Charles Vess - Modern Masters Vol. 11
                                             (2007 - TwoMorrows Publishing)  

     (by Christopher Irving & Eric Nolen Worthington)   This 120 page volume focuses in on an extended interview with the artist, that covers many milestones on his career's path, along with his influences and his interactions with the other writers and artists whose community he has wholeheartedly embraced.  Many of the pages showcase his storytelling and display his sequential art, but there are still 47 that are given primarily to single images, as well another 11 that collect multiple disparate art pieces on them.  Now, some of those images look like they might be black-and-white depictions of painted, or at least colored, work, but in many instances, if that is the case, his linework still shines through.  There are a handful of paintings in place.  A good portion of the well-presented works here get as good, if not better, treatment in his collection, DRAWING DOWN THE MOON, but there are enough images not appearing there that would probably make this book worthwhile to have too, especially when combined with the interesting anecdotes & observations that are shared.  His work with the mainstream superheroes is not given short shrift, though his inclination to fantasy is evident everywhere.  Interestingly, one of Russ Manning's impressive panoramic comic panels gets displayed here among others that influenced Vess.

Related Books

  Drawing Down The Moon

other TwoMorrows releases

  Dan Spiegle - A Life In Comic Art

  Brush Strokes With Greatness - The Life & Art Of Joe Sinnott

  John Romita . . . And All That Jazz [BELOW THE LINE]

  Comic Book Artist # 22  [BELOW THE LINE]

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