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Underground > Comic Books >

7 Soldiers: Shining Knight

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17:12 / 12.03.05

I wouldn't read too much into the Lantern thing. I suspect it's just a little touch, like the fact he has the original Knight's crest on his tunic, not a major plot point

17:57 / 12.03.05

Well, I think it may be relevant.

Perhaps not.

This should be, though: Oethanoeth.

18:02 / 12.03.05

Some Undry ravings; interesting.

ONLY NICE THINGS

15:47 / 13.03.05

Finally, Lancelot is described as "long-handed", which links him to the Celtic god "Lugh the Long-Handed", who had mastered every skill.

Yet more complexity ... the Gaelic "Lugh Lamfada" (Lugh of the Long Hand) is associated with the Welsh "Llew Llaw Gyffes" (Llew the sure-handed), who finds a possible analogue in Llenlleawch, a companion of Arthur in Culwch and Olwen who kills the giant and allows the cauldron to be taken.

Now this is where things get really silly. This first issue Shining Knight seems to be based very heavily on Preiddu Annwn (or Annwfn, or Annwvyn), in which Arthur and his kinghts appear to storm Caer Sidi and steal the Cauldron. There's a quatrain in there about the sword of Lluch Lleawch and the left hand of Lleminawc, either of which could be a mangling of a Lancelot-analogue or a Llew-analogue. Whether Lugh/Llew is a solar deity or a lake deity let's forget about for now - Justin seesm to be pretty solar.

Butbut, Lluch also means "flashing" or "shining". "Lleminawc" is variously identified as a version of a Llew-analogue, or as an epithet for Arthur, in which case it would mean something like "the Leaping One" - so Justin is potentially cognate with Arthur, with Lancelot and with Lugh/Llew here... that quatrain is, regrettably, a big mess. Does that tie in to "Llamin Arach"? I'm guessing so - so Justin is taking the place of Arthur in the theft of the cauldron from Caer Sidi, just as Arthur probably replaced Bran in the foundation myth.

The Preiddu Annwn is also referenced in Seven Soldiers 0 - have posted there.

ONLY NICE THINGS

16:07 / 13.03.05

Oh - on the wiki - Caer Sidi isn't a direct trans. to "Castle Revolving", near as I can tell. I'm not sure there *is* a direct translation...

17:05 / 13.03.05

According to this handy resource it would be either Castle in/of the Hills or fair folk.

Thanks for that Haus. Will try and squish into the Wiki.

ONLY NICE THINGS

18:28 / 13.03.05

As I say, there isn't really a completely certain direct translation. It may refer to the Irish side, it may refer to a mound or barrow. It is probably a castle in Annwn. That's about it as far as certainties go. Where it is translated, it has been translated as "Keep of the Mound", but usually the issue is ducked and it is left as "Caer Sidi".

18:31 / 13.03.05

My apologies. That's what you get for trusting the internet for translation info. =)

I agree that "Castle of the Sidhe" is a much more likely interpretation.

Regrettable Juvenilia

23:46 / 13.03.05

I really like Morrison's pretty, aggressive teenage warrior boy heroes, and I really dig the CS-Lewis-approved evil, sexual older woman. "I shall enjoy corrupting you as I did her", yes yes, TURKISH DEEEELIGHT.

Art = glorious. I really hope the quality holds for the whole of 7S...

yawn - thing's buddy

11:08 / 14.03.05

said already but caer sidi

featured heavily in 2000AD's slaine (by magical mills), as did the time streams and worm-maggoty-sheeda style jobbies (worm creature being ridden in first few pages is like Crom-Cruach, no?) and old borg bitch is quite like EL-ric n' tother shapechanging baisterts.

Depth to DC universe is so much greater than Marvel's. CANNOT WAIT for fishnet-themed comic, Zatanna.

Marvel is for 'pipe-in-yer-back' types and whining shites.

12:14 / 14.03.05

Aaaah, of course, I knew I'd seen something like these buggers elsewhere. Thanks, Yawnly.

Where's DaveXBrunt - that cerazy 2000AD obsessive? Surely he's got something to say about this.

15:00 / 14.03.05

I wish he'd just change his name to "X BRUNT!" or "The Brunt", though.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

20:14 / 14.03.05

I wonder if we're going to see any simularities between this title and Marvel Boy?

20:23 / 14.03.05

Not inconceivable. This is another (young) stranger in a strange land story, after all.

I like to think of brunting as a sexual act.

Regrettable Juvenilia

21:30 / 14.03.05

I wonder if we're going to see any simularities between this title and Marvel Boy?

Thass what I'm saying though: pretty, needlessly aggressive teenage warrior boys. Their friends all die and they crashland in the present day and the cops just don't understand them! I love it.

01:02 / 15.03.05

I especially enjoyed the Knight's emblems as Superhero emblems stuff. Caradoc's big, funny looking, medieval [how do you spell that fucking word] dove rocks the hardest.

And, BTW, I'm Pappuce but I forgot to log in.....

