The Mask (comics)
| The Mask | |
|---|---|
| The Mask Cover to Adventures of the Mask #1 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Dark Horse Comics |
| First appearance | (as 'the Masque) Dark Horse Presents #10, (as the Mask) Mayhem #1 |
| Created by | Mike Richardson, Randy Stradley, Mike Badger John Arcudi Doug Mahnke |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Stanley Ipkiss |
| Team affiliations | None, None |
| Notable aliases | the Masque, Big-Head |
| Abilities | Enchanted mask empowered by Loki grants the wearer invulnerability and the power to alter reality in a variety of destructive ways Superhuman strength, durability, speed and agility Increased intelligence at the loss of sanity, inhibitions and self-control |
The Mask originated as the name of the title character of a comic book series. This spun off a hit movie, The Mask, with Jim Carrey in the title role. The movie subsequently spun off a less than successful television series (also entitled "The Mask") and a motion picture sequel, Son of the Mask, in addition to its own comic book adaptations.
The Mask-- the Comic Book Series
The Mask is a fictional comic book character created by Mike Richardson, Randy Stradley and Mike Badger (as the Masque in Dark Horse Presents #10, (1987)) and John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke (as the Mask in Mayhem #1, (1989)), appearing in comics published by Dark Horse Comics. It is about a magic mask that gives anyone who wears it physical invulnerability and a number of reality-defying powers (for instance, the ability to produce useful objects out of thin air), but also lowers the wearer's inhibitions and amplifies the repressed parts of the wearer's personality.
The series begins with the mask being found in an antiques shop by Stanley Ipkiss, a neurotic loser who everyone takes advantage of. Trying the mask on, he is transformed into a wacky being with an abnormally large bald green-skinned head. After exploring his new abilities for a while, he goes on a rampage, taking lethal revenge on everyone against whom he holds a grudge, from the motor mechanic who always overcharges him to his old first-grade teacher. Eventually after many adventures of vengeance, Stanley becomes corrupt with power and verbally abusive toward his girlfriend Kathy. Kathy eventually kicks him out and tries to keep the mask since Stanley had bought it for her as a gift. Stanley then breaks into her apartment and steals the mask while the police investigate a domestic violence call. Terror ensues as Stanley under the possession of the mask nearly kills them all. Afterwards he heads home and takes off the mask only to be shot in the back by Kathy who has put two and two together and figured out the identity of "Big Head". The mask then falls into the hands of Stanley's girlfriend Kathy.
A storyline about Kathy's experiences with the mask was planned, but never saw the light of day; the series continues with Kathy giving the mask to a police officer, Lt. Kellaway, for safe-keeping. Disregarding her warnings, Kellaway tries the mask on, and sets out to clean up the city. Despite his good intentions, his methods become increasingly bizarre, and soon Big-Head is the target of a police man-hunt. (The world at large, not knowing about the mask, assumes it's always the same big-headed green-skinned freak; nobody realises that he might have a secret identity.) When he nearly kills a friend and colleague who got in his way, Kellaway realises how badly things have gone wrong, and swears never to wear the mask again.
In the next storyline, the mask falls into the hands of a small-time mobster, who (as Big-Head) becomes the city's pre-eminent crime boss.
After another storyline, in which four teenagers find the mask and take turns trying it on, Arcudi and Mahnke left the title, handing it over to a succession of guest writers and artists.
Of note was Walter, a large, mutated mob hitman who never talked. Walter could be injured, but never indicated that he felt pain- and would even mutilate himself. After his mob employers were killed, Walter set out to hunt Big Head in revenge. He was the only one who could injure Big Head to any real degree.
In addition to the ongoing series, there have been a number of specials, including:
- Joker/The Mask, a collaboration with DC Comics in which the mask falls into the hands of Batman's nemesis the Joker. Note that the book is a continuity mess, combining elements of both the comics and the Mask animated series.
- Marshal Law vs. The Mask, the mask is applied to a superhuman serial killer as part of a secret government experiment which inevitably goes disastrously wrong, requiring Marshal Law to take down a nemesis who is not only immune to his usual ultra-violence, but can warp reality according to his psychotic whims.
