Release the Hugs
For hundreds of years, terrifying tales of sea monsters have haunted the men and women that sailed the seas for trade and exploration. Of all the destructively devilish ocean lurkers, few held as much fear for humanity as the mighty Kraken. Most often described as a kind of gigantic octopus, it was the greatest fear of many a superstitious sailor. Gripping boats with its enormous tentacles, crushing them in mere moments, and dragging them to the murky depths of the cold sea floor, it’s no wonder that it held so much fascination and distress for those putting their lives on the line every day by setting out to sea. Clearly this was one destructive terror with no regard for human life or trade…
Unless, there were another explanation. Perhaps such a creature just didn’t know its own strength…
The Kraken is one of those monsters you look at and aren’t immediately forced to disregard as utterly ridiculous. You’ve got your Nessies and your werewolves and your vampires, but it’s hard to take those things really seriously when there’s no evidence. The Kraken, on the other hand, may have some truth behind it, as we’ve been finding out in recent years, though we can’t be entirely sure just yet. There have been real reports of a creature known as the colossal squid, an enormous creature which normally lives at great depths in the ocean, but which has been reported near the surface and has even been known to attack ships.
Is the colossal squid the same creature as the Kraken? It seems unlikely, as the range of these two beasts conflict (colossal squid mostly seem to inhabit the Southern Ocean, living near Antarctica) but we don’t know for sure. Perhaps there is a creature very much like colossal squid inhabiting the northern hemisphere of the world.
Early stories of the Kraken mostly come to us from Scandinavia in the 12th Century, describing the beast as being as large as an island and with a ferocity to match its size. The stories were so believable and frightening that descriptions of the Kraken were included in a volume about the natural history of Norway in the middle of the 18th century (though it wasn’t included in later editions). In the realm of reality, the Kraken’s cousin, the colossal squid is known to battle with sperm whales, one of the major predators of the colossal squid. It is thought that ships may be mistaken as predators or prey by these enormous cephalopods, causing them to lash out with aggression.
Nowadays, hundreds of years since the peak of Kraken reports, it’s difficult to separate truth from fiction. The Kraken, for many sailors, was a real terror to be avoided on the high seas, but the evidence handed down to us from the past is merely anecdotal. While there are creatures that could fit the later descriptions of this monster, we can’t be sure what people were seeing all those years ago without more evidence.
The only thing we can know for sure is that if the Japanese were to release Godzilla vs the Kraken, it would be incredible.
…Though the Kraken might just try to hug Godzilla to death.
I guess that would still be awesome.
Discussion (31) ¬
Aww! This is so cute. And such a funny idea, as always. XD
I just love how you drew it, especially that first panel. The color choice/etc is beautiful, and you conveyed so much of the kraken’s curiosity and loneliness.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A33u4XMIdW4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0IXMFvOwPA
All I could think of is Jonathan Coulton’s song I Crush Everything.
I think it goes along beautifully.
http://youtu.be/A33u4XMIdW4
consternation. it has it. :'(
Seems like somebody has been listening to Jonathan Coulton – I Crush Everything.
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/474519
reminds me of this^
“And I’d like to swim beside you
Getting dizzy in your wake
Getting close enough to touch you
Getting brave enough to take you into my arms
And bring you down to be with me”
When Happletea and Jonathan Coulton collide it completes my world.
Reminds me of one of my favorite Jonathan Coulton songs.
Poor Kraken, always forever alone </3
Its amazing how it manages to fully comprehend our written language. Of course the title may just be in English with the inside being illustrations – either way, where might I find this book?
awww! I wouldn’t mind if it gave me a hug (except I don’t want to die. . . )
This reminds me of The Majesty of Colors.
That actually would make an awesome Cosplay hat. A Kraken with a ship within its grasp. 😀
Whatever media/techniques you used on those first two panels in the sea & sky is fantastic! As if it has never been said before, you have some great talent.
haha Wow so many Jonathan Coulton links, apparently I’ve been out of the loop! I really enjoyed some of his songs after hearing them on Rock Band at a friend’s house but I missed this one entirely!
Is the second panel based off of this image?
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/kraken.jpg
If so, that’s some pretty awesome stuff. I have never seen an octopus drawn with such emotion.
And yeah, echoing the Coulton love. That song is pretty awesome.
Hug Rule 273: If you absolutely must deliver a strong hug, use no more than three arms, lest you risk crushing your friend/victim.
I love the reference to Bob Eggleton’s Kraken! Great work!
It’s just like the mermaids:
“Oh riiiiiight, humans need air!”
I think this would make a great shirt. A Kraken tearing apart a vessel with a caption of “Release the hugs!” somewhere on it as well. I would certainly buy one.
Ha.Love the Bob Eggleton reference.
His real problem is that what he thinks is a self help book is, in fact, volume 21 in a 64 volume dictionary.