What I find frustrating is the constant depiction of Barsoomians with belly-buttons, when ERB clearly wrote that they didn’t have one due to their oviparous births. Don’t artists read their source material?
I agree. Though I’m sure they are fans, I’m not sure artists do read very closely. The Tharks middle limbs can be used for legs as well as arms, but everyone falls back on human anatomy and goes with a torso. Granted, Michael Whelan made TWO torsos, but that always looked kinda goofy to me. Few artists want to put the eyes on the side of the head, either, it seems.
September 18th, 2011 at 9:31 pm
What I find frustrating is the constant depiction of Barsoomians with belly-buttons, when ERB clearly wrote that they didn’t have one due to their oviparous births. Don’t artists read their source material?
September 18th, 2011 at 10:31 pm
I agree. Though I’m sure they are fans, I’m not sure artists do read very closely. The Tharks middle limbs can be used for legs as well as arms, but everyone falls back on human anatomy and goes with a torso. Granted, Michael Whelan made TWO torsos, but that always looked kinda goofy to me. Few artists want to put the eyes on the side of the head, either, it seems.