PLANETARY TRANSITION: A “SPIRITIST RAGNAROK” PROPOSAL FOR MARVEL

I'm a journalist and cartoonist and I love comics, with works published in Folha de S. Paulo and Le Monde.

But all the work I did was digitally colored. This year I challenged myself to take the opposite path: dedigitize myself. So I started playing with analog drawing materials. And, for the first time, I pleasantly drafted a six-page comic book, using a freehand technique of "frayed" dry brush and #ecoline.

For this authorial exercise, I took the liberty of playing with iconic characters from the Marvel Universe.

The plot begins with Dr. Doom claiming the high position at the UN, while other pawns move on the board behind the scenes of power, such as Loki, Leader, Mephisto. The main superheroes are busy with their own problems, and Dr. Strange is the last line of defense on Earth against this malevolent conspiracy. Due to the gravity of the situation, the Supreme Wizard is forced to turn to an old alien ally.

I included public figures, such as Bono, lead singer of U2, and real-life events, such as the discovery of Oumumua, in the story to give more verisimilitude to the script. I consider the argument very timely, at a time when totalitarian regimes occupy relevant seats at the top of nations and the potential risks of AI are openly discussed.

It may seem like another cliché superhero script, but I believe I have innovated the cosmogony created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and other talents that brought the Fantastic Four and other characters to life. It is a story about a new world order and planetary transition, a hypothetical event in which the Earth would pass from the stage of a world of trials and expiations to a regenerating world, within a spiritualist perspective (something like the Nordic Ragnarok).

To give even more diversity to this cultural cocktail, I added some creative concepts taken from Brazilian spiritualist literature and Afro-descendant cults. In this unpretentious reinterpretation of these pop culture classics, the Ghost Rider is an "Exu", that is, a guardian in the extraphysical world, just as Asgard is presented as an astral colony similar to " Nosso Lar " mentioned in the works of the medium Chico Xavier in partnership with one of his spiritual guides, doctor Andre Luiz.

Talking about the visual narrative, I spread this conceptual story across six A3 size pages. However, my scanner only holds A4 sheets. I had to scan half of each sheet individually and then digitally join them together in Photoshop using Photomerge or, when that feature failed, combine them manually. This harmed the final result, but the analogue creative process really pleased me - mainly due to the "psychotherapeutic" effect. I share this #fanfic for those who, like me, are passionate about #Marvel mythology.

And if someone from the publisher that owns the rights to the characters happens to come across this content and sees some commercial potential in it, I am available to develop the narrative in the format of a graphic novel in partnership with an artist recommended by Marvel or through my own resources. artistic.