Tuesday, 27 October 2015 10:28

The death of William George Allum

This comic was inspired by the poems of a greek poet Nikos Kavvadias, and especially the two poems called "William George Allum" and "Marabu". Unfortunately i haven't found any english translations of these two poems (you can find some other translations in this link). I will try and give a short description of the two poems:

William George Allum: The poem starts with our narrator saying that he had met a very strange English stoker. Everybody was telling him that this stoker had a very painful story. He had tattoos on all over his body, and especially on top of his heart a very beautiful and wild woman. She was the love of his life but she betrayed him with another sailor and so he tried to forget everything about her. But on his chest remained the painting of her. Many sailors had seen him during the night rubbing his chest so as to erase her tattoo -in vain. Some night near Bay of Biskay, they found him dead with a knife in his heart. The captain said he tried to erase his stigma (painting, tattoo) and ordered to bury him in the sea.

Marabu: In this poem the narrator tells us that there are stories about him, that he is a lousy punk, that he never sleeps with women, that he takes drugs and has tattoos on all over his body. But (he tells us) his true story is different: in one of his trips, when he was young, he had met a girl, the daughter of a wealthy Egyptian, who had killed himself. She traveled around the world to forget her sorrow. Our narrator and this girl became friends and loved each other deeply. When they had to leave each other they exchanged presents (he gave her a small cross, and she gave him a large wallet) and he was the most depressed man on earth. He never forgot her as he had her photo as his guardian angel. One night on a foreign port he got very drunk and followed a prostitute to her place. Next morning when he tried to pay her she screamed staring at his wallet. He saw the cross on her neck. It was her. She left her place like a madman and never got over it.

The comic is published by the publishing company Kapsimi (ΚΨΜ) and in case you are interested in it you could order it here.

Additional Info

  • Medium: markers, digital corrections
  • Date: 2013

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