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Description

I wanted a crime boss.

But, that sort of thing is easier said than done.

Crime bosses are easy. But memorable ones are harder to pull off. Comics are a visual medium, and so I didn't want just to do another generic looking bad guy without any sort of meaningful or identifiable features (The world doesn't need another Damien Darke, than you very much!) The reason I think the Kingpin works so well isn't that he is not just a great character, but Wilson Fisk has an easy, identifiable and memorable look. So I wanted to try and capture that with my big crime boss as well.

For this, I went back to my childhood. As a kid, I used to have a bad guy called "Scarface." He was your stereotypical crime boss bad guy. Evil suit, vast legions of soldiers, standing around in sparsely furnished rooms in high rise buildings, the works. The character had a series of jagged scars across is face, but nothing too iconic. Still, he was the best idea I had, so I decided to try and modernize him.

The hardest part was coming up with the design for the scar. I always try to follow the design rule to make something as easy to grasp and replicate as possible. Someone who isn't drawing in my style should be able to replicate the design fairly easily. Even someone who doesn't have a lot of artistic talent. To use an example, every kid can draw the Starship Enterprise, regardless of their level of skill, and I endeavor for that same level of clarity with my designs. So after trying a bunch of different options, I decided to go with the Y-shaped "Phantom of the Opera" type of look. It's simple, effect, and let's you know who he is without being too complicated.

As for the character himself, I thought of going somewhere different with the character. I've kind of grown bored of the "High level criminal posing as a legitimate businessman" angle that has been done to death. It was great for the Kingpin. It worked for the Kingpin. But not every bad guy can or should be the Kingpin. Instead, I was inspired by another Marvel villain- Killgrave, from Jessica Jones. If you haven't seen the show, Killgrave is someone with the power to make anyone do anything, just by speaking to them. He can make you stand on one foot, give away all your possessions, make your kill yourself, and you'll do so willingly and without question. Killgrave can go anywhere, do anything, and never have to worry about the consequences. And I thought that would be a good take for a crime boss.

Naturally, Scarface wouldn't have any superpowers. But he would have power. Power to influence and intimidate. Power to get what he wants just by his command alone, without question. He would never have a single base of operations. He wouldn't have an office building of his own. He'd have your office building. Your home. Whatever he wants, he'd walk in and take it, backed by his army of goons and soldiers who managed to intimidate and threaten any one who would get in his way. You'd either give over what you have willingly, and be financially compensated for it. Or you'd give it over by force, and perhaps lose your life in the process. Either way, Scarface would get what he is after.

He'd also make no pretense that he's a criminal. He'd walk down the street in broad daylight, knowing the cops or the feds wouldn't touch him, because (A) no one would testify and (B) many of them would be on his payroll anyway. His goal wouldn't be to be so powerful that he could hide his criminal dealings. His goal would be to be so powerful that he can outright declare he's a criminal, and still no one would go after him. That, to him, would be the ultimate display of power.

Description

I wanted a crime boss.

But, that sort of thing is easier said than done.

Crime bosses are easy. But memorable ones are harder to pull off. Comics are a visual medium, and so I didn't want just to do another generic looking bad guy without any sort of meaningful or identifiable features (The world doesn't need another Damien Darke, than you very much!) The reason I think the Kingpin works so well isn't that he is not just a great character, but Wilson Fisk has an easy, identifiable and memorable look. So I wanted to try and capture that with my big crime boss as well.

For this, I went back to my childhood. As a kid, I used to have a bad guy called "Scarface." He was your stereotypical crime boss bad guy. Evil suit, vast legions of soldiers, standing around in sparsely furnished rooms in high rise buildings, the works. The character had a series of jagged scars across is face, but nothing too iconic. Still, he was the best idea I had, so I decided to try and modernize him.

The hardest part was coming up with the design for the scar. I always try to follow the design rule to make something as easy to grasp and replicate as possible. Someone who isn't drawing in my style should be able to replicate the design fairly easily. Even someone who doesn't have a lot of artistic talent. To use an example, every kid can draw the Starship Enterprise, regardless of their level of skill, and I endeavor for that same level of clarity with my designs. So after trying a bunch of different options, I decided to go with the Y-shaped "Phantom of the Opera" type of look. It's simple, effect, and let's you know who he is without being too complicated.

As for the character himself, I thought of going somewhere different with the character. I've kind of grown bored of the "High level criminal posing as a legitimate businessman" angle that has been done to death. It was great for the Kingpin. It worked for the Kingpin. But not every bad guy can or should be the Kingpin. Instead, I was inspired by another Marvel villain- Killgrave, from Jessica Jones. If you haven't seen the show, Killgrave is someone with the power to make anyone do anything, just by speaking to them. He can make you stand on one foot, give away all your possessions, make your kill yourself, and you'll do so willingly and without question. Killgrave can go anywhere, do anything, and never have to worry about the consequences. And I thought that would be a good take for a crime boss.

Naturally, Scarface wouldn't have any superpowers. But he would have power. Power to influence and intimidate. Power to get what he wants just by his command alone, without question. He would never have a single base of operations. He wouldn't have an office building of his own. He'd have your office building. Your home. Whatever he wants, he'd walk in and take it, backed by his army of goons and soldiers who managed to intimidate and threaten any one who would get in his way. You'd either give over what you have willingly, and be financially compensated for it. Or you'd give it over by force, and perhaps lose your life in the process. Either way, Scarface would get what he is after.

He'd also make no pretense that he's a criminal. He'd walk down the street in broad daylight, knowing the cops or the feds wouldn't touch him, because (A) no one would testify and (B) many of them would be on his payroll anyway. His goal wouldn't be to be so powerful that he could hide his criminal dealings. His goal would be to be so powerful that he can outright declare he's a criminal, and still no one would go after him. That, to him, would be the ultimate display of power.