I've come up with an idea that will hopefully keep me blogging regularly. Weekly Inspiration. Every Friday I'll write a post about something I read, watched, saw, experienced, etc. that inspired me artistically.
As for this week, I just finished reading the first book in the Lankhmar series by Fritz Lieber, Swords and Deviltry. Fritz was one of the early guys to jump on the sword and sorcery wagon started by Robert E Howard (Conan).
I first was introduced to Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser in the comic adaptation my Mike Mignola (of Hellboy fame) and Howard Chaykin. After reading that great work I had to hunt down the novel. 6 bucks on Amazon and a short wait later, I dove into the story.
The book was great. A goal of Lieber's was to make his heroes a little more human than, say, Conan or Tarzan, and he did it well. In short, Swords and Deviltry is about two young men, one a red haired barbarian from the north named Fafhrd, and the other a small-framed wizard's apprentice from the south named Mouse, who later calls himself the Gray Mouser. The first two-thirds of the book is separated into each hero's backstory, which end with them each finding a lover an heading toward the great city of Lankhmar. The characters meet in the last third of the book and become companions, embarking on an exciting adventure fighting the city's Thieves' Guild. The story ends with them leaving the city, down-trodden and heartbroken.
The book inspired me in many ways, giving me a ton of material to apply to Avalir. Everything from Fritz' writing style, dialogue, descriptiveness etc. will have an impact on our comic. I especially loved his sense of character-building.
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