"Never Again" is my take on my favorite comic book "villain" of all time, Magneto. He began as the nemesis of the X-Men, but over time, his nature became more nuanced. Starting in 1981, he gained a poignant backstory that explains his contempt for humans and his desire to protect mutantkind at any cost.
He was a Holocaust survivor.
Born Max Eisenhardt, he suffered the atrocities visited upon the Jewish population of Germany during WWII, and his powers were key to his survival. He lost his family in the death camps and later lost a wife and child due to further bigotry. Despite these horrors, he has become an anti-hero, mentor, and even leader of the X-Men. He is truly complex and misunderstood, and his backstory resonates, as I surely lost family in the Holocaust, am fiercely proud of my Jewish heritage, and am grappling with the terrifying recent rise in antisemitism.
Drawn by hand using only Procreate Pocket on my iPhone and a basic stylus. Glitch variant included with purchase.
