The Flaming Sword
Most often, when I’m drawing, I’m also:
Listening to Small Town Murder (but not Crime in Sports because I only listen to that when I run out of STM and not Your Stupid Opinions because I learned the worst way possible that unexpected hysterics do not mix well with inking).
Watching a comfort show like Buffy or—these days—Supernatural.
Listening to Discworld books.
(Ink on Paper; in the little 365 book, page opposite folded)
There's a lot of Discworld and I’m only on the 10th book, Moving Pictures. In it, Pratchett writes:
“There's a lot of loose thinking about magic. People go around talking about mystic harmonies and cosmic balances and unicorns, all of which is to real magic what a glove puppet is to the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Real magic is the hand around the bandsaw, the thrown spark in the powder keg, the dimension-warp linking you straight into the heart of a star, the flaming sword that burns all the way down to the pommel. Sooner juggle torches in a tar pit than mess with real magic.”
(Ink on Paper; expanded fold out page)
I'm glad that I’ve finally gotten to Pratchett's world, though I wish I had gotten here earlier. I’m pretty sure he’s my favorite magician. I learned about magic by reading Moore, Morrison, Pollack, Crowley, and Carroll. They’ve all got their anarchist appeals. But none of them are nearly as delightful, funny, or enamored with being alive in the universe as Pratchett. Which makes me suspect he’s a far better role model.°
°to be fair, Rachel Pollack is a pretty great role model.