To my readers......

SITE UPDATE NOTICE

Thanks for visiting mitchmen, home of Mitchell's Gay Art

The Caps and Collars/ Flat Cap Gang story at Google Groups has been on a break since January,
I am working on it and hope to resume shortly. (see Group News for link)

Link to the Royale Studio Archive in the right sidebar


Message updated 6th Sept 2024

Tuesday, 29 November 2022

101 Uses For A Belt - No 10 Man Bag Holder

builders humiliation naked on a roof

  Of course, butch workmen don't like to advertise the fact, but a man bag is an essential accessory for holding their tools. For example, when they have to work in difficult-to-access places leaving their toolboxes behind.

It is particularly useful for working at heights but becomes essential where their clothes with their handy pockets have been removed. This happens more often than you might think. On very hot summer days stripping off is natural and hunky blokes like to show off their physiques - but only the half above the waist usually.

Jeans removal is the domain of extreme show-offs, but when a builder has to work, out in the open, totally naked it can only mean one of the following things:

1. He lost a drunken bet
2. He's a victim of some practical jokers on the site
3. The disgruntled foreman is demonstrating his authority.
(Perhaps to stop him disappearing to place a bet or grab a pint)
4. A client with perverse interests has spotted him doing wrong 
or secretly frequenting a gay bar or has some other hold over him.

His resentful look suggests his naked state has been forced on him.
At least his man bag can come to his rescue as a modesty device - in some positions - if he's lucky.
But, to be fair, taking photographs of the poor man's humiliation is really rubbing it in.

For other belt uses, click on the label below

Saturday, 26 November 2022

Abduction Art by Jero

Naked muscle hunk asleep in bed kidnapped by alien intruders at nightlked as an experiment with his own bat
Jero - Baseball Jock 1

I think this series probably ought to be entitled, 'The Baseball Jock's Dream' since it features a strikingly handsome man's intimate experiences with some little green men. I don't normally favour fetish scenarios with cartoon characters, but in this day and age these gremlin-like creatures are probably a safer bet as purveyors of mischief than the diminutive humanoids which I've featured in a couple of posts in the recent past. Anyway, this guy is so hunky I couldn't resist bringing him into the fold. Even without the invaders this image of him fast asleep in a vulnerable position with the window wide open would make a pleasing erotic statement all by itself.


Naked muscle hunk kidnapped by aliens and bound with metal, iron fetters to an X-framemilked as an experiment with his own bat
Jero - Baseball Jock 2

Jero doesn't show us how the gremlins transported their acquisition to this lab-like installation. That process might have been interesting, but that's dreams for you. The end result, with the bemused hunk spread wide and secured in an X-frame by expensive-looking stainless steel fetters, is very satisfactory, however.

The kidnappers have brought the jock's bat with them, it was leaning up against the wall in picture 1, (note the logo inscription). Now it adds an element of menace to the mystery of why they kidnapped him. 

The X-restraint arrangement is fairly familiar from other artists' renderings, but it's been given a pleasing polish-up and colour make-over that's co-ordinated with the green hue of the latest users. 
All very gay. 



Naked muscle hunk kidnapped by aliens and milked as an experiment with his own bat
Jero - Baseball Jock 3

 It turns out the LGMen only(!) want the bat as a probe. They are primarily interested in checking out the jocks plumbing (aren't we all?). The athlete proves able to accommodate the bulbous tool - with understandable difficulty but it's the results that count most in sporting endeavours and his spurt of excitement clearly delights the experimenters. It's the orgasmic arching of his body that grabs me

There are also comic versions of frames 2 and 3 with dialogue. Yes, they speak English, it is a dream after all! It ends with the kidnappers intent on making further investigations of the area as part of their scientific investigations of human physiology. Looks like a long night for the hero. 

~

I haven't featured Jero here before but I will show more in the future, his art not only features extremely hunky characters being put through the mill, but he also seems to capture vivid responses which convey their plight in a way that seems very real despite (or maybe it's because of) the way he blends cartoonery into more conventional images.

