GUEST BLOG: Eerie Presents El Cid
Eerie Presents El Cid
By Matthew Sunrich
"[W]allowing, boiling, seething from the ocean's bowels came
the diarrhetic expulsion of nightmarish deformities."
Rodrigo Diaz de
Vivar, better known as El Cid, is to Spain what King Arthur is to England. The primary
difference between the two men is that we know for a fact that Vivar existed,
while Arthur's historicity is less clear cut.
The tales of Arthur,
Lancelot, Gawain, and the other Knights of the Round Table are ubiquitous, the
subject of books, movies, and television series too numerous to mention. But
this is certainly not the case with El Cid, who has enjoyed little exposure
outside of a couple of films and operas. The reasons for this are unclear, but
it could be related to Vivar's somewhat less-mythic persona (he did own a magic sword, but it's a sure
thing that "Tizona" will never evoke a reaction equal to "Excalibur"),
coupled with the fact that our collective love affair with early Britain
frequently eclipses the historical grandeur of the rest of Europe.
We also tend to equate
fantasy with England, probably due to the inescapable influence of Tolkien's
Middle-Earth, although, admittedly, the genre owes much of its development to
American writers.
It comes as little
surprise that Arthur has appeared in several comics, as well, the best known of
which is certainly Hal Foster's Prince
Valiant. In 1975, writer Budd Lewis and artist Gonzalo Mayo decided that El
Cid deserved his own representation in comics and introduced their version in
the pages of Eerie #65. His adventures
took up the entirety of issue #66, and he was featured again in #s 70 and 71.
Luckily for us, Dark
Horse Books, which has been rereleasing Warren Publishing's interests for the
past few years, has saved us the trouble and expense of tracking these issues
down by compiling all of the Spanish hero's stories into one very nice,
affordable hardcover (a mere $16 at your local comic shop).
Prior to reading
about this book in Previews, I had
never heard of the series, although I was familiar with the work of Mayo, known
as perhaps the greatest of the Vampirella
artists. I could tell right away, based on the description, that it was
something I was going to have to pick up.
There are two
striking things about this book.
The first is the
artwork, which is absolutely stunning. Mayo packs more into a single panel than
many artists do an entire page. His work is amazingly detailed, yet it looks
almost effortless. The images flow together naturally and never appear forced
or crowded. He uses a variety of techniques to create depth and contrast. He is
among the last of the great classical illustrators, most of which hail from
Spain, The Philippines, and South America (Mayo is from Peru), whose like the
world of comics will probably never see again.
The second is the
writing, which has to been seen to be believed. I get the distinct impression
that Lewis, who was Eerie's most
prolific writer, read a lot of Lovecraft. Those of you familiar with the latter's
work know that he walked a thin line between evocative, haunting language and
purple prose. There are fans on both sides of the argument, but we are not
concerned with that just now. I bring it up because many of Lewis' captions are
like Lovecraft at his best/worst taken to an even more extreme level.
I selected the
pulled quote at the start of the article as an excellent example of this. Here's
another of my favorites, taken from a fierce battle scene: "I slew until
death grease and gut slime made slippery the grips of my sword."
"Death Grease"
would make a good band name. Or perhaps just a death-metal reworking of the Grease soundtrack.
In any event, I don't
mean in any way to denigrate the writing. It's quirky and sometimes over the
top, but it draws readers into El Cid's world and helps them to achieve a deeper
understanding of the character.
Eerie Presents El Cid features seven delightful stories.
"El Cid and the
Troll" explores the well-known fable of the "monster under the
bridge." It delves into the whole question of myth vs. reality and leaves
the reader wondering about the truth of the situation.
"The Seven
Trials" (featuring an awesome frontispiece by Bernie Wrightson) is a tale
fraught with peril, taking place mostly at sea, that reminded me of the voyages
of Jason and Odysseus in Greek mythology. The story opens with El Cid's slaying
an evil wizard, who promises with his dying words that the other will endure
seven trials. After sleeping for, appropriately enough, seven days, El Cid
awakes on his warship, surrounded by his soldiers, many of whom have taken ill.
