This section looks more in-depth at the creation of the antagonist/monster of my comic as well as the reasons behind my decision. Here you can find several in-process sketches as I work out the finer details of how my moths will look.
The Sketches
My first set of sketches, pictured below served as a useful tool to refine the exact ideas I wanted to build on. It quickly became clear, on deeper study, that it is very difficult to discern the true shape and details of a moth in movement. As such a simplified design is more useful for most scenes. Specific close-ups or focus points could be used to build and heighten tension.
The eye and eyes in general are known to cause discomfort to a large proportion of people. There is something unique about an overly detailed or out-of-place eye that disconcerts and, in some cases even terrifies an individual. By working on the eyes and other limbs in more depth I was able to build a truly uncomfortable monster that would grow a sense of the uncanny as the madness of my protagonist began to spiral. These sketches can be found below.
Now that I had the building blocks set in a more solid foundation I was able to create a set of more finalised sketches. Whilst not quite the same as the final design, the image below shows a series of moths that combine the aspects of the previous sketches to create an overall, very uncomfortable series of sketches. Using these as my template I was able to create a very successful escalation of madness, simply by adding more and more detail to the humble moths. I had my monster.
The Monster: Why Moths?
The inspiration for this project stems from personal experience. During the first big COVID-19 lockdown, I was, like everyone else in the country, trapped at home, slowly going insane with cabin fever. During this time I began to notice an increasing amount of moths around the house, we apparently had an infestation.
Having little else to do, I became obsessed with hunting down moths. I would start every day by going around the house scanning the walls, ceiling, and furniture for suspicious spots; turning pillows and carpets over in search of evidence of moth activity, always dreading to find a nest of maggots under the next thing. Several memorable times, I did. They had seemingly infested the built-in carpet, making the prospect of ever fully eradicating them an unlikely one.
For much of this time, I had not identified the mysterious bugs that infested the house, being convinced that they originated from outside. Because of this, I would keep all windows closed, making the house unbearably hot as well as infested with moths. This did nothing to decrease their numbers and eventually I had to admit they were coming from inside the house. This was a bit horrifying. After successfully identifying them as common clothes moths, I rooted through every closet and drawer, and indeed many clothes had been severely damaged.
I searched online for tips to get rid of the bugs – many suggestions of using lavender, mothballs, and various insecticides. I became an expert on moths: on identifying them and their evidence, on every method of possibly getting rid of them. Yet all sources I could find agreed on one thing: “they will always come back”. One horror story described the family in question moving house, leaving most of their textile possessions behind in an attempt to finally get rid of them – and still ending up with moths in the new place, having carried them over in some piece of clothing
All in all, it was a highly specific experience, some combination of comical and horrifying depending on its telling. What a perfect basis for a fictional horror story!
I was reminded of the short horror comics of Junji Itou (read more about him here), in which he frequently takes the mundane and makes it monstrous. I could easily imagine a story by him about a bug infestation, though I do not think he has ever made one.
The line between horror and comedy is thin. One work could be both to different people, depending on their threshold for the horrific, whether they are able to take it seriously and whether the ‘horror’ aspect lands for them. Unsuccessful horror will frequently be read as comical and find unintended success that way. Intentional horror-comedy is also a somewhat prolific genre. I intend to tap into this and maintain a somewhat whimsical tone for most of the story, as befitting the stupidity of the initial situation. Hoping this will still allow the scarier scenes to land, I just enjoy the contrast and tension between the two.
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