Enter Howard Chaykin...
Although Gloriana was intended to be Michael Moorcock's "final" fantasy novel (freeing him to concentrate on more sophisticated "non-genre" writing), heroic fantasy soon resurfaced the following year in a collaborative project with artist Howard Chaykin, a much-admired comics artist who in 1975 had published a small portfolio of Elric illustrations, and then later submitted rough cover sketches (ultimately unused) for Moorcock's Gloriana.
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| (Howard Chaykin, 1975 Elric portfolio cover) |
"I am a great admirer of the so-called Golden Age illustrators — Howard Pyle, Charles Robinson, W. Heath Robinson, Willy Pogany, and several others — and I thought that Chaykin, in a very different way, was developing this tradition rather than merely imitating it...and I was delighted by his ability to pack an enormous amount of action into a single frame."
MM - from the 1979 Introduction
A Graphic Science Fantasy
The resulting "graphic novel", The Swords of Heaven, the Flowers of Hell, was one of the first such publications of its kind, along with Will Eisner's A Contract with God, Gray Morrow's The Illustrated Roger Zelazny and Walter Simonson's adaptation of the film Alien. Unlike most comic books, these "adult" publications were not afraid to try out some more experimental forms of graphic storytelling (such as the use of visual collage in order to evoke a sense of cinematic montage). Like the Simonson Alien, Moorcock and Chaykin's "illustrated narrative" appeared under the recommended-for-mature-readers Heavy Metal imprint and was printed on high-grade paper rather than comic book newsprint. However, more importantly to Moorcock's heroic fantasy fans, this work featured the return of none other than the original Eternal Champion himself, Erekosë.
The "Tale of the Eternal Champion" had seemingly been concluded in a somewhat metaphysical Götterdämmerung sequence in the 1975 novel The Quest For Tanelorn, but, as Moorcock had done with Elric, this did not prevent prequels and "interstitial" stories from being written. In 1979, the opportunity to work with Chaykin inspired Moorcock to produce a detailed outline for a new Erekosë episode (which essentially take place some time shortly before the events of The Quest For Tanelorn). This was a welcome choice of Champion, as Erekosë had at this time the least number of published outings compared to his brethren Champions Elric, Corum and Hawkmoon (and still does, despite being the first of them to be created). Additionally, one of the unique aspects of Erekosë is that, unlike Elric, Corum and Hawkmoon, Erekosë's fate is to inhabit new bodies in new environments for each of his exploits. In this way, Erekosë is a true "multiversal" hero with possibilities (and knowledge) not normally available to the other Champions. In this particular entry, Erekosë is whisked away from his identity as Urlik Skarsol (in The Silver Warriors) in order to become a "Knight of the Dream Marches".
"Hell is empty and all the devils are here!"
The Swords of Heaven, The Flowers of Hell takes place in a world divided into three regions: "Hell", "the Dream Marches" and "Heaven" (despite the theological connotation attached to these terms, they are not meant to be literal portraits such as found in Dante or Milton). Hell is a wasteland dotted with the ruined remnants of various dwellings and populated by relatively uncivilized "barbarians" and marauders. Hell is in such a decrepit state because during the night, flying creatures known as "Angels" excrete acid rain over the region, destroying and eroding away everything on the surface.
Heaven, in contrast, is a technologically-advanced refuge populated by amoral scholars and scientists who enjoy conducting biological experiments on their hapless victims. They have also found a way to communicate with the Angels and so their lands are not affected by the Angels' acid rain. Acting as a territorial bulwark protecting Heaven from Hell are the Dream Marches. This forested area is patrolled by the Knights of the Dream Marches, who use their strange powers to create illusions to frighten off the people of Hell (hence the "Dream" marches).
However, now the hordes of Hell have decided to
band together and attack the Dream Marches en masse. A Knight of the Dream Marches named Clen of Clen Gar (visually based off of actor Burt Lancaster) tries to seek help from the rulers of Heaven, but the dissolute scholars and aristocrats of that region prefer to let the Dream Marches take the brunt of the invasion. Eventually, Clen comes into some secret knowledge about the nature of the Angels, and
makes a deal with them to save his people. On the way there are exotic damsels
in distress who are more (or less) than they appear to be, as well as some
monstrous mutant creatures whom Clen Gar is forced to do battle with.
The Parallel Narrative
On an allegorical level, Swords of Heaven illustrates that appearances can be deceiving in any political arrangement: allies may actually be enemies, and enemies might become valued allies. The Knights of the Dream Marches exist to protect the aristocrats of Heaven from the barbarians of Hell, but these same aristocrats readily turn on their benefactors at the drop of a hat (or whistle). Meanwhile, the acid-spewing Angels turn out to be merely victims of circumstance and misunderstanding. For the most part however, this is just an enjoyable, adult romp where Moorcock gets to collaborate with another fellow creator, with both performing at the top of their games.
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In this one collage sequence, Chaykin graphically connects the world of Urlik
Skarsol to that of Clen, Knight of the Dream Marches, and along the way manages to
reference several incarnations of the Eternal Champion. |
Next: My Experiences In The Third World War
