I have done a great deal of research in the build up to turning this very strange and ancient tale into a graphic novel so that it is all based on history, (unless it was the morphine). Some of the research work helped me create the individual features linked to below:
The Handwritten text boxes titled Information Snippet add background details from the research work.
Yes this is what I have been busy with over the past months while in and out of hospital and beginning my long recuperation by the sea.
I came up with the idea of developing a graphic novel around a Greek myth earlier in the year and an independent publisher is now on board with an interest in hybrid publishing (that’s when you publish online and with a major distributor too).
It has been a dream for many years to do something with the quirky and strange Typhon and the terrible Zeus; their battle suited my online graphic novels perfectly.
We are probably a couple of hundred hours from the ‘for sale’ version, but I shall update here as pieces and text boxes are completed.
Please do share with friends as we will be asking for help shifting the finished product later in the year.
PS the first graphic novel from Viking Comics Inc. The Hammer Flies is almost ready for release as a slide show presentation – my first movie!
PPS Soon to become an epic poem, a poetess has commissioned me to illustrate.
I have done a great deal of research in the build up to turning this very strange and ancient tale into a graphic novel so that it is all based on history, (unless it was the morphine). Some of the research work helped me create the individual features linked to below:
The Handwritten text boxes titled Information Snippet add background details from the research work.
Yes this is what I have been busy with over the past months while in and out of hospital and beginning my long recuperation by the sea.
I came up with the idea of developing a graphic novel around a Greek myth earlier in the year and an independent publisher is now on board with an interest in hybrid publishing (that’s when you publish online and with a major distributor too).
It has been a dream for many years to do something with the quirky and strange Typhon and the terrible Zeus; their battle suited my online graphic novels perfectly.
We are probably a couple of hundred hours from the ‘for sale’ version, but I shall update here as pieces and text boxes are completed.
Please do share with friends as we will be asking for help shifting the finished product later in the year.
PS the first graphic novel from Viking Comics Inc. The Hammer Flies is almost ready for release as a slide show presentation – my first movie!
PPS Soon to become an epic poem, a poetess has commissioned me to illustrate.
Some dark satisfaction comes from the destruction of all that offends him.(wrong image?)
It is a satisfaction tainted with anger. These stupid mortals, these rebellious Gods, Slimy Giants, these ravaging Titans; they must be watched.
They never learn.
Zeus had already destroyed humanity three times, he killed Titans here and there, Cyclops fell on a ferocious whim, Goddesses lost loves, teachers lost livers.
He fumed. He hardly even was aware in his mighty rage that he was hated. What did the dissatisfaction of others matter to the one who was all powerful! – Master of the Earth.The Earth Mother Goddess.She mattered.
The Earth Mother Goddess.
The Earth Mother Goddess, the Mother of the Earth, the Earth itself, some call Eurynome; creation from chaos: She mattered.
And she was a mother – the Mother!
“Zeus killed my children
and I shall revenge.”
“Let my earth bring its very bones to life and bring forth to birthing my rage. For a huge child, has been born to me.”
“Typhon”“Typhon, my child, my monster, my destructive force personified.”He darkens the sky. Largest monster ever born.“Let him rise,” he is too giant for the earth.”My Typhon” His very thighs are snakes writhing across the world beneath him.
“Behold the God-slayer.” Each arm a myriad of snakes; in their multitudes, they stretch across the very heavens.
“Burn him, crush him, poison him.” His eyes are fire.
“Shatter his bones to feed me” From the bellowing maw of his huge mule head burst mountainous boulders; deafening, crushing.
“This is my son.”
How Zeus laughed to hear.
How Zeus quaked to see.
How Zeus screamed.
The Goat-god Pan he screamed.
All the gathered Gods – they froze in fear.
“Change shape! Be monstrous. Save us.” “Mighty mighty Zeus.”
A lion. A thunderbolt. An eagle. A quail. A wren. A sheep.
They all became sheep.
He ran.
And as is the way with sheep, they all ran.
Panic flicker-flashed across their psyches, multitudes of animal images blasting out of sheep-skin into other beings.
Meanwhile, in sumptuous splendour lay Athene; pampered, petted, soothed and bathed.
