A Brief History of Grifonton, Cover

COVER PAGE

Title: "A Brief History of Grifonton"

Subtitle: "Humbly Recounted and Illustrated by Rachel Nabors"

The cover illustration shows a young person with blonde hair wearing a green shirt, standing in front of a large pink griffin (a mythical creature with an eagles head and wings and a lions body). The griffin has fierce yellow eyes and a golden beak, with its wings spread protectively around the human figure. A banner at the bottom displays the Latin motto "Qui Se Exaltat Humiliabitur" (He who exalts himself will be humbled).

In 2005 I participated in 24 Hour Comics Day. I posted the resulting comic on my web site along with detailed commentary from both myself and a main character. I’ll just bow out and let Younger Rachel take it from here (If I have any notes to make, I’ll use the notation RN 2012.) Here we go:

Welcome to the Super Happy Deluxe Collector’s Edition of my first attempt at a 24 Hour Comic! Our special Guest Commentator will be joining us shortly. Before continuing, you may want to check out the suggested soundtrack. Or if you don’t have Spotify, skip to the suggested music section for a song listing and some links. –RN 2012

This comic is the result of my participation in 24 Hour Comics Day on April 23rd, 2005. It’s the first time I tried something like this. You’re supposed to conceive, write, draw, ink, letter, EVERYTHING, an entire 24 page comic in just 24 hours (putting your productivity at the smart clip of one page an hour). I only got as far as inking page 17, but because I had completely written and thumbnailed the entire 24 pages, I kept working along until I finished (after a substantial nap, of course). To learn more about 24 Hour Comics Day, visit the official site. Suggested Soundtrack for A Brief History of Grifonton Some of these can be downloaded at the links provided with them, but others you will have to buy or locate online at your own discretion. The first column is the music I listened to while working on Grifonton. The second column lists alternatives for those lacking an extensive collection of Depeche Mode and Dave Gahan. Some of the alternative tracks are actually better fits than the first suggestions. They are listed here for you to locate and assemble before reading the comic, so you can completely immerse yourself in the world that I have created without having to hunt through your CD stash at every other page.

Alternatively, the entire In the Wake of the Wind album by David Arkenstone makes a nice, airy backdrop to this comic. One reader read the entire comic while listening to “Untouchable” by Garbage.

Who’d have guessed Depeche Mode would complement medieval warfare so nicely? The reason so many of these songs are of Depeche Mode origin is that I was forced to work under the influence of mainly three CDs, two of which were Depeche Mode. The other one was Dave Gahan’s Paper Monsters album, which totally rawks. Dave, by the way, is a member of Depeche Mode. I never knew it till I read the credits.

I am a such a synth junkie. Tracks I Listened ToAlternative Tracks“Silvergryph” (scroll down to the music area of the site for the download)“I Need You” by Dave Gahan“Hard Luck Story” by Men at Work“Black and Blue” by Dave Gahan“Still Life” by Men at Work“Destroy” byFixmer/McCarthy (from the Metropolis 2004 CD, available at Hot Topic)“Army of Me” by Björk“Blue Dress” by Depeche Mode“Hidden Houses” by Dave Gahan“I Feel Loved” by Depeche Mode“Goodnight Lovers” by Depeche Mode“Stay” by Dave Gahan Also, I made the above cover for the printed mini comic about a year later. The original cover was just heraldry. I’m posting it here for the record. –RN 2012

Comments (Archived)

  1. Takaal

    This was actually my introduction to your work at a long-ago Small Press Expo. Still one of my favorite stories, to this day!