Quarello uses cinematographic techniques with enviable skill. He masters them with ease, as if his job were film director and not illustrator. From shot and reverse shot, to zoom, to image pause, it seems his illustrations are not meant to stop with the page’s boundaries, as if they wanted to drag us into the whirlpool of events. And this is exactly what happens.Okay, I have to share one more image, because I love it. It is deliciously cinematical and gives me a new vision of Bluebeard. All of the images make me think of an old B&W movie, I can see the illustrations in B&W with only the blue beard adding color, too, as the action moves. I wouldn't change a thing, mind you, but I found my brain grayscaling the images.
His paintings strongly recall Hopper and the Romantics’ atmospheres: from the colour palette he chooses, to the polished density of his brush strokes, to his way of playing with lights and shades, to the portrayed subjects. The unexpected framings, always astounding, characterize his images.
by Linda Medley last May, several months before its December release, but forgot to highlight it upon its release date. Castle Waiting has a small cult following. Medley's name has been removed from the published book with no comment from either author or publisher but the work is hers all the same. I won't venture any futher into those waters, but you can read a review and some other thoughts on it at She Has No Head! – Linda Medley’s Castle Waiting Volume II by Kelly Thompson. Castle Waiting is a comic book series created by Linda Medley. It is in a world of fairy tales and mythology featuring a mix of old-fashioned storytelling and more ironic, modern touches.Castle Waiting was first conceived in 1984, when I was studying folklore and children's book illustration in college. I had filled a sketchbook with character designs, intending to do my own 'take' on some of the classic Grimm's fairy tales. What really fascinated me were the background characters — their unexplained pasts, and their often unresolved fates.
— Linda Medley, afterword to Castle Waiting: The Curse of Brambly Hedge (1996).
The long-awaited return to Castle Waiting! With its long-awaited second volume, Linda Medley’s witty and sublimely drawn fantasy eases into a relaxed comedy of manners as Lady Jain settles into her new life in Castle Waiting.Here's also a video preview of the book to give you an idea of the interior. This is not your typical book, graphic or otherwise.
Unexpected visitors result in the discovery and exploration of a secret passageway, not to mention an epic bowling tournament. A quest for ladies’ underpants, the identity of Pindar’s father, the education of Simon, Rackham and Chess arguing about the “manly arts,” and an escape-prone goat are just a few of the elements in this delightful new volume.
The book also includes many flashbacks that deepen the stories behind the characters, including Jain’s earliest romantic entanglements and conflicts with her bratty older sisters, the horrific past of the enigmatic Dr. Fell, and more. 384 pages of black-and-white comics
by Diane Zahler is officially released this Tuesday, February 1. (It's also available as an ebook
.) It is Zahler's second fairy tale retelling following last year's The Thirteenth Princess
, which drew inspiration from Twelve Dancing Princesses. This new book is most indebted to The Princess and the Pea, so I am most excited about it. I can count the number of novel-length books that draw direct inspiration from that tale on one hand. Of course, the tale itself is super short, but I do think it has much scope for imagination for authors and am surprised it doesn't get used more often.Twelve-year-old Lilia is not a very good servant. In fact, she's terrible! She daydreams, she breaks dishes, and her cooking is awful. Still, she hardly deserves to be sold off to the mean-spirited miller and his family. Refusing to accept that dreadful fate, she decides to flee. With her best friend, Kai, and his sister, Karina, beside her, Lilia heads north to find the family she's never known. But danger awaits. . . .Yes, that description makes it sound like there is some Snow Queen influence along with some other Norwegian folklore. That's the beauty of authors who love fairy tales, they usually have to use more than one.
As their quest leads the threesome through the mysterious and sinister Bitra Forest, they suddenly realize they are lost in the elves' domain. To Lilia's horror, Kai falls under an enchantment cast by the Elf King's beautiful daughter. The only way for Lilia to break the spell and save Kai is to find a jewel of ancient power that lies somewhere in the North Kingdoms. Yet the jewel will not be easy to find. The castle where it is hidden has been overrun with princess hopefuls trying to pass a magical test that will determine the prince's new bride. Lilia has only a few days to search every inch of the castle and find the jewel—-or Kai will be lost to her forever.
