sub 01 origin
sub 01 origin
Rip Off Press March 1970
Spain Rodriguez opens Subvert Comics #1 with the eight-page “The Origin of Trashman,” which depicts Harry Barnes evolution from a humble auto mechanic to a bad ass superhero. It all begins when Harry (with short hair and no beard) comes home for lunch to find his wife murdered and three “enforcers” of the corrupt regime trying to take him into custody. Harry beats one of the cops to death and chases off the other two, but his life changes forevermore. He swears vengeance on those who killed his wife and becomes a fugitive from “justice,” which leads him into a life of petty crime.
One day, when he’s on the lam from the law, his escape in a dark alleyway is aided by a mysterious man in a hooded shawl, who already seems to know all about Harry Barnes. The man calls himself Citizen X and explains that his organization, the Sixth International, was formed after the brief nuclear war (which was actually a secret conspiracy by the USA and Soviet Union) led to tyranny in America. The Sixth International fights against this tyranny and for the freedom of exploited classes.
Harry accepts Citizen X’s invitation to become an agent of the Sixth International. He goes through months of intensive conditioning and rigorous meditations to learn the para-sciences, including the art of molecular disintegration that enables him to change his molecular structure at will (for example, turning himself into a banana peel). He is bestowed with the nickname “Trashman” and his mission from that day forward is to roam the world defending the rights of the “humble and oppressed.”
Trashman’s origin story is followed by “Trashman Meets the Fighting She Devils,” which takes up the remainder of the first issue. After all this talk of fighting against tyranny, Trashman’s first adventure involves getting kidnapped by a band of militant feminists, who seem more horny than revolutionary. After a couple pages of gratuitous sex and nudity, the Fighting She Devils camp is attacked by the slave traders from Ptwanga Canyon, where it’s legal to buy, sell and kill women.
Trashman is obviously more offended by murderers and slave traders than kidnappers who have sex with him, so even after escaping his imprisonment by the She Devils he launches his own attack against Ptwanga Canyon. After decimating the core group of slave traders, he’s joined by the Fighting She Devils who lay waste to the entire colony.
“Trashman Meets the Fighting She Devils” may not portray heroic fighting for the “humble and oppressed,” but it’s a fast-paced story with plenty of sex and violence. Rodriguez’s art throughout the book is bold and striking, though his compositions are hit and miss, sometimes looking rather flat. Both stories are riddled with spelling errors and omissions of punctuation, which wasn’t uncommon in undergrounds. But Rodriguez does a great job of setting up the Trashman character and defining his personality with telling details, like his willingness to face danger to save a friend from peril.
Subvert Comics #1 is a solid introduction to Trashman for new readers who haven’t already seen the character in his appearances in other publications. For Trashman’s devoted fans, Subvert #1 provides a satisfying origin story. Rodriguez would get two more issues to continue Trashman’s adventures and further expand the character’s mythology.
sub 01 origin
