El Cid: Intro Inks
July 21, 2010, filed under: El Cid, by LexComic-con International is upon us and for the first time in seven years I won’t be exhibiting! I’ll miss being behind a table and chatting up Kid B. with fans, but I decided to take a year off from the madness and instead focus on book three: Kid Beowulf vs. El Cid. I look forward to a long weekend inking pages. Speaking of which, here are the first three inked pages from the new book. This scene takes place high in the Pyrenees where Beowulf, Grendel and the Peers are putting down a Basque insurrection. Enjoy the pages and Comic-con if you’re going! (click to enlarge)
El Cid: sneers, swash and buckle.
July 8, 2010, filed under: Characters,El Cid, by LexHere are few more cast members of Kid Beowulf vs. El Cid. For some reason I didn’t have nearly as much trouble coming up with these looks as I did Rodrigo’s. I especially like the look of this fellow below: Ordoñez.
He’s Rodrigo’s competition, as a knight and as a potential love interest for Ximena. Ordoñez has been in more battles than Rodrigo and is Count Gormaz’s lieutenant (Ximena’s father). He’s reliable and will do what you ask him; he does not confuse orders with moral clarity (something Rodrigo has trouble with). Ordoñez’s main goal is to best Rodrigo in whatever way he can.
Thankfully, Rodrigo has a few friends on his side including the fellow above, Pedro. Pedro is sometimes referred to as “Pedro the Mute,” though in the epic poem he does in fact speak–just not very often. I thought that was an interesting idea and am going to try and keep this Pedro mute through the book, to communicate he’ll draw images and signs on his slate breastplate. I’m not sure if this concept will work, but I’m going to give it a try and see what happens. It could result in some cool (and hopefully clever) iconography.
Along with Pedro, Rodrigo’s other close friend and confidant is Martín. Martín does speak–though his mouth sometimes gets him into trouble–he’s the quick wit or dry observation a grim story needs. In the original epic, both Pedro and Martín are bequeathed El Cid’s blades, Tizona and Colada, which they use in a final duel. Rodrigo inspires many men to his cause, but it’s Pedro and Martín who knew him from the start, join him in exile and keep him honest.
“I need a hero!”
June 25, 2010, filed under: Characters,El Cid, by LexA little while ago I posted a first look at the hero of Kid Beowulf vs. El Cid: Rodrigo Diaz. Rodrigo was the first character design I came up with and at the time I liked it, but as I started to flesh out the cast around him I realized this first design wasn’t going to work.
For one thing it was just too complicated–the short cape wasn’t working, there were too many buckles and belts that didn’t serve a function (I was getting into “Liefeldian” territory), and I could tell that drawing and redrawing this particular outfit for 200 odd pages wasn’t going to cut it. In terms of time-period this outfit is all over the place; the armor doesn’t really say “medieval,” the stitching had a Roman flair that wasn’t right either, and the shoulder straps and black shirt were hard to read. In contrast to the other characters Rodrigo skewed a little too old in this design (he’s around 20 years old or so). So I decided to redesign him and came up with this:
This version was getting closer to the period I wanted to convey. I got rid of all the useless buckles and straps, changed his black shirt to chain mail, got rid of the cape and also changed his face in an attempt to make him younger. Even with these changes something still wasn’t clicking for me. I’m not sure what that collar is supposed to be and the gauntlets and shin-armor was too “comic-booky” (for lack of a better description). I lost something in his face though and he actually looks too young and also non-descript; his eyes are vacant and I couldn’t see this version of Rodrigo going toe-to-toe with the other characters, especially my Ximena, who I doubt would be interested in this guy. So I went back to the drawing board again and came up with this version:
I did more streamlining and refining; I liked the chain mail shirt and modified the breastplate, giving him an emblem that features both the kingdoms of Leon and Castile, one part of the other to symbolize Rodrigo representing ALL Spain. I changed the gauntlets to look more functional and natural, and did the same for the boots. His skirt has been modified and accented with a “castle” trim that reflects Rodrigo’s current allegiance to Castile. He is holding Colada–a blade he inherits from his father (his other blade, Tizona, will be won in the book). I changed his face again and brought back some of the features from the first design and given him more definition in the eyes and a determined demeanor.
