Retelling the Hobbit

A comic adaptation of the Hobbit, by @secretmellowblog. Find my Website, mailing list, and other links here: https://linktr.ee/Mellowblog, and see my pinned post for more! I also have an lotr blog @overthinkinglotr, and a general art blog at @secretmellowart. It takes a long time to say anything in old Entish, so we only draw webcomics when it is worth taking a Long Time to Draw

[retellingthehobbit]

Welcome! This is the official tumblr blog for my webcomic adaptation of The Hobbit. Some FAQS: What even is this comic? Learn more about it here. Where else can I follow you? Check my Linktree to find all my projects/social media!

Who even are you????? See the images above! My other tumblrs include @secretmellowblog, @secretmellowart, @overthinkinglotr and @lesmisletters. I'm on Ao3 at Secretmellowblog and Mellow_Comics. Also, check that linktree again for other social media.

When does the comic update? I post a massive 20+ page chapter every few months. If you want to see sneak peaks/early pages as the chapter slowly comes together, you can support my art on Patreon.

Why does it take so long to update? It takes a very long time to say anything in old entish and we never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say.

Where can I find the full comic? On my website here! It also links to my Ao3 and Webtoon. I also crosspost to tumblr. You can start at chapter 1, or any of the links below:

Chapter 1: A Bedtime Story/Tooks and Bagginses Chapter 2: A Very Respectable Hobbit Chapter 3: Very Old Friends Chapter 4: An Unexpected Party, Part One Chapter 5: An Unexpected Party, Part Two Chapter 6: An Enormously Important Dwarf Chapter 7: The Lonely Mountain Translator's Note Chapter 8: A Tangled Web (Find it in the Deleted Scenes section on RetellingTheHobbit.com). Chapter 9: Ash and Smoke Chapter 10: The Heart of the Mountain Chapter 11/12: Polite Nothings (note; this chapter was condensed. Find the deleted bits on my website.) Chapter 13: The Necromancer Chapter 14: Terms & Conditions Chapter 15: Unattached Chapter 16: The Song of the Lonely Mountain Chapter 17: Dawn Chapter 18: Over the Hill and Across the Water Chapter 19: Roads Go Ever On (Coming TBD)

Chapter 20/21/22: Q & A, character sheets, miscellaneous fun (Coming TBD)

[secretmellowart]

Who is your favorite of the Little Mermaid's sisters, from the original fairytale? [Based on what they do when they first rise to the ocean's surface! Pics below]

The eldest sister [gazes at the human town from a distance]

The sunset sister [looks at the sunset & tries to swim towards the sun]

The adventurous sister [Swims down a river & tries to play with humans]

The shy sister [stays in the middle of the ocean watching the sky and dolphins]

The winter/storm sister [stays on an iceberg watching ships in a winter storm]

Voting ended onMay 26

The Eldest Sister:

The Sunset Sister:

The Adventurous Sister:

The Shy Sister:

The Winter/Storm Sister:

[secretmellowart]

True story.

[find more of my comics on my website]

[retellingthehobbit]

I edited my The Hobbit comic art into beautiful Comic Sans cards to send to your Significant Other this Valentine’s Day

[retellingthehobbit]

I will also add that, in light of Tumblr Outages, joining my newsletter is a great way to avoid losing track of this little comic as social media becomes more unstable! I email about once every month or two and it's where you'll get an update when the next chapter finally comes out :3.

[retellingthehobbit]

Big announcement: I've fixed my Hobbit Comic website! :D If you want to read the full archive of my webcomic adaptation of The Hobbit, you can find it at the link. The UI should [hopefully] now be super clean and easy to view on both Desktop and Mobile! In the meantime: I'm still plugging away at the next chapter, and it's getting closer to done! :D

You can keep up to date with my newsletter, or check out my website for more!

[secretmellowart]

The Butterfly Boy: a Fairytale.

A fairytale about the feeling of waiting on the edge of massive existential societal tragedies you are powerless to prevent, the way that we scapegoat the victims of broader societal failures as if they were the Cause, and the way that we treat children who will never grow into a "conventional" adulthood. Thank you to everyone who followed along as I was sharing the pages for these past couple months! <3 :_:

[retellingthehobbit]

i recently discovered your work and am in love. excitedly showed my (non-tumblr) husband and i think he would have sat and read for hours if i hadn't demanded my computer back. thank you for making your art!

