Blue Moon Blog

So, you may recall, last we visited Alex Toth‘s The Land Unknown, this enormous sea serpent pops up from the water, upending Hunter’s raft, sending him toppling…

Page 29, semi-splash detail; color remastered.

…and gets knocked out during the fall. Though Toth is known most for his line and spotting of blacks, notice how he rendered the cascade of water: not held by a line, but drawn with a series of dots and splotches, left open with negative space, obscuring other elements, letting the viewer’s eye finish the picture. The final panel of the page is a standard profile close-up with flare gun in Hal’s hand…

But even in this seemingly simple 2-frame tier Toth leads us through expertly with a series of angles (raft, body, oars & gun) and finally a curve that sweeps up along the gun and Hal’s nose to his steely gaze. Just wonderful.

Page 30 (below) is sweet (and if you have $5000.00 to spare for the original art, Buy It Now on ebay), a tour de force of composition, design, balance of positive and negative space, shot selection and storytelling. The reader’s eye is drawn through the page brilliantly, all in service of telling the story.

The first panel is from a bird’s eye view, above the helicopter, the ‘copter and Hal with his gun framing the creature below. The curve of the serpent’s neck leads us to the tiny head of Hunter as he floats helplessly, unconscious in the sea.

Page 30, frame 1 and detail.

No doubt Toth had good reference for this flare gun, drawn simply but all there. The sharp angles, juxtaposed with curves and circles, along with the asymmetrical black and white space (still balanced) convey urgency and action.

Page 30, panel 2.

The ‘copter swings in, the gun shot. Pops, smoke and sound effects lead us across the horizontal, widescreen frame to the point of impact.  Zowee! Toth draws the ‘copter in near silhouette in the foreground, and once again renders only what he needs to: holding lines dropping out from the serpent’s head and maw, conveying the hot, bright flash of the flare, the reader’s eye/brain completing the image.

Panel 4: The frame is split in half, then quartered in the lower half, the black horizontal slab of water broken by bits of light/waves. The serpent seeks refuge, returning to the sea – the curve of its body amidst the swirling smoke. The ‘copter turns, maneuvering towards Hunter in the foreground, his head shown cutting out of the surface of the water, flat, graphic and bold. This is daring, modern picture-making!

Hal leaps to Hunter’s rescue in panel 5, not quite centered in the frame. What an angle! And Toth draws Hal’s foreshortened figure with a natural ease and flow. The near-silhouette of the ‘copter against the expanse of sea beneath is startling, accentuating the free-fall and danger of Hal’s dive.

Atop the next page, 31, Toth divvies up the frame, this time in thirds. Not quite flat or straight on, we see a few lines in front of and behind the figures showing the horizon/water surface. The characters are cropped, engulfed in water, as the rescue gear drops down from above, jutting into the upper 2/3 of the frame. Then, an overhead shot, mixing things up nicely. Time to hoist!

Finally, all safe in the ‘copter, it’s straight up and away through the gloom, the crew-plus-one making their escape!

Next Tuesday: the last installment as we wrap up with an incredible final page. Read the story in its entirety in color here. And catch up on or revisit previous installments : Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11 or Part 12.

Note: This post was prepared and composed to the jaunty, jabbing jazz of Thelonious Monk.