by John Workman
from Heavy Metal magazine, August 1981
This is an offbeat little strip from an early 80s issue of Heavy Metal.
At first glance, 'Martelaine' seems like a satire of a 70s-era Romance comic, or maybe a satire of a cheesy T & A comic. But beneath the humor there is an underlying note of unease that comes to fruition in the final two panels of this black and white comic from John Workman (who was the art director for the magazine from 1977 - 1984).
The overtone of creepiness is aided and abetted by Workman's economical, but carefully crafted, penciling of his heroine's facial expressions.
I distinctly remember this one, not just for the obvious sexiness, but for the depiction of loss of optimism and innocence. Paralleling young love with Bobby Kennedy, evoked a more dimly remembered feeling of loss from when he was killed.
ReplyDeletethanks