Trashman is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

who appeared regularly in

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

and magazines between 1968 and 1985. He was created and drawn by

Spain Rodriguez Manuel Rodriguez (March 2, 1940 – November 28, 2012), better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, was an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. Influences His experiences on the road with the motorcycle club, the ...

.Rodriguez, Spain. ''Trashman Lives!'' (Fanatagraphics Books, 1997), p. iv.

Publication history

Trashman's first appearance was as a full-page serial

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

in the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

underground newspaper The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rece ...

the ''

East Village Other ''The East Village Other'' (often abbreviated as ''EVO'') was an American underground press, underground newspaper in New York City, issued biweekly during the 1960s. It was described by ''The New York Times'' as "a New York newspaper so counterc ...

''. After moving from New York City to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in 1970, Spain's ''Subvert Comics'' series (1970–1976) featured "three full length ''Trashman: Agent of the Sixth International'' stories".''Trashman Lives'', pg. v. Since 1976, Trashman has appeared in such publications as ''

High Times ''High Times'' was an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade. The magazine had its own book publishing d ...

'', '' Heavy Metal'', '' Weirdo'', ''

'' magazine, ''

Zap Comix ''Zap Comix'' is an underground comix series which was originally part of the Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the late 1960s. While a few small-circulation self-published satirical comic books had been printed prior to this, ''Zap' ...

'' #11-13, and the

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...

anthology '' Zero Zero'' #2.

Fictional character biography

Trashman is a hero of the working classes and a champion of the radical left causes. The Trashman stories are set in a dystopian near-future America, which after having been ravaged by nuclear weapon attacks, has become a fascist police state, with "vast urban conglomerations. Social ferment asdivided the land into a patchwork of virtually self-governing areas".Subvert Comics, Vol, 1, No. 1 Mild-mannered auto mechanic Harry Barnes turned to a life of petty crime after finding his wife murdered in their home by Gestapo-like soldiers. As Barnes flees capture by the police, a mysterious stranger in a hooded robe calling himself "Citizen X" appears and leads him down a hidden passageway to a secret underground installation. There, Barnes is told he was chosen by the mysterious and elusive "Sixth International", an underground anarcho-

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

organization, to be trained as a master of the "para-sciences" and to use these powers to fight the oppression of the fascist governments of the world. Trashman is typically cast as the defender of the working-class masses against the tyranny of fascist police/military forces, agents of governmental oppression, and the plots of the rich and powerful to oppress the common people. He is depicted as a strong, rugged, black-clad militant figure, with dark hair and beard and eyes always in shadow, who wields conventional military weapons such as machine guns,

pistols A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a barrel with an integral chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the English language when early handguns ...

daggers A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-u ...

and

explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

in addition to his superpowers.

Superpowers

"Harry Barnes, known to the world as Trashman, trained by the elusive Sixth International as a master of the para-sciences, is able to change his molecular structure or decipher a crack in the sidewalk". (quote from Trashman's first comic strip in the ''East Village Other'') Trashman's powers include superhuman strength, stamina, speed, agility, reflexes, equilibrium and durability. He is not invulnerable to harm, but his powers usually enable him to avoid being wounded or killed by conventional weapons. He also has the ability to "shape-shift" or alter his shape and molecular structure to any desired form, including non-organic ones. For example, he once shifted himself into the shape of a copy of the ''East Village Other''. He retains his mental abilities even while shifted and can change back to human form at will. Trashman also has a power called the "Random Alert Factor", based on the fictional "science of numantics". One of the principles of numantics, according to ''Trashman's'' Professor of Numantics Dr. Eugene Kranker, is that "from observing random phenomena, a general pattern may be deduced". Trashman is tuned into this mode of perception, giving him a

synchronicity Synchronicity () is a concept introduced by Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology, to describe events that coincide in time and appear meaningfully related, yet lack a discoverable causal connection. Jung held that this was a healthy fu ...

-based

precognition Precognition (from the Latin 'before', and 'acquiring knowledge') is the purported psychic phenomenon of seeing, or otherwise becoming directly aware of, events in the future. There is no accepted scientific evidence that precognition is a ...

clairvoyance Clairvoyance (; ) is the claimed ability to acquire information that would be considered impossible to get through scientifically proven sensations, thus classified as extrasensory perception, or "sixth sense". Any person who is claimed to h ...

, of seemingly unrelated information by making observations of random (complex) phenomena. For example, on the inside back cover artwork of ''Subvert Comics'' #1, Trashman "hears" a crack in the sidewalk "speak" to him, warning him of an attack from behind. Strangely, Trashman's powers are diminished when he is exposed to an atmosphere lacking in a certain level of pollution.

Cultural influence

The ''Trashman'' series is one of the very few superhero stories depicted in the underground comix of the 1960s and 1970s, particularly as a recurring character. ''Trashman's'' post-apocalyptic setting and Marxist-anarchist overtones expressed Spain's own social and political beliefs, as well as the sensibilities of the

anti-Vietnam War Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War began in 1965 with demonstrations against the escalating role of the United States in the Vietnam War, United States in the war. Over the next several years, these demonstrations grew ...

movement and the underground

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

of the era. Like many underground comix, the ''Trashman'' stories are replete with graphic depictions of violence, sex and profanity, which were all but unknown in superhero comics of the past. There are also many times that the characters break the "

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...

" boundary between the fiction and the reader, typical of

post-modern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experi ...

art. In one exchange with another character, Trashman "admits" he is a comic book character: "You heard Dr. Kranker. It was all figured out thru numantics. It's just odds and fixed points and all that stuff". Do you expect me to believe that?" "Shhh! Don't blow it man. There's all those readers out there watching".''Subvert Comics'', vol. 1, #3 The style and setting of the ''Trashman'' comics are similar to many of the

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...

graphic novels A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics scholars and ...

and films that followed it years later, such as the ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Di ...

'' and ''

Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It centres on a series of post-apocalyptic and dystopian action films. The franchise began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ...

'' films, the '' Dark Knight'' series of

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

graphic novels, and the ''

V for Vendetta ''V for Vendetta'' is a British graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd (comics), David Lloyd (with additional art by Tony Weare). Initially published between 1982 and 1985 in black and white as an ongoing Serial (li ...

'' graphic novel and film. In an interview with John Ascher, Spain claimed no direct influence on these later works, but concedes: "These ideas are out there. The artist pursues a cultural thread, and there are other people pursuing that cultural thread as well, so you exchange these ideas, they’re thrown back and forth, amplified, then the cultural thread goes underground, then it pops up again, often".

Notes

References

* Spain Rodriguez: ''My True Story'', Fantagraphics Books (Seattle), 1994. * Spain Rodriguez: ''Trashman Lives!'', Fanatagraphics Books (Seattle), 1997.

External links

Sifting Through the Trash: Spain and Trashman
- interview with Spain conducted by Jon Ascher in 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Trashman (Comics) Anarchist comics Comics superheroes Last Gasp titles Underground comix Fictional characters who break the fourth wall Fictional characters with precognition Fictional activists Fictional anarchists Fictional knife-fighters 1968 comics debuts Comics characters introduced in 1968 Fictional American people American comics characters Fictional gunfighters in comics Male characters in comics Shapeshifters in comics Vigilante characters in comics Political literature