“Mr. Evil is truth, he is justice, he is a piece of shit and asshole and your best friend all in one!” Mr. Evil, a sharp-toothed, masked figure with horns often wearing briefs and a bat-like cape, is the protagonist in a series of drawings posted on @mr_evil_pen Instagram page. Separately, the man and artist, also known as Mr. Evil, illustrates comic-style scenes onto cartridge paper, cardboard, and canvas using acrylic paint, pen, and oil pastel materials.
His mission is to combat an unjust and unfair society with unique heroic defiance exposing power structures and falsities within media, culture, and the status quo. The artwork reveals the evil lurking in systems that divide people and speaks to the costs and pressures on mental health. By integrating social justice issues with humorous tones and misfit behaviors, Mr. Evil lends truth to power through his characters and illustrations.
Born out of frustration and anger during a challenging time in life, drawing illustrations was a path out of the darkness. “I started to channel my feelings of frustration at society and its unfairness, its unhealthy values, and its fake heroes into my drawing more and more and this theme and character just kept coming back to me,” writes Mr. Evil in an interview over email.
Mr. Evil is inspired by issues involving hypocrisy, oppression, inequality, and corruption and turns them into themes and ideas for illustrations. He is fascinated by the ways in which a single illustration involving a character’s expressive body language could effectively get a point across to the audience. Illustration became an instrumental tool to advocate for others and it encouraged him in challenging times. “In harder times when I didn't have the energy or was in a dark place, I could still draw this way and it helped me to get through. It didn't take long and it's easy to get going, just a pen and paper needed,” writes Mr. Evil.
Mr. Evil’s passion for comics and graphic novels began in childhood. He often drew and created books, comics, and trading cards and was mostly influenced by the comics, cartoons, and television he consumed. The Beano, the longest-running British children’s comic magazine, is the first comic that Mr. Evil collected. The concept of layout and style were introduced due to the exposure to comics like Johnny Cougar and Beavis and Butthead. Mr. Evil enjoyed how the characters were unpolished artistically and personality-wise, different from most popular media.
In the time he stepped away from drawing as a young adult, Mr. Evil became disappointed by the harshities of the world. Years of burnout led to him feeling lost and down. Experiences with undiagnosed mental health problems and self-destructive behavior spurred a deep compassion and alertness for others also struggling with illness. He criticizes the country’s response to mental health care and urges people to approach this issue with more empathy and understanding.
During his recovery, Mr. Evil found himself drawing daily again. He poses questions to himself and then fills sketchbooks, makes stickers, and paints in the exploration of their answers. He says that his works pursue themes such as “disobedience, anger, frustration, politics, depression and mental health issues caused by the world we live in.”
In “Freedom Is A Racket” posted on May 11th, Mr. Evil is mounted to a wall and surrounded by cameras and messages casted from screens that read, “Eat this”, “You're not good enough”, “Don’t do that” and many more commands. Amid the chaos, Mr. Evil says, “Man, it’s so good to be free.” “In “SELF DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE OF EVIL” posted on June 3rd, the character raises his arms lifting his cape and the text reads, “My body is a temple in ruins…” In “Finally A News Reader who Tells The Truth” posted on May 11th, a character sits in a chair wearing a suit and the text reads, “And In Tonight’s News... More Bullshit!”
The pieces vary in subject matter yet they similarly fight against what the world wants people to adhere to when faced with adversity. “Anger and defiance come up a lot in the ‘Mr. Evil’ illustrations. A middle finger to rules and mainstream constantly kinda in the background of all those pieces. A lot of stuff is done without feeling anything except the need to do it and I just go through this process of getting the feelings out on the paper or canvas or whatever,” writes Mr. Evil.
Mr. Evil’s art turns weakness into strength and brings into question the ways in which society rewards people who strive for the unattainable instead of their truth. “I have a huge dislike for the way society is structured and controlled, how we are all turned against each other by such rubbish like what you look like, what you wear, your hair, your interests! It's all just there to divide when really it doesn't matter!” writes Mr. Evil.
The artistic choices in the characters and illustrations are what makes the artwork unique. One artistic choice involves the incorporation of splashes of vibrant color juxtaposed against the mainly black and white illustrations as an exploration tactic for the artistic as well as the conscious decision to marry “miserable yet true and humorous tone of my work,” writes Mr. Evil. Pieces like “FULL METAL POSITIVITY” and “Find A Better Place… And Make It Evil” play with this creative choice. Whether the color bursts from a firing gun or a jet pack, the illustrations convey satirical messages.
“So Mr. Evil [the character] is making a statement about corruption or how shit life is but he's wearing a bright pink pair of pants or he shits out a rainbow-colored lake or something. It helps to show I’m adding humor to the issue. I'm not just a certified miserable human being,” writes Mr. Evil.
He says that he never reworks a “Mr. Evil” piece because for him “what comes out comes out.” He hopes to inspire his viewers to both question and have a laugh at the silliness of the world through his humorous work, urging them to take away whatever messages they want. “I just wanted someone to talk about and poke fun at real life in a way you can totally relate to,” writes Mr. Evil, “Not only are they [the artwork] funny but they're right and they are just telling the truth, for real and that's what I'm doing in my illustrations. Look at it, laugh, and then say ‘Oh shit that's actually true.’”
In recent pieces, different characters were created to signify different emotions and moods that play key roles in the storytelling. For example, The Little Pink Monster is representative of the lethargic and “self-defeated nature of depression,” according to the artist. The Crimson Moron, an enemy of Mr. Evil, represents public shame or embarrassment around depression and social anxiety. That character is featured in the piece, “The CRIMSON ONE”, where The Crimson Moron and Mr. Evil exchanges one line and the descriptive text reads, “He [The Crimson One] strikes in public...mainly when you feel uncomfortable or make a very minor mistake..painting you CRIMSON and labeling you a moron.”
“Mr.Evil is the main man though, he stands up no matter what, he doesn't care what he looks like, what you think and he is gonna say what needs to be said. Some of these characters (emotions) Mr. Evil is gonna fight against but others he is here to help and support. Like with mental health issues all the little parts that you suffer from that make the whole thing some bits need defeating and some just need nurturing and help,” writes the artist.
Art has had a positive effect on Mr. Evil’s mental wellbeing he says. He is working with different materials, colors and expressions. For him, art both functions as an escape to feel good and a truth-telling mechanism. He says, “[Art is] a therapy room sofa where I'm just chucking it all up and getting it out. My illustrations let me moan about the things I'm tired of and I know other people are too...”
Mr. Evil notes that it is okay to have bad days because we are human beings and art helps him to relieve intense feelings of frustration in a healthy manner. “Art is a massive help to me and if you are going through the shit times then really finding something that helps you escape is the best thing for you!”
Article written by Paige Perez