Chris Irving and Eric Nolen-Weathington, Charles Vess (Modern Masters Volume Eleven)
(TwoMorrows Publishing, 2007)
The brief blurb for this at the publisher says:
Enchanting -- that is the best word to describe the artwork of Charles Vess. Whether with his book illustrations, his paintings, or his comic book stories, Vess’ work has enchanted readers for years. The winner of two World Fantasy Awards (one with Neil Gaiman for Best Short Story for Sandman #19; the second for Best Artist for Gaiman’s novel, Stardust, which will be a major motion picture in Summer 2007) and two Eisner Awards, Charles Vess has proven himself to be one of the greatest fantasy artists of our time. Chris Irving and Eric Nolen-Weathington are proud to present an in-depth look into Vess’ career and creative process in this latest volume of the Modern Masters series. This 120-page book features a career-spanning interview with tons of art, including many rare and unpublished pieces, a large gallery, and an 8-page color section on this true Modern Master: Charles Vess!
Ahhhh, but what this really is a very tasty appetizer for fans of Charles Vess. (The main course is the Dark Horse hardcover retrospective on him due out in late summer, Drawing Down the Moon -- The Art of Charles Vess.) Green Man is, not surprisingly, a fan of his having reviewed dozens of books where his illustrations graced the pages and covers -- from J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan to those by Charles de Lint (A Circle of Cats, Medicine Road, the 20th Anniversary Edition of Moonheart, and Seven Wild Sisters); many of Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling's anthologies, including The Coyote Road, The Green Man -- Tales from the Mythic Forest, The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm, Sharyn November's anthologies, including Firebirds and Firebirds Rising, Neil Gaiman (Stardust: Being a Romance within the Realms of Faery), and his lovely own The Book of Ballads , which is an expanded version of The Book of Ballads and Sagas. (Worth noting is that Karen Shaffer, his wife, and he curated Ancient Spirit, Modern Voice: The Mythic Journeys Art Exhibition.) Oh, I should mention that there's a lovely illustrated version of 'The Daemon Lover' in The Book of Ballads and Sagas.
Vess' style is as recognizable -- and as good -- as that of Arthur Rackham. Yes, he's worthy of being compared to that Victorian artist! Vess is indeed a major fan of Rackham's, as he noted in an interview I did with him a few years back:
Certainly. I discovered his work while I was still in college and immediately fell completely in love with it. His art, unlike a lot of other artists that I discovered at the same time (Maxfield Parrish, Frank Frazetta, etc.) I've never grown tired of. I always find myself learning new things every time I study it. But there are many others that have influenced me, among them: the Swedish illustrator John Bauer, Howard Pyle, the 19th C. German illustrator Hermann Vogel, Alphonse Mucha (the father of Art Noveau), Willy Pogany, Kay Nielsen, W. H. Robinson, Hal Foster and Alfred Bestall (the British illustrator of the long running Rupert Bear series). Among the living I count Michael Kaluta, Alan Lee, Brian Froud, Lizebeth Zwerger and Terri Windling.
So now back to this publication. It is, I believe, the first publication devoted to this artist other than Charles Vess -- From The 1970s to 1996 which was done some years back, and a chapter on him in Martyn Dean, and Chris Evans' Six Fantasy Artists at Work Dream Makers - Michael Kaluta, Berni Wrightson, Charles Vess, Melvyn Grant, Julek Heller & Chris Moore. Certainly I found nothing else when I did a 'Net search recently. Vess, like so many artists outside the accepted canon, has not gotten the attention he so rightfully deserves. Charles Vess (Modern Masters Volume Eleven) is a step towards rectifying that oversight.
Micahel Kaluta leads off with a brief look at the style of Vess. The interview which follows does a good job of showing how Vess developed as an artist and has an entertaining look at Vess' fascination early on with Marvel comics -- telling as he will later illustrate Spiderman. He also contributed illustrations to publications including Heavy Metal, Klutz Press (now an imprint of Scholastic Press), and National Lampoon before he developed his present style. And that's where Modern Masters Volume Eleven gets very interesting as the next chapter ('Interlude -- Under the Influence') has Vess comments on the artists that influenced him. As noted in the Green Man interview, Rackham, Kaluta, Vogel Robinson and Bestall are influences on him, but he adds a few more such as noted comic artist Jack Kirby and Pogo creator Walk Kelly to the list.
Part two of the interview ('Your Work Is Just Too Nice for Us') is where we see the beginning of his present style develop -- just look the comic strip art he did for The Adventures of Brucilla the Muscle, Galactic Girl Guide -- both the detailed backgrounds and admittedly somewhat cute look human and human-like creatures are now clearly as they will be later. Check out the artwork on page 27 (Which I think dates from 2007) and compare it to the artwork for The Adventures of Brucilla the Muscle. See how the faces are very pretty much drawn the same way? Twenty years apart but remarkably consistent!
I am not going to deal in depth with the rest of this amazing book. Suffice it to say that this is one tasty appetizer for anyone interested in fantasy artwork and how one artist was involved with some of the coolest artistc undertakings of the genre, including Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. It has earned a spot in our art reference library here at the Green Man offices and I'm sure it will warrant a spot in your art book library as well!
