8: The Missing Ring Conspiracy
A closer look at some of Gary Locke's AIO artwork.
By David Hilder | November 30, 2012
A closer look at some of Gary Locke's AIO artwork.
By David Hilder | November 30, 2012
When the cover art for Album 56: The Grand Design was first
released, there was some talk about the fact that Whit was wearing a wedding
ring, since he is a widower and currently unmarried. All the other artwork of
Mr. Whittaker up until that point had depicted him without such a ring, so it
wouldn’t make sense for him to suddenly be wearing one without getting
remarried. But when it came time for the album to be released, the final artwork
was changed to remove the ring from the picture. The mistake, if you can call
it that, was corrected in time in order to better represent the Odyssey
universe. But if those kind of minor details need to be fixed, why not tackle
the bigger issues with Adventures in Odyssey artwork? This leads to a larger
question. How accurately does Gary Locke’s artwork represent AIO, the audio
series?
First of all, this editorial is not going to be focusing on the cartoonish nature of the characters, whose exaggerated proportions can bother some people. And since it’s a show made to appeal to kids, I don’t mind that very much. However, it is a bit ironic that the Passages series has more realistic artwork, considering it involves kids travelling to another world with two moons, which stretches your imagination a lot further.
When you look at the AIO albums, you will soon discover that the scenes many of them portray never actually happen during the drama, or they are totally misrepresented. The following is my in-depth look at the first eight Adventures in Odyssey album covers, as drawn by Gary Locke.
First of all, this editorial is not going to be focusing on the cartoonish nature of the characters, whose exaggerated proportions can bother some people. And since it’s a show made to appeal to kids, I don’t mind that very much. However, it is a bit ironic that the Passages series has more realistic artwork, considering it involves kids travelling to another world with two moons, which stretches your imagination a lot further.
When you look at the AIO albums, you will soon discover that the scenes many of them portray never actually happen during the drama, or they are totally misrepresented. The following is my in-depth look at the first eight Adventures in Odyssey album covers, as drawn by Gary Locke.
You get your first impression of Whit’s End on the cover of Album 1: The Adventure Begins and it doesn’t seem to be a very favorable one. Aside from it appearing to be a pizza place instead of an ice cream shop, the building looks like a safety hazard. To anyone that glances at this, Whit could seem like an irresponsible man who shouldn’t be supervising children. And this bizarre scene doesn’t attempt to characterize the episode in question at all. In reality, Davey Holcomb is not present when the pizzas were first made at Whit’s End and they certainly didn’t fly out of the machine along with bolts of electricity. Whit has never, to my knowledge, had a flying pizza land on his head either. Whit describes Blackgaard’s Castle as a “madhouse” when he first visits it in Album 5. But from this drawing I’d say that more accurately describes Whit’s End. And to be fair, Whit’s End is a bit of a madhouse before Connie gets hired, but never to the extent that kids are in danger of being struck by lightning or from pizzas being hurled through the air.
Album 2: The Wildest Summer Ever is the second collection and on its cover we get a second scene of imminent danger, almost like they are hoping to prove how this particular summer really was fairly wild. Except this danger is much more serious than before, perhaps deadly. And this is a kid’s show. Although drawing this scene is justifiable, because it actually happens in the album, the artwork makes it seem way more dangerous than it really is. Looking at the art it is clear there is no way that bear could not simply reach out and take a bite out of either Whit or Donnie if it wanted to. This scene seems to depict the moment in time before one of the characters is brutally attacked by the bear. Once again, for the second time in a row, Whit appears like a man with bad judgment. Did he tell Donnie to climb higher in the tree? In the audio drama, yes. But this artwork doesn’t bring that across. Instead it suggests that these poor souls are about to be eaten, unless of course something miraculous happens. This theme of inescapable danger reminds me of the AIO videos, which almost always depict a scene of Dylan Taylor in imminent danger that will most likely result in serious injury or death.
Album 3: Heroes is the first sighting of Eugene. And from all appearances, he is a madman who has broken into Whit’s End. Eugene looks like a little too hyped up on caffeine, making him a danger to everyone around him. He doesn’t look like the kind of guy who should be allowed to wield power tools or wear a welding helmet. It’s another instance of over dramatizing the show at the expense of the main characters’ reputations.
