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Joel Merriner

@joelmerriner.bsky.social

630 followers 340 following 280 posts

Doctor of art history, Illustration Tutor at Falmouth University, author of Illustrating The Lord of the Rings in the Soviet Bloc, adventures in '80s fandom and the visual Legendarium

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Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 8h

"I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse," In 1989 Èduard Zarjanskij channelled several famous #Tolkien photos to create this super-cool but distinctly Sicilian pic for the back of Raduga's Russian translation of The Fellowship of the Ring. The forged signature adds an extra little thrill

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Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 3d

Thank you Miriam, all going well! 😀

Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 3d

Wow, thank you so much for that, that's lovely to hear! I feel very privileged to be able to tell these guy's stories and bring their work to a new audience 😀

Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 3d

Thanks Brian! Really hope you enjoy it, and I make no promises that it won't spark further purchases...🤪😉

Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 6d

Such a lovely painting!

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Reposted by Joel Merriner

Miriam Ellis @miriamellis.bsky.social · 8d

Thanks to everyone for celebrating #Tolkien #HobbitMonth with me! This was fun and I enjoyed your lovely comments each day.

If you enjoyed my paintings, perhaps you'd like to add my book to your honored Tolkien shelves. Happy Hobbit Month, my friends, and keep sharing the good lore!

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Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 8d

If you've just followed me, or have been tracking my #Tolkien art adventures for a while, I'd like to thank you all! Keep checking back regularly if you want art historical chat, punk orc sketches, book talk and classic pics like this: Angus McBride's Denizens of the Dark Wood MERP cover (1989) 💀

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Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 10d

Wow, thank you! I hope you both enjoy it! 😀

Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 10d

I like it!

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Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 14d

Elrond's just heard "last orders" at the bar. Bilbo's just relieved he isn't dead 😅

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Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 14d

Nicholas Bayrachny created some evocative imagery for the 1996 Belarusian #Hobbit translation. Here's four great examples: blond, bearded Elrond ponders the moon letters, Brezhnev-eyebrowed Smaug loses his cool, Bard, Gandalf and Thranduil keep the Arkenstone, little Bilbo post-battle #Tolkien

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Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 16d

Thanks for the mention Marcel! 😁

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Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 17d

Thanks! It will be released in paperback in the not too distant future also 😁

Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 17d

Thanks Jeremy, hope you enjoy it! 😁

Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 17d

Thank you!

Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 19d

Could be!

Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 20d

Excellent, and really fitting considering how the earliest Soviet Russian translation was presented as a sci-fi tale complete with added scientists and engineers! Translator Zinaida Bobyr' had already reimagined several of Clarke's earlier works for a Soviet audience, so was familiar with him.

Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 20d

My book Illustrating The Lord of the Rings in the Soviet Bloc is released into the wild today! Here's a quick peek at a few more pages, artwork here by Győző Vida, Yassen Panov, Alexander Korotich and Sergei Iukhimov #Tolkien www.bloomsbury.com/uk/illustrat...

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Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 21d

Yes, that's a bit much don't you think? 🐺

Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 21d

"Are there no leeches among you?" Imrahil spots that Éowyn isn't dead, as embarrassed Rohirrim look on. No, sorry this is Valkyrie's Death (1880) by Norwegian historical/mythological painter Peter Nicolai Arbo (1831-1892). Note late-to-the-battle Radagast pinching back his brown cloak 😆 #Tolkien

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Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 22d

🤪😨

Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 22d

Very cool indeed! 😀

Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 22d

Today's doodle drawn whilst engaged in a L-O-N-G and convoluted phone call to HMRC...Misty Mountains Goblin Spear-Lad Chanter of the Severed Hand-Stump Clan, complete with tax code top right 🤪💀 #Tolkien

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Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 22d

Absolutely!

Joel Merriner @joelmerriner.bsky.social · 22d

It's a good one!