SPQR Blues 3 part XXIV

[spqrblues]

Many apologies for the delay. It's been hard shaking the [whatever-the-heck-it-is-I-had] and its after-effects.







Helvius (teacher, midnight medic, and philosopher) is reciting lines from the poet Lucan, who wrote goth epics in the court of Nero. Lucan's uncle was the equally goth, Stephen King-esque poet/playwright/makeover-expert Seneca, best known for his grand-guignol version of Medea.

Nero was about as good for their family as Domitian has been for Felix's.

Comments

[wilypueo.livejournal.com]

You've definitely been missed. Is the phrase in the first panel from something in particular ("Through pyres and ashes . . .") or your own creation?

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

It's my translation of one of my favourite lines from the poet Lucan, who wrote lots of gothy stuff in the court of Nero. His uncle was the gothy, Stephen King-esque poet/playright/makeover-expert Seneca, best known for his grand-guignol version of "Medea."

Nero was about as good for their family as Domitian has been to Felix's.

Sudsy

[(Anonymous)]

oooh-oooh-oooh, more cool Roman stories. With all the bathing going on aren't you afraid the whole thing will turn into a Roman soap-opera? Just wondered. Maybe in the next scene, they'll ALL go the the baths... Good to see you back. DRW.

Re: Sudsy

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

Funny thing, I was just reading today about the Roman attitude toward soap.

No, really, I was.

And I guess that's not particularly funny.

And of course there'll be a scene at the baths!

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

The double-high panels and the stacked dialogue does a great job of showing the multilevel layers of conversation going on. You have such clever panel arrangements.

Was your cryptic warnings about soap to tell us that suds will play out their inconvenient placements as much as you've covered up your other nekkid scenes? (grin)

Dr. Phil

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

Thank you, thank you.

The Romans, they didn't do suds. However will I manage? Maybe some strategically placed ferns....

[kyleen66.livejournal.com]

No no... not ferns. It's those potted plants that shuffle in.

Heh.

[hieran.livejournal.com]

::raising my head and looking around::

Ha!

I know you thought you could slip that by me, because I've been all busy and AWOL lately, but ... I saw it! I did!

Or "them," I should say, since shuffling potted plants are always plural. Hawkwing says it takes a lot of plants in his case.

::snicker::

[perilousknits.livejournal.com]

I like it; things are really starting to happen!

Um . . . Felix's beard grows really fast! Just between the last two panels, he goes from clean shaven to grubby in an instant.

[meritahut.livejournal.com]

Blame the beard on Photoshop. When I balanced the brightness/contrast for some reason it washed out the top and overemphasised the bottom. I'll get around to correcting the balance eventually....