The Mask is a
Dark HorseDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
comic bookA comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series created by writer
John ArcudiJohn Arcudi is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on The Mask and B.P.R.D., and his series Major Bummer.-Career:Arcudi worked for Malibu Comics upon its founding in 1986, working on its Eternity line...
and artist
Doug MahnkeDouglas "Doug" Mahnke is an American comic book artist and penciller.-Biography:Mahnke's first prominent work was for The Mask, and he has since worked for DC Comics on JLA, Batman with writer Judd Winick, and Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein with Grant Morrison...
, and based on a concept by publisher
Mike RichardsonMike Richardson is an American writer, film producer and the founder of Dark Horse Comics, a comic book publication company based in Milwaukie, Oregon.-Career:...
. The series follows a magical mask which imbues the wearer with reality-bending powers and physical imperviousness, as well as bypassing the wearer's psychological inhibitions. It was adapted into the
19941994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
film
The MaskThe Mask is a 1994 American superhero comedy film based on a series of comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. This film was directed by Chuck Russell, and produced by Dark Horse Entertainment and New Line Cinema, and originally released to movie theatres on July 29, 1994 through New Line...
, starring
Jim CarreyJames Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
, which was followed by an
animated television seriesThe Mask: The Animated Series is a television animated series based on the comic book superhero, The Mask, but is a sequel to the 1994 film adaptation. The show ran for three seasons, from August 12, 1995 to March 8, 1997, and spawned its own short-run comic book series, Adventures of The Mask....
voiced by
Rob PaulsenRobert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...
, and then by a
2005- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
sequel,
Son of the MaskSon of the Mask is a 2005 American fantasy family-comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman, starring Jamie Kennedy as Tim Avery, an aspiring cartoonist from Fringe City who has just had his first child born with the powers of the Mask. It is the stand-alone sequel to the successful 1994 film The...
.
Overview
In all versions the story initially revolves around a magical old mask which gives anyone who places it over their face nearly limitless power and an altered appearance, characterized by a large set of teeth and green head. The mask affects the personality of the wearer by removing all personal
social inhibitionSocial inhibition is a conscious or subconscious constraint by a person of behaviour of a social nature. The constraint may be in relation to behavior, appearance, or a subject matter for discussion, besides other matters. There are a number of reasons for social inhibitions, including that the...
s, causing the wearer to eventually go insane. The book was inspired by a combination of earlier characters:
The JokerThe Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
and
Steve DitkoStephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....
's
CreeperThe Creeper is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. Created by Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Showcase #73 .-Publication history:...
, as well as
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In the original comic stories, characters who wore the Mask would become dangerous and cruel antiheroes with ultraviolent tendencies, even if this was not the wearer's original intention. When adapted into a film, the violence was toned down to make the Mask only as dangerous as its wearer. Once the film was spun off into an animated television show, the main character Stanley Ipkiss was depicted more as a mischievous superhero with
Tex AveryFrederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
inclinations. The same goes for the
2005 sequelSon of the Mask is a 2005 American fantasy family-comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman, starring Jamie Kennedy as Tim Avery, an aspiring cartoonist from Fringe City who has just had his first child born with the powers of the Mask. It is the stand-alone sequel to the successful 1994 film The...
's main character Tim Avery, who is named after Tex Avery.
The title of the comic book originally referred to the mask itself and not the character it unleashed. In early stories, the character was referred to as
Big Head; it was not until the films and television series that the character became known as The Mask.
The Mask (comic books)
The base concept of The Mask was created by
Mike RichardsonMike Richardson is an American writer, film producer and the founder of Dark Horse Comics, a comic book publication company based in Milwaukie, Oregon.-Career:...
in 1982. It first saw life as a single sketch he made in 1985 for
APA-5, an
amateur pressAn amateur press association is a group of people who produce individual pages or magazines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group.-Organisation:...
publication created by writer
Mark VerheidenMark Verheiden is an American television, movie, and comic book writer. He is a co-executive producer for the television series Falling Skies for DreamWorks Television and the TNT Network.-Career:...
