Rasputin

Did you see the very bizarre appearance by Rasputin a few weeks back?

I wanted to hi-light these for a couple reasons.  I was very hesitant when it came to drawing these, as the task seemed too daunting.  I also thought they were a bit too strange and didn’t fit with what we were doing, but I guess that was the point in a way.  You might ask how much of a bearing this will have on the overall story and tone of I’M FAMOUS!?  The true answer is I don’t know yet.

While I had a lot of fears I was also very excited to draw these.  I’ve always been very interested in history, so any time I get to draw a historical figure or something specific to a historical period it is a thrill.  Rasputin is a particularly interesting figure as he is surrounded by so much controversy and mythology.  He is very much entwined in the occult, and of course that has always been another interest of mine that I work into my drawing as much as possible.

So drawing ghostly visions of historical figures is kind of right up my ally in a way.  I thought a lot about how to layout this one and exactly what I wanted to show.  Originally this was written as a single comic, but I split it because I couldn’t make it as epic and exciting if I had to cram it on a single page.  I also spent a lot of time thinking about lighting and how to create the correct mood.

Overall I feel I was very successful.  Everyone seems to instantly understand that they are looking at Rasputin’s ghost, and it’s simultaneously creepy and funny.  I don’t know if or when we’ll see Rasputin again, but I hope we do soon!