Klarion 1
From Barbelith
"From This World To That Which Is To Come"
The Barbelith chat, now with added Philip Roth: Croatoan abides! (http://www.barbelith.com/topic/20837)
| Table of contents |
Background & General Commentary
Synopsis:
In the isolated subterranean hamlet of Limbo Town, everyone is a Witch and conformity to the old ways is enforced with a Puritanical fervor, but one boy dreams of adventures beyond the walls of the cavern that is the only world his people have ever known. Klarion is a little too clever and a little too odd to feel at home in his hometown, and when the religious authoritarians led by Submissionary Judah decide to close the village gates, it looks like Klarion's longing for escape will be frustrated for good. After his curiosity uncovers a danger unleashed by the Submissionaries themselves, Klarion defies the rules and ventures beyond the Wicket Gate to warn his stepfather and mentor, Ezekiel ...but the Submissionaries may not tolerate the young runaway's rebellious ways, and the dark tunnels beyond the town may hold monsters yet unknown.
General Thoughts:
Submissionary Judah sees the presence of a Sheeda fairy in Limbo Town as a sign of the End Times. A prophesy in the Book of Shadows says that after the Sheeda storm sweeps through the world above and destroys everything, the Witch-Folk may return and inherit Blue Rafters. The primary purpose of the Submissionaries in the meantime is to prevent progress and advancement, thus keeping Limbo Town stagnant at it's current level of development. Judah is opposed to such innovations as the Witch-Man Parliment and the new steam engine, as well as all exchange of ideas with outsiders. There may be an old reason behind this attitude. In the pages of Shining Knight, we learn that the Sheeda always come to destroy human civilization once it becomes too advanced. Perhaps by stagnating at a Medieval level of development, the Witch-Men hope to be spared the Harrowing. However, Judah's decision to close the Wicket Gate is motivated more by self-interest than by religious dogma. If the prophecies actually come true and the Witch-Men inherit Blue Rafters, then the Submissionaries are out of a job. By cutting off all communication with the world outside, Judah and his fellow Submissionaries hope to ensure that life will continue in Limbo Town as it always has, even after the Harrowing comes to pass and there is no longer any need to hide.
There are still several unanswered questions concerning the Witch-Man religion, among them "Who is Croatoan?" and "What ancient sin so haunts the Witch-Men with guilt that it would drive them underground in the first place?", but this issue starts to give a clear picture of how the Sheeda and the Harrowing play into it.
Annotations
| Featured Characters | Featured Locations |
|---|---|
Page 3
PANEL TWO: Notice the reference to undead grandpa as a "grundy" -- as in Solomon Grundy, the monster of Slaughter Swamp... the setting of the opening pages of Seven Soldiers 0.
Page 5
PANEL TWO: "septic mire" may also be an allusion to Slaughter Swamp.
Page 6
PANEL ONE: Croatan was the message left behind by the lost colony of Roanoke, VA. While it probably referred to a nearby island or Indian tribe, in this issue, it appears to be some kind of deity.
It's also become a bit of a byword among anarchist/dropout types, ever since the publication of Gone to Croatan: Origins of North American Drop Out Culture (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0936756926/noahwyliemanorani), a history of tri-racial isolate groups (http://www.metafilter.com/comments.mefi/21650) -- that is, "tribes" formed by folks who dropped out of Indian, white and black settlements. Peter Lamborn Wilson (Hakim Bey) is one of the authors.
More on the vanished Roanoke Colony (and the Croatan tribe) here (http://www.native-languages.org/lumbee.htm).
Notably, Croatoan in the comic is referred to as both a place, and an entity.
Page 8
PANEL FIVE: The draaga first appeared in Klarion's debut, in DEMON #7, as a familiar.
Page 10
PANEL FIVE: Blue Rafters = sky? It seems likely.
Page 11
PANEL THREE: "There's not much to see past High Market, just tunnels and rails and stone and more tunnels. Into one of those rock-holes in solid space did thy father vanish. In our vain search for him, a trolley man blessed me with food from the land above."
The tunnels and rails past High Market are most likely part of the Secret Subways of New York City as seen in The Guardian, in which case the trolley man of whom Ezekiel speaks may have been a Subway Pirate. The food turns out to be a Kit Kat bar, common enough in the environs of New York City, but other-worldly when viewed through the eyes of Ezekiel and the Witch Folk.
Page 13
PANEL THREE: "They say if we wait until the Sheeda Storm passes, we might return from Limbo Town to Blue Rafters above. Where all our sin will be wiped out and we shall inherit wonders."
This could be part of Melmoth's plan to keep humanity alive: If humans are eradicated, his Witch-Folk will inherit the earth.
Page 18
PANEL FOUR: The Horigal was also seen in DEMON #7 and later in GUARDIAN #2
Back to Klarion
Back to Seven Soldiers Annotations