. After starting Dark Horse Comics, Richardson pitched his concept to
MarvelMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
comic book writer/artist
Mark BadgerMark Badger has worked as an illustrator in the comic book industry.His work includes Greenberg, the Vampire and The Gargoyle for Marvel Comics, Martian Manhunter and Batman: Jazz for DC Comics, and Planetary Brigade for Boom! Studios....
, which resulted in the
Masque strip that ran in the early issues of
Dark Horse PresentsDark Horse Presents was the first comic book published by Dark Horse Comics in 1986 and was their flagship title until its September 2000 cancellation. The second incarnation was published on MySpace, running from July 2007 until August 2010...
. Badger's strips became increasingly political, and Richardson ended the strip in order to bring the character back in line with his original concept.
Artist
Chris WarnerChris Warner is a comic book writer and artist who has done work for Dark Horse, notably their mid-1990s line of Comics' Greatest World and Dark Horse Heroes....
was hired to revamp the character based on Richardson's original
APA-5 drawing and created the definitive look for the character. The character was given a new launch in 1989 in the pages of Dark Horse's
Mayhem anthology. Aspiring writer
John ArcudiJohn Arcudi is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on The Mask and B.P.R.D., and his series Major Bummer.-Career:Arcudi worked for Malibu Comics upon its founding in 1986, working on its Eternity line...
and artist
Doug MahnkeDouglas "Doug" Mahnke is an American comic book artist and penciller.-Biography:Mahnke's first prominent work was for The Mask, and he has since worked for DC Comics on JLA, Batman with writer Judd Winick, and Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein with Grant Morrison...
were hired to create the new adventures, which became the first very popular use of the character, "a combination of
Tex AveryFrederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
and The Terminator". The Mask stories from
Mayhem #1-4 were later collected as the 1991 issue
The Mask #0 and in a trade paperback collection as well.
Mayhem was canceled after four issues, but in
1991-January:* Checkmate is canceled by DC Comics with issue #33.* El Diablo vol. 2 is canceled by DC with issue #16.* Count Duckula is canceled by the Marvel Comics imprint Star Comics with issue #15....
Arcudi and Mahnke continued with
The Mask four issue
limited seriesA limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
; that series also introduced one of The Mask's antagonists, a mute brutish hulk named Walter. This run was among Dark Horse's best sellers; following it, the company continued a succession of miniseries around The Mask, with various antagonists wearing the mask. These series concluded in
2000-February:*Strange Adventures vol. 2, #4, final issue cover-dated February - January :* January 5: Goseki Kojima, co-creator of Lone Wolf and Cub, dies at age 71.* January 6: Mad magazine fixture Don Martin dies at age 68....
with the
DC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
crossoverIn comic books, an intercompany crossover is a comic or series of comics where characters published by one company meet those published by another...
Joker/Mask, in which the magical Mask finds its way into the hands of
BatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
's arch-enemy
The JokerThe Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
. The first major storylines and the Joker/Mask crossover have all been collected in trade-paperback and in a limited edition hardcover box set.
Original ongoing series
- Mayhem (#1-4, Monthly, May 1989-September 1989, re-printed in The Mask #0)
- The Mask (#1-4, Monthly, July 1991-October 1991)
- The Mask (#0, December 1991)
- The Mask Returns (#1-4, Bimonthly, October 1992-March 1993)
- The Mask Strikes Back (#1-5, Monthly, February 1995-May 1995)
- The Mask: The Hunt for Green October (#1-4, Monthly, June 1995-October 1995)
- The Mask: World Tour (#1-4, Monthly, December 1995-March 1996)
- The Mask: Southern Discomfort (#1-4, Monthly, April 1996-July 1996)
- The Mask: Toys in the Attic (#1-4, Monthly, August 1998-November 1998)
- Joker/Mask (#1-4, Monthly, May 2000-August 2000)
The Mask (#0-4)
In an antiques shop, a weak, neurotic man named Stanley Ipkiss shops for a gift to give to his girlfriend, Kathy. At the store he purchases an old
jadeJade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
mask which begins to speak to him. The mask calls to be tried on and when Stanley does so (to scare Kathy) he is transformed into a wacky, superpowered being with an abnormally large, bald, green-skinned head. After exploring his new abilities, Ipkiss goes on a rampage, taking revenge on personal grudges that range from a biker gang, to a couple of motor mechanics who always overcharge him and to his old first-grade teacher. The media dubs this green-headed killer Big Head.
