Here's the first drawing, followed by Oliver's explanation, dictated directly to me:
One day a chief soldier brought his soldiers to this feasty, meaty giant that lived in Hallalooloo Land. Then the captain brought his big armored tank that has two machine guns, a big cannon fire and you can hold guns in it and soldiers work in it. He brought two helicopters. One was a big one holding two tanks, and the other was holding soldiers so they could hop on to the meaty, feasty giant and shoot him down. A soldier is putting black, hard balls into the cannon which goes straight to the meaty, feasty giant, and the two machine gun soldiers start firing as many bullets as they can at the terrible giant. One soldier is in a room with the chief, talking about how they could destroy the Giant. Two other soldiers are in a room that they're ready to come out of the ship and take their guns and shoot the Giant down.
Here is where the Giant fell down and three small helicopters come and pick him up from the ground. Then three other soldiers come and take the machine guns and start shooting at the Giant to make sure that they put him out of his misery. While they are doing that, the soldiers, who are not in the picture, are thinking of a place to put the Giant. They think they should put him in a castle that has barbed wire all around it and it has nothing in it. It's an empty place and they're going to put him in there. There are going to be two soldiers guarding the door that have bullet-proof vests. They have bullet-proof shields and bullet-proof helmets, and they have big, ginormous bazookas that shoot out ginormous rockets. The meaty, feasty Giant has chains on his feet that have a huge black ball so that he can't move. They have it on one of his arms. It looked like he was dead but he can come back to life so they have to be careful. One of the soldiers thought of putting handcuffs on him, but that's on another picture.
I'm glad to see that violence is a perfectly normal thing for boys to fantasize about. One of my two boys is completely obsessed with guns and ALL weapons. He makes sticks not just into guns, but swords, daggers, maces (!), etc. And he is only 4! Don't you love how all of the guys in the drawing are having the time of their lives? I always rationalize that I have twin boys being raised in the exact same environment and one has absolutely no interest in weapons so it is something innate...I don't have to worry that it was my fault and I have somehow exposed them to violent themes. But, of course, I worry!
ReplyDeletegreat story! full of danger and adventure. Love the artwork too.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me smile. I was a peace activist during the Vietnam war. When I was raising my son I was all about no violence. No toy guns, no TV shows that showed violence, nothing. So the kid used to hang his toys from the banister, making exploding noises. He would sword fight with the broom. It's in the DNA. I gave up after awhile!
ReplyDeleteAs the mother of two imaginative, creative and grown up boys, your post brought me such nice memories with my morning coffee. Thanks to you and Oliver for collaborating.
ReplyDeleteI can't get over the "meaty, feasty giant" description.
ReplyDeleteThat is totally original and rattles me ( I'm sure Oliver knows this is the latest way to say that something is way cool and wicked awesome)
The drawings and story are so detailed and well thought out. Maybe he'll design some over the top violent PS game soon and you won't have to move to Switzerland.
Is this the boy whose reading and writing you worried about?! With that kind of lively imagination they'll come. How wonderful to draw and illustrate stories like that! By the way, in my exotic land, we don't know the meaning of politically correct, and boys play with guns and bow&arrows, and girls with barbie dolls. My second born just turned 11, and he still likes to play with his crossbow, preferably inside our (small) house, and preferably aiming at the (glass) windows. Thank you Oliver for sharing your stories!
ReplyDeleteOh Gosh! Enter this in a contest for him!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well done. I'd say those pictures mean you are an honest and authentic parent.
ReplyDeleteBravo!
I like what @Suzyhayze has to say about you being an honest and authentic parent. You're obviously letting your son be HIMSELF, which is very, very cool.
ReplyDeleteHe's also quite a good artist and storyteller!
Either what Deb said, or he'll grow up and make movies. He's got an active imagination, doesn't he? Some things are just in our human nature, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteYep. When I was young and not yet a mama, I fantasized that my children would not be bound by gender roles. Boy. Was I surprised when reality hit me in the face on THAT subject.
ReplyDeleteThis is a magnificent collaboration.
I'm in way too much therapy: I wonder what that meaty, feasty giant represents...
ReplyDelete"One soldier is in a room with the chief, talking about how they could destroy the Giant. Two other soldiers are in a room that they're ready to come out of the ship and take their guns and shoot the Giant down."
It sounds like the two parents and the two children are doing whatever they can to defeat that Giant and keep him at bay. It also sounds like he knows that it won't be easy.
i live with a meaty, feasty giant. i had not yet considered addressing him with cannons. something to think about. thanks, oliver.
ReplyDeletebeautiful artwork.
ohmigoodness!
ReplyDeletethank you for sharing/collaborating the stories and illustrations. like a couple of your readers, I too, raised my children(girls) with no TV, lots of stories, nature, art projects etc etc etc. THEN, I had a son! What a riot, and what a difference. Up until then, I had thought that the mothers-of-sons made up a lot of excuses... hahaha, the little guy taught us a few things, and we are all much better for it (-; someone says that all the characters in the drawings are having the time of their lives, that made me laugh, and it is true. nothing like a good healthy adventure, no?
I like these unpolitically correct drawings... and the story as well ! Great artist !
ReplyDeleteI must say, I love this post for several reasons.
ReplyDeleteI love the words like "meaty, feasty" and "ginormous." They ahve such impact, in part because they sound good.
I love the artwork. Those helicopter line-drawings are amazingly descriptive using so few lines. And the catapult-bazooka-cannon things is just fantastic.
Well done, young man!
This reminds me so much of my son. He loves to tell stories too. My own son's fascination with weapons really threw me, but it does seem to come with having a boy, doesn't it? The drawing is really quite incredible and so creative!
ReplyDeletewow - major inventiveness and problem solving here :)
ReplyDeletewhat violence?