If you’re a fan of CGI comic art, you’ve doubtless heard of Pam Harrison’s House of the Muses: The Latter Days of Sappho of Lesbos. The series tells the story of Dika, a woman who studies at Sappho’s school on the island of Lesbos. While Dika learns how to use her power as an oracle, she meets the love of her life, a young woman named Timas. Pam got the idea for the story when she was studying Biblical Greek in college and happened on the works of Sappho. As she studied the fragments of poetry, she created a story based on what she read. Years later, when Pam learned computer graphics, she turned her story into House of the Muses.
When House of the Muses started, CGI comics was a relatively new genre and Pam’s contributions through the long-running series have earned her recognition as one of the best CGI comic artists in the field. She was also honored by Prism Comics as the recipient of its 2008 Queer Press Grant, which is fully funded by comic book fans and creators to help LGBT creators get their work out.
Now House of the Muses is winding down. Issue 9 is finished and scheduled for publication in December. But you can get a page-by-page preview at the comic’s website. And Pam announced a bonus a few weeks ago: Issue 10 will wrap up the story in 2012. The appeal of CGI comics eludes me, I admit. While I can see that Pam’s skill has improved dramatically over the course of House of the Muses as she has learned to work within the limitations of the software, I’m not sure I’ll ever be a fan of the art. But the story is a different, well, story. I got completely lost in the current issue as I previewed it this week. Dika’s tale is steamy and compelling – and the setting in Ancient Greece sets it apart from most lesbian fiction. Whatever Sappho’s original poetry was about, I have a feeling she would’ve loved House of the Muses.
Pam’s next project already has started – a sci-fi comic based on another story she started decades ago. A Deviant Mind is a futuristic tale featuring a lesbian named Tara with a problem. “Tara awakens in a regeneration tube with no recollection of who she is and where she comes from,” Harrison writes. “The insidious truth behind Tara’s amnesia is, she has a secret that makes her worth hunting – and it’s far more terrible than anyone could have imagined.” The fact that I thought those creatures were flashing something other than eyes says a lot more about my own deviant mind than Pam’s art. But I certainly look forward to reading the story.
Both comic series are available in e-book form for 99 cents each at wowio.com or by the page at houseofmuses.com.
Are you a House of the Muses fan? Is CGI comic art a genre that appeals to you or do you prefer traditional pen-and-ink comics? Will you explore A Deviant Mind?