After taking the mask off Stan begins to realize what has been happening. His acts as Big Head begin to take an emotional toll on him. He becomes verbally abusive toward Kathy. She kicks him out but keeps the mask since Stanley had bought it as a gift for her.
Later Stan breaks into her apartment to steal it back just as the police respond to their earlier
domestic violenceDomestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
call. Deciding his only way out is as Big Head, Stan places the mask back on and kills 11 cops in his escape. He returns home as Big Head and takes off the mask only to be shot in the back and killed by Kathy, who has put two and two together and figured out the identity of Big Head, before putting the mask on herself.
Kathy takes the mask to Lt. Kellaway for safe-keeping. Kellaway, who had been struggling at both the recent Big Head murders and organized crime lords running loose through his city, disregards Kathy's warnings and tries on the mask thinking she is stressed, and not thinking well. Becoming Big Head, Kellaway sets out to take down the crime lords who have plagued his police career.
The city, not knowing of the magical mask, assumes Big Head is still the same killer but has moved his target list to high profile crime lords. Despite Kellaway's good intentions, the mask turns his methods increasingly more violent. Big Head encounters Walter, a behemoth-sized mob muscle-man who never speaks and has taken a vendetta against Big Head for killing his employers. Walter never shows pain and is the only one who can injure Big Head to any real degree.
While fighting off Walter's attacks, Lt. Kellaway, as Big Head, becomes the target of a police manhunt. Big Head fights off the police and tracks down the remaining mobsters. When Kellaway's partner attempts to stop Big Head, the mask-altered policeman nearly kills his friend and colleague. Kellaway, realizing what he has been doing, flees. He removes the mask, buries it away in his basement with
cementIn the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
, and vows never to let it be worn again.
The first half of the story following Stan as Big Head was originally published in the four-issue anthology series
Mayhem and was then collected as the first part of The Mask trade paperback.
The Mask Returns (#1-4)
The crime lords send men to Lt. Kellaway's home and attempt to kill him. Kellaway makes his way to the basement in an attempt to retrieve the mask but is wounded before he can put it on and is put into a coma. After the shooting, the men escape, taking the mask with them. One of them puts it on the wimpy driver, Nunzio, as a joke, but he then becomes Big Head. Big Head kills the thugs and kills all of the crime lords, and becomes the city's preeminent crime boss. Kathy, realizing the return of Big Head means Kellaway failed to hide the mask well enough, knows that it's up to her to stop him. She dresses as a hooker, and Big Head falls head over heels. She tricks him into taking off the mask, and she pulls out a gun, then Nunzio dives for the mask but is shot and killed. Kathy uses the mask to escape and decides to go after the real crime boss (who Big Head stole the office from while he was in Miami) Don Mozzo. When Don comes back from Miami, he knows Big Head is after him and so he goes for help from the one man who can help him, Walter.
The Mask Strikes Back (#1-5)
Four friends, named Rick, Ben, Hugo, and Archie, all fascinated by the Big Head murders, find that all their lives are at a dead end, until one of them finds the magical mask by the city pier and brings it home. Realizing this was the source of their hero's power, each of the four take turns trying it on. They attempt to use its power to fix their lives but only end up making things worse for themselves. By the end, Walter finds the mask in his hands and is unable to use it and, in frustration, throws it into the distance with tremendous force.
