Ballads [Paperback]

Charles Vess (Illustrator), Neil Gaiman (Author), Sharyn McCrumb (Author), Jeff Smith (Author), Midori Snyder (Author), Delia Sherman (Author), Jane Yolen (Author), Charles de Lint (Author), Paul Chadwick (Introduction), Charles Vess (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1997

A collection of short graphic narrative adaptions of Scottish, English, and Irish ballads written by respected authors in the fantasy and mystery book field and drawn by award winning artist Charles Vess.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"All hail to you and your fellow balladeers and saga-spinners. You have woven a cloth of rare delight, rich with the perfume of the forest and its graces. May the wings of angels give you flight." -- James Gurney, Creator of Dinotopia

From the Publisher

Charles Vess' beautiful black and white illustrations, along with an all-star cast of some of the greatest fantasy and mystery writers of today, lovingly adapt many of the popular old traditional Scottish, English, and Irish ballads into timeless stories with their unique contemporary visions and styles.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Green Man Press; 1st edition (May 15, 1997)
• ISBN-10: 0965776905
• ISBN-13: 978-0965776905
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,004,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"Midori Snyder is the author of eight books for children and adults, published in English, French, and Dutch. She won the Mythopoeic Award for The Innamorati, a novel inspired by early Roman myth and the Italian "Commedia dell'Arte" tradition. Other novels include The Flight of Michael McBride (a mythic western), Soulstring (a lyrical fairy tale), The Oran Trilogy: New Moon, Sadar's Keep, and Beldan's Fire (imaginary-world fantasy, recently re-published in Vikings's Firebird line), and Hannah's Garden (a contemporary faery novel for young adults). Except the Queen, a novel written in collaboration with Jane Yolen is forthcoming in 2010.

Her short stories have appeared in numerous venues including the The Armless Maiden; Black Thorn, White Rose; Xanadu III; Swan Sister; Borderland; and The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. Recent stories have appeared in Young Adult anthologies, The Greenman, Tales From the Mythic Forest and Troll's Eye View, A Book of Villianous Tales. Her nonfiction has appeared in Realms of Fantasy and other magazines, and in essay collections including Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Women Writers Explore Their Favorite Fairy Tales.

In addition to writing, she co-directs The Endicott Studio for Mythic Arts with Terri Winding. She co-edited and designed the online Journal of Mythic Arts from 2003 - 2008; and she served as chairwoman on the judges' panel for the 2007 James Tiptree, Jr. Awards.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This should be a series, not a single volume!, July 22, 2003

By 

Tom Knapp "Rambles.NET editor" (Lancaster, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ballads (Paperback)

Songs, obviously, have a musical component. Ballads, specifically, have more than just words; they have stories to tell as well. Now, thanks to Charles Vess, they have their visual side, too.

In his book Ballads, collected from earlier issues of his Book of Ballads and Sagas, Vess gives a new aspect to folk songs passed down through the ages. Visually stunning, his black and white illustrations expose the true faces of the heroes and villains of song.

Vess drew on the writing talents of writers Neil Gaiman, Jane Yolen, Charles de Lint, Midori Snyder, Sharyn McCrumb, Delia Sherman and Jeff Smith to give focus to the words, tightening the ballads into short story-length vignettes. Combined, their work is a wonderful way to re-expose yourself to the ballads. Anyone new to the folk song milieu will likely be inspired to track down some of the recordings listed in Ken Roseman's accompanying discography.

Ballads is a delightful collection, both for the text and the art which helps tell the story.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charles Vess' "Ballads" is compelling and exquisite., June 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ballads (Paperback)

"Ballads" is the trade paperback collection of Vess' four-issue "Book of Ballads and Sagas" comic book. Writers include Neil Gaiman, Charles deLint, Jane Yolen, and Sharyn Crumb. The stories are all based upon songs such as "Twa Corbies," "Barbara Allen," and "Tam Lin." They are all exceptionally well-written, and the illustrations are beautiful, sensitively drawn pen and ink work by one of today's finest proponents of fantasy art. Mr. Vess' work has been compared to Arthur Rackham's, and believe me, he certainly doesn't suffer by the comparison. This book will be loved and treasured not just by afficionados of fantasy, but also by fans of folk music, and by all those who appreciate truly fine artwork.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There's never enough Vess, May 6, 2004

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ballads (Paperback)

In this book, Vess has taken a number of classical and modern ballads, and filled in the visual story around them. The drawn narrative is a varied as the stories. Some pictures, like the whole-page birth scene, are entire stories in themselves. Not many people can put as much into black and white a Vess, as this book demonstrates.

I wish I could give this book five stars, but this isn't the greatest presentation of his work. His best work has a very delicate line. Maybe it was just the printing process, but this book came through in a coarser style. His black and white work is outstanding, but I like his color work too - this book was not able to show any of Vess' skill as a colorist.

These short stories fit nicely with Vess' renderings of operas and other long pieces. I recommend this book to anyone who already like his art. If you're a newcomer, though, other books give a better idea of why his work is so special.