Three feature-length stories of music and murder from multiple Eisner and Harvey award-winner P. Craig Russell (The Sandman: The Dream Hunters, American Gods), plus three bonus musical shorts make for a drop-dead gorgeous Fine Art Edition! This beautiful 12″ x 17″ oversized hardcover features the complete stories Salome, The Clowns, The Godfather’s Code, Unto this World, Eine Heldentraum, and Between Two Worlds, all scanned from P. Craig Russell’s stunning original art. While appearing to be in black & white, each page has been scanned in colour to recreate as closely as possible the experience of viewing the actual originals-including blue pencils, notes, art corrections and more. Pages are reproduced at their original size on heavy paper stock to provide fans, aficionados, and collectors with the best possible reproductions.
- WAH Productions, November 07, 2018
- ISBN: 978-0-9998106-5-1
- 12″ x 17″, 132 pages
- $125 USD
- Order Online: eBay
As with all AE format material (Artist’s Editions, Artifact Editions, Gallery Editions, Art Editions, Studio Editions, etc.), this is a collection of classic comic material and I’ll be reviewing the book and not the story. For a complete list of all current and announced editions, with review links, please visit our Index. Also, see What is an Artist’s Edition and our Artist Index. This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
Six complete stories, three long and three short, plus a gallery of related work. All with a variety of techniques: Ben Day, pencils without inks, coloured pencils, Zip-A-Tone. Marvel with each turn of the page. As with The Jungle Book and Other Stories, each story begins with a one-page introduction by Rusell discussing the background and his approach to the material. The book closes out with a biography and colour photo.
This is a review of the crowdfunded volume, in case you’re wondering why the dates don’t jive. While I doubt there will be any changes to the retail Diamond distributed volume, it’s worth mentioning.
Scans are excellent; clear, without issue. The pages have all aged very well, off-white to light tan. Blacks show gradients. Correction fluid used sparingly, to correct word balloons mostly. Margin notes only appear on The Godfather’s Code pages, referencing dialogue.
The design is this book’s only weak point. The colour and layout choices for the cover seem jarring and mismatched, but that feels more like personal preference. I appreciate the purple tying in from the cover to the chapter introductions. As well the gallery ties into the provided stories to enhance the main material, as opposed to a random collection of art that didn’t fit elsewhere that we see from other publishers. With the artwork lacking colour the only “pop” we get is from the indices, table of contents and chapter dividers. The flat black text on plain white paper is stark. A blank white page is a missed opportunity.
Production is excellent: a sewn binding of heavy matte paper stock. The book comes shrink-wrapped in a plain cardboard case. Almost all pages lie flat after smoothing the center.
With this release, we now have five AE format books available of Rusell’s art, with a sixth on the way. And each holds itself fully to the purpose of showcasing this amazingly talented creator.
This volume brings together not only a variety of materials but a wide range of techniques and styles from Russell’s career. Each story is a completely different approach to presentation, with a unique design sense. From Salome’s cloak to the pencilled shading of The Godfather’s Code and the photorealism of Between Two Worlds. Reading these stories in this raw original art format is to rediscover an old favourite. I can’t wait for the next volume.
