What follows is some fantastic pieces of art by Butcher Billy. His Legion of Supervillains has historical figures ranging from the likes of George W. Bush and Mark Zuckerberg to maniacs like Charles Manson and Adolf Hitler being portrayed as some of DC Comics most well known fiends. When asked about the project Butcher Billy had this to say.

[quote] Some might say all art is a reflection of the times we live in. If back in the day comics and movies were pretty naive and faced only as pure escapism, today’s fiction has to evoke reality to create something truly meaningful… and frightening.

This series is an experiment where a dictator, a psycho, a murderer (sometimes they are the whole package) or even a suspicious figure from real life is mashed with a comics bad guy – strangely related some way or the other with his counterpart.

The depressing thing? Realising that if the comic book super villains were actually the ones threatening real life, the world wouldn’t be such a bad place. [/quote]

Some incredible thought has gone into the creation of these characters. Not only is the artwork stunning and very representative of the counter parts he is copying, but also the characters fit perfectly. For example George Bush as Two Face shows his flimsy approach to politics, while Bin Laden as the bomb throwing terrorist Green Goblin who cares little about who he hurts as long as his agenda is met follows the path he lead in real life and Hitler as the greatest threat to mankind Galactus shows even now his evil has never been matched. The most inspired choice is Charles Manson as The Joker who in real life followed his own crazy and manic plans to their tragic end. Each one is superbly crafted and it is very interesting to look at how each character links with his comic book version.

In my life time I have seen quite a few of these tyrants come and go, so the history of their deeds is still fresh in my mind, but for some they will never have heard of these horrific figure heads or chosen to ignore it. In that sense this is a great way to educate people about history through the medium of comic books which have now taken over the pop culture psyche. Though Mark Zuckerberg clearly isn’t a sociopathic serial killer like some of the other choices by Butcher Bill, it is still fascinating to learn about their histories through his art. It would be great to see more of these pieces, but for now look up the gallery of some of these people by clicking on the link here or visit his Facebook page  and finally look at his portfolio here which showcases some of his other art that cleverly mixes and mashes up pop culture icons.

As a little taster of his work, here is his version of the classic 70’s movie A Clockwork Orange.