In 1271 when Marco Polo left Venice at the start of his journey to the land of the Kublai Khan, there was another Marco that traveled with the expedition.
Hi there. Welcome to ‘The Other Marco’ Blog. #2
Thank you to all the ‘Blog Oglers’ that responded to the first TOM #1 posting. Suddenly my Facebook family has doubled in size and seems to be growing! Just what I wanted.
It has taken me 6 months to get this Blog going in spite of ‘How to set up a Blog’ in 20 minutes as the Blogging for Idiots/Dummies and every other well meaning expert on the net would like one to believe. I eventually began to develop a complex as I realized that I had obviously not yet reached the lofty heights of an Idiot yet. The only thing that kept me going was noticing how many of the computer boffs I asked for advice could not setup and publish a blog in 20 minutes either. Beware of ‘feel good claims’ by Idiots/Dummies books or at best multiply your ‘Eureka moment’ by a factor of 100 to stay sane!
Having a young grandson living thousands of miles away on the far side of the USA, I have established a personal link with him by drawing the monsters he describes in detail and mailing the results to him. Other youngsters of the same age that I know have been added to this monster mailing list which I name Monsters 4 Monsters. Then I realized that these boys will in a few years [if not already] become the readers of ‘The Other Marco’. Why not give them a monster-a-month wrapped in this blog so that their interest in the book may be awakened? At the bottom of this posting #2 [and in the following even numbered entries] I will include a Monsters 4 Monsters section with the latest creations from our collective fantasmagorical imaginations. Of course, if there are any young ladies [girls] out there that think of themselves as little monsters, write to me with your ideas of what a real monster should look like [not your little brother], and I may even draw it for you!
Now let me introduce you to, one of the people mentioned in the book.
Here we have Giovanni Solari, TOM’s father. [TOM is the acronym for ‘The Other Marco’ as explained in #1]
Quote from the book: The Other Marco
‘My father was a very important man. Senor Giovanni Solari was the chief baggage carrier for the Polo brothers, Niccolo and Maffeo, who had travelled all the way to Cathay and back. My father had travelled with them and carried the golden tablets of authority, which had been given to them by the Great Kublai Khan, Lord of the Mongols.’
Giovanni Solari is of course fictional and so is the drawing a figment of my imagination, whereas Niccolo [Marco Polo’s father] and Maffeo were the real merchants of Venice who met the Kublai Khan.
Here is a drawing I illustrated long before I wrote ‘The Other Marco’. As an artist I admire the work of many other artists and cartoonists. Aubrey Beardsley is one whose art I stand in awe of, and tried with this work to capture the style and elegance of this brilliant artist. Discovering this picture among my art files the other day, I thought it could pass as a very flamboyant Merchant of Venice.
The best known Merchant of Venice in English literature is of course the play written by William Shakespeare. In the play, Antonio is the merchant who is very wealthy, but his money is tied up in shipping. When his friend Bassanio asks for a loan, the merchant is unable to help, so he in turn borrows from Shylock, the money lender who stipulates that if the loan cannot be repaid, the Merchant of Venice must give him a pound of his flesh! Ouch! Needless to say, the loan cannot be repaid, and sets the scene for the intrigue that follows.
Looking at the drawing above, one wonders if this rather rotund merchant could part with a pound of flesh without too much damage? This is obviously where the expression; ‘demanding a pound of flesh’ comes from?
I would however not portray either of the Polo brothers like this though. They would have to be more robust, tough looking, travel worn individuals who had not spent their lives in the opulence of the Venetian palaces and merchant’s guildhalls, as this flashy trader.
Here is a rough sketch of what I imagine the Polo brothers might have looked like.
And now, the Monsters 4 Monsters corner.
I suppose this monster could be called: The Callous Car Crunching Creature from Calamity Crossroads.
There you have it. Please comment on how to draw more readers and I’ll draw to entertain them.
See you on ‘The Other Marco’ Blog #3.
Thanx Lawrence! The scetches are so good.
You know, kids of all ages and nationalities played “marco” in swimming pools all over the world during our travels. I did not know it as a child.
You far away monsters will be fascinated by Tom.
Hello there Uncle Lawrence! it’s a bit surreal seeing all the things we chatted about in my lounge come to life here on your blog….at last! Looking forward to being further educated and entertained. Well done. You are an inspiration on never giving up!
Hi Heidi, I hope the Blog will liven up everyone’s interest and they will keep reading it. Next one soon.
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