hopes to leave the town behind. This story represents anxieties of wanting to leave a comfort zone and the struggle of losing all you know. It’s just a little easier to do all of that stuff with someone at your side.
Change Is Coming
Lemire’s biggest transition into new possibilities is Sweet Tooth. The series is Lemire’s first collaborative work where he works with a team. Jose Villarrubia as colorist helps deliver an emotional story about going out into the world despite trepidations. Until this, Lemire’s work was mostly grounded in reality. So what happens when Lemire takes a surreal concept like a pandemic that gives kids animalistic features? He shows how people are human in the best and worst ways. The titular character Gus was raised in isolation by his father who feared what people would do to his son. What would most people do if they see a kid with antlers? Too many to take a risk on apparently.
The world is a scary place once the barriers that keep the horrors away break down. Many people will try what they can to preserve their sense of solace in reaction to change. Just look at how people dealt with how Covid-19 messed with their lives. That might even be the reason Sweet Tooth gets a sequel in Return. Everybody wants to try and get some form of normalcy, but normalcy is relative. It takes childhood innocence to take a risk as even the most crusty person needs some form of optimism. Can you imagine how Lemire feels about stepping into the big leagues of a major publisher. That comes with a lot of expectations which causes anxiety and excitement for new opportunities.
It’s Our Time Now
For Jeff Lemire, meeting new people probably feels like a major step out of his comfort zone. But because of it, he meets people that continue to be a major part of his life. One of the most notable is Matt Kindt. Kindt’s artwork being so similar to Lemire’s is what helps them both develop as creators and as people. It certainly feels like the stories they tell can influence the world for the better in today’s time.
Jeff Lemire: Stepping into the Spotlight
But… Lemire seems to have a different kind of struggle when he’s in DC. Having the safety of a writing contract allows the freedoms to cut loose without worry. However between the Atom, Superboy, and Frankenstein there comes the sense of dealing with big expectations. Lemire loves superheroes but he’s not fully immersed into the commercial side of things. With Superboy Lemire channels the anxieties of dealing with past runs and living up to expectations. The series tries to play out like an arc of Smallville but the absurd side of superheroes that DC demands just doesn’t fit this mold. Which is all the more worse when events like Flashpoint come in.
That wasn’t all bad considering it is where Lemire does a pretty good job with DC’s Frankenstein. With the Creatures of the Unknown and Agent of SHADE storylines, Lemire displays a misunderstood and lonely monster looking for meaning. Lemire might have found that meaning when he gives Kindt the latter series. They and Scott Snyder seem to find a synergy with one another.
Lemire’s Three-way
The three creatives decide to channel the anxieties of expectations within three series that lead to and out of the crossover Rotworld. That same synergy might be what leads Jeff Lemire to Animal Man; in this saga, Lemire injects Buddy Baker with the struggles of purpose and success. The Baker family love one another unconditionally but when some conditions threaten their comfort zones things get ugly. First there are the usual threats that follow Buddy home, supervillains who could twist the Bakers’ worlds inside out. Then there’s how the public react to events that cause people grief as petty publicity stunts (probably how people feel about the New 52). Finally there’s how one’s sense of purpose separates them from who they love, especially when they can be replaced. Now imagine this with the context that this success might cost Lemire time with his wife and son.
The end of Animal Man signals Lemire and Baker about to take on bigger and better things. Buddy throughout all of his sacrifices manages to enjoy what time he has with both his powers and his family. Eventually however someone will have to take up the writing duties from Lemire. Lemire designs it so that when that day happens, it will come with the tragedy of undoing everything the Baker family tried to avoid. In superhero fiction this isn’t something to despair or celebrate, it’s just something people have to learn to live with. For even after one bout of anxiety, more will come to take its place.
For Jeff Lemire that means more duties including Justice League Dark, Future’s End, or Teen Titans. Even if he doesn’t seem to handle ensemble casts all that well. It’s why he’s got Kindt and Scott Snyder to help out such as with the anthology Time Warp.
Introspecting Introspection
Meeting the right people can certainly bring out different ideas for more developments. It’s probably thanks to all of these encounters that Jeff Lemire takes the time to examine why comics are so appealing. In Trillium comes the means to strip comics to their spiritual core. There are two sides to sequential art, the emotional attachments and the chance to get so surreal nobody cares how unreal it is. That in and of itself is the essence of suspension of disbelief. When someone gets so invested into the emotions with surreal imagery, the reader can see two complementary opposites come together.
Trillium is a love story where people separated by time and space (character and readers) converge. This is a story of Lemire leaving his comfort zones behind after being exposed to the absurdities of comics. Unlike his original interests in cinema, the passage of time in comics and how they can be read pushes Lemire past his limits. Just because things get weird, that doesn’t mean you can’t find hidden truths in them.
