Otherworld

The concept of an "otherworld" in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. The term is a calque of orbis alius or "Celtic Otherworld", so named by Lucan in his description of the druidic doctrine of metempsychosis.

Comparable religious, mythological or metaphysical concepts, such as a realm of supernatural beings and a realm of the dead, are of course found in cultures throughout the world. Spirits were thought to travel between worlds, or layers of existence, usually along an axis such as a giant tree, a tent pole, a river, a rope or mountains. Red and white are the colors of animals in the Celtic Otherworld, and these colors still animate transcendent religious and political symbols today.

Indo-European reconstruction

Many Indo-European mythologies show evidence for a belief in an "Otherworld" and in many cases such as in Greek, Germanic, Celtic, Slavic and Indic mythologies a river had to be crossed to allow entrance to the Otherworld and it is usually an old man that would transport the soul across the waters. In Greek and Indic mythology the waters of this river were thought to wash away sins or memories whereas Celtic and Germanic myths feature wisdom-imparting waters, suggesting that while the memories of the deceased are washed away a drinker of the waters would gain inspiration. The wayfarer will commonly encounter a dog either in the capacity of a guardian of the Otherworld or as the wanderer's guide. Examples of this are the Greek Cerberus, the three-headed hound of Hades, and the Indic सर्वरा "sarvarā, one of the hounds of Yama, whose names may derive from an Indo-European *ḱerberos meaning "spotted". In Indo-European mythologies the Otherworld is depicted in many ways, including peaceful meadows, islands and buildings making it hard to determine how the original Proto-Indo-European Otherworld was viewed. However the ruler of the dead was possibly Yemo, the divine twin of Manu the first man.

Otherworld (DC Comics)

Otherworld is a creator-owned mini series by writer/artist Phil Jimenez released in 2005 and published by DC Comics's Vertigo imprint. The book as described by Jimenez is "The Real World meets Lord of the Rings meets Tron".

Synopsis

Otherworld is an epic, multipart "space opera" about a group of Los Angeles college students who find themselves on the front lines of an inter-dimensional border war. Otherworld revolves around 19-year-old Siobhan Monyihan, a student at the fictional University of Los Angeles and the progressive lead singer of a burgeoning LA band, and her boyfriend and rival, Jason Ng. Siobhan is an incredibly powerful sorceress, descended from a mystic lineage millennia old, and alone holds the key to stopping the impending war in Otherworld, the Celtic land of magic and the dead. Drafted into the same conflict, Jason, a brilliant young man whose worldview is more clearly delineated in black and white, assumes control of the military forces of Siobhan's enemies, the Technocracy.

Avalon (Marvel Comics)

Otherworld is a fictional dimension in the Marvel Comics Marvel Universe. It is more commonly known as, and based on, the mythical Avalon from Celtic and more specifically Welsh mythology.

Avalon first appeared in Fantastic Four #54 (September 1966) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Avalon's dimension was referred to as Otherworld for the first time in Captain Britain #1 (October 1976) by Chris Claremont, Herb Trimpe, and Fred Kida.

General description

While the dimension of Otherworld is also known as Avalon, the island of Avalon is actually only a small part of the large dimension that is Otherworld. Other places within this dimension include Fomor, home of the Fomorians, Annwn, home of the dead, and many other locales associated with Celtic mythology. The Starlight Citadel is home of Roma and the base of the Captain Britain Corps.

In general, Otherworld is a High fantasy world; gods, elves, dragons and many more live within small towns and large castles with no heavy industry. Large forests and bright lakes separate the several islands and locations from one another. Otherworld is not primitive though; while sorcery and magic are a part of daily life, the Captain Britain Corps and Avalon possess highly advanced technology.