Superhero Kids Art Will Tap Right Into Your Nostalgia Gland
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I’d imagine most of GFR’s readership fell in love with science fiction at an early age. Back when you didn’t have a care in the world and the afternoons seemed to stretch on for years, it was easy to let yourself dream about climbing aboard a sleek starship and seeing what was out there. As you get old you face the disheartening realizations of just how hard space exploration can be, and that far too few share your passion for it. Artist Andy Fairhurst’s “Superhero Kids” series taps into nostalgia for those simpler times in a powerful, visceral way that instantly snaps me back to the warm summer nights of my childhood, when a broken branch worked just fine as a lightsaber and the empty field across the street stood in for any number of alien worlds.
There’s so much I love about these images. Setting them against either the full moon or the “magic hour” as the sun slips below the horizon perfectly sets the mood. And given the use of the full moon, Fairhurst pretty much had to give us his take on one of the most iconic images in science fiction history.
I love his tribute to one of this summer’s biggest big deals, everybody’s favorite occasionally violent Giving Tree, Groot of Guardians of the Galaxy. The stilts are a very nice touch, especially since actor Vin Diesel used them himself to record motion capture for the character.
Fairhurst is clearly in touch with his inner child, because he’s got a brilliant knack for understand how kids’ imagination works, and all the little tools they use to pretend to be their favorite characters, whether it’s magnets for Magneto or flashlights for The Flash.
And the rebounding trampoline beneath all the “flying” characters is perfect. Especially since he doesn’t go the obvious route and use that for his Superman picture.
I love them all, but I think the Dalek picture might be my favorite, just because the kid’s homemade Dalek costume looks exactly like the sort of thing my buddies and I cobbled together for our weekend adventures.
You can see tons a few more of our favorites below, and tons more on Fairhurst’s deviantART page.
