A Crowd of Froud

The World of the Dark Crystal, by J. J. Llewellyn, Art by Brian Froud (1982 Edition). Another purchase from SFBC. I so much wanted to really love this movie, and it had elements I found quite appealing (the Mystics, the lore) but it came just an ace under being a really great fantasy. I think it was because Jim Henson and Brian Froud were mainly visual artists, and not so much actual fantasy writers, which takes a special touch. The book is mainly for the art; the text professes to be an account and explanation of Thra and its history by Aughra and it is full of pop mysticism. Ranking: I’ve had it so long! File Code: Art. Movie. Softcover (And it’s HUGE!).

The Making of The Dark Crystal: Creating A Unique Film, Text by Christopher Finch A book about the film, with pictures of the puppets, scenery, concept art, and behind the scenes techniques. Bought for $0.99. And that’s about all I have to say about it. Ranking: Dispensable. File Code: Film. Art. Softcover.

The Goblins of Labyrinth, by Brian Froud and Terry Jones. A book showcasing and to a certain extent ‘recycling’ or at least re-using the production art that Froud made for Jim Henson’s “Labyrinth”, nicely elaborated by the whimsical and humorous imagination of Terry Jones. Each description of a particular goblin is a short story in itself. Ranking: A Keeper, mostly for Jones’s ingenious wit. File Code: Art. Movie. Hardback.

Faeries, by Brian Froud and Alan Lee. (1978) A book that came out in the wake of “Gnomes” but relying more on actual folklore. The chores were broken up between the two artists, with Froud working on the grotesques and Lee more on the beautiful Fairies. They got an odd little animated special out of the book some time later. Lee of course went on to be one of the main art directors on the “Lord of the Rings” movies: this was one of the first times I became really aware of him personally as an artist. This book was in the first batch of SFBC I ever got. Ranking: Personally Essential. File Code: Folklore. Art. Hardback.

Faeries: Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition, by Brian Froud and Alan Lee. (2002) Wow. Even this revised and expanded version (the main feature being a few new pieces of art) is getting old, as of now (2020). I hadn’t realized just quite how old. I probably wouldn’t hang onto this edition except that I’m such a completist in my soul, and it would nag me. Ranking: Theoretically Expendable. File Code: Folklore. Art. Hardback.

The Art of Fantasy and a Fantasy of Art

Willy Pogany Rediscovered, Selected and Edited by Jeff A. Menges. A Dover art book with color reproductions, half-tones, and line illustrations. I’ve been a fan of Pogany’s work since middle school, when I read “The Children of Odin” and “The Golden Fleece”. Though I find his earlier work a little too overblown and art nouveau, that period of his career found his work nicely tempered and ornate without being ‘busy’. This book is a late acquisition. Ranking: Expendable. File Code: Art. Softcover.

Maidens, Monsters, and Heroes: The Fantasy Illustrations of H. J. Ford, Selected and Edited by Jeff A. Menges. Another Dover art book. H. J. Ford did many illustrations for the Andrew Lang fairy tale collections, among others. I think the first one I ever even saw of these was ‘The Blue Fairy Book’, which I got in my first year of college from the SWTSU bookstore. I love his style, especially his monsters, but maybe even more his ‘almost humans’ of elves, goblins, and bogeys. Ranking: Keeper. File Code: Art. Softcover.

The Fantastic World of Gervasio Gallardo, Introduction by Betty Ballantine This is one of those art books that flourished in the early 1970’s, years before anyone could go online and get an image library of just about any artist. I got the book in the middle 2010’s, mostly because of nostalgia for the covers of the Ballantine fantasy series. There is other art of his, but I don’t particularly care for it; his symbolic art works much better for fantasy than otherwise. Ranking: Dispensable. File Code: Art. Softcover.

The Land of Froud, Edited by David Larkin. Another art book of the 1970’s. This book was advertised in those old sci-fi mags. I first became aware of Brian Froud in a sort of sideways manner, in that a girl in Briesemeister art class used a picture by him (‘The Goblin King and His Servant’) as a template for her project. I have a dim sort of memory of looking at this book and being puzzled by its ‘graphic language’, and possibly leery of its occasional nudity (I was an enormous prude at the time). By the time of “Faeries” in the 1980’s I was a little more broad-minded, and by “The Dark Crystal” I was a settled fan. Froud has grown a little repetitive and more eccentric lately. There's more of his later. Ranking: Keeper. File Code: Art. Softcover.

Myth and Magic: The Art of John Howe, by John Howe. John Howe, along with Alan Lee, was one the art directors associated with Peter Jackson’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ movies, which explains Jackson’s foreword. Howe has done fantasy art for book covers, illustrations, and calendars. Full of his illustrations and his explanation and history for them. No particular memories attached here. But a lot of Tolkien. Ranking: Keeper. File Code: Art. Hardback.

Beyond Fantasy: The Art of Darrell K. Sweet, by Darrell K. Sweet I became aware of Sweet’s work very early, in connection with his Reader’s Digest King Arthur work. Then I knew him through his book covers for Stephen R. Donaldson, Katherine Kurtz, Piers Anthony, Terry Pratchett, and work for the Tolkien calendars, so I soon became very enthusiastic for his clear and beautiful style. His cover for Clifford D. Simak’s “Enchanted Pilgrimage” was better than the whole book. Ranking: Keeper. File Code: Art. Softcover.

The Art of Bone, by Jeff Smith. I have a lot to say about Bone, which I’ll save until later. Right now I’ll say that this is pretty much the end of a long strange journey, and that John bought me this book, and I remember hanging on to it through a trip with all the Shanafelts and the Babels to a restaurant with both(?) Ryans. Jeff Smith talks about his influences and the origins of his award-winning graphic novels and collects quite a record of Bone ephemera and memorabilia. Ranking: Essential for my Jeff Smith collection. File Code: Graphics. History. Hardback.