From Go West Young Warrior, part 1, of the #Xena Virtual Season, here’s a close-up of King Gabriel’s map of the Atlantic ocean, based on the best data available to him. When designing this map, I imagined that he commissioned Hispanian cartographers, which is to say, Romans, since Rome is ascendant at this point of in the show. Therefore the most important latitude is Circulus Romanus (a name I made up) which is the latitude that runs through the city of Rome.

I also made up the Roman name for the Tropic of Cancer, Circulus Soltitialis, which was pointless, as it turned  out, because they also called it the Tropic of Cancer! I chose map names like “Khan” to refer to the original pitch for #Xena, as a hero pursued by Khan the warlord. I included Higuchi, since Xena had been there, & it was the easternmost city they knew of. 

Lo Lang is imo the Korean equivalent of Japa (for Japan) & Ch’in, (for China). I was trying to plant the idea that #Xena might go there in a possible future episode. Of course, the show never used naps like this. Anything on a scroll was usually abstract in nature. You didn’t see readable words or recognizable maps.

The only time I recall an accurate map was when #Xena traveled to Ch’in in The Debt, & that was an animated insert, not a physical prop Xena was reading.

So you may ask: why is King Gabriel of all people in this episode? I have a theory, that we’ll learn about in part 2.

For me, the most exciting part of the #Xena Virtual Season was the 4-episode arc that concluded season 7. King Gabriel (the baby foundling from season 1’s Cradle of Hope) allies with Hispania to explore the Atlantic & find a western route to Ch’in. Who better than Xena & Gab for such a bold venture?

Gabrielle needs no convincing that the Earth is round (this was known to Greeks), but Xena isn’t so sure. Think of the access to cures from Ch’in if a western route turned out to be quicker & easier than the silk trail, Gabriel urges them.

I can’t remember what the statue in the back represented, but it was taken from an actual model. It may have been a Greek or Roman goddess related to their voyage, possibly. Amphitrite, wife of Poseidon maybe? Tomorrow I’ll post a close-up of Gabriel’s Atlantic map seen here on the table.

We Who Are About to Die, a #Xena Virtual Season 7 2-parter, culminated in a confrontation between archangel Michael & and one-eyed Hercules. In the back, you can see a wall crumbling on him. I liked the idea of a confrontation with Michael, it seems what he was made for.

I don’t recall Herc’s circumstances, but he seemed to have gone through some things. Keep in mind this was season 7, & he was last seen nearly 2 seasons prior. The ep opened with a fight between Eve & Herc in the arena, & that was a missed illustration opportunity for me.

Another from We Who Are About to Die, a #Xena Virtual Season 7 ep from 2002. Here, Gab, disguised as Gahilda (queen of the north—maybe the Picts?) faces off against archangel Michael, who feels Xena has failed as Defender of the faith, & wants Gab to play that role, but Gab has other ideas. 

You can see that Gab still has the dragon tattoo of the dragon on her back, from Japa. I made a mistake with Michael’s wings, though. I made them a classic grey color, but on the show, archangels have odd green wings. I didn’t understand why, at the time, so I disregarded that detail, but I 

now believe it’s very important, in fact, that ties in with Eve & Eli!

From the #Xena Virtual Season, the gladiator-themed We Who Are About to Die ep. This was my only ep with Eve, who is forced to be a gladiator against Gab-in-disguise. I think I got this wrong because I gave her Livia’s look, instead of using the editorial team’s model sheet for her. 

I’m going to see if I can make a new drawing this weekend to fix that. Also, the action is correct, but not the attitude: Eve should be reluctant to fight. I have to say: this ep foreshadowed RenPic’s involvement in Spartacus, years later.

Towards the end of my time in the #Xena Virtual Season 7, I had less time to illustrate a full ep, so I worked with a team of illustrators, which was a lot of fun. I supplied inspirational references, & made model sheets when needed. This was a 2-parter inspired by season 6’s The God You Know, & the Norse trilogy.

Titled We Who Are About to Die, in which #Xena, Gab, Eve , Hercules, Beowulf & archangel Michael all appear in combat, there were no scenes that weren’t awesome to illustrate. Gab disguises herself as a Nordic queen,  & the model sheet I made outlines a simple version of her gold costume. Usually the editorial staff supplies the costume model sheets, but in this case, I needed to design this one, which is roughly similar to Grunhilda’s silver costume in the Norse triligy.

This final drawing from Truth or Dare, from the #Xena Virtual Season 7, shows Gab reading her scrolls about Warrior…Princess, I believe, the ep that this story is a sequel to.  That’s the princess on the right, Diana, 25 years later or so. Since she’s a Xena look-alike, that was my 2002 impression of what #Xena would look like right about now. I guess if you squint your eyes (a lot) , she almost looks a little like Lucy in My Life is Murder? 

From the Truth or Dare episode for the #Xena Virtual Season 7, this is a flashback showing Gab’s progress with the staff. I chose this scene because it gave me a chance to depict Gab’s famous “bilious green bra”. (I muted the color since this is a hazily bright memory). I love the foreshortened staff up the guy’s nose!

Shortly after Battle of Amphipolis, I illustrated another #Xena Virtual Season  ep by the same author: Truth or Dare, which explored Gabrielle’s younger days. I changed my style & added color this time. This scene shows a 12 year old Gab meeting a traveling bard, Thea, in her 30s who encourages Gab to believe in herself & her dreams.

My task was to portray a bard who exuded confidence & fearless independence, qualities that Gab herself would demonstrate in #Xena’s pilot ep. I don’t remember if I based Thea on an actress, or just tried to summon those qualities & that’s what I ended up with. She’s described as blond, but red-gold hair seemed right. To me, this looks more like an animation cell, than a comic book panel.

I’ll wrap up the #Xena Virtual Season ep I illustrated, The Battle of Amphipolis, with this drawing, which I believe is the 1st one in the story: Xena & Gabrielle return to Amphipolis a year after the events of season 6’s Haunting of Amphipolis to find the city now flourishing.

It’s Winter Solstice, so I included market place details reflecting that: moon pies, sun cookies, & a villager dressed as Chronos (aka Father Time). I believe #Xena & Gab are dressed in outfits designed by the editorial staff, which I used for reference.

Back in 2020, after I 1st got the idea to write up my Rock of Ages idea, I looked for a shorter #Xena project that’d help me ease into the challenge. I remembered I could’ve done much better to live up to this script, so I decided to give it another try.

I reread it, took notes, assembled references & screenshots, & incorporated all I learned about #Xena over the years, which is way more than I knew at the time. I realized I could recognize references the writer used from the show that I didn’t catch at the time, & I could add layers by tying it in further.

By the time I was ready to start drawing, I hit upon a workable approach for my own script, & that took priority, but I’m still intrigued by the idea. In the scene above, I’d add more detail to the market so it included references to a later Amphipolis ep, Heart of Darkness. 

There, we see Eve preach to the villagers, & set up an Elijian church in town. So here, I’d add some Elijian touches, such as fish-shaped baked goods, heart & dove shaped items & figurines that resemble what we’d recognize as magi, in green.

The only thing I think the story is missing to make it an authentic tv ep is a more explicit portrayal of the warlord threatening the town. It doesn’t need to be in the script, but as illustrator I could’ve filled in that gap with distinctive designs of the invaders that brought them to life, no dialogue needed.