The White Witch (AI generated)
Summer dawns once again in Narnia’s sky, and with it, articles, fanfic reviews, visual essays, and other analysis of this timeless classic fantasy series. Put on your buskins, clean and sheathe your sword, eat some (non-Talking) bear meat, and let’s explore!
What other media product has such high demand as these three nowadays?
If you want to reference a completely imaginary one, here’s a list.
| Anime |
Diversion: The First Sign Love and Hunting for Heroes Shogun Love Go-Go |
| Pokemon |
Rhadaroon Simuroodle Spagglespark |
| Video Games |
Dragon’s Maze: Fate Reforged Fighting Climax Ignition Gaiden: Valor and Vengeance Mystatherium Judgement Symbol Lord of Montoon Skies of Extinction Timeframe Genesis Pilgrim Sigil |
If you were an elementary school student in the 1970s, your school library probably contained a copy of The Little Prince. Written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a French nobleman, pilot, and adventurer, and published in 1943, it has since become an oddball but revered children’s classic, standing beside The Phantom Tollbooth, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Charlotte’s Web. All of these books combine the mundane with the fantastic, serving as allegories for the adults and bizarre life lessons for children. Middle school fantasies like that don’t seem to be written too much anymore. Sure, we have the likes of Lemony Snicket and Rick Riordan, but they’re more satirical and slapstick. Books written before the 1970s were more quirky, and perhaps more subversive. They made both child and adult challenge their way of looking at the world.
The Little Prince, if you aren’t familiar with it, is about a nameless aviator who crashes his plane in the desert. There he meets a small child who tells him he is from a tiny planetoid where there is barely enough room to walk around. The child, the Little Prince of the book, tells the Pilot his story: he grows a sentient rose bush, who, though she loves him, proves cranky and problematic; so he sets off to explore the rest of the universe. On other tiny worlds he learns some farcical life lessons from The General, The Historian, The Accountant, and more; on Earth he encounters a snake and fox who impart more lessons. There’s a bit about a drawing that could be an elephant-eating snake or a hat, as sketched by the pilot, but the two mainly talk. In the end, the Pilot fixes his plane but the child disappears.
(Taken psychologically, the encounter could be a manifestation of extra party syndrome, where people in dire straits dream up a companion who keeps them sane and/or comforts them in dire circumstances.)
Book met Hollywood in 1973, when it was adapted as a musical by the Broadway team of Lerner and Loewe who had written the musicals Camelot and My Fair Lady. It seemed to be a sure hit in a time of lively kid-oriented musicals like Oliver, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Sid and Marty Krofft Saturday Morning TV shows like H. R. Pufnstuf and The Bugaloos, both of which featured original songs and elaborate musical numbers. But the result fell short.
Never heard of it? Neither did I, until I watched it for myself a few weeks ago.
Try as hard as she could, Nightraven couldn’t escape the giant ice crystals forming all around her.
Eventually, she succumbed, sealed within the ice for all eternity … or at least until another member of her superhero team comes along to rescue her. Don’t worry. It won’t take long.
What is G? Good things, that’s what. G is the most social letter of the alphabet. It’s garrulous, giggly, generous, gregarious, and full of giddy genius. Hard or soft, it’s full of greatness, a grandiose gadabout of a glamorous guest, garbed in glittering garnets. The letter G Is pure showbiz. With growing green leaves, it’s also Mother Nature’s favorite letter. Note too that all thing female begin with gyno. from the Greeks.
G has a ghoulish side, however, of ghosts and greed. Not to mention gingivitis and gastritis.
Below, some character names. As with the rest of this series, these are for fantasy..
| Male
Galagrim Galwyndd Garammus Gedget Genyin Girthand Gisham Giyatto Glaitro Gokan Goleen Gondert Gorshiny Gulud Gurnabad Gruben Gudheinzt |
Female
Gayari Gambivella Gansheera Gemeza Genthany Geranda Gesanthia Gijeena Gita Glaina Glaska Glundra Glyasia Graepha Gunda Gwynda Gyssari |
Surnames
Gamblemere Gandiev Garaband Garonaut Genaudon Gerdpan Gilgrace Gingermaid Glesaint Glistulhad Glitterfess Gothmead Graygriffon Grimshed Grinpence Grodant Gundspund
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Robert portrait by Natty Kazoo
In this post I’ll showcase some pieces of fan art I didn’t get around to last year or have found since then. Like the two fluffy yaoi romantic fantasies below. Jimbert of course.
Once you start looking for Led Zep references, you find that there’s no shortage of how the band’s visual iconography spawned homage over the years. Take this logo for a vanity record label created by jokester Les Claypool of the American band Primus. For comparison, LZ’s iconic “Icarus” logo, with its Art Nouveau typeface, is on the left.
Swan Song – Prawn Song
The original source for the logo is the painting below by American artist William Rimmer. Entitled Evening (The Fall of Day) it is said to depict the Greek god Apollo. or alternately the fallen angel Lucifer, as the figure has a halo and is without genitalia, as the angels are supposed to be.
The original heavy metal headbanger?
The original Swan Song logo as it appeared on vinvyl. Notice the lettering is more Book of Kells in this early version.
