T!M. Finney :: The Shakespeare Project Commissions Act I

Prelims for Green Lantern/Othello

Artist: Joe Staton (All)

3 Comments - 1,139 Views - 0 Like

Prelims for Green Lantern/Othello Comic Art

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Second Prelim

Third prelim

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Green Lantern as Othello by Staton

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Iron Man in Hamlet by Rubinstein

Artwork Details

Title:	Prelims for Green Lantern/Othello
Artist:	Joe Staton (All)
Media Type:	Marker
Art Type:	Commission
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	1,139
Likes on CAF:	0 1
Comments:	3
Added to Site:	3/22/2010
Comic Art Archive:

Description

When I first started dreaming up ideas for the Shakespeare Project, one of the very first ones I came up with was to cast John Stewart and Sinestro as Othello and Iago and the first artist that come to my mind was Joe Staton. For various reasons, it took me a while to set it up, but at the beginning of 2010, I wrote to Joe's agent and set the commission wheels in motion.

Joe liked the idea and I sent him some info about the play, the dialogue to the scene that I liked and some notes about the main characters. It wasn't long after that Joe delivered the first prelim. Not only did he draw the characters I wanted, he even included the beautiful face of Katma Tui as Desdemona on a monitor. I thought it looked great, and I liked the way Joe allowed John/Othello's anger to manifest itself through his power ring.

To better mesh it with the play, however, I mentioned a few things that I wanted changed. I wrote back to him that Othello strangles Desdemona and asked if he could change the dagger coming out of the power ring into a menacing pair of hands. Also, I thought that Sinestro/Iago looked a bit too triumphal since, in the scene that I picked, he was trying to worm his way into the Moor's confidence, feigning concern, and had yet to spring his trap. Joe wrote back that he'd try and tweak it a bit for me

Then, as the con season got into high gear, Joe got really busy and several months passed with no update. To Joe's credit, he would drop me a note from time to time to let me know that he had not forgotten me and I would write back basically saying that I was in no hurry. Then, recently, Joe wrote to me and said that a second prelim would be on the way shortly.

When I received it, I noticed that Joe had taken it in a very new direction. Amongst the most noticeable changes, aside from the more prominent role played by Katma/Desdemona, was that Joe had included a physical manifestation of "the green-eyed monster."

In Shakespeare's time, as it is today, green was associated with jealousy, ("green with envy"), and the plot of Othello revolves around it. In my favorite scene, Iago, who is Othello's flag bearer, pretends concern for Othello's reputation, but what he is really doing is playing on his general's insecurities about his age, race and ignorance of his adopted country's culture so that he can create doubt in the Moor's mind about his beloved's faithfulness.

At one point, Iago tells him, "Beware, my lord, of jealousy/ It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock/ The meat it feeds on." Iago's basic idea is that a man who suspects his wife of infidelity is caught between the jaws of affection and anxiety and, eventually the doubt could make him insane, even drive him to murder.

While I liked what Joe drew, the scene he depicted never occurred in the play. It did remind me of the scene in Act I where Iago tells Desdemona's father, "I am one, sir, that comes to tell you, your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs." However, even in that scene, he never actually physically spies on the lovers.

After I told Joe, he sent me a third prelim that better mirrored the situation. He kept the green-eyed monster, but now it mimics Sinestro, as if physically transferring Iago's jealousies into Othello. And I really like the way he symbolically incorporated Katma into the scene, her backward glance emphasizing the seeds of doubt being planted in her husband's heart.

I wrote back to Joe and told him that I believed we had found the look we were searching for. I can't wait to see how this turns out.

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About the Owner

	Timothy Finney
Joined:	August 2006
Last Login:	September 2025
Country:	JAPAN
On CAF:	Timothy's Want List Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

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Comments on this Artwork

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Will K
Member Since 2006

Posted on 3/23/2010

A prelim??? Except for the scan being a little rough, it could be a finished piece. Well done again, Mr. Finney !!!

Shannon Weathers
Member Since 2005

Posted on 3/23/2010

I love Othello and John Stewart, and I love this idea. Joe Staton has done a great job of capturing Othello's despair and Iago's evil.

Crees Tyler
Member Since 2008

Posted on 3/26/2010

this is sweet... ;) Congrats

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