The Unquiet Grave

Introducing, in time for Halloween, a Medieval tale of a revenant… and the boy who loves it.

I did a cursory scan-and-crop of my 24 Hour Comic, “The Unquiet Grave,” for your reading pleasure.  This was the first time that I had used watercolours in… I don’t know, it must have been 12 years or something like that.  I had recently purchased a combo pack of coloured pencils, pastels, and watercolours.  I was planning on using the pencils, but ultimately decided against that, as it wouldn’t look very much like the Medieval illuminated manuscripts.  I also stole some of Doc’s watercolours 😀

Speaking of which, Doc’s 24 hour comic is amazing and he’s finished scanning his as well.

We participated in 24 Hour Comic Book Day at Mission: Comics & Art on October 20th 2012, and you can read more about that day’s adventures here.

Some editorial decisions:

I was mostly inspired by Gryphon’s “The Unquiet Grave” and Ween’s “Cold Blows the Wind”, but both of those interpretations end with the revenant giving the young man a series of impossible tasks, which seems weird and out-of-place to me.  I’m guessing that this part is a later addition, after the popularity of Scarborough Fair where the lovers say they will take the other back if they complete Impossible Task a, b, and c.  But in the context of the revenant giving her widower impossible tasks… I can’t imagine why she would do it.  So I omitted that part.

Some versions of The Unquiet Grave have a non-corporeal ghost deliver the message, while some merely describe a voice calling from the deep.  My favourite interpretations are always the ones where the boy mourns so hard that the physical corpse rises from its grave.  So I went with that.

I wanted to imitate the wooden expressions and awkward perspectives of Medieval period drawings, but halfway through I discovered that this was a very bad idea and made it difficult to keep the comic looking interesting.  Oh, well.

And yes, I did rhyme “remain” with “again.” Deal with it.

Author: Steen

Steen is a nerdy biologist who spends a lot of time trying to cultivate Chloroflexi, who also likes to draw comics, play video games, and climb. View all posts by Steen