Cold Blooded

STAN:  Kobolds come from German folklore, where they're traditionally depicted as household spirits who help with domestic chores but can be malicious.  Their natural state is as invisible entities capable of manifesting in human and animal form.  When aping humans they usually appear as small, dwarf-like creatures.  I left out the invisibility and shape-changing stuff and focused on the malignancy of their nature.  In the world of Maras-Dantia, kobolds act a bit like organised packs of rats, or hyenas.  They'd rate low in any popularity contest.

JOE:  The giant lizards that the race known as Kobolds use a s pack animals were just awesome to draw. At the time I also had a pair of leopard geckos as pets, which I used as reference, sadly i had to give them away when i moved from Brooklyn to Atlanta.  Reptiles don't do to well on 16 hour car rides.  (Note: I never got around to photographing my lizards when i had them, the images of leopard geckos are off the web, i need to get better at taking photos of stuff.)

Return to the Island of Dr. Joe

JOE: I really enjoy the way Stan allowed me to interpret his creations in my own unique way. No creature is a better example of this, than his large carrion birds, called harpies. They have little in common with the Harpies from greek myth, but are instead more reminiscent of a pterodactyl. My love of cutting and pasting different animals together is most apparent here.

JOE: My first instinct was to look at the harpy's namesake, and if you are familiar with the South American eagle that bears the same name, you can see why I looked at if for inspiration. The harpy eagle is a fierce raptor with enormous talons capable of snatching monkeys, sloths and other large prey from the treetops. This was a good jumping of point.

JOE: Next instead of looking at prehistoric flying reptiles, I looked towards the ground at the extinct and flightless Titanis Walleri, often referred to as the Terror Bird.

STAN:  I quite like the way Joe's given a kind of velociraptor aspect to the harpies.  I guess that if I had any sort of mental picture of harpies it was something along the lines of the more humanoid version in Ray Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts, a movie which made a strong impression on me when I was a kid. Much as I admire Harryhausen, I think Joe's interpretation is more imaginative.  

The Harpies Scene from Jason and the Argonauts.

JOE: I'm not surprised that Stan mentioned velociraptors, both the book and the film, Jurassic Park were a huge influence on me.  Unfortunately I did not learn of the wonder that is Ray Harryhausen until I was an adult.  From what I've heard his films were played constantly on Saturday afternoons, about 10 years before I was born.  Way to drop the ball local TV affiliates.

The Island of Doctor Joe

 JOE: One of the best things about being able to work on a comic that features so many imaginary creatures, is that you get to stitch together whatever animals you want from nature. For Stan's ogre, I combined an elephant with an orangutang.

STAN:  And a very convincing ogre it is, too.  It looks plausible, and I love the portrayal of inherent strength and savagery.  An impressive piece of figure-work.  This is a creature you can believe in.  

Challenge of the Equine

JOE: I have yet to find a more difficult thing to draw that a figure on horseback.  There is just something about it, no matter how much you research and look at the way horses run, it never gets easy. People have been trying to capture the beauty and grace of a horse in mid stride for, I don't know, since cave men learned how to draw on caves. This will be a challenge I'm sure I'll have to face again and again throughout the rest of my artistic career, yet I will alway face it with great optimism and joy. (Ps. I've never ridden on a horse, I fell into horse manure when I was 5 at the circus, and that was that.)

STAN:  I've no doubt that drawing horses convincingly is a real challenge, but Joe's managed it magnificently.  It must be one of those yardsticks by which an artist's talent is judged.  (Some say it's the ability to draw feet convincingly.  Which reminds me that that was a [very unjust] criticism levelled at the late, great Jack Kirby, who invariably hid his characters' feet.  But all things considered I think we can easily forgive him for that.)  The sketches of orcs using bows while on horseback particularly intrigue me.  As someone who's ridden a horse, badly, and who also has a passion for archery, I can think of few things more difficult to attempt.   I make no claims for my archery, by the way - when you get into it you realise it takes a lifetime of dedication and practice to achieve something approaching competence.  I've probably improved a bit compared to my first fumbling attempts though, when even standing behind me wasn't safe.  

JOE: Some proof that Kirby clearly knew how to draw feet.

The Final Confrontation

JOE: My book designer asked if she could see a version of one of my previous cover designs with the orc looking back over his shoulder at the viewer, and my response was, "Can I make it a wrap-around?" She said sure and the rest was a piece of cake. Just add some dragons and a little computer magic and I had a finished cover.

STAN:  Making it a wraparound was inspired.  It flows really well.  I have to chuckle at Joe saying that he "just" had to add a couple of dragons and a under take a bit of computer tinkering.  Yeah, right.  The same way I "just" write a book.  Don't believe him - it's hard work.  I've finally become "Nicholls".  Hurrah!

JOE:  To chime in on Stan's previous comment, I agree, it is hard work. I guess what I'm saying is different aspects of creating a piece of art like this, the stages have relative difficulty.  The hardest part could be seen in the previous three entries, where I'm struggling to find the perfect image for the cover.  None of the early incarnations were good enough, and the grueling part is going back and forth to find what works and what doesn't.  Once you find the right image, the rest comes naturally and all of the surface elements, like the ones added in Photoshop (challenging as they may be) are easier because all of the difficult decisions have already been made.  I'm also glad I finally learned how to spell Stan's last name. 

I Saw Red

JOE: This version of the cover was my attempt at a more contemplative pose. My editor dug this one too, and suggested it as an inside cover. That's where it ended up, I don't have a copy of the final version that was used, but the book designer went with red on red and it looks awesome.

   STAN:  Awesome indeed.  There's a lot of power in this picture, and the contemplative element somehow adds rather than distracts from it.  I like it a lot.  If I had to pick a single image that sums up the nature of my orcs, this would probably be it.  I see that I'm now "Nicols".  We're getting closer.

Second Try

JOE: While I was working on my first attempt, I was working on my back up. The idea evolved in my head of an orc walking away from the viewer, right after an exhausting battle, a massive pile of dead bodies in his wake. My editor thought this might make a great back cover illustration, so I continued with the concept.

JOE: My finished version was the book designers favorite, but wanted to see a version with the orc looking back over his shoulder at the viewer. To be continued…

STAN:  See?  I've become "Nicholas" in this version.  Had to happen.  I rather liked the idea of having the figure with his back to us.  It kind of breaks a rule and is all the more arresting for it.  But I can see the wisdom in having him casting a glance back at us.  The cover's really starting to come together at this point.