Congress

Deliciously, cartoonishly evil. This one is Dick Tracy all the way. There’s something wonderfully over-the-top about Flattop. He has the presence of a classic comic-book villain, the kind who enters a scene already convinced he owns it. He’s dark, serious, and more than a little menacing, but there’s also something undeniably funny about him. And then there’s the lipstick. That little swipe of pink changes everything. Without it, the figure could be genuinely intimidating. With it, he becomes something much more interesting: a character who seems to take himself very, very seriously while the painting quietly refuses to let him get away with it.

That tension between menace and absurdity is what makes the piece work for me. The figure is physically quite small, but he somehow manages to fill the entire space around him. His presence is much bigger than his actual size. He doesn't simply occupy the composition, he takes it over.

That quality feels particularly appropriate given his namesake. Flattop, the infamous villain from Dick Tracy, was never exactly known for understatement. He had an enormous head, an enormous ego, and the general attitude of someone who believed the world ought to make room for him. Too big for his britches.

My wax-string version may be considerably smaller, but he has inherited the same oversized personality. The scale becomes part of the joke: a tiny figure with absolutely no interest in behaving like a tiny figure. I love when a painting can be a little bit sinister and a little bit ridiculous at the same time. Flattop doesn't ask to be taken completely seriously and the pink lipstick makes sure of that. Because even cartoon villains need a little color.