Jero has a gallery at Deviant Art and a Twitter page

Wednesday, 23 November 2022

Rex - Nurses & Doctors

 

man strapped down in gas mask breath control, catheter, syringe injection, medics, lab technicials, black rubber gloves, bdsm

This image by the great fetish artist Rex shows a crop-haired, mature-looking 'patient' strapped down to a chair under bright lights. With a face mask controlling his breathing and clips squeezing his pecs, unable to move or speak, he watches with horror as an attendant administers a liquid to him through an unconventional orifice. A second medic steadies the receptacle, standing by with a syringe in his hand. It's an image that has a sense of laboratory experimentation rather than medical assistance and the black rubber gloves suggest dark intentions, but we can only imagine what they might be.

~

There's another medical scene by this artist in my A-Z article about Rex

Further posts with a medical flavour at mitchmen blog 
can be found by clicking the 'medical' label at the foot of the post. 

Sunday, 20 November 2022

Royale Studio Models - Peter George 3, Nudes

 You can read this series of mitchmen posts about Peter George, 
the 1960's Royale Studio model, from the start by going to Part 1

Peter George (in Royale Studio set 4-PUN) Catalogue Image

Peter's 3rd solo set for Royale Studio was 4-PUN.
It was a nude set and appeared in the catalogue in 1959.

nude naked modesty


This is a slightly better version of the catalogue image. Photographed naked against a black background, Peter's trademark, 'little boy lost' look is amplified by the self-conscious, modestly crossed hands. His beefy physique shows up well here but it's no surprise after the glimpses of his bulk we saw in the preceding post about the 2-PUN set.



Manual magazine posted two images from the set in their December 1959 issue but decided it was better to suggest that Peter was in fact clothed. I suppose a suspicious mind might see sexual innuendo in the close proximity of hands and uncovered groin but it's a telling indication of the sensitive nature of gay publishing in this era. 



Interestingly, 'Man Alive' and 'Model Man' had both already published the uncensored version of one of these pictures earlier in the same year, in Spring 1959. Perhaps this boldness had led to seizures of the magazine by the Police in which case Manual's caution may have been well advised. Their reference to his military connections perhaps less so.



Royale's catalogue description tells us there were 20 pictures in this set, but I have unearthed many more than 20 nude studies of Peter on the internet so there must have been at least one later set with nude poses. However, without thumbnail sheets, they are almost impossible to separate. 

   There is a clue to dating these pictures in the publication dates of magazines in which they first appeared. I can trace many back to 1959 this way and they all have solid black backgrounds. Those with lighter coloured back grounds (also included below) appeared a year or two later, but it's not a fool proof technique.   

I have grouped them together here and made a selection of the best images for this post. My complete collection can be seen in Peter George folder in the mitchmen Royale Studio Open Archive (link pending). 



Peter's beefiness also comes to the fore in this splendid image, one of his best, I think. 
Peter's rear is a delight in the storyettes, but this first example we've seen of his backside, full on and completely unclothed. Classically posed with a sword like an ancient warrior he looks formidable, but very, very naked. His oiled skin and wasp waist are deliciously sexy.




In this contrasting view of his physique, a more down-to-earth, youthful-looking Peter wistfully eyes a miniature copy of an ancient statue and copies the pose, as though wishing he were equally well endowed. Such modesty. 

Royale's description of '20 nudes' employed the customary 50's cloak of artistic modelling. But whilst the catalogue image and the warrior (above) with their noble poses, do have a touch of Classical Greek statuary about them, this picture is clearly situated in the present. The statue device was quite common in the beefcake photography of the era representing the double nostalgia for an idyllic era when male beauty was valued and (it was believed) that men had been free to love openly whoever they pleased.

This picture differs from most of its companions in containing rather daring, erotic references which are cleverly disguised by the shadows. That's a walking stick Peter is holding and its curved handle, held between forefinger and thumb (and easily mistaken for a thumb) is a striking phallic substitute in its own right. Its message is reinforced by Peter's rigid forefinger resting on the stock in a way that is inexplicably but unmistakeably suggestive of stroking. Amazingly, this picture was published by Man Alive in June 1959, perhaps no-one noticed!