Jeff Lemire Remade
It’s thanks to all of these experiences and people that Lemire uses those experiences to redefine his storytelling. Royal City combines aspects from several creators including the mind bending art of Kindt’s work, the dark mysteries of Snyder, and Lemire’s own need for finding the important people in life. Throughout the series, the reader meets a family going through some of Lemire’s familiar tropes. Loneliness, feeling stuck in the safety of routines, family drama, communication problems, and the need for change all materialize in this series. What sets Royal City apart from other Lemire projects is its self-awareness on how this formula still works.
Throughout the series there’s the feeling of something that needs to be fixed. The Pike family is a mess long after the death of its youngest son. In relation to this every family member is trying to wrest some form of control in their lives. The father fixes radios as a hobby, the oldest son is a semi-successful novelist, and the daughter is a real estate agent wanting to help the titular setting move on. All of them however are dependent on the late Tommy Pike to propel them instead of acting on their needs. Because without the memory of what drove them, where would they be? Even after this series is over, Lemire still finds topics both in and out of his other projects to expand upon. Thankfully he does this with only doing graphic novels; mainstream monthly comics are better with others.
Jeff Lemire On Reconstruction
After these expressions of anxiety, Lemire’s resume revolves around reminding readers why they love certain characters. From DC, Marvel, Valiant, and back at the Big Two, Lemire reorganizes the mythology surrounding certain characters. If you’re going to be a commercial writer, you might as well stick to what works; staying on personal brand it just a bonus.
A Tale of Two Archers by Jeff Lemire
Before his contract with DC ends, Lemire takes a shot with the Green Arrow. Oliver Queen does not have the best track record during this time; Lemire decides to take the reflective rediscovery route. The New 52 Oliver Queen began as a younger and cockier Batman-like figure. With his wealth, the Green Arrow could just buy his way out of situations. So Lemire forces Oliver out of his comfort zone. No amount of the Queen fortune can save him from Komodo or the Outsider War. Here Lemire combines the best parts of Arrow‘s first season with his own flair.
In Green Arrow, fans read what makes Oliver Queen a hero. It was never about the tragedies Oliver found himself in or his privileges, Oliver just wants to honor his family’s legacy. So what happens when Oliver’s father Robert actually arranged most of the tragedies that lead Oliver to become the Green Arrow? Well considering Robert’s obsessions lead Oliver’s half-sister getting taken and that Robert wasn’t around for his wife’s death or funeral, Oliver rejects his father and his obsessions. Oliver’s heroism stems from love for the common man and decency; what’s the point of a grander purpose when it’s so cult-like? Moral of story, never let an origin be sacred only the spirit is important.
Green Complements Purple
At Marvel, Lemire has the unenviable task of continuing Matt Fraction’s memorable run with Hawkeye. Noticing a chance to spiritually follow-up Green Arrow, Lemire uses his experiences there for All-New Hawkeye. The main appeal comes in Clint Barton and Kate Bishop’s relationship. Clint is a very complicated person, having been orphaned from a young age and joining a circus run by crooks. The moral ambiguity of the situation still haunts him to this day.
As for Kate, she’s young and passionate about doing right after a life of exposures to humanity’s darker areas. But it’s dealing with the moral grey areas that get between her and Clint. The world’s full of disappointments, including people who can make traumas resurface. It’s why having relationships can be so hard. Friends and role models are important but expecting everyone to be on the same page is projecting. For Lemire, an important lesson in mainstream comics comes from how comparisons between subjects can impede.
X Marks the Weak Spot
Just look at Lemire’s time with the X-Men; his success at Marvel gets him the job after a good run with Hawkeye. But I will say it again, Lemire is not one of those creators who can work with an ensemble cast. With X-Men’s ownership by FOX everything looks like it was arranged for failure. Death of X practically says everything about how people feel about this run; a cheap move by bureaucrats to replace the X-Men with the Inhumans.
Fortunately, Lemire has a better time with Old Man Logan. In this time Lemire shares with the former Wolverine the experience of living in a legacy. They want to change the past but can’t. Things are so similar that the Old Man’s apocalypse seems inevitable. For Lemire being stuck is always a problem. There are some things that can’t be fixed; but maybe that doesn’t have to be a problem.
The Valiant Bloodshot
When Kindt steps in again, he offers Lemire an opportunity to work at Valiant Entertainment. Unlike the Big Two, the more character-driven superhero universe allows Lemire to jump right in. Starting in The Valiant, Lemire finds the entire universe and the angle to go off from next, Bloodshot. At first glance, it’s rather similar to Old Man Logan in how a former action hero goes in an emotional direction. But unlike Logan, Bloodshot had no identity, he was a nobody who can’t trust his own mind.