This was the last series in the original Mask storyline by Arcudi and Mahnke. It was also the first to be made after the success of
The Mask film and as such the violence of the earlier stories was toned down and the Tex Avery aspects were more prominent than before.
The Mask: The Hunt for Green October (#1-4)
The Mask continues to find its way into the hands of unwitting wearers. Ray Tuttle, a loser film-buff and his daughter Emily discover its power, but Lt. Kellaway is looking to take it from them. The title parodies the title of the novel
The Hunt for Red OctoberThe Hunt for Red October is a 1984 novel by Tom Clancy. The story follows the intertwined adventures of Soviet submarine captain Marko Aleksandrovich Ramius and CIA analyst Jack Ryan.The novel was originally published by the U.S...
.
The Mask: World Tour (#1-4)
A new wearer of the magical mask finds his way traveling through the Dark Horse Comics universe.
The Mask: Southern Discomfort (#1-4)
In New Orleans, the mask ends up in the hands of Eric Martin who tries to find his sister, all while Lt. Kellaway looks to destroy it.
The Mask: Toys in the Attic (#1-4)
A character named Aldo Krasker gets his hands on the mask which leads him to subconsciously embark on a murder spree. Doug Mahnke returned to illustrate the covers for this series.
Walter: Campaign of Terror
In this four issue spin-off by original
The Mask creators John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke, Big Head's arch-enemy and indestructible Mafia killer, Walter the voiceless, runs for Mayor of Edge City.
Marshal Law vs. The Mask
The mask is applied to a superhuman
serial killerA serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
as part of a secret government experiment which inevitably goes disastrously wrong.
Marshal LawMarshal Law is an English-language superhero comic book series created by Pat Mills and Kevin O'Neill. One of the first major creator-owned characters for a major publisher, it was first published by Epic Comics in 1987...
is called in to take down a nemesis who is not only immune to his usual ultra-violence, but can warp reality according to his psychotic whims.
Grifter/The Mask
Grifter of The
Wild C.A.T.S.Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a fictional superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi.-Publication history:...
is sent to Las Vegas to break up a weapons smuggling ring at a gun show. Trouble brews when one of the tourists ends up with the mask and as Big Head causes a riot at the gun show by pulling a knife. Grifter initially mistakes the Mask for a target but when the tourist's girlfriend is threatened Grifter and the Mask team up to stop the smuggling ring.
Lobo vs. The Mask
The alien bounty hunter, Lobo, is hired to find the "Ultimate Bastich", a being who has decimated numerous planets. His hunt leads him to Earth where a petty thief has become Big Head. In a battle that decimates Manhattan, Big Head finally offers to "help" Lobo find the "previous wearer."
The duo head through space causing mass destruction. In a space truck stop, Lobo eventually wins the mask for himself, puts it on, and causes even more damage. A black hole sends him back in time by a month and it turns out that he is, in fact, the Ultimate Bastich. Waking up on Earth and realizing this, Lobo tosses the mask in the same spot the thief found it. Lobo breaks the time loop when he meets his past self and turns his past self in for the reward money.
Former Mask comic team John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke returned for these books, along with Lobo writer Alan Grant.
Night of the Return of the Living Ipkiss…Kinda
After Kathy visits Ipkiss' grave, he returns from the dead as a zombie Big Head, with a thirst for revenge. Walking around the city, he finds and kills Kellaway, Walter, Don Mozzo, Lionel, many police officers, and a biker. When he finally finds Kathy, she yells at him, telling him that he doesn't have the mask anymore and he couldn't have come back to life. After that, he becomes a pile of dust and all the murdered people are brought back to life. From "A Decade of Dark Horse" #3.