The use of classical columns has the same intent as the statue, transporting the model to a time when restraints were fewer and distancing the naked body from the disapproval of 1950's UK society. However, a naked bottom seated on, and moulded by, a flat surface is not without sexual interest and the punning, double meaning of 'sitting on a column' would have been quite obvious to viewers of an era when normal gay language was necessarily laden with innuendo.

It's worth remembering that these pictures taken in 1959, two years after the Wolfendon report had recommended decriminalising homosexual acts in the UK, giving hope to the gay population, but legislation to enact it was still 8 years in the future. The ending of magazine censorship and indecency laws that enabled Police to continue persecuting gay men was even further off. In 1959, the Police could easily have found a reason to have broken into this photo shoot and exposed everyone involved. 



This image is less controversial, and it also seems to have a classical inspiration
 in the famed, Greek discus thrower sculpture. 

(Or you might see it as a naked man fleeing from a pursuer on a dark night.)


Peter George (in Royale Studio set 4-PUN) 06

Other pictures in the set are less formal. The boy in the man is disturbingly apparent in this shy, relaxed pose. Boy-love was an unfortunate adjunct of the gay idyl of Ancient Greece and gay mags began to flirt with it more and more openly in the 60's. The imagery doesn't float my boat, but according to the Royale blurb Peter was perfectly legal by modern standards at 21.


Peter George (in Royale Studio set 4-PUN) 05

This 'baby on the mat' pose exploits the same interest using a distinctly provocative camera angle, adding a smile and getting in close. The result is a massive magnification of the eroticism inherent in nudity into what seems like a seductive invitation to bed the model. 


Peter George (in Royale Studio set 4-PUN) 07

This stiff, formal pose is not devoid of erotic allure but is more manly. It has a controlled, submissive quality expressed by the kneeling position with tightly tucked legs. Something akin to a patient awaiting the Doctor's inspection - with a degree of curiosity and apprehension, methinks. 

The overt presentation of the rear view seems less inviting here thanks to the obstruction presented by the model's feet. His wrinkled soles are invitation enough for worshippers of such things, but they also form an opening that works like a reflection of the parted cheeks just above and allows just enough access for naughtiness.... 


Peter George (in Royale Studio set 4-PUN) 08

I feel I'm being reprimanded for my lewd imaginings here. It's virtually the same pose but with that expectant tension released. It transforms the sitter back into the independent, proud man we saw in the opening images. 

His clenched fists seem to clamp down on those erotic innuendos almost as if he is saying, "Is that it? I've had enough". Taking back control of the session from the photographer.

He's still a most desirable young man in his nakedness, but evidently not a pushover.

~

The next group of images are those I have characterised as having lighter backgrounds and believe to have originated a year or two later than the 'black' set. It is possible that they are related to the 'bamboo' (mostly) pouch-clad set which I appended to the 2-PUN pouch set in the previous post in this mitchmen series.

Peter George (in Royale Studio set 4-PUN) 02

This pose is the traditional bodybuilder's, beefcake pose. 
Peter's muscularity is less dramatic in this group,
 but his ass looks cuter if anything - ample compensation.
I'm not sure what's happened to his hair! 

(This image appeared in 'Man Alive' No 18 around the end of 1961, it's the earliest fix I have currently got for these nudes that are set against a lighter coloured background - with squiggly hair which also seems a defining characteristic. You can see his hair is very orderly and elaborately styled in the previous 'dark' picture.)


Peter George (in Royale Studio set 4-PUN) 01


Another discus-thrower sort of pose and appropriately enough Peter is standing on a disc - even if he is not holding one. I suppose the plinth reassures suspicious types that it's art and he's not bending down for any other reason. It also accentuates the sense of him being put on display for others to inspect.


Peter George as The Thinker (in Royale Studio set 4-PUN) 03

A take on 'The Thinker' completes these classically influenced poses. 
It's lighter in tone than the rather intense (nay miserable) original Thinker by Rodin. 
More like a teenager worrying about his homework (or missing time with his pals).

This image from Grecian Guild Studio Quarterly 22 (1967).

Other pictures in this sets strike an even more playful tone.


