Corum: Difference between revisions

[[File:corum_1981.jpg|frame|Corum as depicted by [[Mike Mignola]].]]

 

 

 

The Corum series is composed of two distinct trilogies. The first trilogy involves the war of [[Order Versus Chaos]], with the Lords of Chaos warring with the Lords of Law for control of the world. Having seen his entire race destroyed at the whim of the Knight of the Swords and the hands of the newly arrived race of Man (or Mabden, as the series refers to them)-- with he left alive but maimed as the [[Last of His Kind]]-- Corum and later his allies, find themselves caught in the middle of a war between Gods and primal forces, with only their wits--and some strange gifts Corum recieved from a sorcerer--to aid them. Major themes of the series include--in addition to the obvious [[Order Versus Chaos]]--civilisation vs barbarism, the whims of the gods, and whether one person can in fact, challenge a blind and deaf universe.

* The Sword and the Stallion (1974)

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* [[A God Am I]]: The delusion of [[Evil Sorcerer]] Shool.

* [[Bigger Bad]]: Chaos proper in the original trilogy.

* [[Biological Mashup]]: The Chaos pack, which is composed of former humans mutated into animals courtesy of their allegiance to Chaos.

* [[The Blank]]: Mabelrode the Faceless, the King of the Swords. There's a reason he's called that. {{spoiler|It's because [[Captain Obvious|he has no face!]]}}

* [[Body Surf]]: Shool switches bodies constantly.

* [[Heroic Albino]]: Elric in the [[Crossover]].

* [[Hordes From the East]]: The Mabden.

* [[Human Resources]]: Duke Teer's castle is built of blood.

* [[Interspecies Romance]]: Sort of expected given that Corum's the last of his kind. His falling for the Margravine Rhalina, a Mabden woman, seriously helps him to alter his views of the species.

* [[Order Versus Chaos]]: What the original trilogy is built around. The coming of the Lords of Chaos led to the destruction of the Vadhagh and Nadragh as Arioch, Xiombarg, and Mabelrode wiped the slate clean of creations they felt had grown stagnant. This puts the balance so far out of whack however, that the Chaos Lords are free to do as they please, resulting in constant social change and violence in Arioch's realm to an entire world that constantly shifts form in Mabelrode's. Corum and his allies struggle to restore the Lords of Law in an effort to end this, while the neutral Cosmic Balance ensures that no one on either side gets too far out of line.

* [[Our Elves Are Better]]: The Vadhagh are long-lived, magically talented, artistic, and peaceful rather than the creepy amoral [[Fair Folk]] the [[Elric|Melniboneans]] are. The Nhadragh also seem to be elf or High Men types.

* [[Physical God]]: Arioch, Xiombarg, and Mabelrode of Chaos; Arkyn and his fellow Lords of Law; The Dog and The Horned Bear (the Mabden gods); Kwll and Rhynn.

* [[Pride Before a Fall]]: The Vadhagh and Nhadragh were destroyed because they could not believe that the Mabden, whom they saw as little more than animals-- Corum even refers to a group of them as a herd-- could ever threaten them. This caused them to ignore the rumours of Mabden attacks on their neighbours, dismissing the stories until it was too late.

* [[Revenge]]: Let's see: Corum wants revenge on Glandyth for his maiming and the deaths of his family. Glandyth wants revenge on Corum for escaping him, making him look like a jackass, and subsequently, destroying his kingdom and driving him into hiding. Queen Xiombarg wants revenge on Corum for the death of Duke Arioch. King Mabelrode subsequently needs to avenge himself on Corum for the death of Xiombarg. Needless to say, there's a lot of revenging going on here.

* [[Shape Shifter]]: Many of the Lords of Chaos, most notably Arioch, who transforms from a fat, naked, drunken giant into the quintessential [[Aristocrats Are Evil|Evil Aristocrat]] in about ten seconds flat.