FIRST ENCOUNTERS:
A COMIC ADAPTATION OF THE ARGONAUTICA, BOOK III (443-447)
This is a project inspired by the rich psychological portrait of Apollonius Rhodes’ young, lovestruck Medea in his Ancient Greek epic poem, The Argonautica. I designed a comic page to accompany my translation of a segment of the Ancient Greek text, which I read during my undergraduate degree in Classical Languages (Ancient Greek and Latin).
Medium: Pencil and gel pen on sketchbook paper, colored digitally with Clip Studio Paint.
Concept
Greek epic poetry is traditionally spoken aloud.
As the words are spoken, images are constructed in the imagination of the lister, who receives a linear narrative due to the temporality of spoken language.
With this project, I aimed to utilize the unique characteristics of the comic medium to allow more creative liberty with audience perceptions of space and time. I designed a portrait of Medea, Apollonius’ subject, that transcends the limitations of a linear narrative and utilizes visual language to supplement the written words.
The passage I chose focuses on Medea’s state of mind as she, stricken by Eros (the Greek god of love), sets her eyes on Jason for the first time.
“...Amongst all the rest the son of Aeson was distinguished, his beauty and grace unspeakable. And through her delicate veil the girl was gazing upon him, casting her eyes slyly across; her smoldering heart was sounding, and her mind, like a creeping dream, was flitting back and forth, following after his footsteps. ”
In panel one, Eros’ dart shoots graphically through Medea’s heart, acting as the inciting incident and framing her altered state of mind in the following panels. Flames echo the recurring imagery of destructive, burning love and lust throughout the Argonautica, with spikes on the shaft near the arrowhead to emphasize the brutality of Eros’darts and the potential consequences of attempting to resist his hold.
In panels 2, 3, 4, and 5 Medea stands in the foreground, overlapping the four panels that represent her fractured thoughts and emphasize her isolation in her emotion. The flames infiltrate her fantasies of future love, and the separation of panels further emphasize her fear for Jason and their potential relationship while simultaneously foreshadowing their grim fate. The lower right panel pictures the weapon Medea imagines may be used to execute Jason by Aietes’ command.