Peter George (in Royale Studio set 4-PUN) 04

The contrast between those classically inspired images and this 'baby on the mat' pose (also classic in its own way I suppose) could not be more striking. This image is a nicely crafted composition, but it seeks an emotional response rather than an academic appreciation of the male physique with the model making eye contact with the viewer. 

However, this image is not openly inviting like the 'black' variant we saw earlier. Instead, Peter's expression suggests we have stumbled in on a private moment and caught him by surprise. Inevitably it brings out all the boyishness in him, but this is clearly a young man not an immature youth.

The bold shadowing in this particular picture is also seen in some of the other pictures in this 'light' group (not shown here but included in the archive). It is similar to that seen in the 'bamboo pole' set in Part 2, leading me to think they may be connected.

Image from Manorama No 14 (Nov 1963)



Despite its informal sitting pose, this image is firmly focussed on Peter's physique as witness the tensed, indrawn stomach muscles. However, the oily finish shows an attractive, mellow musculature under the studio lights. His arm and thigh muscles are nicely highlighted and the grooves defining his abs are positively sexy, but his upright posture and steely gaze offers no invitation to hanky panky. That vanilla neutrality seems to characterise all of this group.

The image is from Jr. magazine No 41 (1971) which gives you a sense of Peter's lasting popularity.




To conclude, a final image from the 'dark' set showing Peter seated and looking a little sad and lonely. The 'lonely boy' was a classic characterisation of the era and still has resonance today. The speckles on the picture are defects in the magazine print but fortuitously create the sense of a cloudless starry night under which a young man sits wistfully. As ever, his cherubic face belies a physique of some substance, here highlighting his chunky thighs. 

The positioning of his clenched right fist might be considered as an indication that his nocturnal musings have a taken earthy direction.

This image from Fizeek No 4 (Dec 1959)

~

 To date I have found 25 nude images of Peter, not including the one in the 'bamboo pole' set in Part 2. It's too many to include here and some are of inferior quality. but the Peter George folder in the mitchmen Open Archive of Royale Studio photographs contains them all.
Link Pending

The survey of this model's work continues in Part 4 with some more genuine fetish to add to the bondage images already seen in Part 2. I'm beginning to think Peter was a bit of a daredevil!

Friday, 18 November 2022

Black Friday


Why take chances at an auction 
when you can get the size and quality you want, from a reputable store?
 A once-a-year opportunity.

Thursday, 17 November 2022

The Elusive Slave


Photo: Roy Woodward by Bruce-Of-LA

Wednesday, 16 November 2022

The Unwanted Slave


The big house had just been sold and Brian broke into it thinking it was empty.
It turned out the owner was still there, in the basement, practising his martial arts.
Brian's street fighting was no match for that.

A week later the owner threw a leaving party.
He'd enjoyed practicing his shibari skills on Brian
But he didn't want to take him with him to his new home.



 Photo: Brian Bonds @BoundInPublic

Tuesday, 15 November 2022

Tips For Your Holiday - No 8

bondage

When visiting foreign lands be careful how you dress for the beach.

In some cultures, the loin cloth is the uniform of servitude

and locals are always on the lookout for opportunities to make money from tourists.


photo: Bruce of LA

for other holiday tips or enslavement fantasies click on the labels below

Saturday, 12 November 2022

BDSM Art by Casablanca


This article presents extracts from 'Amagami no Shitsukekata' by an artist who calls himself Casablanca in English or Yuritaro. It contains some striking bdsm imagery in a highly original style. I don't have an English translation of the story, so the narrative below is my interpretation of the images. The actual text may contradict it. The title translates in Google to 'How To Train Amagami'. Wikipedia translates Amagami as 'gentle bite' and relates it to a Japanese dating computer game which has a sort of relevance to the story.
 
*since publication a reader of this blog has kindly provided a summary of the plot and background to the story, you can read it in the comments at the foot of the post.

It begins with an executive type entering a bar and being propositioned
 by a man with a distinctly butch, athletic persona.

His audacious flirting overwhelms the businessman's embarrassment.



He discovers his target has a military background.



It leads the muscular seducer to reveal his own interest in discipline.
The two men adjourn to the businessman's flat.



