I grew up in a house that I would describe as “a building that was mostly a library, and also had a couple bedrooms.” We possessed a proliferation of books, of which we were very fond, and as a child I read voraciously.
Two of my favorite picture books, very early on, were the D’Aulaire’s Book of Norse Gods and Giants, and D’Aulaire’s Books of Greek Myths. These books retold the great tales of Odin and the Tree of Life, Thor and Mjollnir, the virgin huntress Artemis, and even Zeus and his…exploits, in ways that were reasonably appropriate for a small child such as myself to read without being traumatized.
Still not sure how they did that. I will readily admit that I’ve never read anything of the original myths, simply because I know enough about the original myths to know that I do not WANT to know the original myths. I know that Zeus was a womanizer at best, and that Poseidon was not a good guy, and so on.
I also know that of all the original stories, one of my least favorites would probably be the Minotaur – and yet I’ve always been fascinated by its myth. Not so much the maze or the maiden in distress, but the Minotaur itself. Part man, part beast, savage, forced to roam aimlessly, forever feeling lost, never feeling wholly man nor wholly beast…I guess I find that “man and beast” juxtaposition interesting.
As a human, I have had my struggles with my ego mind vs my baser instincts, and I find it as fascinating in fiction as it is terrifying in real life. It’s the whole Jekyll and Hyde, good vs evil, are we inherently good or inherently bad discussion that humans have been making art about for millennia. Heck, I think the indie game Undertale falls squarely into the category of “art addressing the mixed good-and-evil nature of human souls.”
So, taking on the challenge of drawing a Minotaur for Calling All Heroes, meant trying to synthesize all my thoughts and feelings about this particular bit of mythos into one image. I actually drew several versions for this one, though; here is the Chibitaur:
And in the images below, you can see the normal Minotaur beside his White variant.
Just like a Minotaur, we are neither all human nor all beast, neither truly noble nor entirely savage. And this mixed nature, I think, draws us to things that are, like us, mixed-up juxtapositions. So maybe it’s no wonder that I like mythical creatures, demigods, and paradoxically cute monsters like the ones in Calling All Heroes.
Or maybe I just read the D’Aulaire’s books too much as a kid. Who knows?
~Admin taylor