Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde, Vol. 1: The Selfish Giant / The Star Child
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
One of comic art’s most respected and pioneering artists, well known for his opera adaptations and beautiful fantasy work, P. Craig Russell is in the process of adapting Oscar Wilde’s famous fairy tales in a series of landmark volumes. This volume includes The Selfish Giant and The Star Child.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Two perfect prose miniatures find their ideal illustrator in this fourth volume of Russell's adaptations from Wilde. There are no happy little diversions for children here; Wilde appreciated childlike innocence, but he also realized how often it was abused and disappointed in the adult world. In "The Devoted Friend," a rich miller who can talk eloquently about friendship exploits his trusting neighbor to the point of death. In "The Nightingale and the Rose," an innocent bird sacrifices itself for the sake of a true love that turns out to be a sham. Wilde isn't blatantly jeering at hypocrites or credulous fools in these stories. He is, however, suggesting that even the most genuinely beautiful surfaces shouldn't be trusted. Russell catches this mood perfectly, not trying to overshadow Wilde but merely helping him do his disturbing work. Russell's exquisite art has a supple ink line that's never fussy. His picture of the miller shows an elaborate, empty facade, far more offensive than a simple hypocrite. The yearning lover looks sincere enough to convince readers that the nightingale must be doing the right thing until, at the conclusion, readers recognize he's just a dull lad. Pricey as this slim book is, it's probably best not to read many of Wilde's sardonic tales at one time.
Customer Reviews
One star for formatting
Unlike the other Russell Oscar Wilde books in the Apple bookstore, this one is formatted as text rather than a series of images, which means it’s impossible to zoom in to the intricate art and much of the detail is lost. An egregious error.