Album 4: The Fundamentals shows a young Tom Riley, already in overalls, and his sister on a bridge. And he is about to fall off, proving that Odyssey must be an exceptionally dangerous place to live. The flailing of Tom’s arms on the bridge creating the image multiple arms looks a little silly, but it isn't unforgivable. Tom is in danger of falling and receiving a serious injury at best. From this perspective, the “anything but boring” lessons to be learned that the show proudly advertises on the back cover are probably a string of cartoonish life and death situations. When listening to the episode we know the boy isn’t going to die because he's Tom Riley. But someone looking at the cover has no such assurance.
Album 5: Daring Deeds, Sinister Schemes is an interesting cover. It tries to capture the excitement of the audio drama and live up to its title. Whit rushing towards the burning barn certainly represents a daring deed and the ominous figure of Dr. Regis Blackgaard creates the feel that this is part of a sinister scheme. Of course, Blackgaard doesn’t actually burn down Tom Riley’s barn himself, nor would he stand nearby to watch it. But it still gives the right atmosphere, even though it is a simplified picture. The image of Tom Riley lying unconscious in the barn doorway, although accurate, may have given off the wrong impression if it had been included on the cover. Also, in this version Whit doesn’t have to rescue the horses. Luckily they have already broken free. This is one example where the events are toned down for the cover.
Album 4: The Fundamentals shows a young Tom Riley, already in overalls, and his sister on a bridge. And he is about to fall off, proving that Odyssey must be an exceptionally dangerous place to live. The flailing of Tom’s arms on the bridge creating the image multiple arms looks a little silly, but it isn't unforgivable. Tom is in danger of falling and receiving a serious injury at best. From this perspective, the “anything but boring” lessons to be learned that the show proudly advertises on the back cover are probably a string of cartoonish life and death situations. When listening to the episode we know the boy isn’t going to die because he's Tom Riley. But someone looking at the cover has no such assurance.
Album 5: Daring Deeds, Sinister Schemes is an interesting cover. It tries to capture the excitement of the audio drama and live up to its title. Whit rushing towards the burning barn certainly represents a daring deed and the ominous figure of Dr. Regis Blackgaard creates the feel that this is part of a sinister scheme. Of course, Blackgaard doesn’t actually burn down Tom Riley’s barn himself, nor would he stand nearby to watch it. But it still gives the right atmosphere, even though it is a simplified picture. The image of Tom Riley lying unconscious in the barn doorway, although accurate, may have given off the wrong impression if it had been included on the cover. Also, in this version Whit doesn’t have to rescue the horses. Luckily they have already broken free. This is one example where the events are toned down for the cover.
Album 6: Mission Accomplished is next. Despite having arrived on the show before Eugene, Connie gets her first appearance on an album cover long after he does. And ironically, Eugene’s appearance on Album 3 was from the episode titled Connie, Part 1. Anyway, Album 6’s cover seems pretty ordinary. But if you haven’t heard the episodes, it would really be hard to put the scene together. The reframing of this art has completely cut out the organ’s keyboard, so it’s unclear what Robyn Jacobs is doing. And Whit and Connie seem to either be marveling at the floating AIO logo or the glow of the sun. None of them appear to be looking at the telescope. It’s similar to Album 2’s previous cover, when it was called Stormy Weather, where Whit and Tom were simply staring at something out of view, with no explanation as to why it was important. It might provoke interest, but it isn’t enough to really draw someone in. Funnily enough, many more exciting scenes could have been chosen for this cover. This is the album with A Mission for Jimmy, the Ill-Gotten Deed, and two flashback episodes from Mr. Whittaker’s time in the US Navy in World War II. Unlike with other covers, this one has been subdued from AIO’s usual flashy display.
Album 7: On Thin Ice features a cold scene from Ice Fishing. Monty is mysteriously absent and Whit and Tom are shivering in the foreground, each breathing out a visible cloud of air hanging with icicles. Eugene is smiling in the background while using a bizarre mechanical contraption to catch fish, which is very misleading. Tom may have imagined that Eugene would need a high-tech “gizmo” in order to fish successfully, but in the end Eugene shows his more “normal” side and simply uses a fishing rod and applies some basic knowledge about fish’s swimming patterns. This album cover merely reinforces Tom’s stereotype of Eugene’s technologically-obsessed nature. And anyone waiting for this machine of Eugene’s to show up on the ice would probably be disappointed after hearing the episode. Also, the title “On Thin Ice” could be misinterpreted to indicate that the characters on the cover would soon be falling through the ice, a dangerous prospect.
