I Believe in Harvey Dent — and Halloween!

When I was a kid, I thought Michael Jackson was a real werewolf. He could also turn into a zombie (and back), a sports car, and — if he was in really serious trouble — a giant robot.

Then I found out about the magic of special effects, and that there were squads of people whose job it was to make Jackson look like an inhuman monster.* Their jobs were fascinating to me, and I loved watching behind-the-scenes specials (the “Thriller” making-of is particularly good) and finding out how various movie characters were created.

Of course, CGI takes much of the romance out of process now. But watching practical-effect-driven movies like Hellboy II: The Golden Army and The Dark Knight brings back that childlike curiosity for me. For Halloween this year, I wanted to attempt my own version of possibly the greatest tragic villian in all of literature: Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face.

I made the prosthetic from scratch (except for that big bloody patch on my cheek, that’s a store-bought “dog bite” I glued on and painted), turning a modified bald wig into a make-shift “mask” that I hand-painted. I spray-painted on a “graphite” finish to simulate an ashy texture, then painted in the details and stuck it to my face. Up until I put it all on for the first time, I didn’t know if it would work OK. But I was pretty happy with it in the end. Hopefully I’ll run into a Joker somewhere. (Or Catwoman … mmm …)

All I need now is a half-dollar to flip menacingly. But, you know, the economy sucks right now — so I’ll have to make due with a quarter. Happy Halloween!

*They’re called plastic surgeons.