Artist Maxx Henry-Frazer

Who were your first heroes? You probably discovered them on a Saturday morning. Sugary cereal was probably involved. The good they did and the bad they fought was as clear and stark as the characters were colorful. These cartoon heroes formed and stretched your understanding of the world around you, even if they weren’t “real.” They didn’t have to be. You made them real.

 

Then, at some point…it changes. We need our heroes to be made of flesh and bone. More fallible. More like us. Colorful worlds become saturated with shades of gray. Pop culture moves on, leaving our old heroes behind. Something new must take their place.

 

For me, that was film. Getting lost in the stories and characters that defined a particular time in my life. The excitement of a blockbuster release that becomes a full cultural moment shared between strangers in darkened theaters. Finding connection and our humanity in even the most out-there genres.

 

Lately, the popularity of “cartoons for grownups” has proven we’re more than willing to invite animated heroes back into our lives. Except this time, they aren’t simply fighting evil. They’re satirizing American culture and current events, often wielding crude comedy as a mirror to reflect societal and systemic flaws back to us

 

My work exists in these worlds simultaneously, blending mediums to playfully reimagine the iconic characters of our past and the humanity of our present. At once nostalgic and brashly of-the-moment, viewers are invited to reminisce on their youth while reckoning with the sharper edges of adulthood.

 

The lines between realism and the magic of a sugar-coated Saturday morning are blurred to prove that the archetypes of our childhood never really left. They’ve been waiting for us to relearn how to suspend disbelief and revisit a very specific season in our lives. Only this time, we will see it differently.