In the original drawing he’s facing away from the viewer.
Raoul began as one of the earliest sketches for the Minker-Verse. In the original drawing, he’s actually facing away from the viewer, heading toward something we can’t see.
That image ended up defining him.
While I had initially created the antagonistic forces of this universe first, Raoul gradually became our way into it — essentially a real-world person transported into this strange, expansive place and forced to experience it for the first time.
He’s not necessarily the traditional hero of the story. He’s the window.
Through him, we get to discover the Minker-Verse rather than simply being told what it is.