Still In the Game

John Childermass, Mr. Norrell's ... valet? A mysterious character (I have my suspicions, because irony is too sweet...) and, I think, my favourite. He's more independent than anyone else in the book, as everyone besides him is a slave to what they are supposed to be, be it gentleman, magician, wife, politician, whatever. They are all bound by duty and expectation but Childermass is Childermass and no one says boo. I nearly thought he was going to succumb to the usually fatal Tealin's Favourite Character Syndrome (they always die!) but he seemed to survive that ... unfortunately he still has to make it through the remaining 300 pages I have yet to read. This design seems influenced largely by Ubiquitouspitt's Tony Chattin (a character I know only through her drawings) but also by the illustrations in the book, and the close shot of his head looks suspiciously like the drawing of Angua I did not too long ago. It's odd, having a character who refuses to come out of my pencil again. Lately it's been unfairly easy .. I've started to wonder. Looks like things are back to normal. Hah, and he looks like all my other long-faced men. Things are definitely back to normal. ( More Childermass ) ( Discly Tiddles )