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.

Toris embraces the grandchildren he thought were lost, in Battle of Amphipolis, a #Xena Virtual Season ep I illustrated 21 years ago. Here, Toris is about the same age as “Old Joxer”, & the actor has been aged to match the description in the script. Of course, the actor, Joseph Kell, is now that very age, & looks in great shape! Same with Ted Raimi, who looks nothing like Old Joxer, despite being the same age.

Older #Xena fans may identify with both Xena & Toris in this story: this time, it’s Xena who resents Toris for not looking in on mom often enough instead of the other way around in season 2’s Death Mask.