Awww thank you so much for this ask, this is lovely to hear!! (if it takes a bit for me to respond sometimes, it's because I sometimes overthink my responses to really kind asks.) I'm so glad you and your husband have enjoyed it so much, and I hope to keep sharing more!! :D

[secretmellowart]

I’ve had this original character in mind for a while, who I call “The Butterfly Boy.” I hope to share a new page of his story every day for October.

[retellingthehobbit]

Happy Hobbit Day everyone! It’s the anniversary of Bilbo’s birthday (and Frodo’s as well, in the book!) just reposting some Hobbiton paintings I’ve made over the past few months.

[retellingthehobbit]

Retelling The Hobbit Chapter 16: The Song of the Lonely Mountain First chapter / Previous / Next

To view full comic: Webtoon/A03 / Tumblr post with links to all chapters

Other blogs: TikTok/Instagram/Tumblr Sideblog

*crumbles into dust after finishing this* Thank you for reading! This The Hobbit webcomic adaptation thing takes a lot of effort to put together and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate every comment. I also really appreciate the people who’ve spread the word of this comic to their friends! <3

And finally, we’re at the Song of the Lonely Mountain! Within Tolkien’s canon, The Hobbit is an in-universe book that was “written” by Bilbo Baggins, who occasionally lies/embellishes/exaggerates things. The tonal differences between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are explained by Bilbo and Frodo/Sam being different kinds of storytellers, with different relationships to “the truth.” This idea is the core of how I’m adapting the novel!  Bilbo is an unreliable narrator who is literally ‘drawing’ from his own limited experiences;  the different art styles reflect the different perspectives of other characters.   The “dwarf art style” in this chapter is inspired by stonework/metalwork in general— but especially by a mix of art deco, Celtic art, and European folk art. 

The central tension of the comic is between Bilbo and Thorin, who each have wildly different ideas about what kind of  story they’re in. Thorin is in a grand fantasy epic, while Bilbo is in a lighthearted children’s book adventure.  The tragedy is, obviously, that only one side of the story ever gets to be fully told.

On a sillier note, a few years ago I had my first gay crush on a lesbian who sang while playing the piano. This chapter is dedicated to the piano lesbian. I hope they’re doing well, wherever they are. XD

I think I might need a bit of a break but I’m hoping for the next chapter, titled “Dawn,” to arrive on January 13th. And your comments/support really do help motivate me to get more done! ^_^

[calligrafiti]

This is gorgeous! Anyone else sing the song as they read this? Just me?

[retellingthehobbit]

Me 🙋✋🖐️

[secretmellowblog]

Chapter 2 of Retelling the Hobbit :3

Previous(chapter1!)/ Next

Webtoons/ A03/  Instagram

[secretmellowblog]

The Hobbit Comic Chapter 1: Tooks and Bagginses! (i hope this is somewhat legible lol)

Previous/Next

New Tumblr Blog for Full Comic/Webtoons/Ao3/Instagram

In the book Bilbo says that Gandalf “was responsible for so many quiet lads and lasses going off into the Blue for mad adventures.” The book goes on to imply that Gandalf was Adventure Buddies with Bilbo’s grandfather. But since Gandalf took “lasses” on adventures too, I added that Gandalf was ALSO Adventure Buddies with Belladonna. because why not!

Also: the idea behind the comic is that it’s being written/drawn by Bilbo as a bedtime story for a younger Frodo (who he’s either babysitting or has already adopted, take your pick!) This means that all the drawing mistakes are actually Bilbo making drawing mistakes. I am struggling to draw in order to be faithful to the fact that Bilbo is struggling to draw. Don’t worry, Bilbo will get better at drawing if he continues to make these comics

[retellingthehobbit]

Hello everyone! Just an announcement/reminder that I also have a (free) monthly email newsletter!

It’s where I’ll share a recap of the comics I’ve posted in the last month as well as progress on any ongoing ones (like The Hobbit comic!)

Social media is super unstable, and I tend to update erratically— so this is a good place to keep up! ^_^

[secretmellowart]

I animated a page from my The Hobbit comic @retellingthehobbit in after effects. I’m very normal about The Hobbit.

[retellingthehobbit]

I also wanted to say that I am perfectly okay with people reposting my hobbit comic art— as long as they mention it’s from a comic and link back to anywhere people can find the full thing!

I am not a very good Poster at times, so I appreciate anyone who shares my stuff with other people! :D

[retellingthehobbit]

SPOON THEFT PREVENTION POST! I'm not dead! You can find all my Secret Other Comics up on my newly revamped website, and keep in touch by subscribing to my newsletter! I'm not good at pretending to be a social media influencer, so this is just the easiest way you can keep up with what I'm doing XD.