After what gave him power stripped him of a life, he’s afraid to try and make one. The nanites were his life and the journey to get them back, even with a Freudian excuse feels like a defeat. Or at least it would be if not for the little choices he makes. By rejecting his old life entirely, Ray Garrison fully forms ready for a life of his own; hence the poetic title of Bloodshot Reborn. Only for ghosts of the past to show up and drag him back. Even then one of these ghosts gives him a daughter for Bloodshot Salvation. With this a central identity forms, not just a soldier trying to keep his freedom of choice but a paternal figure. Albeit one who has to still struggle with his past and the choices made for him.
Jeff Lemire On Psychoanalyzing Superheroes
This is the story of not one but the many personas of a character. Back at Marvel and DC, Jeff Lemire focuses on the spirit of mentally complex characters. At Marvel Lemire examines the boundaries of neuroticism and fantasy. At DC, he explores the depictions and evolution of characters.
The Many Faces of Heroes
In Moon Knight the titular character questions whether his time as the Lunar Legionnaire is real. This character who suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder on account of possession by Egyptian God Khonshu has a fair point. But more importantly, Marc Spector has to grapple with his role. Khonshu can just as easily replace and lock Marc in his own mind if he deems that Marc isn’t up to the task.
So when the god sets up a test for Marc to gain control of his body and personalities, Marc takes it. Should Marc fail, Khonshu would’ve taken control of Marc’s body with Marc becoming only a memory. Marc however succeeded by working together with his other selves. Even still this is a bittersweet win as Marc will never be cured and is still at Khonshu’s command.
And How They Interact
Years later comes a similar story with The Sentry. Fresh off the stands during an appearance with Dr. Strange; Robert Reynolds has the means to contain his worst self and be his best self. Outside his pocket universe, Bob spends time with his old friend Billy Turner. Friendship and braving a mundane life with them is essential in many Lemire stories; which is what makes Billy’s betrayal so surprising. But it’s not a drop of the hat, it boils up since the first chapter. Ultimately it’s a matter of self-reflection that forces Bob to ask his worst self for help. It’s not just a matter of desperation, but a means of fully accepting himself. But Bob has a very long journey ahead of him before he and everyone else acclimates. You really are your own worst enemy.
The Black Label Asylum
With DC’s Black Label, Jeff Lemire has free reign to examine characters of the mental variety. Starting with the Joker: Killer Smiles, Lemire has a character try to cure the Clown Prince of Crime’s insanity. Overtime, the reader realizes that this character was merely projecting himself onto Joker. With his own history of mental illness, the therapist only wants to rationalize insanity. Instead the Joker reflects the projection back at him. There is no rhyme or reason, he’s just the Joker; anybody who tries to identify with him is an extension of chaos.
As for characters who fundamentally change from their creation like the Question, it begs whether they change at all? The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage examines the depictions of the titular character. Created with an objectivist base, Vic Sage sees the different lives he lived, each of them tackling life’s evils. But while objectivism views black-and-white morality as absolute, those beliefs are challenged when law enforcers become oppressive. Yet it seems rather than look for nuance, The Question merely flips the black-and-white morals as he goes. Rather than give up the toxicity, Vic only finds ways to justify it.
Jeff Lemire Has True Friends
Jeff Lemire takes different approaches when it comes to the industry. For solo runs like Roughneck and Frog Catchers, they’re novel-esque for stepping away from mainstream publishers. But for runs where he works with others, the more pulpy elements of comics feel more wholesome.
Creating a Better Image
At Image Comics, Lemire creates arguably a magnum opus with artist Dustin Nguyen in Descender. Lemire goes back to his roots on the need for friendship and the loneliness everybody feels. The vast emptiness of space illustrates the distance people need to go for fulfillment. Following the adventures of boy android Tim-21 in his quest to find his missing handler; the ever expanding the universe reaches into the complexities surrounding a galactic society. When the titular Descenders appear it causes a sudden shift in status quo where the public turns against robots. This even includes Tim-21’s adoptive brother Andy after the death of his mother.
However with time and bonding Tim-21 begins to open up to others and show himself as a full being. Even a few characters who try to distance themselves from machines like Tesla open up to him so that they can open up to others. Andy after meeting Tim again, begins to realize his atrocious actions; showing how love can matter to a lot of people. But sometimes even love can backfire as when humanity has another shot by the Descenders; it’s at a terrible price. All of which leads to follow-up series Ascenders focusing on Andy’s daughter Mira; as a bonus it shows how Lemire can adapt to a genre-shift.
