'Art Ops': Masterworks have life of their own
Vincent van Gogh might not have made for the best barber back in the day, but in the crazy, hypersurreal world of the Vertigo Comics series Art Ops, his self-portrait could totally come alive and get too close to your ears with some shears.
The brainchild of writer Shaun Simon (The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys), Art Ops (debuting Wednesday) follows Reggie Riot and a secret society called the Art Operatives who deal with masterpieces, statues, graffiti and anything considered a work of art coming alive.
“It’s an alternate take on (our) world,” Simon says. “What if this stuff is happening and we just don’t know about it? There’s definitely a mystery to it but it’s not like it’s an alien invasion. It's something that’s always been going on.”
And according to artist Michael Allred (iZombie), it’s also a very existential comic book exploring where creativity actually originates. “It’s this whole other spark or life force,” he adds. “Where does talent come from and where do these images come from? Just like your favorite fictional characters have a life of their own, we’re showing these pieces of art literally have a life of their own.”
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Art Ops spawned from an idea Simon had where the Mona Lisa escapes from her frame and a team of Men in Black-type agents have to track her down and put her back, and Leonardo da Vinci’s famous lady is alive and well and a focal point of the first Art Ops arc, as she’s a target for assassination.
The Art Ops group has been headed up by Reggie’s single mom, and he was raised as a latchkey kid while she was off on various missions. Now a rebellious young man with a chip on his shoulder and some interesting artistic abilities, Reggie has to deal with tragedy while also being handed the reins of the team.
“He’s the last guy you’d want to be the head of this organization and it falls on his shoulders and this whole thing is thrust upon him,” Simon says. “The first arc is about this punk-rock, ‘I don’t give a (crap)’ dude coming to terms with who he is and what his role is going to be.”
Like Debbie Harry’s influence on the lead character of iZombie, Allred and Chris Roberson’s comic that’s the basis for the CW TV show, the artist used The Clash frontman Joe Strummer as inspiration for Reggie. “It’s just kind of an in design-wise. When you know that, you get a sense of the spirit of it,” says Allred.
Another of the creators’ favorite characters is The Body, a quirky guy with a helmet, cape and dark fashion sense, and Allred says he loves the whole ragtag crew. “We start with the very eclectic visual design but at the same time the personalities and unique aspects of each of the characters just create this chemistry.”
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In fleshing out the primary conceit, Simon figured that just focusing on masterworks coming alive would “get really stale really fast,” so he says anything creative is fair game, even a doodle. “I want to push the idea of what art is and what it can be in stuff we’re doing, and for me that’s more than just paintings.”
Both creators feel Art Ops has the same energy and vibe as 1990s Vertigo comics such as Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing and Grant Morrison’s runs on Animal Man and Doom Patrol. To make sure they were in sync, though, Vertigo editor Shelly Bond brought both Allred and Simon to New York to enjoy the city and capture the right spirit for the book.
“We have creator friends who have been just slamming their heads against the wall like, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ ” Allred says of the Art Ops concept. “It’s really cool in the execution and I’m really excited and proud to be a part of it.”