Nemesis the Warlock: Eps 11 & 12
Living in Spain myself, I still feel a chill when I see a line of Torquemadas walk past me in solemn procession to that eerie and atmospheric music.
I’m blown away by Nemesis the Warlock: the Definitive Edition. My compliments to the publishers, Rebellion, and especially their designer Gemma Sheldrake for the truly inspired front and back covers.
Such a Definitive Edition requires a Definitive Commentary, a companion piece for when you’re looking at the beautiful art by art-creator Kevin O’Neill and the other talented artists that followed him. So it’s time for The Secret History of Nemesis the Warlock, an episode by episode revelation of what really went on behind the scenes.
Episodes 11 & 12 – Nemesis v Torquemada
Once again Nemesis and Torquemada do battle. Looking back, I should probably have suggested that the artist showed Torquemada in the eyes of the spider he has possessed, so that the evil of the Grand Master is brought to life better. But when we see him at the end it is worth the wait: he is revealed in all his ghastly and wraith-like human horror.
There is something iconic and endlessly terrifying about the hooded Torquemada. Although it also reminds us of the Ku Klux Klan, it does of course owe its origins to the Spanish Inquisition. Even today there is the Semana Santa in Spain’s Holy Week where there are lines of similar, sinister, hooded robed penitents who march in time to music which sounds remarkably much like the work of Ennio Moricone. And Moricone was apparently inspired by the music of Semana Santa to create his legendary Spaghetti Western music.
Living in Spain myself, I still feel a chill when I see a line of Torquemadas walk past me in solemn procession to that eerie and atmospheric music. Perhaps it’s a fairly common name in Spain because there’s even a local saloon called Bar Torquemada.
I’d love to know what Redondo’s thoughts were on our British interpretation of his country’s sinister past. For me, it all stemmed from the legendary sketch ‘No one expects the Spanish Inquisition’. I first saw it in At Last! The 1948 Show – the excellent precursor to Monty Python. The Pythons must have loved it so much to bring it back for Monty Python. It still makes me laugh today.
But, after their epic battle, neither Nemesis or Torquemada is the winner. But the scene is set for Book Three when the Warlock’s own family is in danger.
The Secret Life of the Blitzspear
Kevin and I were both fascinated by the Blitzspear, so we devised a secret life for the creature for the 2000AD 1983 annual. The style I used was as if David Attenborough were explaining its complex alien biology and how Nemesis had to tame him. Kevin provided additional ideas and laid the story out. His great affection for his creation is evident in every one of the six pages.
It’s part of the world building process which Kevin and I have always applied to our stories, together and on separate projects, and is why they are so well-remembered today.
The story was also inspired by medieval bestiaries which showed a vast zoological world of fantastic creatures – my favourite being the Catoblepas, whom we meet in the next volume of Nemesis and, if you haven’t seen it before, is well worth the wait! It was described by Pliny back in Roman times with a heavy head and a basilisk-like stare, but what Kevin did with that brief description was absolutely mind-blowing!
We often look with a certain sense of superior wisdom at the wildlife described two thousand years ago and see the ancients’ descriptions as absurd and ridiculous. But I sometimes wonder how, two thousand years in the future, humans will regard our 21st century view of our world. It’s hard to imagine, but of one thing I am absolutely certain, it won’t be complimentary!
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