I haven’t written a splash before, and this seemed the perfect opportunity to try.
1. Full Page Splash
The bottom third of the page shows the backs of people. They are drawn small, as we are seeing this panel from quite far away. The mass of people are gathered on a wide cliff face, looking out across the sea to the horizon.
Three quarters of the page are taken up by two monstrous beings. One is Cthulhu, the Water elemental. It is grappling with the Air elemental Hastur the Unspeakable, who is floating above the ocean floor.
The two are battling a great distance away, which gives you an idea of how big these two beings are. They are locked into their final battle. It is an awe inspiring site. We are but spectators between this epic battle.
CAPTION
“...the Old or Ancient Ones, the Elder Gods, of cosmic good, and those of cosmic evil...
...for there are the Water Beings, hidden in the depths; those of Air that are the primal lurkers beyond time; those of Earth, horrible animate survivors of distant eons.” - August Derleth. The Return Of Hastur, 1937.
I love the sense of grandeur on this page.
ReplyDeleteA great visual that really sells the notion of the human race as nothing but insects to these creatures.
I'd love to see this page in action.
ReplyDeleteBen, is the quote real or something you cooked up?
When you are dealing with monster sized gods doing battle it really does call for a full splash and the one you created here would be a wonder to see. You have a lot of interesting visual ideas going on that the right artist could make look amazing. Also the style and tone of the quote gores a long way to adding a creepy old world mood to the whole piece.
ReplyDeleteI call shenanigans on Ben... but I admire his balls for stealing that quote as his one piece of dialogue on a splash page that is essentially "two big monster gods fighting". As a lazy writer, I bow before your lazy-writerliness, Rosenthal! ;-)
ReplyDelete@Ryan - not my quote no. It's from the Story of Hastur by August Derleth.
ReplyDeleteI just really like the image of two giant beings battling, with humanity completely helpless to stop it.
@Rol - no so much as lazy, as I REALLY want to see two giant gods fighting. Like, REALLY WANT TO SEE IT!
I always admire writers who go out and find quotes that really complement their pieces. This one does just that. My compliments.
ReplyDelete