There the businessman quickly reveals a talent for domination.  
The muscular athlete is quickly stripped and prepped for sex.
Now it's the businessman's turn to seduce him with affectionate gestures.

It seems no Japanese erotic scene is complete without mini-vibrator eggs being deployed, I think the invasive action must have a significance in that culture that escapes westerners. In this scene it's doubled up and I particularly like the idea of parking the controls in the athlete's jockstrap bands.

I admire the economical, subtle style which portrays the guest's youthful, muscular physique in a way that makes it look bulky and sensual. Notice the little clues that some rough treatment is getting under way - the shred of cloth hanging over his right shoulder, the impact symbols to the left of his shoulder and buttocks plus the perspiration on his back. 


massive pecs, leather collar

With his trainee secured, the 'shy' businessman changes into something more appropriate.
The athlete looks as if he's having second thoughts about this.
His combination of sweaty, muscular pec and chunky leather collar is great.



The true nature of what is in store for him
is dramatically revealed - a leather lash.

agony of pain, blond muscleman

It's quickly put to work.
The athlete discovers that this roleplay is for real.

Notice how the wimpy businessman, progressively reveals his own muscular physique 
this image of him is particularly nice. The style is reminiscent of the great British artist, Bill Ward. It creates the impression of a brief snapshot in time, barely glimpsed before it is gone.


The flogging is severe. The Master very stern.

The businessman/master becomes more substantial here, his victim depersonalised.
There's some odd drawing in the jockstrap area which I can't decipher.





But he pauses to acknowledge the trainee's erection, looking somewhat disappointed. It's a development that ensures the session will continue of course. 

The 'Master' has become quite boyish here, but the athlete seems to have grown in stature, not just in the groin area. It's as if the punishment has made more of man of him.

Casablanca pulls off a tricky perspective here and succeeds in making the humiliating 'inspection' very erotic.




As though offended by the captive's resilience, the Master strips off another layer to reveal a clinging rubber vest which restores his intimidating appearance in an even more substantial characterisation. He matches that by ditching the lash and switching to a far more serious bullwhip. He quickly shows it's not just for show by laying into the athlete with even more determination and power. The force of his blows and the helpless vulnerability of his captive (little more than an outline by comparison) are superbly captured in this dramatic image.




An insubstantial, ghostly outline of the athlete is superimposed on the master here. It's as though his manliness has been driven out of him and he's now looking up and ready to submit to the master who towers angrily over him looking very butch indeed compared with his original appearance in the bar. Something of a monster almost. That's the fine line of bdsm.

This ghosting technique has become very popular of late, particularly as a way of  depicting penetration. I'm not sure it works for me here, the text might help, I guess!




Shockingly, the captive's ordeal continues.
It's as though the 'shy' businessman is determined to exact his complete submission.


He gets what he wants. 

I don't know how this submission fits with the characterisation of the athlete in the bar, 
where he seemed to be more of a top than a sub. Rent perhaps. That twist would be sexy.




It looks as if he's being manoeuvred into an even more unfamiliar position here.
But if he's as reluctant as his facial expression suggests, 
his dribbling libido isn't doing him any favours.
To add to the irony even more, his muscularity has reasserted itself here.


muscle guy fucked


The penetration isn't to be avoided naturally,
It lifts him into the air, helplessly succumbing to the manipulation of sensitive body parts.

To be honest, the love hearts floating around in these last two pictures suggest the athlete has thoroughly enjoyed his introduction to bdsm and discovered a new world of excitement.

Looks like a happy ending!
Which is as it should be.

~

I believe the artist may be Yaritaro who is on twitter with a small gallery


Great S&M art.

Thursday, 10 November 2022

The Power of Wet


 This image, called 'Men of the Road' is a fascinating mixture of technical skill and miscalculation. One is immediately struck by the convincing sense of men being caught in a downpour at night. The wet, clinging clothing and hair of the one on the right is marvellously captured. 

The scene itself, showing the two men changing the wheel of an articulated truck in a rainstorm, draws on powerful themes of masculinity - truckers working with huge machines. The glimpses of the broken-down truck rig in the background reinforce this with realistic detail, as do the faces of both men, mature and handsome, manly. It has a similar quality to the heterosexual art we see on the covers of Men's Action magazines.

