This piece is, in style and substance, kind of out of place in this set. It’s the only page so far with no background at all. Also, it’s more design-y than my other monsters, less representational. It shows a little more outside influence (traditional Aztec patterns, etc.) than most of my other pieces do. Substantially, it stands apart, too. Quetzalcoatl isn’t really a cryptid. No one believes that there are, or ever were, feathered serpents winging their way around Central America (though they do, weirdly, believe that Jesus or one of his apostles might have passed through)*. He’s not a monster out of folklore either. In fact, he’s a full-fledged god. Still, I though that this picture was too cool to compromise. Also, the pickings for Q were pretty slim.
I have been fascinated by Quetzcoatl ever since I listened to an “X-Files” book on tape about him during a childhood road trip to Florida. I’d love to give him the write-up he deserves, but I’m in such a rush to turn work out that I can’t sit still long enough to blog. Looming deadlines, conventions, and the demands of outside projects are driving me to do as much as I can in these next few months. Still, maybe in a quieter moment I’ll come back and write something about the feathered serpent.
* Legend has it that, in his human form, Quetzcoatl was a White man with a beard. This fact, along, I guess, with his promise of a repeat appearance at some unspecified future date, has lead some people (Mormons, particularly) to believe that Quetzlcoatl was actually Christ or one of his disciples. The two may have also had similar philosophies, I’m not sure. I’m also not sure how white Jesus and co. would have really been. However, after what would have been a pretty epic sea voyage, they would have been plenty bearded.
Unfortunately, I just wasn’t able to get second place finisher Humanzee to work. He was printing way too dark, with his fur and smoking jacket (which is to say, most of him) blending into the black background too much. I’ll work on recoloring him with a view to printing a charm for Heroes Con or something. For now, though, I’ve bumped the fifth place design (the Lounge Lizard) into the winners’ circle.
