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Dragons are cool, aren't they? That's our subject for today, specifically the giant, monstrous beasties of myth, fantasy, and legend. They can be evil, they can be clever, they can be animalistic and wild, they can be friendly, they can be wise and all knowing, there's absolutely no common personality to dragons at all.
There's this old idea that there are “Western” and “Eastern” dragons in myth, that is simply nonsense and just a relic of an older way of looking at the world. The truth is that dragons are present in most cultures in some form. Famous dragons in myth are the ancient Germanic creatures like Jörmungand, Níðhöggr, or the dragons fought by Beowulf and Siegfried. There's the famous dragon that was slain by Saint George, the godly Celtic dragon that adorns the Welsh flag, there are many wise demigod Greek dragons, as well as the more animalistic Hydra. There's Tiamat from Mesopotamia, a more godly creature, and speaking of gods there's the Rainbow serpent from the Australian indigenous cultures who created all the world! The Mayans had Quetzalcoatl with its rainbow body and beautiful feathered wings. Then we have all the dragons from East Asia and Southeast Asia who can be outright godly and imperial or simply associated with elemental aspects of the landscape but this is barely scratching the surface. Dragons in culture are FAR richer than “East Vs West”.
What from do they take though, what defines are dragon? Well most dragons are serpentine and reptilian in form, with scales, large teeth, and an elongated body. they often have four limbs with claws, a pointed tail, and sometimes even wings, usually bat style but sometimes feathered. Those are not needed for a creature to BE a dragon though, the long serpentine form is enough. Dragons in modern pop-culture fantasy tend to have a long tail long neck, scales, a head covered in horns and or fins, a big body with four limbs, and a large pair of bat wings. They can be anything from cat sized to the size of a continent but are usually the size of a big house.
Fantasy gave us many notable dragons and fantasy art really lit my young brain aflame, with the wonderful imagery by the likes of Michael Whelen, David Roe, and so many more. As a child I was captivated by an image of “Smaug” on the cover of an ‘80s printing of Lord of the Rings. Later I was fascinated by the dragons in the stories by Ursula K. Le Guin, Anne McCaffery, Katherine Kerr, Terry Patchett, Gordon R Dickson and more. I’m sure many have fond memories of Dungeons and Dragons and the book series Dragonlance. Not to mention the great movies like Dragonslayer, How to train your Dragon, Dragonheart, A flight of Dragons, Raya the Last Dragon, The Hobbit, Reign of Fire, Jabberwocky, Game of Thrones and more.
Then of course there are human dragons! There were some dragons in myth that could take human form. Draco, who we get the name of “draconian” laws from was a Greek fellow with a draconian name. Vlad the Impaler's dad is supposed to have earned the title of “Dragon”, which is why we call him Dracula (son of the dragon) and where we get the fantasy horror vampire creature's name “Count Dracula”. A “dragon” in modern Greece is a particularly evil type of criminal (which I won't discuss here). A Dragon in US business language is a powerful investor. And a dragon-lady is usually a very intimidating and powerful Chinese woman. But my favourite human dragon is Haku from Spirited Away.
What is YOUR fave dragon? Is it from myth or fantasy? Do you even like dragons at all?
This week we have another best off from Gunwallace. Due to the dragon topic I selected Gunwallace's them to Dragonet from Quackcast 251! - It's best described as “Royal, commanding, and bleak”.
Topics and shownotes
Links
Featured comic:
GUZ - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2024/oct/07/featured-comic-guz/
Featured music:
Dragonet - http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Dragonet/ - by Willgun, rated E.
Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/
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Quackcast 709 - Dragons!
Ozoneocean at 12:00AM, Oct. 15, 2024
Banes,
Dragonet,
Dragons,
Drunk duck,
Featured comic,
featured music,
Gunwallace,
GUZ,
Ozoneocean,
Quackcast 709,
Tantz Aerine,
Webcomics hosting
8 likes!
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Ozoneocean at 6:26PM, Nov. 27, 2024
@jOHNcELESTRI- That's pretty cool!
JohnCelestri at 1:10PM, Oct. 18, 2024
Dragons are fun to draw! I used one in the first issue of my kids' comic "Snuffy & Zoey's Toybox Adventures: The Dragon and the Cupcake"!
plymayer at 11:17PM, Oct. 17, 2024
@Ozoneocean :)
Ozoneocean at 11:59PM, Oct. 16, 2024
@ Plymayer- that St George comic is amazing!
