I’m actually rather excited about this next couple of strips.  There’s something captivating about the idea of walking through the lonely woods only to discover that you’ve arrived at some strange bazaar where faeries, trolls, and spirits of mysterious origin hark their wares.

I am reminded, of course, of the infamous Vanity Fair in John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” and the haunting poetry of Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market“.  Both texts speak in some capacity about the universal onslaught of the strange and often spiritually dangerous sensations of the world.  Here’s one of my favorite sections of Rossetti’s piece:

Laugh’d every goblin

When they spied her peeping:

Came towards her hobbling,

Flying, running, leaping,

Puffing and blowing,

Chuckling, clapping, crowing,

Clucking and gobbling,

Mopping and mowing,

Full of airs and graces,

Pulling wry faces,

Demure grimaces,

Cat-like and rat-like,

Ratel- and wombat-like,

Snail-paced in a hurry,

Parrot-voiced and whistler,

Helter skelter, hurry skurry,

Chattering like magpies,

Fluttering like pigeons,

Gliding like fishes, -

Only imagination can translate the flurry of wild shapes and animalistic action of the lines.  But it’s such a fun description.  Is it terrifying?  Delightful?  A… delightful terror?

I don’t want to make too much of my own version, especially in light of what has already been done, but I thought it would be fun to point out some of the literary inspiration for a few goofy drawings.  Hope you enjoy!