The Kingpin: A Retrospective.
Suggested music: Vivaldi, Autumn from
The Four Seasons
Ironically, today's subject doesn't even appear in
this first image, from The Punisher. However,
it's apparent that locker-painting hoodlums want
you to be aware of his "ruling," as it were.
Symbolism often refers to the method of choosing
representative symbols showing abstract rather than
literal qualities of a subject, allowing for the wider
reader or viewer interpretation of meaning than more
literal representations allow. In other words, The
Kingpin is not that big in the "reality" of Frank
Miller's Daredevil.
The Arach-Knight climbs upon The Kingpin's back in
a symbolic cover from a fairly bland comic series
I can't recommend beyond the covers (this one by
Tony Harris) and interior art by Sean Phillips
and Klaus Janson.
This early cover appearance by our subject shows him
having overpowered Spider-Man. This theme is returned
to several times in the title over the first decade of
its publication.
Note that even with all of his arachnid-derived powers,
the titular hero is having trouble with The Kingpin,
who literally pulls the rug out from under
him in one of this series's finest battles.
Eduardo Risso, most famed for his work on 100 Bullets,
provides stunning art in this comic that tells the story
of a lower-level member of The Kingpin's criminal organization.
Even with his employment by our subject, the man's fear of
The Kingpin is palpable. Risso's use of shadow, removing the
eyes from The Kingpin, allows the reader to view him as
something akin to a force of nature rather than the deeply
flawed human that our next comic utilized to great effect.
Most vexing to acolytes of Frank Miller's Daredevil
is the frequent lack of notice that this work is given.
Quite possibly the pinnacle of Miller's work with the
character, Love And War centers around The Kingpin's
wife, who suffers from traumatic psychological scarring
after her enslavement at the hands of a grotesque
underworld "king" from whom Daredevil rescued her. The
abstracted nature of Bill Sienkiewicz's Kingpin, which
verges on the cartoonish, only adds to his menace when
his rage is fully unleashed in this graphic novel
that adds much in the way of subtext to works such as
Born Again, with which this was released concurrently.
The derogatory terms often used for The Kingpin by his
adversaries, such as "fat boy," "chubba wubba," "tubby,"
and "Jabba," are often delivered despite the fact that
the man's frequently shown to have an enormous amount
of strength. Here, we see him determined to set upon
one of his most vexing foes with a late-19th century
settee. The value of this is most certainly high, so
the reader must assume that his anger at Spider-Man is
massive, to say the lease.
In the last two decades, The Kingpin is seen as less
and less of a physical brawler, which makes this particular
cover stand out more. If there is a character with whom
one-on-one combat is appropriate for our subject, it
would certainly be The Punisher, who frequently uses
guns in much the same way that The Kingpin uses his
criminal minions to do his so-called "dirty work."
Note our subject's massive hand, easily grasping
Frank Castle around the neck, indicating the size
of the threat posed.
John Romita Jr's work on the Daredevil serial
featured much for the dedicated superhero sequential
narrative enthusiast to enjoy, and this cover is no
exception. Note again how Kingpin's hands are used
to show his bulk versus a direct comparison of character
sizes. The dramatic lighting and facial expression
state much more any hyperbolic sales chatter on the
frontispiece could, ironically clashing with the
"Merry Christmas" text above the protagonist's name.
Refer to my earlier statements concerning symbolism and
the cover of Daredevil #170. Here, we see that
applied to the relationship between the Black Cat and
Spider-Man, with The Kingpin figuratively severing
any relationship they might have with, again, his
oversized hands that must require at least three
women per finger to manicure properly.
That's it for this week's Genius Covers Sunday.
Next week, we'll be focusing on the finer works of
one Nicholas Fury, director of SHIELD as well as
fighting American Army sergeant.
