By Charles Vess (Archival Press)
ISBN: 0-915822-25-3
The Comics Arts movement was in its infancy in the mid 1970s and it’s through the efforts of such folk as the Archival Press on one hand and the likes of Ken Pierce on the other that the works of our industry were gradually legitimised into the budding art-form we all aspire to – sadly, a process still not completed in most English speaking countries.
From 1979 then comes this lovely compendium of the early works of Charles Vess, fantasist, supreme stylist and champion of the craft of the illustrator. In bold, dynamic, beguiling black and white this entrancing collection of prose vignettes and comic strip displays his love of the form and his striking ability with pen and brush, as well as his wry and gentle sense of humour.
‘The Shadow Witch’ is a gloriously baroque fairytale copiously illustrated with fine pen (or maybe quill!) work that is wonderfully balanced by the fantasy adventure strip ‘Demon Sword’ whilst the lyrical whimsy of ‘the Fiddler and the Swan’ shows the deep regard the artist has for the Victorian and Edwardian illustrators such as Arthur Rackham.
Vess’ modern works are a highpoint of the form and along with Kaluta and Gary Gianni form the last bastion of a classical revivalist style lost in the rush to modern techniques and technology. These examples of the power of the ink line should be mandatory viewing for any aspiring artist, and the easy skill with which these stories are told make them compelling beyond belief. Let’s have a definitive collection now!
© 1979 Archival Press, Inc. Stories © 1974, 1979 Charles Vess. All Rights Reserved.