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He’s a nasty little spud. It took me a few extra days to zap this fella into myAlphabeasts trap but here he is, a Class 5 Full Roaming Vapor also known as Slimer. Like everybody in the whole entire world, I love Ghostbusters with an ectoplasmic, spectral passion that is only barely exceeded by my noble devotion to hot dogs. So, put ‘em together and you’re really crossing the streams. Also, bustin’ makes me feel good.
This week’s R-themed Alphabeast is derived from an Native American legend among the Lenape tribes concerning the brave and selfless Rainbow Crow. According to the story, the Crow was once the most beautiful of all birds, with brightly colored feathers and a light and lilting singing voice that charmed all who heard his song. One dire winter, however, the animals of the Earth found themselves freezing to death under piles of snow and ice. They decided to send an emissary to the heavens and implore Kijiamuh Ka’ong, the Creator Who Creates By Thinking What Will Be, to unthink the winter weather and thus, save them all. The Rainbow Crow selflessly volunteered and flew for three days before reaching the Creator.
Once met, Kijiamuh Ka’ong said he could not untink the winter but he did offer Rainbow Crow the gift of fire to take back to the creatures of the Earth so that they could warm themselves until the snow and ice abated. So Rainbow Crow set off for Earth with a blazing stick lit by the sun in his beak. As he flew the fire burned closer and closer to his body, scorching his beautiful feathers and covering him in soot. Not only that but the smoke from the branch continually went down his throat and made him hoarse and shrill.
When he finally returned to his friends the Crow was no longer a thing of beauty but had become the blackened and raspy creature we know today. However, if you find a Crow’s feather and hold it up to the light, you can still see all the colors of the rainbow glimmering within.
So dudes, cut those nasty crows some slack. They’ve had it pretty hard.
I was in quite a quandary as to what to draw for this week’s Q-themed Alphabeast and, after much flailing about and crying to the heavens, I discovered this guy, Qanekelak. So, if you were one of the Bela Bela people indigenous to the frosty plains of North Western Canada, you might know right away that Qanekelak is a cosmic killer whale creature sometimes described as having the head of a whale and the body of a human. He apparently starts up something called the Killer Whale Clan and I’m sure they ain’t nuthin’ to muck wif. Here he is out on the tundra as evening closes in, contemplating the stars and smoking a bit of that ol’ Aurora Borealis.
This week’s Alphabeast is the problematic peevish phantasm known as a Poltergeist. He’s a nasty little piece of work and an all around troublemaker. Literally a “noisy ghost” by his German etymology, Poltergeist are generally thought of as malevolent spirits that take pleasure in upsetting the living by throwing around solid objects, slamming doors or cabinets and making knocking and stomping noises when decent people are tryin’ to sleep. What a pain. Sometimes these brats of the spectral plane will be tied to a place (perhaps a house hastily built on a burial ground?) and will only haunt a specific locale. But other times they may be attracted to a particular person and follow their hapless victim all around, causing trouble at the office, the grocery store or even in a nearly defunct Blockbuster Video store. It’s best not to get yourself a Poltergeist if you can help it.
Just when he thought he was out, they pulled him back in. The Ouroboros, that is, anAlphabeast with an acute fascination with the deliciousness of his own tail. Often depicted as as serpent or, as here, a dragon feasting away on his own hinder quarters, the Ouroboros is an ancient symbol of the cyclical nature of the Universe and of alchemy and very possibly donuts. Oh, a wagon wheel!
This week’s N themed Alphabeast is Namazu, a giant catfish that the Japanese blame for causing earthquakes with his thrashing about. To prevent these calamities, the god Kashima placed a weighty stone atop his head to pin him to the bottom of the sea. However, occasionally the Namazu wriggles free and shakes the Earth with his mighty tail.
Sigh..who woulda thought that an Alphabeast drawing with a prominent boobie would end up being my least favorite of the bunch (so far)? Oh well, for what it’s worth, here’s a M for Mermaid. I won’t go on and on like usual about her place in mythology ’cause, damn, folks know what a mermaid is, alright. Anyway, I’m pretty unhappy with this one but I just don’t have the time to spend creating a better drawing.
Speaking of which, with the new year come new projects and new commitments. In the coming weeks and months I’m going to have less time to allot to my Alphabeasts drawings and chances are this is the beginning of a trend of crappier submissions. However, I should have some comics and other various illustrations to share as my production of art, hopefully, increases. We’re halfway through this alphabet now, folks, here’s to coasting to the bottom.
I’ve been slack posting these over here, so I thought I’d do an AlphaBeast sketch dump of sorts.
This week’s L-themed Alphabeast finds us with a Mesopotamian hybrid that wiggled his way into iconography of the Assyrian, Sumerian and Babylonian cultures of old. I’m pretty sure eventually a Ghostbuster will have to fight this guy. This kind of creature with the body of a bull (or sometimes a lion), the wings of an eagle and the head of bearded hipster can be identified by many names including Shedu, Aladlammu and, in a female form, Apsasu. But, most commonly, he’s just called the good ol’ Lamassu. A Lamassu is generally thought of as a protective spirit, especially as a protector of kings and cities. Great statues of the Lamassu are found in pairs at the gates of ancient cities and palaces of the Mesopotamian region. Less frequently, these beasts are found inscribed on clay tablets that have been buried beneath the homes of commoners. And that’s the la-la-la-la-Lamassu!
It’s K-themed Alphabeasts Monday so RELEASE THE ….um… Kuda-Gitsune? Yep, I thought a lot about doing a Kraken but in the end went with a little cutie instead of a terrible, tentacled, virgin munchin’ sea creature. So Kuda-Gitsune is Japanese for “pipe fox” and references a breed of tiny mouse-sized fox spirits that can be kept in a bamboo pipe (or a shirt pocket) and called upon to divulge secrets of the past and future. These little guys will collect all kinds of information for their keepers and later whisper it into his or her ear like the cutest damn thing imaginable. Awwwww!!!
