A sadistic cyborg and the product of some wonderfully warped imagination, Gigan was probably the epitome of the truly bizarre 1970′s Japanese giant monster/robots.  He showed up in several Toho movies and superhero shows of the time, went on hiatus, then returned in Godzilla: Final Wars with a more H.R. Giger-inspired design.

Gigan ™ and © Toho Film Co. Ltd.

While I’m not a big advocate of cartoonists censoring themselves, I also do what I can to keep SCAPULA at a PG-13 rating, or in any event “safe for work”.  Depicting nudity is something I’ve been a tad reluctant to do in the past (and for good reason; the moment a bare bum appears on your site all types of ‘warning signs’ tend to appear), but I usually compromised, reasoning that there was a vast difference between nudity and pornography. I still feel that’s true.

Today’s comic, however, was a whole different matter.  Sex often seems like the most taboo topic within the context of a comic, and I worried about how some viewers would react to this scenario.  My reasoning is that this is meant to be a very vulnerable, heartfelt moment, and censoring it or removing it entirely would have hurt the story a lot.  Even prominently displaying Scapula’s extremely offensive tattoo was important in portraying what kind of a man he is, and why this situation would affect him so strongly.

Sometimes a cartoonist really does need to take risks in order to make the best work possible, and in today’s case it was simply a matter just about telling the story in the way that I feel works best.  This isn’t cheesecake, this isn’t self-indulgence, and it’s most certainly not porn.

Toxsick- This observer’s favorite character, a blue collar crook. Sewer worker and family man by day, career criminal by night, what makes Toxsick so special?

He’s the most openly dangerous of the lot now that Zodi Jr. is dead.

Toxsick has hit a point where he has moved from normal man to the absolute nadir of morality. He is the ultimate terrorist, willing to employ all of humanity’s most bone-chilling horrors routinely and without a flicker of emotion…… not regret, hesitation, fear, or even glee, just plain old apathy. Explosives, ‘dirty bombs’ and toxic gas are his calling cards, all things humanity is openly terrified of. He takes life without a care and moves on, sometimes profiting and sometimes just slapping those who have offended him in the face.

Toxsick isn’t really capable of emotion as far as has been seen, he’s a complete burnout. He gets his chuckles from time to time, but in general he displays little joy or fear or attachment. Where others hesitate to antagonize the likes of Jemini, he quite casually demolishes everything she owns just to poke her in the eye for betraying him, which he clearly doesn’t care about. He didn’t have much fear of Darkevilhelldeath-Man, just a relaxed ‘yeah, let’s watch our step’ attitude. He doesn’t care that his identity is known and his family could be in danger….. he doesn’t seem to like them much and the feeling is by all accounts mutual.

A true sociopath, Toxsick is able to pull off any low without blinking. Where most have a reason to do what they do, Toxsick mostly does what he does because it’s what he CAN do. He has the skills, he has the equipment (at work if nothing else), he has the access (like many, he can easily get around the sewers thanks to years of work and experience), and he has no reason NOT to be a criminal. And unlike some other costumed crooks, he has clearly made out like a bandit (during D.E.H.D.-Man’s rampage, he literally walked away with a massive sack of straight, clean cash). So, what keeps him from being the perfect crook?

Tox’s health is garbage….he smokes like a chimney, he handles toxic chemicals with little protective gear beyond worn out clothes and a defunct gas mask that he smokes right through, he hauls around huge tanks and a big huge sprayer, and he clearly doesn’t eat well. He’s just plain not healthy. He also lacks ambition, preferring to be the ‘behind the scenes’ supplier of devastation and terror. While he’s capable of goonery, he lacks the drive to excel or lead. He has no vision or delusions of grandeur, he just lives day to day as if it, well, was a job.

Of note, Toxsick is likely very strong compared to his fellows, hauling around massive weights almost all the time. His resistance to toxins is mind boggling or he’d already be dead. He’s squat and tough. In short, even without his weapons I wouldn’t want to take a pop in the jaw from the guy. While his stamina isn’t much to brag about, he’s still capable of deadly harm.

Toxsick is oddly also about the only one in the Scapula-verse who has any empathy for the perpetual loser, Scapula. He will lie to his face like anyone else, but he is willing to admit he doesn’t mind the guy and that’s more than most. As close as anyone in this world gets, he’s likely a friend of the old bonehead…he even bought him doughnuts to make up for almost exploding him, and this is from a guy who couldn’t even be bothered showing up on time to a super villain get together.

As a final note, Toxsick also seems to keep an amazingly level head for someone who hangs around industrial toxins with little more than a badly holed gas mask to protect him. While a couple examples come to mind, the clearest is his role in the Sicko Six incident……. rather than any foolish endeavors or plots, he simply cashed in. Even in so doing he played straight-faced and walked away with more cash than he’d shot for thanks to Mona’s pride. Like any good poker player, he’s clearly insane AND knows when to cash out, but he needs to learn when to run instead of walk it seems, evidenced by his arrest.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed these wonderful essays, and give Trevor a great big round of applause!  Go ahead, clap, wherever you are!  Thank you so much Trevor, and be happy knowing that sicko minds all over the internet take comfort in your care. The Author thanks LadyJenn and some wierdo named Big Marty for booting him in the butt to complete these.