Bearskin: A Grimm Tale [Paperback]

Gareth Hinds (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1998

This is a Graphic Novel adaptation of a Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale. It is the story of a discharged soldier who, homeless and destitute, agrees to a deal with the Devil. For seven years he must wear the pelt of a bear, and neither bathe, shave, cut his hair or nails, nor sleep in a bed. If he dies during the seven years, he will lose his soul, but if he survives he will be the wealthiest man in the world. 80 pp. b/w.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you've read and loved BEARSKIN as I have, believe me, you've only seen the tip of the Iceberg. Gareth Hinds is a talent to be reckoned with. Don't let him out of your sight for a minute." -- Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics

"Take it from a lover of the fairy tale and sequential art, ignore the psychological and sociological mumbo-jumbo and just enjoy the work for what it is -- a well-told story with great art." -- Joseph Szadkowski, The Washington Times, 8/22/98

From the Publisher

This book is intended to build on the recent resurgence of interest in fairy tales as both timeless entertainment and deep wells of sociological and psychological information. Mass-media adaptations of these tales have invariably distorted their symbolic content to please current narrative tastes. The goal of the Bearskin project is to give the modern audience a faithful retelling of some of the old stories, with their original archetypal elements intact, as well as to flavor each story with a distinct visual interpretation.

Bearskin is the first book published by TheComic.com, a non-incorporated venture into the realm of independent comics and E-commerce. It is centered on a web page which features a free, serialized online comic book, Deus Ex Machina, as well as an online store for Bearskin-related merchandise. Bearskin was published with the help of a grant from the Xeric Foundation. This is an organization whose purpose is to give financial assistance to comic book self-publishers, on the basis of originality, literary and artistic merit, and commitment to the medium. Bearskin received the maximum Xeric Grant for spring 1998.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Thecomic Com (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893131009
• ISBN-13: 978-1893131002
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,518,772 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful retelling of a classic story, December 10, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Waltham, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bearskin: A Grimm Tale (Paperback)

The Bearskin story has always been one of my personal favorites, and this new retelling captures the story perfectly. The art is wonderfully expressive with an incredible display of shadows and emotions. I'm glad that this particular story was chosen, as it's often overlooked in favor of more famous stories. This book would make a great introduction to the story, and is equally exciting for those already familiar.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing New Talent, December 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Bearskin: A Grimm Tale (Paperback)

BEARSKIN is, simply, a fairy tale brought to life. The tale is told with marvelous economy and coherence: a wealth of subtle detail, not an element out of line, merged seamlessly and effortlessly with an archetypal storyline. The art is gorgeous and distinctive, with the kind of style that invites close examination and pits eagerness to see what happens next against the desire to pore over each page.

This is what fairy tales--and, more than that, storytelling--are meant to be. Absolutely worth a look. Comic book-adaptations of old stories are a dime a dozen, but this one is worth its weight in gold.

I can't wait to see more of Hinds' work. Fortunately I checked out his web page, and more is forthcoming (and some is available online).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, October 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Bearskin: A Grimm Tale (Paperback)

This is an excellent and very entertaining retelling of the Brothers Grimm story "Bearskin." The art is ultra-clean, and very consistent throughout. The characters appear exaggerated to the point of being perfectly archetypal for the Grimm genre, and yet somehow it doesn't read as cliche'. Very enjoyable!

But what really amazes me is the quality of what appears to be this illustrator's first work. Perhaps this is just his first national release? In any case, it's a hell of a comic.

The bio in the inside cover points to both his web site (thecomic.com) which is also very good, and also to another book in the works (Beowulf). I can't wait! Mr. Hinds -- would you please finish it by next Christmas?

Bravo!