Last time we checked in on the art of Billy the Butcher, he was drawing real-life despots as comic book supervillains and mashing up Marvel comics superheroes with stills from their film adaptations. Now he’s created “The Post-Punk / New Wave Super Friends” to re-cast seven ’80s music icons as comic book superheroes.
Ian Curtis or Johnny Rotten are as iconic to me as Superman or Batman. Real people or imaginary characters, the incorruptible ideals of perfect superheroes or the human flaws and desires sometimes so desperately depicted in song lyrics – all of those influences affect us to the point of defining our character and personality, career paths and life choices. The references we are exposed and specifically the ones we choose to absorb make us who we are. Who are your heroes? [Butcher Billy]
My heroes? Nobody wants to see my drawings of Norman Borlaug and Irena Sendler as Captain Planet and Power Girl. As for Billy, he drew superhero versions of Morrissey, Ian Curtis, Siouxsie, Mark Motherbaugh of DEVO, John Lydon (Johnny Rotten), Billy Idol, and Robert Smith of The Cure. A few of our favorite New Wave Super Friends are below. More pictures are available at Behance, and prints are for sale at Society6.
