Howard Chaykin: Conversations

Real World Bravado

164 real world Bravado Kim howarD JohnSon / 1994 From Comics Scene vol. 3 #41, 1994, pp. 21–25. reprinted by permission of kim Howard Johnson. “Superheroes boil down to three myths—the Superman myth, the Captain America myth, and the Batman myth. Birth, re-creation, or revenge,” says Howard Chaykin. Now, the creator of American Flagg! and Black Kiss is trying to craft his own new superhero myth. Power and Glory, Chaykin’s creation for Malibu’s new Bravura line of creator-owned comics, is his own unique look at the superhero in today’s real world. “Power and Glory is basically what happens when the United States government gets into the business of creating a superhero,” Chaykin explains. “They figure that the 1980s made it possible for an audience to buy into the idea of quick fixes and easy solutions to complex problems. “They find Allan Powell, the most likely guy who can fit their pattern. Powell is A-Pex, which stands for American Powerhouse Experiment. He’s an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency, and he turns out to be absolutely sensational at public relations. The guy who trains him, Michael Gorski, ultimately ends up doing all of the dirty work behind the scenes, while the guy who’s in the costume gets all the credit and attention and licensing and women and money and glory and . . .” Chaykin jokingly describes the relationship between Gorski and Powell as “bad cop/anti-Christ. They absolutely loathe each other,” he says. “They represent two extreme poles of American attitudes.” Power and Glory is also a comment on Chaykin’s view of heroism. “My take on heroism has always been constant,” he says. “The average comic book hero is a hero because the story says he is. He’s totally unmotivated. Comic book heroes are almost always motivated by revenge. If you’re a grown-up living kim howard johnson / 1994 165 in the real world, you know that revenge does nothing but get you killed. I tend to do heroes who are motivated by guilt, shame, and moral responsibility , which are emotions and sensibilities more recognizable to me than ‘My parents got shot when I was eleven, so I’ve got to go out, put on my long underwear and beat up petty criminals.’ american idealism and cynicism collide in Power and Glory #1 (1994). 166 howard chaykin: conversations “And Power and Glory is about that idea. It’s about two guys, one who looks like a hero and one who really is. The fact is that it’s much easier to digest the one that looks the part, because he’s much more charming than the one who is a hero—frankly, he’s a skeptical son of a bitch.” More than anything else, Chaykin says Power and Glory is about media manipulation. “I have a real aversion to the concept of multi-culturalism,” he observes. “People assume, on the basis of that, that I’m becoming a rightwinger , and nothing could be farther from the truth. I believe in a pluralistic society. I have a real loathing for political correctness. I live in this country, so I don’t have to be politically correct. I don’t have any desire to have the Constitution protect my right to good manners. Bear in mind, this is also a very funny, very violent, very nasty comic book that I’m doing here! This is my take on superhero comics. It’s also about transformation, because every one of the characters in this book goes through a major transformation.” Chaykin’s not sure whether Power and Glory will appeal to the typical superhero fan. “That’s a really tough question. Frankly, if I were aiming this at the typical superhero reader, I would simply draw tons of grimacing heads and big teeth, women with pneumatic boobs and absurdist anatomy and do two panels on a page. The fact is, I have to assume that there’s a certain part of that audience that has finally awakened to the idea that they’re not going to get rich on their millions of Pow-Wow Comics, and that they’re still interested in comics because they’re interested in the read. “I don’t know who the hell’s buying comics out there, I really have no idea. I’m not really doing these comics for myself—I still believe in producing...