"...'Monster!' he howled.
'And the joy of self-knowledge, that's a great compensation! The easy and absolute certainty that whatever the danger, however terrible the odds, you'll stand firm, behave with the dignity of a hero, yea, even to the grave!'
'No more talk!' he yelled. His voice broke. He lifted his sword to make a run at me, and I laughed--howled--and threw an apple at him. He dodged, and then his mouth dropped open. I laughed harder, threw another. He dodged again.
'Hey!' he yelled. A forgivable lapse.
And now I was raining apples at him and laughing myself weak. ..."
Grendel
Copyright 1971 John Gardner
27 comments:
Hey, thanks for the encouragement....I personally only see the stuff that's wrong with my work. Funny thing ism though...I've been trying to illustrate John Gardner's "Grendel" since high school- its my favorite book besides Fight Club, and the occassional Maxim magazine.
Great drawing!
Bare monster arse... what's this one rated, anyway?! ;)
Loves your work :)
Patric, would love to see your take on some of Gardner's Grendel. You have a cinematic eye, am sure you'd do something very cool!
Thanks for the "attagals" Sweet Pea, LudaChristian and Rikki. This one was FUN to do. Nothin' like a good monster.
Love how loose this is. feels nice.
Fantastic illustration, your detail is great, I love the apples especially. For a monster though, his hairy butt looks scarily human...
Very nice! I can almost hear him chuckling. :-) And the similarity to Andy is uncanny.
Hey, Rrramone, people who live in arse houses...
Lori - love your monster, from his hairy back down to his big old toes. And thanks for not showing us his Willy.
What a fabulous monster this is - he even has a hairy backside... funny!
Ahhh...monster buns. Is there anything better?????
Oh my, his back is really frightening!
man! looks great. Your ink is burning.
Interesting take on the subject. One is fighting for his life; the other appears to be just egging him on.
Thanks everyone (and Andy/Rrramone, you guys are cracking me up.)
Cory was even more right than he knew about my ink burning -- I woke up in the middle of the night with a fever, so am home drinking teas and Gatorade today.
Gotta be careful when you draw monsters.
Beautiful drawing. Is it crass to say that I love his butt? No, I see others have eyes for his arse, too. And the expression on his face is so mischievous and good-natured at once. A wonderful illustration.
Glad you reminded me of this take on the legend... interesting that the self-knowledge theme weaves through monsters and not-monsters. Terrific point of view angle!
This post made me smile. Very spirited. Thanks! The art is fantastic as well. What is the quote from?
Dzogchen.
feeling a bit cheeky? excellent illo!
Love the energy of this piece. Great stuff!
Your illustration is fantastic. The lines I am in awe. I love his expression and his stance. His whole hairy self, his hands and the story and. .
Wonderful drawing for this old story Grendel the devil. Is Beowulf who has the sword?
I am so glad someone did Grendel! Your interpretation of him is inspired! I love the resemblance he bears to humans in his own monstrous way...and your linework is absolutely fabulous:>
too funny and what a great illustration… I liked the photo as well… had me stumped a bit at first…
no, that's not Beowulf in the picture, that's - I forget his name. He entirely fails to hurt Grendel, though. But Grendel's a great book and the inking here is very expressive: good for a funny moment in a very dark story.
Oh yeah, and nice butt!
Hmm, I think I'm beginning to look a little like Grendel here.
WOW Lori! Unbelieveable. Fantastic! Needs a little bit more hair on the butt but still......
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