May 2022
Closing the previous chapter, this one continues to be a loose adaptation of Paradise Lost up to about Book 4 of the poem, in which the characters Satan and Gabriel have a very similar exchange -though less resembling of an ex-lover’s spat. If it’s not already obvious enough, Ithuriel and Zephon in this depiction are HEAVILY influenced by the bullies in Gunshow’s Anime Club. Milton of course had them find their captive taking the literal form of a toad when they found them, which would have felt too bizarre for this adaption, so the toad element is made to be metaphorical instead, as well as hinting at past events. Another notable deviation from Milton is that Lilith takes the place of Satan as the “cherub” in disguise who inquires Uriel about Earth. In Paradise Lost, Uriel realizes his mistake because the “cherub’s” facial expression changes for a brief moment -revealing an emotion other than happiness which allegedly a cherub would never do. This detail too felt impractical, so i chose to re-work it so that Lilith could be gifted some wings, which conviently aids me in her blurred tranformation from woman to something more demon or vampire-like as her repuation upholds.
Trey named the pigs Jimena (the mom), Shrimpy and Timmie (the living piglets), and Jimothy is the dead piglet. And lastly Scrimmey, who is being cuddled by Gabriel.
i aimed for a dark, melancholy atmosphere with the garden. The overhead is much overgrown, particularly with vines, allowing for very little light to come through. Yet the ground floor is plentiful with stubborn sprouts and other low plants that would require plentiful sun to survive in the hope of causing some mild dissonance. These grown plants should not be but they persist anyway. Depicting the forbidden fruit as an apple felt too cliche for me, especially with my already uncoventional garden, so here it resembles a dragon fruit instead. A real dragon fruit grows off a tree-like cactus that’s way more Seussian in appearance, rather than the illustrated average looking parent with heart shaped leaves. The fruit i drew is only meant to be dragon fruit inspired, so it could have an exotic, threatening, but also recognizably fruit-appearance. This fruit is poisonous, as you can see from Jimothy’s fate, but if it doesn’t kill you, you’ll experience a strong buzz. Real dragon fruit of course is perfectly edible and does not possess those properties.
Also of note is these are the first pages into which i’ve slowly started introducing mixed media. About half a year ago i saw NerdSync’s video about Jack Kirby’s collage pieces, and while my use here hasn’t made itself nearly as intricate, the application has been on my mind greatly ever since. So in this chapter i’ve used certain panels for experimentation. i think i like the results.
–About next chapter, actually. It’s going to primarily be another medium entirely. I plan to take a brief hiatus to focus on other artwork for the remainder of the month, and instead i’m gonna whip up a supplimental chapter more focused on written word that will work as a prelude for the closing of this chapter. Even though it’s gonna be more reading i still anticipate it’ll be something fun -just.. different!!
As always, thanx for reading
-AV
Resident Angels of Heaven were not allowed by their Father to reproduce until the Age of Men. Diluculum and Crepusculum, whose duties were the management of sunrise and the moon cycles, violated this rule and were disgraced for conceiving the bastard Sammael, the first angel ever born. Relationships between Residents of Heaven and Demons -be they platonic, romantic, or sexual- are quietly tolerated though socially condemned. An angel will not be disgraced for fraternizing with demons unless there is sufficient evidence of Treason against Heaven.