He suspects that this might be attributable to the curse. With the captain dead
and no rudder or helm, the ship is at the mercy of the turbulent waters. In the
ensuing days, the ship is beset by Sirens (one of whom becomes an ally and El
Cid's lover), a sea serpent, and knights on winged steeds. When the few that
remain after these attacks finally reach land, they face evil dwarves, the
wizard himself (now undead) on a flying ship, and the personification of Death
itself, cast as a beautiful woman. The story is in every respect absolutely
breathtaking.
In "El Cid and
the Vision," Spain has been attacked by Moors. On his way to see the king,
El Cid encounters an enemy knight whose fighting prowess is unearthly. Our hero
fights hard, but the knight defeats him. When the dust clears, however, the
knight has vanished, leading El Cid to wonder whether he ever existed. When he
reaches the castle, he explains the situation to the king, but a courtier named
Don Urraca taunts him. The fight that ensues ends with Don impaled on El Cid's
blade. The king, displeased, threatens to put the warrior to death, but El Cid,
truly penitent, offers to fight the Moors' greatest champion so that God can
determine his guilt or innocence. The knight he winds up facing turns out to be
the one he fought in the "vision," giving our hero the advantage.
Ed Cid encounters
two demons, Ahriman and Az, in "The Lady and the Lie." Also known as "Lie"
and "Lust," respectively, they twice attempt to trick him into
committing an evil deed, but our hero prevails. Realizing they cannot inveigle
him, the demons move on to another victim, a young girl. They transform
themselves into the girl's fiancée and a whore. Finding them lying together,
the girl becomes infuriated and kills them both. The demons reveal their true
selves and inform her that her soul now belongs to them. El Cid, overhearing
this and the girl's weeping, engages them, but they both change into likenesses
of the girl, making it impossible for him to tell which two are his foes. They
offer to give her soul back if he will follow them to Hell and fight there. He
agrees and, after battling a host of infernal creatures, winds up beating them
at their own game.
"The Emir of
Aragon" sees El Cid's king, Alphonso, engaged in battle with the Moorish warlord
of the eponymous city. Defeated, the emir surrenders the beautiful servant girl
Arias, whom El Cid takes as a lover. He is quite taken with her, and it appears
to be mutual, but El Cid experiences disturbing visions one night during his
evening prayers, revealing his paramour as a vile murderess. He tells Alphonso
of these visions, and the king asks that he not tell anyone else of them, but
Arias overhears the conversation. When he returns to his chambers, she embraces
him, effectively allaying his fears, but then knocks him out. Her lover
subdued, she hurriedly writes a note to the king, signing it with her lover's
name, urging him to come to El Cid's room to discuss a plot on the king's life
that the other has uncovered. The king opts to send one of his courtiers
instead, and Arias murders him, making El Cid an unlikely suspect.
As "Crooked
Mouth" opens, El Cid is returning to his father's house, following a
victory, with several Moorish prisoners. An old man of the village is outraged
when El Cid insists that the Nobles be treated well rather than killed. His
well-publicized chagrin eventually reaches the ears of Count Garcia Ordonez,
better known as "Crooked Mouth," who holds a grudge against El Cid. The
Count spreads rumors of treason, and when the king catches wind, he orders El
Cid brought to him. Crooked Mouth summons a demon to stop El Cid from reaching
the castle but falls prey to his own dark designs.
Aledo, master thief,
goes in search of his ultimate triumph in "Demon's Treasure," but
finds only terror and death. El Cid is sent to retrieve the thief, who, despite
his ignominious profession, is Alphonso's cousin and trusted ally. Our hero
enters a realm of shadow and madness, battling hideous phantoms and his own
capacity for lasciviousness in the arms of an alluring female sent to detain
him. He finally reaches the fortress of the wizard who owns the treasure and
after slaying the dragon guardian, encounters the wizard himself, who
unsuccessfully attempts to poison the hero.
This collection gets
my highest possible recommendation. It deserves a spot in every sword &
sorcery fan's library.
Matt Sunrich, a great fan of the Bronze Age of comic books, maintains two blogs: The Other Other Castle, about Bronze-Age sword and sorcery, and Forging the Dark Knight, concerning Bronze-Age Batman.
Labels: comics, Eerie, El Cid, Guest Blog, Matt Sunrich
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