Cursed Pirate Girl #5 (2022) page 4: Magna Nienpo, The Sea Witch

Words fail to describe the minute detail on this image. The page is 9x12 inches, but the art is 5x8 inches. Does Bastian use a jeweler's glass when he works, or perhaps an electron microscope?

Issue 5 of Cursed Pirate Girl, entitled "The Devil's Cave," begins with several pin-ups, arranged as an art gallery through which two characters are strolling and commenting on each selection. At the bottom of the published page, one of them, a snooty fish-headed art critic offers his deflating opinion in snooty language that says more about him than the art. This format gave a home to Bastian's recent creations, hinting at world-building concepts which have not found their way into the narrative yet.

This illustration depicts the Sea Witch Magna Nienpo, which is Polish for "Great Nothing." Her initials "MN" are carved into the flanking caryatids, behind which spread the wings of her throne, one of Bastian's "gavia" stork-snakes. She weaves her magic with a wand, a mirror, and the smoke billowing from a censer at her waist.

At her feet kneels her daughter Bliss, who appears in the The Devil's Cave as an old woman, the mother of Captain Bliss of the pirate ship Honey Boar. Flowers sprout from Bliss' footsteps, interrupting the undersea theme dominated by rune-carved coral, shells, fish, sea snail, and a giant pearl atop the stork-throne. The caryatids wear clams atop their heads.

This piece was discussed on Comic Art Live on August 1, 2024.