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Posts Tagged Draugr
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The Vancouver Comic Arts Festival is THIS WEEKEND!! May 19-20, 10am-5pm, at the Roundhouse. VanCaf! VANCAF!! #VanCaf!!! Free, fun, full of comics – like The Corpse Door!
And it’ll be your last chance to grab some of Sayer’s spoopy-viking-trolly-fighting-horror-swordsie comics in person. VanCAF is Kris’ last show before going on a big ol’ years-long travel trek, so come on out to get Corpse Door, Trolls, Nameless, Blood in Their Mouths and MORE, while you still can!
Three previous variation of Corpse Door are up on Weald Comics, but this one, number four (once more, with feeling) is by far the best. And is only available right now in print! SO pop over to Vancouver and head to VanCAF, table G2, to pick one up this weekend!! (…or get one online if that’s a tad far for you right now)
…VANCAF!
The Corpse Door! Version 4! “The last” rendition of the tale. There will be a page uploaded every week, with a little bit of commentary too!
This splash page pays homage to the previous covers/title page, all which featured a similar picture stone – showing a warrior, who falls ill, then dies in his house. His wife grieves while his brother and a serf make a hole (“the corpse door”) in the outside-wall and drag his body through it.
The runes at the top of the stone, which were added in ‘The Corpse Door 2′, are not very accurate grammatically speaking. Back-in-the-day the CD2 runes were inspired by an actual picture/rune stone (possible the Berezan’ Runestone). I think they are supposed to say something along the lines of ‘here lies Karl;’ The last word is definitely ‘Karl,’ the middle word is ‘coffin’ (vault – a bit of a stretch) and the first word…well, there may be either a spelling or designated-futhark mistake. There’s a Younger Futhark ‘ᚼ’ and ‘ᚱ’ – but in between is an Old-English-Futhark ‘ᛄ’… unless that should have been written as ‘ᚦ’ or ‘ᚹ’
…this is probably why the draugr comes back. None too happy with the runes on that stone!
The draugr originally had light hair. Then black. Lighter. Blacker. In this ultimate version he has black hair – I think it helps bring out that wonderful ghostly-dead skin complexion. He also went through several vocal changes – in the first version, the draugr simply ‘wakes up’ and says nothing. In versions 2 and 3, he goes ‘HGN!’ but I think this rendition really solidifies that idea of awaking-from-death with a solid ‘HUK!’
Though I think the layout of the online 3 version is still the best. (wait for it)
Draugar are the undead – whose description and abilities vary in different sagas and folklore (…though the one thing in common is that they’re all dead). They can have great strength, immense weight, shape-shifting powers, future-sight, can come in a variety of colours and stenches, and can kill people/animals in a multitude of different ways – including but not limited to causing death-resulting-insanity and consuming victims whole!
For Version 4 of my tale I gave the draugr the ability to walk through (some) structures (such as his barrow). Draugar can be undeadly-motivated by a longing for the things they once experienced in life, or thinking that they are actually still alive – and at lot of the time this causes draugar to be very jealous and violent. I like this idea – and to try to make an undead creature we have some sympathy for – so I made my draugr have a “need” to return home, to get out of the “cold.”
He dead. He can’t feel cold.
Aha! And here we finally see ‘The Corpse Door.’ In the Eyrbyggji Saga* a hole is made in a wall in a house when a person had died and their corpse is dragged through – done so under the belief that the dead can only return through the way they went out. So by later filling this hole back up, you’re safe from draugar! (Or are you?). This is an apparent precaution that is believed to have been continued well past the Viking Age (based on writings and bricked-up corpse doors).
*I’m working on a comic version of this!!!
In Versions 1-3, I showed the thralls inside the house as they heard the draugr trying to get in. (Lucky for him, despite his strength and/or magically ability to walk through walls, it didn’t work here!) I decided I didn’t want to show the inside of the house, and kept the setting to the draugr’s restricted environment – outside, cold, and stuck in front of the DOOR.
Also – this time around, I didn’t fill in the draugr’s pupils. I think it adds a little bit of uneasiness to everything about him.
Sometimes draugar speak quite eloquently and be reasoned with. Sometimes they are voiceless murderous monsters.
Draugr 4.0 is…somewhere in the middle? Looking back at my older versions, he was so polite and it seemed like everyone didn’t have a reason to fear him! (Other than, well, being undead).
When it comes to the undead – be it zombies, vampires, draugar – if you don’t kill them in a very specific way, they’ll keep coming back. So while it may seem like a quick spear-jab made our draugr die-and-disappear, this is only page 7; you know he’ll be back. The “correct” way to ‘kill’ a draugr can be as simple as reburying them properly on sacred ground – or as complex as having the right weapon/hero, who has to chop off their head, burn everything to ash, and scatter the ashes in the sea.
In the first version of this tale, the draugr magically summounded up gifts, trying to bribe his way back into the house. In versions 2, he takes off everything of value and leaves it as an offering. In the third rendition, he takes off (even more lavish) valuable items and promises to even be back with a sword ($$$). For all three cases, he just…walks away. (He was a very optimistic, trusting draugr).
Not this time. He just wants the DOOR opened! Shesh. And now he got speared. Great.
