Repurposed comicbook art is produced by taking existing comicbook art (e.g., the cover for “The Lone Rider” #10, Oct. 1952), and modifying it for another purpose (e.g., a comicbook music video for “Big Sky” by Orville Peck). That is, you take art made for one purpose (to tell a heroic Western adventure story), and modify it for another purpose (to make a comicbook music video).
I began to use repurposed comicbook art to create visually dynamic teaching materials for my university courses. It has proven to be a highly effective way of communicating ideas and concepts in psychology, while also making my lecture materials unique and visually engaging.
One of the biggest challenges in repurposing comicbook art are the constraints imposed when using art created for another purpose. For example, (i) you may not find an appropriate image for your goal, (ii) you may find an appropriate image but the word balloon in the image is too small, or too big, for the text you wish to use, or (iii) you may find an appropriate image with the right sized word balloon, but the resolution of the image is too low.
Constraints such as these may seem daunting, and may discourage you from repurposing images for your own work. However, the reality is that these constraints are actually exciting twists and turns on the road to your creativity.
How can this be? Constraints can stimulate creativity by forcing you to think outside the box. When faced with limitations, you must find creative solutions to work within those limitations. This can lead to innovative approaches and unexpected results that may not have been possible without the constraints. By pushing yourself to think creatively, constraints can help to break down mental barriers and encourage experimentation.
It is in that spirit of developing creativity and unexpected innovation that I undertook my current Lone Rider/Orville Peck project. In repurposing the comicbook art from The Lone Rider #1, Apr. 1951 to fit the lyrics of Orville Peck’s song “Big Sky”, I have encountered all three of the challenges mentioned above. However, I have also been forced to come up with innovations, such as what to do with word balloons that belong to other characters. The results so far can be seen below (two verses complete). I’m not sure what the end result will be, and that is also part of the creative experience.
Original art available here: https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=23819