The Mask: Official Movie Adaptation
A two issue comic book adaptation of the 1994 film starring Jim Carrey. In addition to retelling the story of the first movie, this comic book version contains short moments of the story which were cut out of the final film. This includes the deleted scenes most often seen as extra features in video releases of
The Mask, most significantly, the death of supporting character Peggy Brandt. It also includes completely unseen moments such as Stanley Ipkiss' watch being stolen by the same group of thugs that he pays back with the balloon animal routine and dialog by the mechanics right before they are burst in on by The Mask. Some audio is also changed. In this version, Stanley is more of the shy, clumsy version of the animated series.
Adventures of the Mask (#1-12)
Following the success of the first Mask movie, which led to the release of
The Mask: The Animated SeriesThe Mask: The Animated Series is a television animated series based on the comic book superhero, The Mask, but is a sequel to the 1994 film adaptation. The show ran for three seasons, from August 12, 1995 to March 8, 1997, and spawned its own short-run comic book series, Adventures of The Mask....
, Dark Horse published this spinoff comic series which followed the continuity of the television cartoon. Like the television show, this title combined elements of both the original adult comics and the Jim Carrey movie. Elements from the film included The Mask as Jim Carrey portrayed him in the film: goofy and heroic with his trademark yellow suit. From the early comics were Walter, still Pretorius' Henchman, and a Lt. Kellaway more like his original counterpart than as depicted in film.
This series ran monthly from January 1996 until December of the same year.
Ghost, another Dark Horse hero who was popular at the time, appeared in
Adventures of the Mask #5.
Joker/Mask (#1-4)
The
JokerThe Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
inadvertently gets his hands on the magical mask after it is found in a
Gotham CityGotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
museum. With its power the Joker begins to feel a new rejuvenation in his career of crime. Lt. Kellaway finds his way to Gotham and helps
BatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
and Commissioner Gordon in defeating the newly superpowered Joker. Batman is able to trick the Joker into removing the Mask by claiming that the villain is no longer funny, and is relying on tired schtick and the power of the Mask instead of his own style. Lt. Kellaway asks Batman to give him the Mask. Batman agrees and the Mask is last seen as Kellaway digs up Stanley Ipkiss' grave and buries the mask there with his corpse.
The Mask Omnibus collections
Recently, Dark Horse has published two trade paperbacks collecting
The Mask stories in chronological order. However, it should be noted that this collection does not reprint bonus materials previously released in the individual trade paperbacks for the individual series, such as deleted pages and author forwards and retrospectives.
The Mask Omnibus Vol. 1
Collects
The Mask #0-4,
The Mask Returns #1-4, and
The Mask Strikes Back #1-5.
The Mask Omnibus Vol. 2
Collects
The Mask: The Hunt for Green October #1-4,
The Mask: World Tour #1-4,
The Mask: Southern Discomfort #1-4,
Night of the Return of the Living Ipkiss...Kinda, and
The Mask: Toys in the Attic #1-4.
Adventures of the Mask Omnibus
Collects
The Mask: Official Movie Adaptation and
Adventures of the Mask (#1-12) released 29 Jul 2009 in 392 pages
The Mask (1994)
A film version of
The MaskThe Mask is a 1994 American superhero comedy film based on a series of comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. This film was directed by Chuck Russell, and produced by Dark Horse Entertainment and New Line Cinema, and originally released to movie theatres on July 29, 1994 through New Line...
was released in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on July 29, 1994, starring
Jim CarreyJames Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
in the title role. Directed by
Chuck RussellCharles "Chuck" Russell is an American motion picture director, producer and actor.-Filmography:*The Hearse *Hell Night *The Seduction...
