Tom Gauld print: "Characters for an Epic Tale"

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Tom Gauld, author of the astounding The Gigantic Robot book, has a new print available at Buenvaventura Press, called "Characters for an Epic Tale."

9.5 x 12.5 inches, 2 colors [note the apparition, done in a gray spot-color -- Mark], letterpress printed on Hahnemühle Mould-made Ingres paper. Signed and numbered edition of 150, half available through Buenaventura Press and half through Tom Gauld himself. This edition of 150 has been divided between BP and the artist. If you are in North America you can order direct from us here, for the rest of the world you can order it soon directly from the artist's website www.tomgauld.com
Buy yours now! These are going fast, and the price will increase to $150 when we are down to the last ten!

While you are at Buenaventura Press's website, note that they are having a 20% off sale on every book they publish!

Tom Gauld print: "Characters for an Epic Tale"

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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Fred H

I’ve had this hung above my computer. Works when you need a character fast.
Anonymous

Sold out already. Sigh.
Anonymous

Love it! Need it on a t-shirt!
sonipitts

I wonder if it would be possible to create a good single story or novel that included all of them.
querent

i see the nudist’s thingy. :)
rose bush

while i think this is one hell of a piece, i must disagree with @the other michael. one could assume the characters you list to be female but in all reality if one asked mr gauld (and mr gauld was being honest) he would most likely say MOST of them were male in his mind.

all that aside, i sure would love to own one even if in MY mind, it’s a bit misogynistic.
- Gloria
  
  How does one man’s work leave “no room” for reimagining epics with more female protagonists/characters?
  
  Ooh, yeah. That’s right. You can still “reimagine epics” yourself, without Mr. Gauld’s blessing! Have fun.
  
  @rose bush: Not withstanding the fact that I don’t see why it’s wrong to acknowledge that traditionally, yes, most epics — most literature, I’d timidly say — are almost-all-male casts, having a cast of mostly male characters is not necessarily misogynistic. Please, please do not dilute the word by falsely equating a non-instance of a woman as *hate* for a woman.
Xopher

Thank you, Gloria. I agree 100%.

I think ‘androcentric’ is a good word here.

And an exception to the rule, I’m led to understand, is the Finnish epics. In them, the hero is great, but his mother is often all-powerful, and rescues him from dire fates with goddesslike abilities.

I haven’t read them myself, but I’m told that in particular Lemminkäinen‘s mother is incredibly powerful…after he’s been killed and dismembered, she reassembles his body and brings him back to life, much as Isis does for Osiris in Egyptian mythology.

She’s wayyy smarter than him, in short.
dustbuster7000

Someone use these to animate said Epic Tale, stat!
Anonymous

Your average Discworld book has 9 out of 10 of these.
feminismisfun

this is awesome and cool but sadly there appears to be no room to reimagine epic tales to have more female protaganists/characters
- Brainspore
  
  For a feminist you seem to have a very limited notion of what roles could be filled by females. Or are you just assuming that any drawn figure not wearing a dress has to be a dude?
Anonymous

they’re sold out! good for them…sad for us :(
tigtog

@gloria

having a cast of mostly male characters is not necessarily misogynistic. Please, please do not dilute the word by falsely equating a non-instance of a woman as *hate* for a woman.

I’m curious – do you have the same objection to people using the word “misanthropic” to describe disdain/belittlement/disregard/dislike/avoidance of humanity in circumstances where describing an instance as *hate* for humanity would be an exaggeration?

If not, why not?
HotPepperMan

#2 – there’s the girl, the nurse, the sorceress, the tart, the queen, the THREE witches (where are the warlocks?)… what more do you need. Also, many of the roles are androgynous.

Is it me or does ‘The Broken Man’ appear to have a bladder malfunction?
ZippySpincycle

Where’s the Comical Rustic?
hydrophiliak

I … I need this on a tee shirt.
the Other michael

Potential Female Characters:
Hero
Pirate
Fairy
Guards
Golem
Hound
Messenger
Lunatic
Invalid
Minotaur
Monkey
Knight
Nurse
Three Witches
Wanderer
Inkeeper
Apparition
Hermit
Escapist
Queen
Magic Cow
GraveDigger
Corpse
Talking shrub
Visitors
Sniper
Lover
Giant
Twins
Necromancer
Skeleton
Genius
Snake
Sorceress
HairyBeast
Tart
Urchins
Freaks
Prophet of Doom
Dancing Bear
Floating Skull
Parents (in some states)
Devil
Giant Cat

Note I am including animals as potentially gendered.

This is some 44 characters, not counting plurals (guards, twins, etc.).

RingMaster I assumed to be masculine, as opposed to RingMistress — although if it is used as the historical term but presumed to be gender-neutral, it could also be female. Or would be a delightful turn-about to discover the false moustache, etc.

Right from the start, however, The Hero is gender neutral, and could make a great epic as the sole female character (aside from the witches, etc.)
Teresa Nielsen Hayden

I’m now trying to figure out whether any of those are missing from Sandman.
weaponx

The bible contains every one of these characters.
- redesigned
  
  @weaponx “The bible contains every one of these characters.”
  
  funny i don’t remember:
  the headless man
  the golem
  the minotaur
  the monkey
  the sniper
  the necromancer
  the hairy beast
  the metal man
  the dancing bear
  the floating skull
- Xopher
  
  I’m particularly fond of Paul’s second Epistle to the Birdmen. And I love the quirky Parable of the Monkey and the Giant Cat!
  - Jonathan Badger
    
    Don’t forget the battle between the Dancing Bear and the Metal Man, helped by a headshot from the Sniper! I think the moral is “blessed are those with a laser sight on their rifles”
    - Xopher
      
      No, there was a lacuna in that manuscript. The blessing is called on the bear, not the sniper. The text should read “Blessed are those who have a friend with a laser sight on their rifle” (lacuna emphasized).
simonbarsinister

I love this.

I just printed this page out and I am going to go to my three kids and have each pick a character then we will together tell a story with those characters. Lather, rinse, repeat for great justice!
simonbarsinister

Oh, and I certainly would buy a T-Shirt with this on it.
the Other michael

I said that those characters were “potentially female”. The vast majority of them would also fall under the “potentially male” list.

The point was that the “potentially female” list is a lot larger than 3 or 4 characters.

Authorial intentionality has no business anywhere but in the author’s own house and dinner parties.