Radio Times: Neil Gaiman's The Truth Is A Cave In The Black Mountains

A lovely project for the Radio Times to accompany the radio serialisation of Neil Gaiman's award winning novelette. Synopsis: The story is inspired by a Hebridean myth and was originally commissioned by the Sydney Opera House for the Graphic Festival. "Mystery, greed, deception, murder: these are the cogs that spin faultlessly throughout Neil Gaiman’s mesmerizing short: The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains. The story, which focuses on a dwarf in search for gold and his unlikely guide to the Black Mountains, Calum MacInnes, works on a disturbing psychological level.

The Black Mountains host what could only be called a curse, but the question is: does the curse dwell within the cave, or the imaginations and hearts of the men who seek it out? Treasures are promised of the cave, but are treasures truly to be gained, and if so, at what cost? These questions are established early, and built upon, fleshed out with each passing page.

More of an examination of the mind than an outright horror story, Gaiman’s tale is the kind that reaches from print, squeezes the psyche and leaves the reader completely transfixed. As the story unravels, the two focal traveling companions share inner secrecies while treading lightly: neither man trusts the other, in the slightest. Both also keep skeletons locked tight in the closet, apprehensive to crack the door, even slightly.

Tension mounts as these two men trek across great stretches of land. The treasure is the goal, but dangerous life lessons make for the actual payoff. A controlled betrayal brews between the two, en route to the cave, and the insanity boils over once their destination has been reached and the cave has been entered. Within said cave, revelations are laid out, and the announcements displayed prove rather shocking.

Will an ounce of booty be carried from the mouth of the cave?

Perhaps I should propose a different question: What waits once exiting the cave?

Neil’s beautifully poetic prose really comes to life as the story reaches conclusion. A fine climax awaits readers and to label it anything other than jarring would be to deliver injustice. Although the story’s character development emerges as a shining point of this one, the final showdown is a grand treat to read. A somewhat despicable spin leaves a mark on the conscious of readers, and I personally couldn’t have asked for a better way to seal up what is a extraordinary story.

Fans of H.P. Lovecraft will find a sense of familiarity in, The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains. Gaiman blends a vintage storytelling style with a contemporary charm that few authors manage. While this tale is as much fantasy as horror, it’s an absolute must read: ‘nuff said!

New work!

I have been beavering away in the background and here are just a few examples of fresh sparkly new mages that were created for clients and self promotion over the last few months.

One of my main creative aims of late has been to simplify an image to such an extent that the concept or theme is as clearly visible as possible - often reducing the amount image decoration dramatically compared to some of my images. A selection of my favorite examples... 

Radio Times: Psalm 51

An interesting commission for the Radio Times where they needed an image for the magazine radio pages to accompany a Radio 4 drama called Psalm - about the playwright Ben Johnson. Specifically its about how he escaped the hangman's noose by being able to recite Psalm 51 when in the dock. A few ideas were presented but the slightly caricatured portrait image was chosen. As an alternative to my usual working method this image was rendered almost entirely in Adobe Photoshop as opposed to Illustrator, just popping into Illustrator to create the rope and gallows, as I wanted a slightly more blended use of muted colour (for me!) for the exaggerated stylised character portrait of Ben Jonson. From the show notes...

 "An old loophole in the law meant that anyone who proved that they could read from the Bible could have their case tried in an ecclesiastical court as if they were clergy, and that their sentence would be lighter. The fact that the passage normally chosen to be read was Psalm 51, with its penitential sentiments, meant that this psalm came to be called 'the neck verse’. But what if you were a condemned man, who couldn’t read? With Jeremy Whitton Spriggs as John, Kim Wall as Walters and Amanda Root as Judith."