The impromptu strip therefore seems in keeping, a typical laddish response to the downpour, but the eyes of the wheel-changer, staring at his buddy's sexy midriff, and his grip on the nut removal tool speak for themselves and suddenly homoerotic overtones creep in, hardly needing the elaboration provided by the huge boner in his pants. It's as though he never really looked at him before and now he sees the light.

So far, so sexy. However, closer inspection reveals all sorts of inconsistencies in the drawing. The proportions of their bodies, for example, their bottom halves don't seem to match the top and there's a subtle alteration in toning and style with the bottom half more typical of erotic fare. It's almost as if two different pictures have been merged together or perhaps that an 'innocent' straight image has been adapted for nefarious purposes. A 'might have been' classic.

The artist is Bart West
I found this image in a gay beefcake magazine Sir G (ca 1960). 


Monday, 7 November 2022

The Art of Gilgamesh - 3

Read this mitchmen article about Gilgamesh800's art from Part 1

click on pictures to enlarge the detail

Gilgamesh800 - Prisoner's enema torment - 1

These two pictures depict a muscular prisoner being subjected to punishing torment. Positioned in a frame that holds his neck and ankles in the manner of the pillory and stocks, the victim is forced into an unnatural position, balanced on his knees with his wrists chained together and pulled up tight behind his back. It's a murderous distortion that will soon wreak havoc with his knees and back. 

But that is not the end of it, because dubious, brightly coloured liquids are being forced into him simultaneously through a gag-like mouthpiece and an enema tube up his ass.  


Gilgamesh800 - Prisoner's enema torment - 2

 A hooded, executioner-like figure directs and oversees his torment. He appears to be lecturing him, finger in the air, but we have no idea what the benighted captive has done to deserve this punishment. Since he cannot really move or speak, there is nothing he can do by way of submission, confession or reparation to bring it to an end. He must endure it - as best he can - until his torturer decides he has had enough.

Gilgamesh used a similar punishment position for his captive 'sneaky' cop in Part 1. There it seemed to be a preparation for a humiliating penetration by his captor, but the device is doing that job itself here. The elaborate design and finish of the restraint apparatus indicates that many other men will taste its capabilities in due course.


Gilgamesh800 - Prisoner's ordeal on the Cross

This muscular, hairy man strapped to a cross is just one of many who are destined to suffer in this dark realm. His crucifixion is bloodless, but for him too, the prolonged immobility produces increasing agony, both physical and mental. His anguished expression says it all. He must be wondering if this is to be the full extent of his punishment or are his captors simply preparating him for further pain?

There's a great depiction of emotion in this picture, a man on the brink of breaking and making a desperate mute appeal for anyone to come and help him.


Hairy muscle chained hands behind his back, cock chained lead, dragged to be tortured
Gilgamesh800 - Muscular Prisoner taken to his Fate

Elsewhere in the depths of the prison another hairy muscle giant is dragged through a cold, stone tunnel. He's pulled along by a well-built guard at the end of a lead attached to the root of his cock rather than his neck. His hands are chained behind his back and he has been gagged, but nevertheless he tries to resist, fearing that terrible things await him at their destination. The guard is insistent and coaxes him along with false reassurances but implacable determination. He finds that persuasion is easier than using brute force and he likes to see the reaction when the prisoner finds out the terrible truth.

The prisoner's reticence and dread come across really well here. It's futile of course.


Hairy muscle in dungeon tied to post threat of cock lopping
Gilgamesh800 - Muscular Prisoner Cock-locked in Scaffold Frame

The fear is well placed. For some of these muscular giants the denouement is truly terrible. This tattooed man, probably a captured, mercenary fighter, has been taken to a room where there is a tall guillotine-like frame. Its purpose is obvious, there's even a bucket placed directly beneath the wooden 'lunette' holding him in position below the blade. But it's not his neck that has been put into the opening formed by the two boards, it's his cock.


bondage tied to post cock trapped hairy muscle
Gilgamesh800 - Muscular Prisoner Cock-locked in Guillotine Frame

From this direction we can see the prisoner has been chained to a post prior to his cock being snared, so he cannot retreat and thereby extract his tackle from the trap, even if the grip of the boards were loose enough to permit it. It isn't even worth struggling. Above him the prisoner can see the huge blade waiting to fall. The hooded guard places his hand upon the release handle laughing at the prisoner's efforts to control his horror. 