Draugar were described as not being-the-prettiest to looks upon; ugly, vile, foul and evil they be. I wanted this draugr to waste away, rapidly/magically decomposing. And his desire to get through the DOOR, to the FIRE, becoming filled with more depression and desperation.
A nice new addition in this version is his old wedding ring. Aw. And a visible spear wound. Aw.
Wishing you and your family and friends a wonderful spoopy Halloween tomorrow. Be sure to not invite any monsters in, and keep all corpse doors closed. EVEN if they are asking for fire, food, family – just trust me on this one.
The treatment of the word ‘family’ on this page still doesn’t sit 100% right with me. I say the word (quickly) with two syllables (Fam + Ly) and the majority of the people I’ve talked to/heard talking in my region pronounce it that way. It’s said ‘fam-ly’, not ‘fam-IL-ly’! Maybe “next time” I should have the draugr saying ‘FAM’ ‘IL’ ‘LEE’ ? Maybe break up ‘FIRE’ into two bubbles too…
In all previous versions, ‘The Brother’ would not acknowledge that the draugr was his kin. This time around, not only does he recognize the draugr as his brother, but he is less aggressive, and more reluctant to act violent.
However the draugr is way more violent in this version. He still really wants that DOOR OPEN.
And so did I. I was pretty sick of drawing stones over and over again – and trying to make sure all the stones in previous shots of the door kinda lined up. (But now looking at them, I want to go back and draw more stones – I want to make them look more set into the hole-in-the-wall!).
btw I like axes.
It is fascinating/horrifying how easily sharp blades can go through flesh – and with the right tools and technique, through bone.I don’t think using a small axe to suddenly and accurately cleave off two fingers cleanly from a hand reaching towards you would be an likely scenario – I suspect the hand would sustain a gross amount of damage. BUT in this case, we are dealing with a stone-cold, super-strong, fingers-outstretched-slightly-more-so-than-normal draugr. So if you really didn’t want to actually hurt your (undead) brother and hoped for a swing-and-a-miss, just to ward him off…who knows what might have happened!
In all three other iterations, the dragur never reached out, the brother never attacked, and the dragur actually LEFT a sword behind! The family sword!! For his brother!!! (To try to sway him into opening the door). Version 4 draugr is waaaaay smarter than that – sure, he’ll keep pounding his fists against the corpse door, but no way he’s just going to give up a sword. Those things can do serious damage in the right hands! You have to be careful who you leave them to.
I had so much fun drawing this page (and the next one). I think they are my favorite. I really like how, instead of the screeching monologue in the other versions, the draugr is only able to howl out ‘DOOR.’
I did a lot of posing for drawing reference for this version, to try to get things to look ‘right’ – and I think some of the more skeletal-draugr drawings came out the best, because they most strongly followed the model (minus the addition of decomposing skin). That’s not a negative thing – I love my natural draugr-esque build and adore my veiny hands. (Yet I am quite happy being alive and not undead).
In the printed version of this book, there’s a mistake *gasp*! The draugr is pointing with his right hand – which, in THIS online version, has fingers that have been sliced down. I think when I originally drew this I had him facing the other way. I then flipped the image, and forgot to cut off some digits! I fixed that for this image, but if you own a printed copy – well, now you have a super-special-collector’s-edition!
Once again, I love how in all the other versions, 1-3, the draugr is out there explaining why he just wants IN and WHY can’t the DOOR be open and PLEASE gimmie a break! But here? Here, he doesn’t have to say any more than those three words. We can see how defeated he is. We can sense his sadness.
A little subtle change from the other versions – the widow offers out her hand for the draugr to take, instead of her taking the draugr’s hand. I struggle using values and my blacks, so I’m proud of how much grey I was able to put into this page! (Though I think it could stand to have more blacked out sections). I’m also happy that he finally got tHrough the corpse doOr!
Finally inside, we get an insidddde perspective of tHe house. I based this after somesomesome phtograps i tok of some viking reconstructEd houses from Iceland. Finally inside, able to get warm, eat food. Be withHhh his faaMily. Finally insiDe.
whydidyouopenthecorpsedoor I enjoyed draWing t is tender scenE. His wife really loves him. He really loVes her.
Hethinks he lov es her. ḣ̷̛̫͍͖͓͛͐̅̕̕͟e tHinks he WAnts fo̢̫̜̣͍̰͈͑͆̉͝͡od. she Is love. he wanTs fire. f re. fO od. she is f̴̢̱̰̜̪̯̄̑̓͆͊͞ood.
Remember, the family that slays together, stays together. All previous Corpse Door versions showed the house deteriorating, but with a maintained corpse door – however, since the door was never bricked back up again in version 4, this time we get to see the (un)happy(?) family all together, all (un)dead. Will they ever find rest? That’s for Corpse Door number 5.*
*No it’s not. No way. I have a bunch of other comics I’m working other! Other Viking comics!!
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you liked the 4th-and-final retelling of this tale and enjoyed the spoops! I greatly appreciate your support :D
One of my favorite parts about making comics is the cover – so here is the full front-and-back cover of The Corpse Door (Version 4. Once More, With Feeling!) This is truly the end of TCD… I would like to go back to some of my other horror stories, polish them up, and put them, alongside some new tales, into a nice little comic book. So Corpse Door may return – but only in printed form, and only brushed up. (I hope!). Hopefully I’ll have more comics coming your way again soon! Thank you again SO much for reading!!!