Album 8: Beyond Expectation shows Eugene as a mad scientist, electrifying the cash register, and Connie hiding in a plant with camouflage paint. This is actually a more accurate portrayal because it has to be admitted that both Eugene and Connie do go a little crazy in the episode Suspicious Minds. Of course, the bolts of electricity flying out of the cash register and the money spilling in all directions does make Whit’s End seem like a pretty wild and dangerous place where dark experiments occur. But if you do have employees electrifying things on the counter, it’s probably not the best place for kids to hang out. And for once this danger represented on the album cover is actually warranted, as it more or less accurately portrays the situation in the episode.
These album covers are fun and exciting in a way that can go beyond the excitement happening in the actual audio drama. (Unless of course you follow Odyssey’s advice and use your imagination a little, which seems to be precisely what Gary Locke is doing.) This is similar to when books are adapted into movies, where the story becomes much more fast-paced and drama-filled. Because Adventures in Odyssey is a radio show, it can have many different interpretations when it comes to what things look like. And it just so happens that this artist’s interpretation is a little over the top and unrealistic, which can come across as misleading or even deceptive when compared to the radio drama it is meant to represent. At the same time these covers are a lot more interesting and would probably draw more attention to AIO in a store, creating a larger fan base, who will quickly learn to think of the true Adventures in Odyssey as the audio, and the visual as merely a selling point meant to attract consumers. This explanation does not explain Album 6’s lackluster cover, but overall these particular AIO covers do conform to the rule that over dramatization is better than accuracy.
Album 7: On Thin Ice features a cold scene from Ice Fishing. Monty is mysteriously absent and Whit and Tom are shivering in the foreground, each breathing out a visible cloud of air hanging with icicles. Eugene is smiling in the background while using a bizarre mechanical contraption to catch fish, which is very misleading. Tom may have imagined that Eugene would need a high-tech “gizmo” in order to fish successfully, but in the end Eugene shows his more “normal” side and simply uses a fishing rod and applies some basic knowledge about fish’s swimming patterns. This album cover merely reinforces Tom’s stereotype of Eugene’s technologically-obsessed nature. And anyone waiting for this machine of Eugene’s to show up on the ice would probably be disappointed after hearing the episode. Also, the title “On Thin Ice” could be misinterpreted to indicate that the characters on the cover would soon be falling through the ice, a dangerous prospect.
Album 8: Beyond Expectation shows Eugene as a mad scientist, electrifying the cash register, and Connie hiding in a plant with camouflage paint. This is actually a more accurate portrayal because it has to be admitted that both Eugene and Connie do go a little crazy in the episode Suspicious Minds. Of course, the bolts of electricity flying out of the cash register and the money spilling in all directions does make Whit’s End seem like a pretty wild and dangerous place where dark experiments occur. But if you do have employees electrifying things on the counter, it’s probably not the best place for kids to hang out. And for once this danger represented on the album cover is actually warranted, as it more or less accurately portrays the situation in the episode.
These album covers are fun and exciting in a way that can go beyond the excitement happening in the actual audio drama. (Unless of course you follow Odyssey’s advice and use your imagination a little, which seems to be precisely what Gary Locke is doing.) This is similar to when books are adapted into movies, where the story becomes much more fast-paced and drama-filled. Because Adventures in Odyssey is a radio show, it can have many different interpretations when it comes to what things look like. And it just so happens that this artist’s interpretation is a little over the top and unrealistic, which can come across as misleading or even deceptive when compared to the radio drama it is meant to represent. At the same time these covers are a lot more interesting and would probably draw more attention to AIO in a store, creating a larger fan base, who will quickly learn to think of the true Adventures in Odyssey as the audio, and the visual as merely a selling point meant to attract consumers. This explanation does not explain Album 6’s lackluster cover, but overall these particular AIO covers do conform to the rule that over dramatization is better than accuracy.
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