If he is a true hero, he will face even the loss of his manhood with stoic fortitude. They may release him if he survives this ordeal, knowing that his masculine life forces and urge to fight have been lost forever. He and his kindred will no longer be a threat, those sons he wanted will never be.

I'm glad to say Gilgamesh does not illustrate the denouement of this terrible punishment so we can imagine alternative outcomes for ourselves. For me the threat is certainly punishment enough. The prisoner can be released and returned to his cell after a suitable period of cbt. 


Gilgamesh800 - Asad Waylaid by a Thug

There always seems to be a sense of gathering doom in Gilgamesh's art but it usually seems to point to inescapable, indefinite incarceration with a spicing of periodic abuse. Extremes like the guillotine above are rare but one of his recent stories, 'Asad The Mighty' goes further in terms of mortal threat. 

The background to this cameo is not really explained but the title character is portrayed as a giant, muscular, hairy man who goes around the seedy parts of a Middle Eastern town topless, showing off his muscles and bedecked with jewels (presumably the fruits of his Mightiness). We don't know if he is a good or bad man but, not entirely surprisingly, he is waylaid in a quiet back-alley by an armed thug. However, this is a problem Asad is used to encountering and he is well-equipped to deal with it.

There's a clever use of close-up here, giving a good sense of Asad's physicality (and vanity perhaps). It also shows the predicament he faces, with an armed antagonist blocking the narrow passageway. 


Gilgamesh800 - Asad Overpowered by Thugs

Unfortunately, the thug is not alone. Asad is attacked from behind and overpowered. He is tied up and stripped of his jewels and his clothes. Tightly bound and dressed only in a loincloth he is lifted up by his (equally strong) captor and carried off. Thus are the Mighty felled.

However the captive's destination this time is not to be a dark dungeon - as is so often the fate of heroes in Gilgamesh's world. Instead Asad is taken to a strange deserted, palace which has an arcaded central atrium containing a beautiful pool. A place appropriate to his standing in life, it might seem.



Gilgamesh800 - Asad is Chained to a Ball

However, Asad is not destined to be a bird in a beautiful cage. He is forced to stand on the edge of the pool, gagged, heavily roped and immobile, while his guard attaches a heavy ball and chain to his ankles. The implications of this are obvious and dreadful. Is this to be his pathetic end? The reasons for such a cruel outcome are not revealed to us. Since he is gagged, he cannot even ask.


Gilgamesh800 - Asad's Captor Toys With Him 

Asad is a brave, strong man but nevertheless is forced to confront the end of life. 
His cruel captor has no pity and actually seems to be excited by the prisoner's plight and his muscular, rope-wrapped body. He strips him of his loincloth and salaciously toys with his manhood. Despite the danger, or perhaps because of it, Asad finds he is aroused too.

Notice the golden hue of his cock, seemingly reflecting his status, and it's interesting juxtaposition with his captor's bulge, clad in the rough fabric of a more ordinary man.


Gilgamesh800 - Asad's Captor Carries Him To The Pool Edge

Asad's captor milks him into the water in a lengthy sequence of images,
it's an absorbing distraction, a temporary reprieve from the threat looming at his feet.
 But as the passion of ejaculation recedes, Asad feels himself lifted bodily into the air.
He is carried towards the edge of the pool, soundlessly protesting.......

The strange, interlocking steps that we see in the background here seem to suggest that Asad has been brought to a place of ritualistic significance to confront his own mortality. Perhaps they represent the choices that he has made in life in order to rise up in the world. This is not a tawdry robbery or assassination but part of something much deeper. 

I won't reveal the outcome of this suspenseful tale, 
you can see for yourselves at Gilgamesh's pixiv site (free membership)

More Gilgamesh in Part 4 (pending)

Read this mitchmen article from Part 1