These beautiful handmaidens were nothing as beautiful as her. This sensual existence is far too ecstatic for a mere mortal to bare.
Look on Athene!
While far far away
Rubble roared, bellows broke the peacefulness.
Athene heard.
Athene flew.
Raced across the wide seas in the very first ever ship. Her crafted craft. The ship.
See the peak of Olympus.
Rising up, flying, over the fires.
To the meadows far beyond.
She lands among the May flower and bee song to see fields of sheep silently grazing.
She sees one sheep.
She stands beside it.
“I know who you are beloved King of Heaven.”
“See over flaming mountains; the creature will seek you.”
“Die sheep or become brave.”
Quail, wren, serpent, thunderbolt, eagle.
It is Zeus.
“Fly high our beloved god, for you must defeat him.”
Rising up to his mountain. Almost returning to true form.
The thunderbolt flies.
The great beast is engulphed in a cataclysm of lightning.
Out of the fiery storm burst mountainous boulders.
Zeus is knocked backwards, flattened as
the monstrous Typhon bellows boulder after boulder.
Hermes bursts out of his ovine masquerade and lets fly towards Zeus his sharp and powerful flint sickle
to spin through the air.
Zeus slices through the stone, the boulders split and fall.
Zeus stands to slice again.
Burning eyes fire down upon him.
Zeus falls in faint.
Typhon looms above him; scooping him up in hundred league snake arms.
Then like wind of thunder, a hurricane of heat, he rises flies, blows fierce…
Gods and Goddesses look on in horror at Typhon disappearing across the sea.
High among the mountains, bellowing, Typhon stands.
Zeus’ sickle in his hand he swings high to cut.
Down the sickle sinks into wrists and spine.
Zeus’ very sinews are exposed.
A myriad swarm of snake limbs grapple as teethed maws snatch.
His snake arms pull.
The very sinews from inside Zeus’ limbs.
Deep into a cave he throws these strings.
Doll-like dead-limbed Zeus is laid in powerless torment.
As jelly laid in stony dark.
“I Delphyne sister-monster guards.” The voice it echoes out from cave to across the seas.
All Gods lay and wail in writhing pitiful despair.
“The world is ending while you wail!”
“This darkness will take us all, he will not rest at Heaven’s Father, the universe shall squirm.”
Hermes and Pan they clutch at each other and terrified towards the chariot they step.
The dark cave below.
Great Goat God leaps; from chariot to deep within.
Delphyne is waiting; serpent sister she has poisons ready see she writhes.
He screams. Pan screams.
He screams his terrifying paralyzing scream. Pan’s panic scream.
As poison drips from massive teeth Delphyne is catatonic gripped.
This is the moment Hermes needs. He leaps.(Above to be replaced)
And from the cave with Zeus to drag.
The sinews gathered drape across the lifeless God.
The chariot flies.
“We have him,” Hermes cries, “Be ready, run, run gods hide.”
Between them Athene strides.
“Zeus must save us, sew him, thread him, string him, stitch!”
The God of Heaven stands again; uncertain stands, at centre of his universe he stands.
He backwards falls.
Athene has lead his chariot behind him, and into this he falls.(Ade – import art 0029 b bx from PC)
“See great Father God, you simply need to stand.”
The Thunderbolt he suddenly clasps, the sickle once again; the glistening flint.
He takes the reins.
“Fly Father God, Great God, fly.”
“My spirit flies with you,” cries Athene, “As I am all the Fates I fly to aid.”
Upon the highest mountain amid enormous range it stands.
The Fates attend him. Flying to him.
He is besotted by three beauties bringing him rare treats.
“Behold our exotic fruits.” “With these we bolster you.” “Great strength we promise.”
“Typhon we love you.”
The beast feasts. Now…
Typhon has a whole huge mountain in his arms.
A tiny chariot high in sky as monstrous mountain flies.
The chariot tilts up and wide and fires a firebolt down.
The mountain bursts aside.
A mountain flies
The chariot climbs.
The thunder bolts.
A mountain flies
The chariot climbs.
(this may move)
The thunder bolts.
A mountain flies
The chariot climbs.
The thunder bolts.
Mountain after raging mountain, Typhon is unstoppable.
The final summit is his to wield now – Vesuvius.
