I’m going to try something a little different. A comic adaptation of the poem Which One is Genuine? by Charles Baudelaire, translated by Robert Bly. I first encountered it in the Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart, a poetry anthology I picked up during my college days. It’s not so much my favorite poem as it is a poem that will haunt me for the rest of my life. More on that later.
Which One is Genuine? – Part 1 of 7
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WOW!
There is no finer experiment/exercise than to do something that takes completely out of your time period (and no, the future doesn’t count).
Forcing yourself to have to think that much more about setting/costume/etc is really a great stimulus to upping your game for the whole panel/page/story.
Fine work, sir. I’m glad you decided to go for something new and different.
Very different from what I’m used to seeing from you Ryan. I’m also working on a project where I take myself into the past. Kudos to you!
Danno – It is fun to do something in a completely different setting, although I’ll admit this comic isn’t all that historically accurate. I did do a little research on 19th century French fashion, but otherwise I made a lot of stuff up for the story, mainly so I could finish it before SPACE con.
Dan – Looking forward to the story. Are you talking about Shenanigans or something else?
“I once knew a woman named Benedicta . . .” sounds like the first line of a filthy limerick.
Too bad it isn’t.
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Thank you for this excellent interpretation and recitation of Bly’s translation. I memorized this poem (Bly’s translation) many years ago. Thank you for sharing this important poem with the world. Dr Alex Vasquez