The main difference is how the LZ version of the figure holds his left arm up, not folded behind him, as if he’s headbanging at a concert. But the pose also makes it seem like he’s lost his ability to fly and is plunging to the earth, which is more in line with with the legend of Icarus. Icarus was the teenage son son of the inventive genius Daedulus, who was imprisoned by King Minos. Daedulus made two pairs of wings out of paper, wax, and feathers so he and Icarus could fly to freedom, warning his son not to fly too close to the sun or the wax would melt. But Icarus was forgetful, or perhaps too prideful, to take heed, and his fatal mistake caused him to plunge from the sky. This is the interpretation the band chose for the figure.
Robert’s a real doll… Barbie doll that is!
Here’s another topic carried over from last year’s Led Zeppelin May, which I wanted to get to then, but didn’t: the band’s influence on popular culture over the years. First, take this quartet of demon-like monsters from the manga and later anime Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Manga version, top; anime, below.
The four are named, respectively, Page, Jones, Plant, and Bornnam (in Japanese, Peiji, Jōnzu, Puranto and Bōnnamu.) Bornnam might have taken the place of Bonzo for legal reasons (which may have been null because Peter Grant isn’t around to protect his non-existent band anymore) or been easier to pronounce in Japanese. The creatures themselves were the nemesis of members of the Joestar family, whose descendants battle evil over the centuries. Perhaps the manga’s creator, Hirohika Araki, was influenced by the band’s associations with black magic. The four are killed after being trapped inside a burning chandelier.
One bard casting a Lazy Lungs spell on another (AI art)
I had such a fun time doing Zeppedee-doo-dah May last year that I thought I’d revisit it. There were a number of items I had wanted to post back then but found the month ended way too soon. This pun-filled list of spells and magic items was one of them.
| Bed-thyme of Bonzo: This aromatic mix of magical herbs, held in a muslin pouch, is capable of putting even the most unruly drunk straight to sleep if held under their nose.
Custer’s Cream Pie: Creates a cream-topped pie out of nowhere and throws it at the target’s face, immobilizing them for 1 -4 rounds. Daze and Confuse: The victim becomes emotional bereft, as well as intellectually muddled for a number of rounds. Gnome Quarter: Reduces a gnome’s stats down to one quarter of what they would normally be for the duration of the spell. This includes armor class, hit points, and attacks, as well as personal attributes like strength and intelligence. Incendiary Pageboy: This effete-looking blonde pageboy wig, created by the magic-using highwayman Jo-Nzee, has a sinister purpose. When ripped from the wearer’s head and thrown at a target, it turns into a firebomb capable of destroying an entire building or large creature. Jo-Nzee kept a supply of these wigs on hand to aid his nefarious activities, aided by the impression they gave of the wearer being a silly fop. Lazy Lungs: This magical curse is one minstrels or bards typically throw at a rival. It reduces the victim’s oxygen intake so they are unable to project their voice. The physical ingredient is a leaf from a withered plant. Misty Mountain Hops: These magical hops brew an especially potent beer. Drinkers will want to get up and dance and be merry after just a few sips. This beer never causes a hangover, and drinkers who imbibe too much fall asleep and never act violently or aggressively. Playful Presence: Creates a friendly poltergeist who plays various tricks for a period of time, like hiding items and then returning them, tapping on the windows, and cleaning up the dishes. The presence is never malicious and can even protect the area in some way, like alerting inhabitants to danger. Staff of the Stickman: Points the owner to dried logs and sticks suitable for a fire. It also lets them carry up to their own body weight in dried wood back to camp bundled on their back. Torc of the Black Country: A silver torc (Celtic neck ring) plated with silver and set with pieces of dark turquoise stone and sparkling black opals. The torc enhances a musician’s skill and stamina and also their charisma, attracting to them adoring members of their preferred gender. Wand of Miscommunication: Creates an area of effect where no one, and I mean no one, will understand correctly what is said to them, though they will think they do. Mayhem usually results. The wand is effective across all languages and means of communication, such as sign language. You Need Coolin’ : When the words to this spell are sung or chanted, a hot item too painful to touch, like a fresh-baked pie, a sunburn, or metal from the forge, cools down to room temperature. Ymij’s Dragon Thread: This large spool of multicolored silk thread comes with a silver needle. With it the user can embroider beautiful dragons on any kind of clothing which enhances the charisma of the wearer. |
( A note on the Midjourney pic above. It’s based on a pic of Robert and Jimmy, but for some reason Jimmy wound up looking like Steven Tyler with snakes in his hair. )
I haven’t been posting much ASFR content on here lately, but I’m pretty pleased by this happy accident of a Midjourney prompt, which was for a futuristic London subway, but came out… skewed sideways as often happens.
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Female wrongdoers were placed into transportation sarcophagi for their journey to the processing facilities. Such displays acted as deterrents for the State. Their friends and families gathered along the conveyer tracks for one last glimpse of them, even though their only individuality came from the LED screens that glowed on their faceplates: name, date of birth, criminal codes. Sealed within and cut off from the outside world, none knew where they were headed or who observed. But the onlookers knew they wouldn’t be coming back.
.At least not in their human forms. |
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