Gruven Zann Portrait

Oh Gruven Gruven Gruven… are you even the main villain of your book? I know some people were curious to who I was going to paint, as the book Taggerung doesn’t really have one major villain, but several. I can see people’s points, but for me it is clearly Gruven, for he is in the book the longest, has the most reason to want to defeat the hero and is the one killed by the hero at the end of the book. It doesn’t really matter that he is probably the weakest villain in the Redwall series. He is cowardly, lazy and only achieves anything because of his pushy mother. But not every villain has to be a great conquer or a great strategists…so I allow Gruven to slide. Besides, I get the feeling that he was pushed into circumstances he was not prepared for by his ‘hockey-mom’ and he should have remained nothing more than a common thug that his qualities (if you can call them that) are suited for. I doubt he would have been the main villain if his mother had not shoved him into it.

Excuses aside, it doesn’t mean I like Gruven…nor do I particularly like the book he is in. Taggerung had the potential to be a lot better. The characters and set-up was very interesting and Brian Jacques could have had something very thought-provoking and deep. But (*sigh*) the hero, an otter raised by vermin, has no problems making friends with the good-guys and it’s very much nature over nurture with no emotional conflict or finding his identity. What we get is a ‘buddy-road trip‘ story with the hero‘s pal (who actually has a much more interesting story than the hero. Domestic violence and the effects it brings? Seriously!? Oh, Mr.Jacques you had the seeds for something really interesting! You were so close!).
Basically because he is an otter he is born GOOD, despite being raised by a tribe of vermin - who are automatically born BAD. I know this theme of ‘racial black and white’ has been used in every Redwall book, it just felt more painfully apparent in this book.

Right, enough of me moaning about the book, back onto Gruven.
His design is based on the type of men that I despise. You know the types: talk all gruff; loud; aggressive for no reason; swagger about; wearing heavy gaudy cheap jewellery; and think they’re tough but instead come off as looking like scruffy Neanderthals who do nothing but smoke, drink and watch football, killing all their remaining seven brain cells. The type that have never picked up a book in their lives. Those that moan and whinge, but are too lazy to do anything.
All I can say is if Gruven was wearing trousers they would be hanging off his ass and showing his underwear…and he would think it cool.
So I used that type of male stereotype as inspiration…all I really needed to do was look out my window to get first hand reference…*sigh*. … Jez! I have moaned a lot in this description…
The colour of the background came from me reading in ImagineFX magazine (issue 91) that acid-yellow can convey a petty personality in a character, so I gave it a go to see if it worked.
The white feathers and his pose are meant to convey his cowardliness. White feathers are symbolic of cowardice and a rooster with white-tail feathers were considered inferior to pure-bred cockerels in Cockfights…and seeing as Gruven is in one big cock-fight with the hero… I shall say no more (haha!) He is pulling up his cloak to conceal himself, but still trying to act all tough. Speaking of that cloak, the book described it as barkcloth and I incorrectly took it a bit literal and thought his cloak was made from tree-bark.

Seeing as I don’t like this character I’ve gone on about it for a bloody long time…
If anyone is curious my favourite character in the Taggerung was Swaney Rath, I found him very interesting and - dare I say - complex. Shame he wasn’t in the book for that long.
Oooo Mr. Jacques you were so close!
His Redwall Wiki Page

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Character from Brian Jacques’ book Taggerung
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