I read The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov for the first time a few years ago. It reignited my love of classic Russian writers, drove me back to Gogol, and eventually influenced the direction I am taking in comics now. This summer I have picked up the novel again, using this time the elegant translation by Mirra Ginsburg; my first reading was the Michael Karpelson translation, a lovely rendition which has been completely overshadowed by the Pevear-Volokhonsky, now in a 50th anniversary edition that I will probably buy for completist reasons (not to mention the Michael Glenny.) All those competing translations aside, I was inspired to revisit Behemoth, a character I had casually drawn on my iPad the last time I read the novel (see below). I was never happy with that version, as it didn’t really fit the image I have of Behemoth in my head. I like this new sketch much better. I plan on doing other characters soon: Homeless, Azazello, Woland, and Fagot, for starters. Possibly the title characters, too.
