Art by Catweazle

Catweazle01 - Defeated Hero

A muscular man is dragged unconscious through a deserted, institutional building by two nightmarish creatures. It's the classic hero in trouble scenario that has parallels with another favourite of mine: A Hero Dragged to his Fate by Ehrlik. This one too faces an uncertain fate and despite his youth, delectable appearance and scanty clothing, the nature of his captors seems to rule out any sexual threat (although the strategic positioning of his forearms might arouse suspicion in an all-human context). 

Rather, it's danger and death that fuels this artist's images. 

*These days we appreciate that it's wrong to assume that creatures that are different to us are necessarily evil, these might easily be post-apocalyptic, ambulance drivers bringing the victim of a traffic accident to A&E. Catweazle01 relieves us of that dilemma by consistently describing them as horrific monsters.

Catweazle01 - Dangerous Fog

This atmospheric image also expresses that sense of a dangerous world with a bearded hero on the steps of a shrine of some sort watching a strange creature emerging from the depths of the swamp. The fact that the steps descend directly into the swamp may imply that it has been constructed by the inhabitants of that hidden world but in any case we can safely assume that intruders into this mystical space are not welcome. 

You need a big screen magnification to fully enjoy the male characterisations in some of these epic-style images, but this artist often exploits the ability in 3D-rendering to present different viewpoints and close-ups of the scene in other images (See gallery link below). The scaling here puts the heroes apparent strength into a rather different perspective.

Catweazle01 - Pest Control

The artist's title is dismissive of the dangers posed by the creatures in this world but this does not look like a trivial crisis. The heroes nakedness makes him look very vulnerable and his deliciously hairy body makes him more like an ordinary guy who lifts weights rather than the stereotypical, smoothly- muscled he-man of fantasy fiction. In fact his haircut and neatly-styled, black, loin cloth both look quite modern and modern man is not exactly well-equipped to be cast into a primeval world. Nevertheless, he's bravely stepping up to defend his mate armed only with a big sword and a small shield. 

There doesn't seem to be any gay sub-text in Catweasel's work but the men usually go adventuring alone. Women pop up occasionally in a variety of roles, both dominant and submissive, but the focus of attention usually seems to be the man.

Catweazle01 -  Fight the Dinokonda

There's a similar situation in this image with another, very sexy man facing a formidable opponent in an even skimpier loincloth. Despite his muscles and confident fighting stance there's an alluring sense of vulnerability surrounding him. Too good to eat in our eyes but the creature must imagine it's another easy dinner, ready to go.

Catweazle01 -  Jurassic Fight 02

The closer the men get to their giant adversaries and the more naked they are, the sexier they seem. The hairiness of this hunk just seems to underline how exposed he is and it's very attractive. With Vallejo's heroes, smooth and slightly plastic bodied, you hardly notice after a while that are unclothed at all. He usually chooses to portray them as dominant victors and dominant males (and they usually have long hair, ugh!). Catweasle's men also have amazing physiques and strong personalities but their essence seems more normal, more modern. 

Catweazle01 -  Horror From The Deep

Of course, it can't be taken for granted that handsome muscles will prevail and the human is at a distinct disadvantage in the sea. Octopus pictures show tentacles with a tangible source which is refreshing, but unlike most tentacle-alia we naturally assume they see humans as food rather than sexual partners. Not so much dishy as dish of the day. 

It's also easier to visualise their arms as having incredible  crushing power rather than being playful, teasing restraints. So, the outlook for this man, who is perhaps an innocent diving fisherman or maybe a hero-adventurer helping to rid the locals of a nuisance to their boats, doesn't look too promising unless he knows of a vulnerability which his rather small knife can exploit.

Catweazle01 -  Primeval and Futuristic Archer

Another great looking man on the hunt makes a very pretty image.

 Is this more pest control or is he food gathering? This is a post apocalyptic world and the artefacts of a past era loom in the murky background. However, it's environmentally safe presumably, so men are free to roam nearly naked, seeking out their mutant prey.

