BADMAN
“Bad man” in SIN, appears to have been Jay Stephen’s first effort to create a fictional character which represents himself. Even the costumed “Batman’s” alter ego is called Jay Stephens. Jay will modify this practice in SIN Comics. It reaches its final shape in “Atomic City Tales” in the periodical of the same name.
In SIN, 1, June 1992, the “Land of Nod” story and “Badman” stories are integrated. First we have the “Land of Nod” story which stops in the middle of a fight between “Nod” and the “Dream King”. Abruptly we switch to an apparently unrelated “Badman” story in which Jay Stephens assumes his “Badman” persona which is clearly based on “Batman” and falls asleep. His dream ends with him falling from a great height, landing on and squashing the “Dream King”. “Nod” thanks him.
After this initial story, “Badman” becomes a stand alone, apparently a stand in for Jay, character. In “Year One” in issue 2, he broods in the “Hall of Brooding” an unheated small room Jay tells us, over why he dons his costume. He concludes it’s from his childhood, which reminds him of his first efforts at cartooning and his creation “Coxwell the Badly Drawn Ghost” which becomes a stand alone character in future stories.
“Year One” opens issue three, with “Badman” confessing about his “Badman” persona to “Superbwoman” to whom he is newly married. “Superbwoman” reacts to his confessions and justifications with skepticism, and hides her thought that he might be insane. The “Land of Nod” re-enters, as “Badman” aka Jay Stephens relates to “Superbwoman” the origin of “Nod” in a two page episode.
In issue four, Jay in his “Badman” persona decides to go autobiographical and settles on a two page description of his relationship with Taboo a Siamese cat given to “Superbwoman’ and himself as a wedding present.
The last “Badman” story occurs in issue 5 and describes Jay/Badman’s interaction with his characters. With this story he drops the “Badman” identity and introduces himself as a character in his stories. One character in this last story accuses him of preparing to kill off the characters in SI. Most of them he does when he begins the new series SIN Comics.
MEDIUM
PERIODICAL GRAPHIC COLLECTION:
Content serial black & white:
| SIN,… “Bad Man.” Car., Jason Stephens. … Tragedy Strikes Press. Black & white. | ||
| 1, June 1992: 7-11, 31. | 2, Aug. 1992: “Year One”: 8-11.
3, Oct. 1992: “ Year One”: 1-5, . |
4, Dec. 1992: 24-25.
5, Feb. 1993: 26-29. |
GALLERY:
The opening page for “Badman”. SIN, 1, June 1992: 7.
SIN, 3, October 1992: 5.
SIN, 5, February 1993: 26.
SIN, 5, February 1993: 27.
SIN, 5, February 1993: 28.