The images below present Virgil Finlay’s interpretation of Cordwainer Smith’s character C’Mell, from the wonderful tale “The Ballad of Lost C’Mell”, as depicted on the cover and as the lead interior illustration of the October, 1962, issue of Galaxy Science Fiction.
“This” post being one of my earlier (earliest?) at WordsEnvisioned (dating back to April of 2017 – hey, time not only flies, it accelerates!), I thought it worthy of revision.
So, I perused the web for other images of C’Mell, of which there are many, inevitably varying in style, quality, and appeal.
And, I found what I was searching for.
One of the most interesting interpretations of C’Mell can be viewed at BlueTyson’s Cordwainer Smith (ology). The site features an imaginative and subtle portrait of Smth’s character, which – with a kind of animae look – strikingly emphasizes C’Mell’s cat origin, specifically via brilliantly green feline eyes. (Pointed cat ears? – not so much!) The portrait, created by artist Lia Chan, appears (?) to have been created using a combination of colored pencils and water color.
Lia Chan’s depiction of C’Mell has been appended to this post, and appears below Finlay’s black & white interior illustration from Galaxy.
Scroll on down…
She got the which of the what-she-did,
Hid the bell with a blot, she did,
But she fell in love with a hominid.
Where is the which of the what-she-did?
(Cordwainer Smith)
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Illustrations by Virgil Finlay
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Preliminary sketch for cover art. Source unknown – possibly (!) from “Virgil Finlay-Beauty (& occ. beast)“, at pinterest.
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Image from “Tomorrow & Beyond – Images from other worlds, other dimensions and other times.”
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The finished product, published as the cover of Galaxy Science Fiction, October, 1962.
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C’mell: page 9
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C’Mell, by Lia Chan