The Love Iron

Okay, so I've seen some freaky comics in my time, but this one totally freaks me out. It's by the same guy, Ryan Armand, who does Minus, which I love, but not like this freaky comic.

So, what freaks me out about it so much is not that the first part doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever, or even that this guy in the comic seems to think that irons are the solution to anyone's relationship problems. No, it's the part that comes afterwards, where the two potential lovebirds use said irons to melt each other's faces off, and then toss the irons away, still covered in face gunk, and squish the pliant, gooey remnants left on their heads together to make a huge, fleshy, dripping approximation of a heart between them. Freaky. Freaky. Say it with me: frea - ky!

But really, why is this freaky? Is it the depiction of facial deformation, the awful, gangliated mess they make of themselves? Is my freak-out a basic reaction to disfiguration in any form, an intestinal aversion to gross deviation from a perceived norm -- the same sort of thing that lead our ancestors to commit infanticide rather than waste precious resources on an expression of bad genetic combinations?

Perhaps it's something deeper: a fear of the true commitment, the loss of single self that must come out of a true union between two people. Is this whole tale a symbolic representation of the loss of individuality, the voluntary throwing-away of that which most represents how we think of ourselves, for the sake of a true love? Is that what I'm reacting to? Is my sense of discomfort truly indicative of my inability to give up enough of myself to fall completely in love, and to love someone wholly?

Of course, it could also just be that the final image reminds me too much of the big nasties from Tremors. Yeah, maybe that's it.

Or maybe I just don't want to look too hard at this, and I'm avoiding the issue by making it look like I'm not. Wouldn't be the first time I've done that either. But does it really matter? It's just a comic, after all.

Right?

Hg