Martian's First Appearance

Two large dark-coloured eyes were regarding me steadfastly. The mass that framed them, the head of the thing, was rounded, and had, one might say, a face. There was a mouth under the eyes, the lipless brim of which quivered and panted, and dropped saliva. The whole creature heaved and pulsated convulsively. A lank tentacular appendage gripped the edge of the cylinder, another swayed in the air.

I:04 - The Cylinder Opens

I turned, and as I did so the screw must have come out, for the lid of the cylinder fell upon the gravel with a ringing concussion. I stuck my elbow into the person behind me, and turned my head towards the Thing again. For a moment that circular cavity seemed perfectly black. I had the sunset in my eyes.

I:03 - On Horsell Common

I found a little crowd of perhaps twenty people surrounding the huge hole in which the cylinder lay.

I:02 - The Falling Star

Then came the night of the first falling star. It was seen early in the morning, rushing over Winchester eastward, a line of flame high in the atmosphere. Hundreds must have seen it, and taken it for an ordinary falling star.

I:01 - The Eve of the War

No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.

War of the Worlds

So I drew a bunch of illustrations last year for a digital edition of H. G. Wells' classic, War of the Worlds. Never been paid, and I've given up expecting to be. Etienne, if you're reading this, know that I hold no grudges. I suppose this particular edition didn't sell much, possibly because the book has been in the public domain for some time now (in the US, at least), and you can even read it online for free.

I'm going to post all the illustrations, chapter by chapter, one per day, starting from tomorrow. War of the Worlds has an interesting assortment of book covers that have come out through the years, and you can check them out on this site. While my cover is nothing too original - there are other versions in which tripods loom over London (even my countryman, Zdenko Bašić, did one recently) - I do believe my interior thumbnails are closer to home than most, in terms of research and reference documentation at least. In drawing most streets and buildings I used photos and illustrations from that time (the setting of the book is Victorian England). I even used Google Street View to follow the main character's movements on his way to London. The Martians and tripods I drew, however, were most heavily influenced by Kevin O'Neill. To some extent, I believe I tried to mimic his style - but whether I succeeded or failed, you be the judge.

Elven Ranger

Džuka Džabalebaroš 34

Da, Džuka u PonedjeljQu ima crno-bijeli zadnji kadar, ali to je više zbog kraja PonedjeljQa, pa sve nekako završi na tužnu notu. U 'kanonu' mi je taj efekt nekako suvišan; već dovoljno pretjerujem sa ovim filigranskim pozadinama u zadnjih nekoliko pasica (kao neki Žorž Lukas, sa zelenim platnom i specijalnim efektima u svakom kadru). :)

Džuka će se nastaviti na blogu, onoliko često koliko me inspiracija bude pucala. Slobodno lajkajte na Fejsbuku, ako već niste. :)