The great Vesuvius, yes, this beast is monstrous strong.
The fates look on as he only just can throw this thing.
“We loved you,” whisper Fates from far cave, “we loved you and we strengthened you, but only for a short time. See you falter, weaken now.”
Zeus is higher now than even the stars. And flying down hard.
Gigantic Vesuvius is hurtling right at him.
“Let Heaven and Sky and Fate empower me!”
Fire thunderbolt, thunderbolt on thunderbolt on thunderbolt. All God’s energy is spent on this last mighty blast.Vesuvius repelled it falls.
Down with such increasing speed.
It hits the beast. Down
Down still through the earth it crushes down.
Typhon’s fiery rage it burns and builds and climbs. See the fire near as Typhon strives.
The very Vesuvius it burns because of him.
Very nearly he is out, he fights it still, see mountain rage.
Vesuvius volcano is his rage, and Typhon he may yet one day succeed.
Listen, hear his bellowing.
I have done a great deal of research in the build up to turning this very strange and ancient tale into a graphic novel so that it is all based on history, (unless it was the morphine). Some of the research work helped me create the individual features linked to below:
Yes this is what I have been busy with over the past several weeks while in and out of hospital and beginning my long recuperation by the sea.
I came up with the idea of developing a graphic novel around a Greek myth earlier in the year and an independent publisher is now on board with an interest in hybrid publishing (that’s when you publish online and with a major distributor too).
It has been a dream for many years to do something with the quirky and strange Typhon and the terrible Zeus; their battle suited my online graphic novels perfectly.
We are probably hundreds of hours from the ‘for sale’ version, but I shall update here as pieces and text boxes are completed.
Please do share with friends as we will be asking for help shifting the finished product later in the year.
PS the first graphic novel from Viking Comics Inc. The Hammer Flies is almost ready for release as a slide show presentation – my first movie!
Snappy chat, looking back at the recent past, punchy parts, highlights and future happenings.
I will try to be light, I would like to be light for this is a time of tears; far too many tears. If we can try to spread love, be fair but resolute in justice, if we can embrace the lost and the forever injured. Cry those tears yes, as we look up for rainbows through the glistening. I wish to bathe the world in glorious light.
That being said, I am a right grump and a grumbler. You know what I say, ‘Things were different before the changes.’ Think about it and know it’s true.
So it must be time for a visit to OldMan Comics…Well I guess it is time I grabbed some elephant tusks.Not that I really need any ivory or anything
But soon there won’t be any elephants leftNow Britain has legalised the import of Ivory you got to grab it while you can
I am getting used to the idea of local small town news. I had experience of it before I came here to live. Yonks back I said to a musician friend how the guy from the Scarborough paper loved my stuff, how he was really encouraging and used everything I sent him. Nah, said Dave, he is just desperate for stuff to fill the paper with.
When mum and dad first moved here we were taken with the headlines….
Then the letters pages was filled with concern, wishing Esmie Smethick lots of love and luck with finding her cat.
Then the astounding headline.
How pleased everyone in the letters page was.
One highlight of recent weeks has been my feature on Quay Street here in Scarborough here in the vacinity of this laptop in fact. Local history from the rich word of mouth of locals.
This was the quay. Step across from our step and there is the Three Mariners Inn, and there is the harbour wall, the old harbour wall. The first of a few built as the land builds up here, (I think this is where everywhere else’s errosion turns up). As buildings on that side of the street are reworked there is the harbour. All around it are dug up limpet shells discarded from the top of the wall by long long ago fishermen.
No. 1 Salmon Steps, (the only house on Salmon Steps), was built circa 1780 so perhaps salmon were caught using limpets???
Quay Street the blog has proved immensely popular, not just as local history but around the world as interest is peeked in fishing, shipping and sea rescues.
There is a link at the foot of the page – go enjoy.
Which leads on nicely to Seafest.
I will be storytelling on West Pier Saturday and Sunday (22nd and 23rd July) 12 and 2 then moving on to things all a bit more grown up…
Seafest 2017 presents
‘of Soldiers and Sailors and things a bit fishy’ – A fascinating show
By storyteller Adrian Spendlow
For members and visitors of the (newly reopened) Royal British Legion Ex-Service People’s Social Club, Bar Street, Scarborough.
