Sunday, February 21, 2010
Zenobia
"Zenobia" is one of the stories I packaged in the early 1980s for Heavy Metal. It was published in the June 1983 issue which had a front cover illustration by Barclay Shaw. The story was scripted by me, drawn by Shawn McManus and painted by John Coffey.
I felt that acceptance of the science-fantasy situation with a "sense of wonder" could be facilitated in a smooth manner with pantomime panels rather than the intrusion of balloons. I seem to recall that the vehicle was originally intended to be a creature with organic wheels.
Zenobia was the name of the girl I sat behind in study hall when I was in junior high school. While I was reading science fiction magazines, I would occasionally whisper something over her shoulder, and without turning around, she would respond with soft laughter. I had her in mind when I titled the story. So there was that sf/female memory link, plus the name has a sort of exotic reverb. It has been used as a name for exotic characters in fiction by Robert E. Howard, Robert A. Heinlein, Edith Wharton, P.G. Wodehouse, William Golding and others. There was a real Queen Zenobia in the Third Century, as depicted in the painting at top by Herbert Schmalz. She was said to be more beautiful than Cleopatra.
Queen Zenobia's Last Look Upon Palmyra by Herbert Schmalz
"Zenobia" is one of the stories I packaged in the early 1980s for Heavy Metal. It was published in the June 1983 issue which had a front cover illustration by Barclay Shaw. The story was scripted by me, drawn by Shawn McManus and painted by John Coffey.
I felt that acceptance of the science-fantasy situation with a "sense of wonder" could be facilitated in a smooth manner with pantomime panels rather than the intrusion of balloons. I seem to recall that the vehicle was originally intended to be a creature with organic wheels.
Zenobia was the name of the girl I sat behind in study hall when I was in junior high school. While I was reading science fiction magazines, I would occasionally whisper something over her shoulder, and without turning around, she would respond with soft laughter. I had her in mind when I titled the story. So there was that sf/female memory link, plus the name has a sort of exotic reverb. It has been used as a name for exotic characters in fiction by Robert E. Howard, Robert A. Heinlein, Edith Wharton, P.G. Wodehouse, William Golding and others. There was a real Queen Zenobia in the Third Century, as depicted in the painting at top by Herbert Schmalz. She was said to be more beautiful than Cleopatra.
© 2010 Bhob Stewart, John Coffey, Shawn McManus
Labels: barclay shaw, coffey, heavy metal, mcmanus, memoir, symbiosis, zenobia
¶ 1:29 PM