I like this version; I see maturity but also a capacity for change which is what Rodrigo will be going through in the book. This version feels right for the book and the character. I don’t normally do so much working and reworking on character design, but in this case it was needed and I think Rodrigo’s better for it!
El Cid–Page 1, Panel 1
June 18, 2010, filed under: El Cid, by LexIt’s still early goings for Kid Beowulf vs. El Cid, but I liked how the pencils turned out on the opening page and thought I’d post it (click to enlarge). The opening takes place high in the Pyrenees in the midst of a snowy battle…
Abd Al-Rahman
June 8, 2010, filed under: Characters,El Cid, by LexThere is a passage in El Cid when Rodrigo’s pet lion gets loose in his tent at night. Rodrigo’s future sons-in-law, frightened at the sight of the big cat, scurry away and Rodrigo’s men aren’t able to deal with the loose lion either. Rodrigo wakes from the commotion, sees that the lion is loose and calmly takes the beast by the scruff of the neck and puts him back in his cage. The passage is meant to illustrate the cowardliness of his sons-in-law, but there is no other mention of the lion in the rest of the poem. As far as I’ve been able to uncover, there is no explanation of where the lion came from or how it became Rodrigo’s pet. And thus, the window for exploitation has been opened!
In Kid Beowulf vs. El Cid I’ve given that lion a name and a past. He is Abd al-Rahman, named after the first great ruler of Al-Andalus (Moorish Spain) and is owned by Ibn al-Fajar, a general who longs for the days when Spain was a place where Christian, Muslim and Jew all lived in relative peace. Al-Fajar named the young lion in honor of a lost past; an ideal that a young, principled knight named Rodrigo also believes in, and must one day be the caretaker of. (click images to enlarge)
Ximena
May 26, 2010, filed under: Characters,El Cid, by LexAs far as epics go, El Cid is considered one of the more romantic ones. Rodrigo Diaz of Bivar and Ximena Gormaz are the prototypical, star-crossed lovers. The story goes that Rodrigo, defending his ailing father’s honor, must duel Ximena’s father, Count Gormaz. Rodrigo does so, but accidentally kills Gormaz in the duel. Ximena (pronounced: she-mane-ah) loves Rodrigo desperately, but she is sworn to the duty of her father. To preserve her father’s honor, Ximena must ask the king for satisfaction, who orders his best knight to duel Rodrigo to the death. Thankfully, Rodrigo wins and marries Ximena (but family get-togethers were strained).
Interestingly enough, this story is nowhere to be found in the original epic poem. It comes from an off-shoot written in 1360 called Mocedades de Rodrigo, which chronicled the exploits of a young El Cid. Las Mocedades was then used as the basis for Corneille’s 1636 play, Le Cid. Corneille’s play was exceedingly popular and the story was cemented into Cid folklore.
It was also a major plot point in Anthony Mann’s 1961 film El Cid. Ximena was played by Sophia Loren (opposite Charlton Heston) and she does a terrific job with the part; she really sells the idea of a woman torn between duty to her father and her passion for her lover (Heston doesn’t deserve her!).
The El Cid that we’ve come to know is a story about love and honor–two of the most powerful motivating forces known to man (and woman). And they are themes I will be carrying over into Kid Beowulf vs. El Cid. My own interpretation of Ximena isn’t quite as heart-stopping as Loren’s but she can stop Rodrigo’s heart so that’s all that matters. Below are the pencils, followed by the colored version of Ximena.
El Cid: Turnarounds
February 24, 2010, filed under: El Cid,Sketchbook, by Lex
After weeks of reading and research for Kid Beowulf vs. El Cid, I’m finally getting to the stage where I can start to draw! This past weekend saw a flurry of character designs that I’ll be sure to post down the line, for now I wanted to post the most important one: Rodrigo Diaz (who will one day be known as “El Cid). Click to enlarge…