Sunday 23rd July 5 till 7 Admission free with charitable activities.
Tales of daring, endurance, superstition, adventure, personal experience and amazing history.
Long tails, Britain invaded, North Sea rescues, Victory by Butterfly, Strangeness in Scarborough and much much more.
Bob is Gramey
At last we can reveal the true identity of Bob, the companion of OldMan, yes he really in real life is; Gramey. Except Gramey isn’t called Gramey anymore because he says he doesn’t like it. so we still have no idea who he is.
Anyway, Gra and I have been working on a York Stars project empowering people through the arts.
As part of that we wrote I know someone who poems. This is the one I did.
I know someone who had spikey blue hair
I know someone who has a secret identity
I know someone who drinks sharks fin tea
I know someone who changed his name to be in a band
I know someone who has biscuit days, vegetable days and pie days
I know someone who watches blue bars
I know someone who cooks mushrooms all soggy
I know someone who records birds sounds to upset people
I know someone who likes Boney M
And that person is Gramey Smith
At last the shopkeepers secret is revealed, enter the world of tiny things in the link at the foot to discover mighty (but miniature) revalations in this newly updated blog post.
Stephen Fry was right.
And it might even be quite interesting too. A banana is a berry! A strawberry isnt a berry because the seeds are on the outside. A plum isnt a berry because it only has a stone or just one seed which doesn’t count and it hasnt got a shell. A berry has an outer shell (the skin) and contains seeds. So here at last, by random chance is the proof. All I did was bite. The banana did the splitting into three seeds all on its own. It sometimes happens; if you left a narna to dry there would be the three seeds. Here they are in full clarity…..
Ales and Tales
I have produced two book length blogs over the last month or so. There is the collection of Skaldic writings I have written for my chieftain Georg, which are linked to below. There are also the results of the best job I ever had. It is often quite good to be paid to tell stories in pubs, it is even better to be paid to drink beer and listen to other people’s stories. What amazing stories they were. You don’t tell people in York pubs what to talk about, you sit and you listen, and you listen good.
(See below)
And the First Stage of a Publication
A mass of research has gone into this forthcoming online Graphic Novel: Doom of Zeus. The gripping tale of Earth Mother’s creatron of the monstrous revenger Typhon. It sounds like I made it up. Given that I researched the whole thing while in hospital having a major operartion and being filled with morphine, perhaps I did. These Greek myths though, you can’t make them up, they did that already!!
Follow the link below to the first draft of the G.N. D of Z. There are also links there to the individual stories of gods and goddesses I developed during the course of the research. Athene, Pan, the Fates and Hermes the Babe are in there.
Yes I was on a lot of morphine at the time. I recall shelves full of nightshirts rippling along. Strange apperatus seemed to dangle from the sky. The whole room was repeating my conversations about the head of Buddha.
I was aware for most of the time that this was all drug induced, and didn’t lose insight, well not that often, I did really believe the nurses were dancing though. The night staff that is, I saw them in the distance in silhouette having whispered meetings, then in my mind, they broke into competative disco routines, then went back to the meetings. At one point they broke off from a serious debate to have a go at a demonstration of the ministry of silly walks.
When the drugs were wearing off I described these illusions to one of the night staff and he said, ‘Ah yes, we do do that’.
Strangest though. During the research for Hermes I was listing interesting observations I was gathering from Robert Graves Greek Myths and I found a strange thing listed in my notes. At some point among such as Hermes had golden sandals there in the midst was, ‘Hermes was a taxi driver who delivered bendy ferret.’
Luckilly it didn’t make it into the final blog (I think).
Luke says, – “My Dad is publishing a graphic novel, this is the first draft. It’s still awaiting the artwork so he’s contributed his own, temporary mini-masterpieces.
His style is pretty unique as it is but add to the fact he did a lot of it off his nut on painkillers makes it something special! – He’s still waiting for the artist so the first draft features his own illustrations and his artistic style is… unconventional.
They make a dramatic and terrifying tale oddly hilarious.
Please have a look, he worked on the majority of it in hospital having cancer cut out and was on heavy medication for the majority of the time so it’s quite trippy in places!” Typhon Doom-slayer
Down
Not that I really need any ivory or anything
