The Crow (Comic)
By J. O’Barr
First published in 2002
The Crow (comic)
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The work notably comes with both comics and
poetry, with the poetry being part of the narrative about loss.
·
The comic is illustrated in two styles, with it
being jagged and having heavier lines with the violent post-death scenes of the
Crow’s loved one and the soft almost acrylic look of the comic in the pre-death
scenes.
·
The nature of the Crow’s powers is not made
clear in the story, but it does add to the supernatural element of the piece
and the surreal Horror genre feel of the tale.
·
The Crow’s mercy of Funny Boy is notable in that
he gives Funny Boy a fast and painless death of illegal drug overdose due to
Funny Boy’s recognition of his own sins. While the other rapist and murderers
tried to make their lives more positive after the death of Shelley, Funny Boy
morbidly accepted his death and so the Crow gave him the least gruesome death.
·
The Crow notably has mercy to the innocent in
that a police officer, a prostitute, a little girl and other noted side
characters not the rapists. He even wishes them a good life as with the case of
the officer and the little girl.
·
There is a noted “women in refrigerator” story
narrative with the rape, death and mutilation of the Crow’s beloved Shelley was
there only for progress the story of the narrative.
·
The flashbacks with Shelley are notably in
mostly white as opposed to the dark pages this book is mostly made of.
·
Cats are common in the series as a herald to the
Crow being in the area, much like the magic crow which brought the man the Crow
back to life.
·
The villains have no depth to them other than
that they were rapist and murderers. This seems sociopathic almost in the
depiction as the lack of redeeming qualities make the antagonists seem more beast
rather than murdering people. Granted this may be what the author was aiming
for in depicting people doing dark deeds.
·
The actual death of T Bird and the Crow are
notably absent, the former possibly being tortured to an extent that even this
series can’t convey. The latter possibly could mean that he finally could die
with the murderers dead or that he continued in existence as a vengeful
antihero.
·
The one time The Crow smiled he found disturbing
given his new nature. This shows his more human side which he shuns now is
somehow still there.
·
It is never explained how Shelley knew how her
precious Eric (The Crow) saw everything as a magic crow in her rape and death.
·
It is never explained how the commissioner knew
of the Crow and accepted his revenge.
·
The irony of constantly seeing Shelley saying
she’s safe with Eric or Eric notably seeing the murderers as not a threat
before becoming the Crow is used to an almost stupid amount.
Bibliography
O'Barr, J. The Crow. Northampton, MA:
Kitchen Sink, 1994. Print.