Supplementaries are Just as Good
Besides Dustin, Lemire has a chance to reconnect with people from his creative past. One of which Emi Lenox from his Sweet Tooth run helps co-write Plutona. Plutona is essentially the culmination of both creators experiences in my opinion. On both ends there are two artists who illustrate their day-to-day lives. The group of kids who find the late titular superhero have their relationships change throughout. It’s a little rushed but it does bring up something about superheroes. The god-like worship isolates them from the real world, one of the kids looked up to her so much he thought he could get her powers to escape his life. But that didn’t help Plutona in her mundane life. Someone obviously didn’t have the best experience in the Big Two.
Andrea Sorrentino is another regular artist Jeff Lemire works with. Gideon Falls displays a person’s obsession from needing to feel whole. Ultimately when these different parties push each other away thinking they’re just crazy, circumstances force them together. But this doesn’t make the labor any easier, if anything it makes working with everyone harder to deal with. The more you think you know about something or someone, the more they expose themselves to an evil force. It’s only when the cast communicate that they actually have a chance. Considering Sorrentino gets assistance in later issues by Dave Stewart, this series speaks a lot about what they and Lemire put into behind the scenes.
Don’t Forget The Art
Also in Image is AD: After Death with Scott Snyder as writer. Snyder is not just someone Lemire collaborates with; he’s someone who influences his works including Descender. In turn, Lemire’s artwork instills this series about existential crises and what life has to offer with emotion. The water color and expressive faces bring home the point of the complex feelings that come with the world.
Jeff Lemire Brings Down the Hammer
This is a story about superheroes and embracing the abnormal with others. Lemire decides to embrace the better parts of the genre to showcase his own universe. In fact Black Hammer‘s development spans a considerable time; the artist Dean Ormston’s cerebral hemorrhage delays the initial publication for two years. In all consideration, this is probably for the best. Experience with the Big Two allows for more development on the narrative; other writers and artists also come in and collaborate. Most of them are previous collaborators like Kindt, Lenox, and Nguyen. Maybe that’s why this Lemire ensemble works better than others.
The series along with all of its spin-offs show just how expansive and livable this fictional universe is. A team of superheroes are in a small town reminiscent of Lemire’s hometown. But it’s not a retirement resort; no one in town can leave. The conflict comes not from supervillains but how these usually high flying heroes feel stuck. Most of the non-human people have to hide out in the barn while the rest try to mingle. Golden Gail can’t even be herself; she’s a grown woman in the body of a nine-year-old.
The Effect of Superheroes
Is there any wonder why this series wins a Best New Series Award? Unlike other original series that take the time to deconstruct and criticize superheroes; the critiquing plays both ways. The core cast pays homages many DC characters with some variation and inversions. The cast’s predicament is also a commentary on crossover events; a cosmic threat nearly destroys everything. But unlike most of the Big Two, the event’s consequences feel organic; the major casualty isn’t even because of some shock value either. The title character Black Hammer wants to prove himself to his team and get more respect; being an African American with Black in his title just makes him feel like an outsider. Unfortunately, his recklessness causes his death.
And Why That’s Good
Legacy characters also feel right at home. Black Hammer’s daughter, Lucy later locates the team and takes up her father’s title. The revelation on what kind of man her father really is genuinely hits hard. Even the title of Black Hammer itself means little to the world at large despite a presence since WWII. But at the same time; this makes the cast feel less like the Golden Age inspirations and more like people. Wish fulfillment is nice but they all have a price. Some of it doesn’t have to be bad though.
Redefining a Sharable Universe
A blessing and a curse about sharing a universe is having so many people attaching themselves for several reasons. But for Lemire who comes to understand the importance of having the right people in life; this allows for a universe to have more than one point of view in focus. In fact, the creative teams get a focus in the third volume. It is doubtful that Lemire’s original plan to draw the series himself could produce the same meaningful reactions. So many people help make Black Hammer into something great; just one man is never enough.
Jeff Lemire: Fully Realized
Honesty, Jeff Lemire is a creator I can see having a surreal autobiography about him in decades time. He’s someone who struggles with loneliness and the need to find connection. Now thanks to the many people he has met including Kindt and Snyder; Lemire feels like a creator who has a better understanding of himself and the world around him. He even learns from those friends to create more series like The Terrifics. Sometimes he even collaborates with those friends for projects like Cosmic Detective. Lemire’s certainly opening up for more collaborations and experiences like Family Tree.
There will be times that he will feel stuck in being unable to follow through with previous works. But at the end of day; that’s okay. Even the smallest contributions can lead to big changes. Accepting yourself at your best and worst is essential to living a full life; don’t forget about all the people who make that life as good either.
Thanks for coming and as always, remember to look between the panels.