Ozoneocean at 5:13PM, Oct. 16, 2024
HAHAHA! *GROWN* :P
PaulEberhardt at 11:27AM, Oct. 16, 2024
You know what's the problem with some epic fantasy novels? - They tend to dragon. 😁 (Sorry, it just popped up in my head and I couldn't resist.)
Ozoneocean at 2:15AM, Oct. 16, 2024
@dpat- YUP! Guards Guards was the very first Discworld book I ever read! Back in 1991 I think...? LOVED it and loved all his novels from then on. Early Discworld was THE best! I think about Guards Guards every time I see nameless minions killed in movies- they all have families and lives so no one is ever a dispensable minion, which is the second reason I can't stand John Wick... But that's a side issue.
dpat57 at 1:55AM, Oct. 16, 2024
Pratchett, indeed. Guards! Guards! is a great intro to the Discworld series. Opening line: THIS IS WHERE THE DRAGONS WENT. And you have to admire Shrek's pal Donkey, not everyone can say they've f*cked a dragon.
plymayer at 9:14PM, Oct. 15, 2024
@Ozoneocean Fin Fang Foom started out as a monster but I remember him fighting Iron Man.
plymayer at 9:04PM, Oct. 15, 2024
https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/X_UP/5390116/
plymayer at 9:03PM, Oct. 15, 2024
The tale of George and the Dragon can be seen in my adaptation from 2012. www.theduckwebcomics.com/X_UP/5390116/
Ozoneocean at 9:02PM, Oct. 15, 2024
@Plymayer- I've never heard of that one!
plymayer at 8:59PM, Oct. 15, 2024
Don't forget about Fin Fang Foom An extraterrestrial creature resembling a dragon. First appeared in Strange Tales #89 (cover-dated Oct. 1961), and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Ozoneocean at 7:15PM, Oct. 15, 2024
@Paul- OH! I wasn't really aware of that one but I was sort of aware at the edges of my awareness.
Ozoneocean at 7:13PM, Oct. 15, 2024
@Banes- OMG you come up with the best titles! Damn...
Ozoneocean at 7:12PM, Oct. 15, 2024
@Tantz- LOve him!
Ozoneocean at 7:12PM, Oct. 15, 2024
@Marco- I always thought "pen" meant "next to" like "penultimate"? Either way good point!
PaulEberhardt at 10:05AM, Oct. 15, 2024
I'm sure I've got some normal classic dragons among my favourites, too, not just original takes on them. Just because I'm not so good at remembering them as the others doesn't mean I don't think they're awesome, too.
PaulEberhardt at 9:50AM, Oct. 15, 2024
Well said! Dragons are awesome, no matter where they're from! I've got several favourite dragons for that reason, who couldn't be more different if I tried. For instance, I'm not at all ashamed to say I have a soft spot for the Dragonriders of Pern series, even if I confined myself to a strict selection. At the same time, another all-time favourite dragon novel of mine has got to be The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick - even if it isn't entirely clear whether the dragon is an actual dragon in the usual sense. There: as I said, the latter is a totally different cup of tea, and strong stuff at that. Then again, my next-to favourite single dragon is Scales from Diana Wynne Jones' Dark Lord of Derkholm, who is narrowly beaten by an old dragon friend remembered from the Duck's Drunk Days, called George: https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/George_the_Dragon/ Wonder how Loud_G is doing these days.
Banes at 8:55AM, Oct. 15, 2024
Here there be Quackcasts!
dragonsong12 at 7:20AM, Oct. 15, 2024
In my first comic, dragons were cats! Furry with feathered wings! They were a lot of fun! But I accept all dragons as valid. I am a fan of them, no matter how they are.
Tantz_Aerine at 5:25AM, Oct. 15, 2024
Haku from Spirited Away is by far my favorite one too.
marcorossi at 4:31AM, Oct. 15, 2024
In addition to Dracula's dad, also King Arthur was known as Arthur "Pendragon", which meant something like "dragon head", because his father Uther "Pendragon" fought in front of the battle lines and thus earned the nickname, as he was the "head" of the army and thus the dragon. (source: I spent last year playing the Pendragon RPG; which is very cool).
Ozoneocean at 3:51AM, Oct. 15, 2024
@Kawaii! Awww Puff the Magic Dragin always made me cry when I was little. Falkor was the coolest ever!
kawaiidaigakusei at 1:25AM, Oct. 15, 2024
Dragons ARE cool. I like Puff the Magic Dragon, Smaug, and Falkor.