, the film co-starred
Peter GreenePeter Greene is an American character actor.A native of Montclair, New Jersey, Greene did not pursue a career in acting until his mid 20s...
as Dorian Tyrell,
Peter RiegertPeter Riegert is an American actor, screenwriter, and film director, best known for his role as Boon from Animal House and crooked New Jersey State Assemblyman Ronald Zellman on the HBO original series The Sopranos.-Early life:...
as Lt. Mitch Kellaway, Orestes Matacena as Niko,
Richard JeniRichard John Colangelo , better known by the stage name of Richard Jeni, was an American stand-up comedian and actor.-Early life:...
as Charlie Schumacher,
Amy YasbeckAmy Marie Yasbeck is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her role as Casey Chapel Davenport on the sitcom Wings from 1994-1997.-Early life:...
as Peggy Brandt, and
Cameron DiazCameron Michelle Diaz is an American actress and former model. She became famous during the 1990s with roles in the movies The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary. Other high-profile credits include the two Charlie's Angels films, voicing the character Princess Fiona...
, in her screen debut, as Tina Carlyle.
Ben SteinBenjamin Jeremy "Ben" Stein is an American actor, writer, lawyer, and commentator on political and economic issues. He attained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
has a cameo role as Dr. Arthur Neuman.
While there were early efforts to take the movie in the direction of horror (some at
New Line CinemaNew Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
saw it as a replacement for their fading
Nightmare On Elm Street franchise), it was never completely intended as a "
dark horror" picture. New Line had problems coming up with a script that could show
violenceViolence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
that was
comicalComedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
, but had more success with a story that had
comedyComedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
that was violent. Richardson always pushed in the direction of the
Tex AveryFrederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
concept which was eventually adopted, despite the efforts of several potential directors, including, initially, Chuck Russell, to make the move to horror. Richardson also resisted early attempts to attach both
Martin ShortMartin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
and
Rick MoranisFrederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...
to the lead role. Mike Deluca's suggestion of Jim Carrey for the lead, together with Mark Verheiden's "
Cuban Pete" production number, set the final tone for the film.
The plot of the film was loosely based on the first half of the Arcudi/Mahnke comic book miniseries. It uses only a few scenes from the comic, including the scenes of the muffler mechanics and the street gang and balloon animals.
Mike Richardson's comic origin for the character came from the ancestor worship of ancient Africans that formed the basis for the voodoo that came centuries later. In the film, however, the
LokiIn Norse mythology, Loki or Loke is a god or jötunn . Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. By the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Nari or Narfi...
-based origin was grafted on in Chuck Russell's screenplay. A deleted scene is featured on the DVD, where a band of
VikingThe term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
s drag a chest containing the mask onto the shore of North America which was also depicted in the Dark Horse Comics two-part comic book adaptation of the film.
The movie also spin-off into a
video game adaptationis a Super Nintendo Entertainment System side-scrolling action video game based on the first Mask movie.-Summary:The player controls Stanley Ipkiss, a mild mannered bank clerk who transforms into the namesake character after discovering a green Loki mask....
, released for the
Super NESThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
in 1995.
The Mask: The Animated Series (1995–1997)
The movie version of the character subsequently appeared in an animated TV series entitled
The Mask: The Animated SeriesThe Mask: The Animated Series is a television animated series based on the comic book superhero, The Mask, but is a sequel to the 1994 film adaptation. The show ran for three seasons, from August 12, 1995 to March 8, 1997, and spawned its own short-run comic book series, Adventures of The Mask....
(with
Rob PaulsenRobert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...
as Stanley Ipkiss/The Mask) and his own short-run comic book series based upon the TV show,
Adventures of The Mask.
John ArcudiJohn Arcudi is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on The Mask and B.P.R.D., and his series Major Bummer.-Career:Arcudi worked for Malibu Comics upon its founding in 1986, working on its Eternity line...
wrote season one's "How Much is That Dog in the Tin Can" and season three's "The Goofalotatots" (a parody of
Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
'
AnimaniacsSteven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
). Much as with the
BeetlejuiceBeetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros...
cartoonBeetlejuice is an American-Canadian animated television series which ran from September 9, 1989 to May 7, 1992 on ABC and, later on, on Fox. Loosely based on the 1988 homonymous film of the same name, it was developed and executive-produced by the film's director, Tim Burton...
before it, The Mask TAS took many elements from the source movie but made numerous changes. Tina was absent, and reporter Peggy Brandt had become the main female character but not love interest. Also unlike in the movie, Ipkiss appeared to be able to use the mask in daytime as well as at night. The series also had a
crossoverA fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
with
Ace Ventura: Pet DetectiveAce Ventura: Pet Detective is an animated television series based on the film of the same name. The series was produced by Morgan Creek Productions and Nelvana for Warner Bros. Studios. It aired for two seasons from 1995 to 1997 on CBS...
