Lions & Velons is a unique mini-dictionary that explores even further the books and narratives illustrated by Neil Hague. It is ‘more than a dictionary’ or bestiary, it is an extraordinary companion to the stories of ‘dualistic forces’ that have battled for eons across many worlds. In this highly original and personal work, Neil gives further insight into the ‘characters and creatures’ that appear in his illustrated books Kokoro and Moon Slayer.
Alphabetically presented, we are taken ‘behind the scenes’ and ‘across a myriad of star systems’ to encounter the different ‘lions and velons’, the ‘opposing forces’ that have battled over Earth since the beginning of time. We are introduced to new characters while familiar ones are embellished further as Neil visually explains the Gnostic myths of Sophia and how worlds are formed and worlds are ‘possessed’ by the entities called the Velon or Jinn. Like a shaman taking us into otherworldly landscapes, Lions & Velons illustrates the many gods, goddesses, suns and planets all engulfed in an ‘epic war of the Heavens’.
Through Neil’s unique style of imagery we are introduced in more detail to the ‘Lions of Durga’, the Velon, Lord Marduk, the Priests of Saturn, the Owls Ships of Urza, and the Eagle Warriors of Uthorna and Atlantis. In the spirit of William Blake’s personal myths and books, such as Albion (Four Zoas), through to modern day Science Fiction film and literature, Lions & Velons un-packs the ‘multidimensional’, ‘highly imaginary’ and ‘informative worlds’ of the artist and Illustrator Neil Hague.