This story posits that Vincent van Gogh was plagued by an entity from another dimension that interfaced with him through his ear – which is what he was attempting to excise when he cut part of his ear off. That same entity gave him a view of the world similar to what he was painting.

Based on this page, I just think the artist wanted to draw van Gogh’s paintings into a comic and went with “alien entity.” It’s pretty, but it minimalizes the artist’s struggles with mental health. I guess that’s a wash?

(Heavy Metal September, #237 2008 – Page 24 Heimdal by Vega)