Once again, over at Golden Age Comic Book Stories, there's some great fantasy art by Stephen Fabian. Apparently from a book entitled The Dream of X by William Hope Hodgson there's some inspiring illustrations some of which I'll be using to flesh out the Isle of Dagon.
updated: corrected author and artist credit.
What a great illustration!! I can't wait to see what you post next. Your site is a great place for me to get more inspiration for my own illustrations.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should go look just so I can prepare my character. You are too sneaky at pull the rug from under us.... ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks! One correction: the art is by Stephen Fabian, the story it appears in is by William Hope Hodgson.
ReplyDeleteThanks Trey, correction posted!
ReplyDelete: )
You can find much much more art, fanfiction and essays here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thenightland.co.uk/ (they've produced 2 or 3 collections so far as well)
http://www.thenightland.co.uk/nightart.html#content
I also like the SMS gallery.
The Dream of X is actually the rare abridged form of The Night Land, and that is the work Fabian illustrated the truely titanic Watchers for. The Night Land is in public domain and easily available online however due to its deliberately faux baroque language and manner I suggest supplementing any etext with a printed book. The fanfiction at the site below is also recommended, *not* being written in Hodgeson's manner (though they lose something unique in the process).
The Book of X *may* be in the public domain but nobody's risked likely valuable copies to type it up yet AFAIK. So how readable it actually is in comparison to the much longer The Night Lands is hard to gauge.
It kinda ties in with his House on the Borderlands book too. Certainly that site ties them together.
A more recent look at Far Far Futures is the collection One Million A.D..
ReplyDeleteClarification: That is one of four Watchers.
"There rose the vast bulk of the South-East Watcher--The Watching Thing of the South-East. And to the right and to the left of the squat monster burned the Torches; maybe half-a-mile upon each side; yet sufficient light they threw to show the lumbered-forward head of the never-sleeping Brute."
for a much larger version:
http://www.thenightland.co.uk/nightwatcherse.jpg
Two Fabian galleries for The Night Land (the first has The Watchers)
http://www.thenightland.co.uk/nightart.html
http://www.thenightland.co.uk/nightart6.html
SMS Gallery
http://www.thenightland.co.uk/nightart5.html
Book Covers
http://www.thenightland.co.uk/nightart2.html
tho I don't think all of Fabian the pieces fit The Night Land well, they're all good Fabian art, and frankly The Night Land somewhat defies depiction (try the maps section, good efforts but really it's unmappable too). I think an audiobook version of it might be useful (in both un and abridged versions), but they'd have to pay the poor soul(s) hazardous duty pay to complete it!
It's yet another work that had to have influenced Games Workshop, among others. (arguably the first archeology in science-fiction, Abhumans etc.)
"Moreover, ere any had power to leave the Pyramid, they must pass The Examination, and Be Prepared; and some of this have I set out already. And so stern was the framing of the Law, that there were yet the metal pegs upon the inner side of the Great Gate, where had been stretched the skin of one who disobeyed; and was flayed and his hide set there to be a warning in the Early Days. Yet the tradition was remembered; for, as I might say it, we lived very close about the place; and Memory had no room whereby she might escape."
Arcology, *not* archeology. >_<
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcology
Giant big dwelling place. Mega-Structure.
Wow GG, thanks for all that info. I'll check all that out when I get a chance.
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