WARNING SPOILER ALERT!
Language and Angels
Aramaic
I found the Aramaic alphabet, a precursor to Hebrew, which some of the Old Testament may have been written in. I then located what a particular phrase was in Hebrew and exchanged the letters. It's not the perfect way to make an Aramaic translation, but it's the best way I could figure out. The phrase is one of my favorites from Genesis and in the comic, Thomas' Mother quotes it.
The rest of the phrase is: "And they knew them, and this is where the Men of Renown come from". It has been translated many different ways, but this is the one I like. The concept that angels bred with humans to create a hybrid like Samson or Hercules.
The other language I refer to quite a bit in the book is Korean. It's prevalent throughout. There are two main reasons. First, I wanted to set the book in an alternate universe. I don't actually believe in Angels myself, so I wanted a world where angels may be prevalent. In this universe, Cleveland is pretty much the same as it is now, with some stark differences. The other reason I chose Korean is that I was listening to quite a lot of K-Pop at the time. I had a dream which had a number of K-Pop songs in it - and this dream was the initial spark for the storyline.
The first clue something is different in this universe occurs on the first page:
The US, Canada and Mexico become one nation, an extension of Korea (N+S) and is broken up into districts.
Another clue to the Korean war is the info the teacher writes on the board:
Back to the Aramaic. I incorporated the Aramaic phrase into the Harvester, the little machine which tests Thomas' blood at the church.
The small size coupled with the dot pattern renders the text indecipherable, but then again it IS Aramaic after all. The harvester design is bases loosely on the work of Mark Yasenchak, a local artist who works in Porcelain. For a while he was creating these large, pyramidal boxes with interesting designs etched into their surface. Maybe one day I'll have him create a harvester for me.
The Cherubim are usually depicted as little winged babies. They are supposed to be adorable, but I've always found them creepy. In Man of Renown they are the enforcement branch of the angels. The bone blades they carry were from a dream I had I have really vivid but sometimes bizarre dreams, but they are the source of many of my creations.
The next clue this book takes place in another universe is the prevalence of "land squid". This was inspired by Matt Groening's Futurama. In the cartoon, the future pests are owls, who shopkeepers scare out of their stores with brooms. It's ridiculous and comical. I decided to make an even more ridiculous leap by having squid, a clearly water dependent life form, be the new pest. If you look closely at some of the panels I have drawn little tentacles poking out here and there. I've made some kind of connection at the end with the squid and evil, but I don't think I'll explain it. Thomas' father is a land-squid exterminator, the news is filled with squid warnings, and the truck going down the Ohio City street is spraying some kind of squid repellent.
Due to the concept of an alternate universe, I didn't want technology to remain exactly the same. Would a future ruled by a united Korea create different electronics? Who knows? Even when I was about to draw the car going over the bridge I decided to make it a model no one would recognize.
Finally, at the end of the book I wanted to put a dedication page, thanking all the people who urged me to complete the comic or proof read the work. However, I also wanted to add a page like the old advertising pages from comics I read as a child. Combining them seemed like a no-brainer!
Hidden in the barely legible addresses or company/product names are the names of my friends!