, another animated series based on a Jim Carrey film.
Four VHS volumes of the series were released (an extra two were released in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
), all of which are now out of print. Upon the initial DVD release of the
Son of the MaskSon of the Mask is a 2005 American fantasy family-comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman, starring Jamie Kennedy as Tim Avery, an aspiring cartoonist from Fringe City who has just had his first child born with the powers of the Mask. It is the stand-alone sequel to the successful 1994 film The...
,
Wal-MartWal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
stores sold an exclusive 2-pack of the movie with the pilot episode of the animated series ("The Mask Is Always Greener On Other Side" Parts 1&2). As of 2009, this is the only DVD release of the series.
Son of the Mask (2005)
Son of the Mask is the Raspberry Award-Winning
2005- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
sequelA sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to the Academy Award-nominated
19941994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
comedy filmComedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
,
The MaskThe Mask is a 1994 American superhero comedy film based on a series of comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. This film was directed by Chuck Russell, and produced by Dark Horse Entertainment and New Line Cinema, and originally released to movie theatres on July 29, 1994 through New Line...
,
directedA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by
Lawrence GutermanLawrence "Larry" Guterman is a Canadian film director known for his work in companies like DreamWorks, Warner Bros. and Universal. He directed Cats & Dogs, Son of the Mask, and Back in Time...
. The movie had a $84 million budget and a $17 million domestic box office gross, along with a $40 million foreign box office gross.
Director
Chuck RussellCharles "Chuck" Russell is an American motion picture director, producer and actor.-Filmography:*The Hearse *Hell Night *The Seduction...
, who helmed the original film, expressed his interest in a
Mask sequelA sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
in his 1996
LaserDiscLaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
commentary. He was hoping
Jim CarreyJames Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
would come back as The Mask, along with
Amy YasbeckAmy Marie Yasbeck is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her role as Casey Chapel Davenport on the sitcom Wings from 1994-1997.-Early life:...
, who played Peggy in the original. Russell decided to cut scenes when Peggy dies and leave the character open for the sequel, which became this film. The concept was completely changed when Carrey decided not to return.
Ben SteinBenjamin Jeremy "Ben" Stein is an American actor, writer, lawyer, and commentator on political and economic issues. He attained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
reprises his role of Dr. Arthur Neuman from the first film. He is involved in the movie to reestablish the relationship between the mask and its creator, Loki. He is the only actor to appear in both films as well as the Mask cartoon series.
Powers and abilities
In the original comics, the mask has superhuman physical attributes and intelligence, a
healing factorA healing factor is a term used to describe the ability of some characters in fiction to recover from bodily injuries or disease at a superhuman rate...
, the ability to look like other people, and the ability to create objects out of the air.
In the other media, the mask's
reality warpingReality warping is a superpower in superhero fiction. It is the ability to reshape matter and energy, create or alter life forms, turn a person's thoughts or desires into reality, simulate any and all other powers and abilities, bend time and space, and possibly even rewrite the laws of physics.All...
powers are more powerful, and it has more
cartoon physicsCartoon physics is a jocular system of laws of physics that supersedes the normal laws, used in animation for humorous effect. Normal physical laws are referential , but cartoon physics are preferential ....
-style abilities, such as:
- Superpowers mimetism
- shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
: powers include elasticity, self transmutation, duplication, biological manipulation and size-shifting
- In the animated series, the mask is portrayed as invincible. Being almost completely impervious to attacks from his foes. The only exception to this is when he gets sick with a cold.
External links