A while ago I posted a comic that Dean Haspiel did together with Tom Furtwangler, and that was aimed at informing people about the risks of unprotected sex. Tom was kind enough to send me another of his public awareness comics, this time with art by Jason Lutes.
Like Celia Learns To Protect Her Baby, El Brillante – Protecting Your Children’s Teeth was published in a two-language flip format (English-Spanish). I’ve never been keen on the use of superheroes for advertising purposes, since somehow this seems t0o easy, and also because the line between a “good” superhero design and a derivative one is very thin.
El Brillante, however, is different. I like the way his name, his costume (with the tooth shield) and his blickering teeth have different, contradicting meanings; On one level they underline the message he is bringing across (take care of your teeth), while at the same time they add a good dose of parody and self-mockery, by referring to the archetypical salesman and his empty, shiny white grin. We’re a long way away from a very serious Robin telling kids that you can’t get aids from sharing a soda.
El Brillante – Protecting Your Children’s Teeth was published by the Washington Dental Service Foundation. Art by Jason Lutes, Art Direction by Tom Furtwangler. Reproduced with kind permission.
(Read on for the complete book)