Again.

02:50 / 15.03.05

I do think Ystin a mite more sedate than the Kree-cockroach warrior.

A bit more earnest. I'm kinda pegging him between Noh-Varr and Seaguy. Seaguy's pretty young, too, right?

09:22 / 15.03.05

The preview blurb for issue 2 seems to leave little doubt about where this series is heading - and it's Marvel Boy all the way.

I'm Rick Jones, bitch

10:47 / 15.03.05

Oh fuck, how did that Marvel Boy analouge not beat me around the face?

Loving this. Grant can write teens as complete individuals, which is rare as teeth on a chicken in comixland. If this was a lesser writer he'd have a flying skateboard and say stuff like "ANY LAST WORDS? FOUR, ACTUALLY! THIS! ONE'S! FOR! ATHUR!"

Y'know. Like Lobdell X-Man.

yawn - thing's buddy

10:49 / 15.03.05

put the kcunt in prison!

13:26 / 15.03.05

#2 solicit:

Justin — the Shining Knight — is now without his trusty steed Victory! After escaping from a police car on Sunset Boulevard, Justin is left to wander the toxic, sun-drenched backstreets of Los Angeles. Delirious and confused, it seems to Justin that the Sheeda won, creating a world of poison air and synthetic life! Now, with magical broadsword in hand, the Knight's crusade begins anew!

Oh, right then.

16:16 / 15.03.05

I note that the solicit gives the horse the name "Victory" (which was the original's horse) not "Vanguard", as in SK #1.

I wonder if Ystin will hook up with the Whip.

The Natural Way

16:26 / 15.03.05

I think, if he does any hooking up at all, it'll be w/ the Vigilante.

You can read the previews for Klarion 2, Zatanna 2 and Shining Knight 3 over at cewsarama. Or maybe it's comicscontinuum.... I can't remember. Anyway, catch up slow Krunts.

17:16 / 15.03.05

'it's a changeling! it's a fetch!'

oo sez e never cums roun ere?

22:10 / 15.03.05

Methinks you missed the analogy.

Ystin = Noh-Var, and The Whip = Oubliette. =)

22:12 / 15.03.05

But she's dead.

Or am I being thick?

23:46 / 15.03.05

The Whip is not dead (yet). Neither are I, Spider or Gimmix. In SS Zero, only the other 3 soldiers are seen being impaled.

01:31 / 16.03.05

Yeah, they might've been took to Sheeda-side or whatever.

02:11 / 16.03.05

Anyway, on the horse, of whom - I think - more to come.

There was a DC team called Vanguard. They feature should would be Morri-faves as Anti-Matterman, White Dwarf and Black Nebula.

Isn't that odd?

--

05:02 / 17.03.05

I was a little surprised by the first few pages... Camelot? The knights of the round table? Had Morrison finally lost it? Actually, like SS0 it was quite enjoyable. I think my favorite aspect of the series is the Sheeda, they interest me in much the same way the Archons and the Outer Church did back when I first read the Invisibles (you'll recall that Grant gives very little away about the Archons until the end of volume 1, and the Outer Church doesn't even appear until volume 2). Someone back there mentioned Grant building a kind of mythology here, and I'll be very interested to learn more about the Sheeda (I'm already intrigued by the hints we've been given: references to the "vampire sun", the weird colorful arabicish city that manifests above the mesa in SS0, words like "sheeda-science" and their ability to make others like them, also shades of the Outer Church). They're really creepy too, esp. the small ones that ride on the backs of those wasp/mosquito things (brrr). And that huge sheeda-ship thing at the end of Shining Knight 1 is very cool looking.

I have a feeling that, when this is over, it could be GM's most impressive effort since the end of "The Invisibles" (one of my coworkers is more hyped about GM's Superman run coming up, but I'm more interested in Seven Soldiers).

10:04 / 18.03.05

Oh, it just occurred to me that 'unwhen' = Annwn.

10:31 / 18.03.05

bit surprised you were surprised by the arthurian stuff there the syph - you've seen the cover to invisibles 3/1 i spose?

yawn - thing's buddy

12:17 / 18.03.05

correction:

in Slaine, Caer Sidi is in fact:

Glaastonbury Tor!

(book 4, when he has to do all those tasks related to the zodiac - underated slaine cos artwork was not so metal - but quite a good read and a lovely evocation of a lost mythical britain)

ps. i am beginning to find the Britons (in their infinite feminine welshyness, as opposed to the rather boring and masculinee Gaels)) very very

SEXY.

13:03 / 18.03.05

Gubblybatch, I too am surprised that Syph was surprised.

The Natural Way

16:36 / 18.03.05

Sypha, the "arabicish city" and the "Sheeda ship" are the same thing - Castle Revolving. Just different artists, is all. I'm surprised you didn't get that. As for the British myth stuff, haven't you followed these threads at all? Neb-bul-oh was pretty obviously a Herne the Hunter riff right from the word go, way back in Classified #1.

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