- Grifter/The Mask
- Lobo vs The Mask, alien bounty hunter Lobo is hired to find the "Ultimate Bastich", a being who has decimated numerous planets. His hunt leads him to Earth, where a petty thief has become Big Head. In a battle that decimates Manhattan, Big Head finally offers to "help" Lobo find the "previous wearer". The duo head through space, causing mass destruction, though it's obvious Big Head is leading Lobo on. In a space truck stop, Lobo ultimately wins the mask for himself, putting it on and causing even more damage. A black hole sends him back in time by a month and he ultimately ends up being the Ultimate Bastich himself. Realizing this(and waking up on Earth, tossing the mask in the same spot the thief found it), Lobo breaks the time loop when he meets his past self- and turns his past self in for the reward money. Former Mask comic team John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke returned for these books, along with Lobo writer Alan Grant.
Unfortunately, with Dark Horse's shift towards licensed properties, and less emphasis on their own titles, the Mask has fallen on the wayside, with no titles published recently.
Collections
- The Mask (it collects the Ipkiss and Kellaway storylines)
- The Mask Returns (the crime-boss storyline)
- The Mask Strikes Back (the storyline with the four teenagers)
- The Mask: The Hunt for Green October (the storyline with a failed cartoonist and his 10-year-old dumb daughter on Halloween)
- The Mask: World Tour (the storyline where a burglar with split personality syndrome enters the dimension of Dark Horse Heroes)
- The Mask: Southern Discomfort
- The Mask: Toys in the Attic
Adaptations and spin-offs-- The Mask, The Son of Mask, and more.
A film version of The Mask was released in the United States on July 29, 1994, starring Jim Carrey in the title role. Directed by Chuck Russell, the film co-starred Peter Greene, Peter Riegert, Orestes Matacena, Richard Jeni, Amy Yasbeck, and was Cameron Diaz's screen debut. Ben Stein has a cameo role.
The film was loosely based on the early issues of the comic book series. The film version is much lighter and cartoonier: the mask's effects are zany, but not particularly evil, and Carrey's Stanley Ipkiss is a nice guy who uses the mask (mostly) for good purposes and gets a happy ending. The bloody violence of the comic book is nowhere to be found in the film adaptation. Originally it was planned to be a dark horror film, but when Carrey got the role of Ipkiss, they redid the movie to be a vehicle for Jim Carrey's unique style of comedy.
The movie version of the character has subsequently appeared in an animated TV series entitled The Mask: The Animated Series (with Rob Paulsen as Stanley Ipkiss/The Mask) and his own short-run comic book series, Adventures of The Mask. John Arcudi, former writer of the original comics, penned two episodes of the cartoon. Tina was absent, but reporter Peggy Brandt had become the main female character. The main villain, Dr. Pretorius (voiced by Tim Curry), was a madman who had his own head removed from his body and placed on tiny robotic legs, which could attach to a larger android body. Also adapted was Walter, still silent but now indestructible. Walter chased the Mask for several episodes, but when he obtained the wooden mask and it failed to work for him, he simply dropped it and was never seen again.
Much as with the Beetlejuice cartoon before it, The Mask TAS took many elements from the source movie but dropped characters and changed certain other characters. Peggy's inclusion also officially discounts the cut scene in the film where she is killed. Tina is never even alluded to.
Many other villains were introduced, generally DC Comics parodies (Marvel was ignored; though Dark Horse has generally had a good business relationship with DC). Notable were Skillit (parody of Mr. Mxyzptlk, albeit much more malevolent in nature) and Putty Thing (parody of the Batman: The Animated Series version of Clayface, albeit now a dumb teenager rather than an angry, jaded actor). Pretorius was also likely a parody of drug dealer/mob boss Eugene Rapaz from the original comics(both share the same face. Rapaz wore small, rounded-lens dark glasses and Pretorius had round optic implants that looked similar, as well).
A sequel, entitled Son of the Mask, was released in 2005, but it was a box office flop. Upon the initial DVD release of the sequel, Wal-Mart stores sold an exclusive 2-pack of the movie. It consisted of the standard DVD with a bonus DVD in the shrink-wrap containing the first 2 episodes of the cartoon. As with all Wal-Mart exclusive shrink-wraps, the bonus DVD was a separate disc with it's own case, the 2 cases merely packaged together. It is unknown if the disc will see separate release.