'Where did you get the idea?'
In this case from a combination of Pubs, Libraries and old Movies.
Robbie Morrison and I met while I worked on part of one of his 'Shimura' stories for the 'Judge Dredd Megazine'. I then got the 'Shimura' artist job full time and we produced the story 'Dragonfire' together: Judge Dredd Megazine 14-17 1996
| While working on 'Dragonfire'
we got talking about things we liked and work we would like to do, we found
a common interest in Swashbuckling films and historical adventure comics.
We moaned at length about how it was impossible to get stories like this
published in British comics. We marvelled at how great it must be to work
in the French comics market where there is a much wider choice of subjects
and genres available. We both professed a great admiration for Hugo Pratt and his creation 'Corto Maltese'.
Robbie came up with a story outline based on some of his research. It was a series of stories based on the adventures of a Scottish Mercenary in Russia at the time of Ivan the Terrible. Robbie, Rob McCallum and I bashed the idea around a bit and all agreed that it would make an excellent comic, but that no one in Britain would publish it. Then we all mumbled a bit about the apalling state of the comics industry in Britain and drank more beer. |
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| Dante had to be a
number of things:- Handsom and dashing: we wanted to make a sexy character. While it would have been simple to do an Errol Flynn knock off we thought that as this had a Russian setting it seemed logical that he should look the part. This is where the Libraries come in. I started with a photo of Russian Revolutionary Poet Maxim Gorky. He had all the right qualities, youthful arrogance and the looks of a Russian romantic hero. I removed the Moustache, but kept the cheekbones and the flaring nostrils and most importantly the hair. See the first sketch above. |
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The first sketch
was a bit too heavy and didn't suit my purposes. He needed to be a bit lighter. Hence this sketch which was getting closer, but still not right. The costume would become more military as I flipped through a few books on Napoleonic armies. Hungarian Cavalry uniforms of the time were particularly impressive |
| A big
illustration done in pencil , but never inked up. Various elements which appeared slightly changed in the story, appeared here first. The Horse lost the Windscreen for example. This was where that Russian Imperial Architecture started to take shape. Dante is starting to get the physique and costume, but the face isn't there yet. We need him to look a bit more vulnerable than this, less tough and capable. It is important that Dante has a certain innocence otherwise his behaviour would make him utterly loathsome. Unlike Judge Dredd for example, we have to believe that Dante is fallible, he can cock things up. At the start of the story he is also a young man, most of his confidence is youthful arrogance rather than any real gravitas aquired with age. It is an important part of the overall story that Dante grows up as we progress through the narrative and starts to behave more responsibly. |
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Bingo, the beards'
first appearance! After canvassing opinions from several female friends, we decided that the beard was the way to go Though the head is still rather heavy we are starting to get somewhere here. It has been commented that Dante has ended up looking a bit like me. I can only say in my defense that it is much easier to make the character 'live' if you have access to a model, or in this case a mirror. Jena Makarov has also aquired her superior pout and liking for power suits. Note the bizarre spelling of Nikolai! |
| 'The Adventures of Nikolai Dante' was originally conceived as a an epic story following the life of a character placed in a position to observe and influence great events .So Dantes' exploits to date are actually small parts of a grand plan. The story has been set up with a definite end in mind, after that end there will be no more Dante. ....we promise. |
| Simon Fraser Copyright 1999 |