The Mask is a title famous for its great starts and diminishing returns. You’d be forgiven if you thought I was talking about the Jim Carrey movie and its sequel. But that applies to the comics as well. This series used to thrive in creative chaos around a simple premise. But after that a formula follows, where the events start to get dull.
I’m Fracadactyl, let me show you how this franchise folded its corner.
First Impressions Make A Good Mask
I guess we should go over the writer who arguably made The Mask comics so notable. John Arcudi has a pretty diverse bibliography from the Mignolaverse to a lot of Dark Horse material. Along with the artist Doug Mahnke, they expand on the Mask’s concept by its creator Mike Richardson. Also known as the president and founder of Dark Horse itself.
Richardson’s concept of The Mask revolves around a central question. What would a person do if all of their inhibitions are gone? Because that’s what happens when you combine the Joker, Steve Ditko’s Creeper, and Mr. Hyde. As a result, Arcudi pushes the concept and its inspirations to their absolute limit. All of the cartoony violence and abilities combine with a saga about catharsis. In fact why tell you? Here’s a video of the longplay motion comic that got discontinued.
And More
But what did Arcudi do before leaving the title? He played with the tagline in a few sequels while expanding on some elements. While a lot of other writers focus on the power fantasy aspects, Arcudi makes clear allusions to drug abuse. In Returns former wearers have to deal with the consequences of putting on the persona. Kellaway spends most of the mini-series in a coma while Kathy finds herself going down Kellaway’s vigilante path. Kathy’s only saving grace is something so mundane, it’s absurd. She hits a wall fighting a hitman and burns out.
The same pretty much applies to The Mask Strikes Back. Only it and its wearers wreak havoc a different way. Instead of killing sprees, they each experience the guise by pushing themselves to their limits. In one wearer’s case, he becomes a rocker only for the Mask to switch genres to rile the crowd up. This isn’t just the vizard working its magic, its using its host’s trollish personality to its advantage. That’s what the other series are missing, structured unpredictable writing to match avant-garde art.
Don’t Wear The Same Mask
When Arcudi leaves The Mask, most writers usually follow the plot of the movie. It goes something like this: some down on his luck schmuck finds the African style Mask and goes on a vigilante spree. By the end of it, a moral anchor in the form of a loved one coerces the wearer to get rid of the visor. This along with spin-offs and crossovers come with diminishing quality. Not even a twenty year return in I Pledge Allegiance to the Mask makes any changes. All it does is add political satire of an oversaturated president. You know the one. Don’t even get me started on how trite the ending is. Once again Arcudi did a better job.
Will The Mask Ever Make A Comeback?
At this point, there’s no telling if there will ever be anything like the John Arcudi Mask comics again. He and Doug Mahnke made an avant-garde epic out of a simple premise. The memorable and grotesque imagery combine with the chaos of disinhibition. But what’s the point of having no limits when you follow a checklist? That’s no fun.
Besides The Mask‘s owner Mike Richardson isn’t making his IP a priority. He’s a bit too busy with Dark Horse’s new owners Embracer Group. Who knows, maybe he’ll find the vizard a bigger audience. Until then the Mask lives on in fan films like J.N. JR Studios’ Night of the Mask.
Thanks for coming to the end and as always, remember to look between the panels.