Catweazle01 -  Young SF Buccaneer Fighting on a Spaceship

The artist delves into steam-punk fantasy in this image, rolling back technology into history and man with it, reverting to the dress of a bygone age. Bare-chested pirates were one of my earliest erotic-danger fantasies but I never imagined them as yummy as this man, let alone having to face the undead. Perhaps Wagner had something like this in mind when he wrote The Flying Dutchman! I'd certainly buy tickets for a production styled like this.

Catweazle01 -  Bodybuilder In Prison

I find the underlying concept of this image very appealing, the muscular body-builder cast into a prison, clad only in his skimpy, posing g-string and reduced to star-gazing for his entertainment. Longing for his freedom no doubt. The panoramic window his cell is equipped with seems a very sophisticated design feature suggesting something equivalent to the bird kept in a gilded cage, not as a punishment, but for the entertainment and gratification of his captor.  To that end, this prisoner will probably be 'encouraged' to keep up with his weight-training to maintain his attractive figure. He might even be granted a mate to share his misery with.

Catweazle01 -  Shackled

This might be just the mate for the captive bird. It would be a preferable fate to being helplessly shackled in a dismal dungeon,  kneeling on the cold stone floor. There are no views from his window to moon about but plenty of time to reflect on how he came to this predicament. 

He has the look of a traditional hero - mighty muscles, skimpy briefs and a belt buckle a cowboy would die for. The artist has also produced variants of the picture showing threats like a giant spider lurking in the shadows, but presumably it was a human with fingers who overpowered our man and shackled him here to meet his doom in lonely isolation. 

The physique is a little over-cooked but a great dramatic setting 

Catweazle01 -  Victim of the Harpy

The artist uses the same helpless hero device here and it looks like the same muscle-bound hero as well, who is starting to look a bit too careless or a bit too daring for his own good. The artist has cleverly invoked a ruined building to demonstrate that the secluded gloom of a dungeon is not without it's good points in a world filled with malevolent creatures. 

The subtle change in his restraint - leaning back with arms spread wide introduces a sexual vulnerability to the drama which the Harpy is jumping down to take advantage of. Disturbingly erotic and a fate worse than death for many of my readers, I suspect. We can't see how the hero himself is taking it (if taking is the right word!) but we can imagine. At least the possibility exists for a jolly woodman to intervene and scare the creature away, but whether he would be strong enough to resist the same temptation we can only guess.

Catweazle01 -  Punishment

This image poses more searching questions about the new world order Catweazle has invented with humanoid mutants intelligent enough (and muscular enough) to make  humans their captives and turn their own methods of punishment against them. 

It's a striking inversion of the established pecking order and the gung ho superiority implicit in many of the images above. Suddenly man is cast as a vulnerable species at the mercy of beings who are perfectly prepared to inflict suffering on him. 

The man's loincloth and 'badge' suggest he is of the same tribe as the previous captive. Muscles seem to grow on trees here but not the more common sense defences, like caution, it seems. At least they are not going to eat him, unless this is some cruel tenderising technique.

Catweazle01 -  Execution

Catweazle takes the inversion even further with this image, unambiguously and chillingly titled to make clear that this is no near-scrape or crazy jape. The execution set-up is crude, but fully thought out. The captive seems to have a youthfulness that belies his musculature and this adds poignancy to his predicament. Unfortunately his expression does not suggest that he has a viable Plan 'B'.  Nor is he alone in this extremity, a fellow human watches helplessly from the cells at the rear, perhaps expecting  to share the same fate.

We do not know if the mutants are imposing their justice on these two men, exercising 'Pest Control' or disposing of rebels. In traditional hero scenarios this would be a way of tormenting a loathed opponent by callously punishing his right hand man or boy wonder in front of him, but the artist does not even hint at such subtlety. The executioner rants at him and the guards look as if they'd do the job themselves given half a chance.

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More in Catweazle Part 2

See also Catweazle01 at Deviant Art