Monday, December 1, 1997
‘Scud’ razes heroic stereotypes of comics
By Ernest Lee
Daily Bruin Contributor
A machine of mystery and intrigue. Cool, slick, dashing,
audacious. Clint Eastwood and Jackie Chan. To sum it up, he is
Scud, the disposable robot assassin.
The comic book titled "Scud: The Disposable Assassin" blows away
the rules and assumptions of science fiction, fantasy and kung fu.
With Scud entering its fourth year of publication, there are a
total of 17 issues. Currently there is enough demand for the
character to be considered for an animated movie, tentatively
scheduled for direction under Oliver Stone.
For those wondering about what or, rather, who "Scud" is, artist
Rob Schrab says he wanted to create a character of action, his own
hero. Without a past to worry about, Scud isn’t always out to exact
revenge for the death of a mother, brother or dog. Schrab once
lamented at a comic book store that he "wanted a hero and all (he)
saw were big, buff men crying!" Scud is an assassin with no past
that can be hired out of a street vending machine. Upon eradication
of its target, Scud simply self-destructs, leaving without a
future.
This poses an interesting question of how Scud lives on from
issue to issue. This character’s ability to die and come back to
life makes the series unique. He isn’t some mystical phoenix or a
bald professor mutant with telepathic powers who saves the day. The
blood, sweat and other bodily fluids from a great many characters
help him survive (more clarity requires reading the comic).
The uniqueness of the character and freedom from the rules of
the stereotypical comic realm provide Schrab with more elbow room
than he could have possibly wanted. For example, there is a setting
which creates a universe in which "Voltron"-like robots clash with
monstrous zombie dinosaurs in a quasi-Chicago, mob-city setting.
And that occurs in only two issues.
Adventurous and chaotic stories combined with slapstick humor
reinvent genres and morph into new ones. Incorporation of all these
elements provide a completely unpredictable story that borrow
characters from one dimension to another.
The art that Schrab provides seems didactic for storyboard
artists. The story doesn’t allow the artist to fiddle with things
such as small talk and extra panels for pose shots (that’s for the
cover to handle). The character flows through panels similar to the
way a movie progresses. Superfluous cross-hatchings are taken out,
rendering characters with a strong solid appearance.
Characters are original not only in design but in origin as
well. None of the designs are even remotely reminiscent of any past
comic book heroes. Ideas seemingly appear to have evolved from or
are reminiscent of anime (Japanese animation), kung fu and classic
monster movies, but the designs are primordial in origin. The
action scenes have a mix of Shaolin kung fu and John Woo-style gun
fight scenes, but mix this with comedy and you come up with
something totally new.
Schrab aims for a simplistic design which works well. As a
reader, you have to remind yourself that this robot assassin is
state of the art. However, keeping this robot simple embodies
Schrab’s ironic humor. It seems illogical to create a bright
yellow-clad character as a deadly assassin who stands out no matter
how well-hidden he tries to appear. This comic element of color
reminds the reader to disregard how an assassin is "supposed to
look," to just accept the character doing what he does best.
Although some may have trouble adjusting to the illogical nature
of how mechanisms work in the story (for example how Scud holds a
pistol with an outstretched pinky finger), the comedic violence and
slapstick nature lures us from our analytical mind set and into a
larger-than-life realm of, say, filmmaker John Woo. I’m sure
someone with a lot of time on his or her hands has counted the
ludicrous number of bullets fired from the hand guns in a John Woo
film (was it 40 or 42?), but it is quickly ignored. As with Woo’s
heroes, Scud fires a barrage of bullets and yet he never seems to
run out until a convenient time. This illogical fallacy is buried
by the melee of monsters and slapstick comedy.
Thankfully, with so much creative room, it will be some time
before something reminiscent or repetitive of another comic book
occurs in "Scud: The Disposable Assassin." Currently, two trade
paperbacks allow readers unfamiliar to the world of Scud to catch
up as well as third printings of individual issues for those who
like the cover art. This series provides a great opportunity for
readers to find an outlet from the typical spandex-clad, comic book
muscle men.