Here we have last summer’s rendering of the occupied throne of Absu, one of the antagonists of the Enuma Elish (“When on High”), the Babylonian creation myth. I’ve always liked that one, but it’s safe to say I’m getting a little obsessed with the material at this point.
The interesting thing about that myth, aside from it being the oldest creation story we can date, is that they never assumed that they were first on the world. It was a world of monsters beforehand, and only after Marduk’s insurrection was it really a world of man. Absu (fresh water) and Tiamat (salt water) were creator gods, sure; but they honestly couldn’t care less about man.
As I read this stuff, I have all kinds of wonderful ideas. I think it’s time I brought it back as, at minimum, a graphic novel; if I can get a rendering farm and some quality models together, along with some voice actors, maybe even an animated series.
I’m going to return to Absu later, with a fresh sculpture of him. It was all done by hand, but there are still a few things bothering me—and yeah, I know, probably only me—quite a bit. There’s also reasonable composition to the scene but a total lack of video compositing, which would really fill it out.
I’ve also got some great ideas for Marduk, the hands-in-the-dirt protagonist and future God of Magic, and Ishtar, which should redefine sexy on the ground level. They’re going to take time too, though. This story is really drawing me in.
Michael Macha 