Feeling very fortunate to have the Uber-talented Sophy Henn sharing her favourite comic strip baddies with us today! Her Pizazz series has plenty of them, and the latest book – Pizazz VS Everyone – sees our reluctant superhero turn to the dark side herself, all because of a litter bug and a spot of toxic gunk. I love the laugh-out-loud humour, page-turn surprises, striking artwork and boundless energy. But most of all, I love Pizazz with her relatable super-sized feelings. Don’t miss the rest of the tour for more fun posts.
My favourite comic strip baddies…
We all know that the comic book baddies have the most fun. They get the best names and costumes, there’s no pressure to succeed (in fact quite the opposite) and they get to decide when and where they will strike. So in celebration of these dastardly wrong ‘uns I have picked my top three…
Doctor Octopus
While many mock Doctor Octopus’ bowl cut I actually think it is a good style statement. In the baddie category there are a lot of spikey dos and pointy crowns, so I find it refreshing that the Doc should go for such a fuzzy retro cut. That aside there is nothing fuzzy about Doctor Octopus, an evil genius hell bent on destruction. And while his super scientific brain defeated Spiderman and The Avengers it seems it’s not so good at the counting as he only has four metal arms. But that is the real reason he made it onto my list as who wouldn’t want four extra arms? I could write and draw books AT THE SAME TIME, whilst juggling. The actual dream.
Catwoman
Yes it IS boring that pretty much all female supers have extremely *snug* outfits but if anyone has the right wear a catsuit, surely it is the Catwoman herself! And my favourite of all the catwomen, Holly Meriwether (1960’s Adam West’s Batman) wore a catsuit that looks positively volumous compared to today’s creations. Anyway the real reason Catwoman made it onto my list is her moral ambiguity. While always categorised as a baddie Catwoman has crossed over to the good side and back many times. And while we all love our extreme baddies, I really enjoy the characters that blur the lines between good and bad, constantly questioning and reevaluating their position. Harley Quinn is another baddie that does this but I picked Catwoman over Harley as she really is her own woman, acting independently and on her instincts. MEOW.
Loki
The God of Mischief. Who wouldn’t want that title? But it doesn’t really do Loki justice…sorcerer, manipulator, prankster, Loki is the ultimate lone wolf baddie always out for himself. But refreshingly he seems focused on ruling the universe as opposed to destroying which I think we can all agree is some sort of a relief. And he has also gifted us the ultimate, hilarious origin story courtesy of Louie Stowell so of course we love him, don’t we?
