by L.A. Mood Comics and Games

By Dan Brown

Angine de Poitrine. 

Count Binface.

Daft Punk.

What do they have in common? 

I couldn’t tell you what their faces look like. 

That’s because when these people are on the job, they wear masks. As Paris Hilton might say, masks are so hot right now.

The list goes on. 

When Lady Gaga burst on the scene, she obscured her features, too. 

Toronto Bag Head is a social-media personality who wears a brown paper bag on his head to Toronto Maple Leaf games because he’s ashamed to support the perpetually underperforming team. 

And who could forget the hero of V for Vendetta, who hid his identity behind the facade of Guy Fawkes? 

I don’t know why this trend is happening at this moment in history. Indeed, it may be possible this is one of those evergreen things, and there are always entertainers or other well-known figures who would rather the general public not be able to identify them.

Back in the day, the Human Fly, a Canadian daredevil, also wore a mask. As did the mummy musician Nash the Slash. The Unknown Comic was just that because he never did standup without his trademark upside-down grocery bag.

Some well-known artists  – I’m thinking of the street artist Bansky here – don’t put on literal masks, but they do take drastic steps to ensure their identities remain secret.

All of them are, to quote the Forgotten Rebels, just shadows in the crowd.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence these public figures are choosing to cover up. It feels to me like masks have a renewed urgency and a more layered meaning in our online world.

One of the biggest concerns at this moment is the possibility of identity theft. It may be the most lucrative type of fraud being committed in 2026.

But it’s impossible for scammers to make off with your identity if you don’t reveal it in the first place. 

If you’re like me, you get itchy when a company or government wants to know personal details about you for no apparent reason. 

Has there ever been a more pressing time to maintain your anonymity?

Now, I will admit masked entertainers do have a certain kind of appeal for me. A mystique.

The last thing I would want to know, for instance, is what the math-rocking duo of Angine de Poitrine look like without their costumes. I love the backstory they’ve created for themselves, that they pretend they’re from another planet. I don’t want to find out that they have balding heads and bleary eyes and acne scars like everyone else. 

It would spoil the mystery. 

It wouldn’t be as fun. 

And it’s beside the point. 

I just read the Brian K. Vaughan graphic novel The Private Eye, about a future society in which everyone wears a mask because the most important aspect of this post-internet world is being able to protect one’s privacy. All kinds of solutions pop up so ordinary folks can hide their faces, from devices like mystery cloaks to high-tech holographic masks.

I hate to break it to you, but the truth is we already live in that world. 

So don’t expect the facial camouflage to go away anytime soon. 

Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 33 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly Graphic-Novel Group book club.