‘The Mask’ Gets Chocolatey In Provocative First Glimpse At Dark Horse’s Revival Comic

We’ve come a long way since Stanley Ipkiss first put on a magical faceplate that turned him into a cartoon character with a darkly murderous sense of humor. A lot has changed since the dangerous artifact made its comic book debut at Dark Horse in the late 1980s. The world is now a vastly different place in 2019, and the Mask—as well as its wearer—must adapt to the changing and turbulent times.

Enter Christopher Cantwell and Patric Reynolds.

This creative duo, known for pop culture creations like Halt and Catch Fire and Joe Golem, is using The Mask banner after all these years to give us a warped, albeit uncannily relatable, view of modern society and its politics. Their four-issue limited comic, I Pledge Allegiance to the Mask!, is just about here, and it plans to leave an indelible (not to mention chocolatey) impression on readers. It’s also meant to back back to the disturbing nature of the original run by John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke.

"Big Head is menace mixed with glee and gore,” said Cantwell in a statement. “He is the grotesque exaggeration of our worst desires and a warped funhouse mirror of our best intentions. Big Head reduces everything to sheer meaninglessness through violent hilarity. He is a cartoon id of primal human impulse.”

On Twitter, he added:

“When I was 12, I saw the movie and it was funny so I got the comic and saw Big Head kill a man by shoving a car muffler inside his entire body. We tried to bring that spirit to this new book.”

Since Forbes was the first outlet to announce the new series back in July, it was only natural that we’d also be able to give you an exclusive look inside the first issue. Reynolds’ provocative art style is a dark reminder of the times we live in and ensures that you’ll never look at Hershey’s chocolate syrup the same way ever again.

If you’re a savvy follower of the Mask comic book canon, you’ll already know that the return of Lieutenant Kellaway is a very big deal. He’s one of the few people alive who knows just how formidable the Mask can be. Having worn it himself in the past, he knows the terrible toll it can take on an individual that exploits its arcane power.

“Big Head shows us who we really are when we give in to our own darkness... when we are at our most destructive, indulgent, and pathological. Big Head is us,” Reynolds said in a statement of his own.

In addition to the impending comic revival, fans of The Mask are also hoping for the IP to return to the big screen. Talk of a new Mask film was renewed when Dark Horse founder and creator, Mike Richardson, exclusively teased to Forbes that he has a female comedian in mind for a new cinematic project based around the chaotic character. Richardson didn’t divulge a specific name, but his comments were enough for the internet to offer up its own viral speculations and recommendations.

Despite some big plans for a Vegas-based follow-up to the successful Jim Carrey-led movie in 1994, a sequel (Son of the Mask) wasn’t produced until 2005. Bombing hard with critics and at the box office, that film—which starred Bob Hoskins, Jamie Kennedy, Kal Penn, Steven Wright, and Alan Cumming—put an end to any further extension of the franchise on the big screen.

With The Mask: I Pledge Allegiance to the Mask! #1 going on sale this Wednesday (Oct. 16), we may very well have some fresh fodder for another Mask film not far up the road.

Issue #2 arrives Wednesday Nov. 20. The front cover (below) is enough to let us know that Big Head is setting his sights on the White House. From there, he’ll have a great vantage point to watch the Capitol and by extension, the country, burn.