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The Book of Ballads
Illustrated and presented by one of the leading artists in modern fantasy, here are the great songs and folktales of the English, Irish, and Scottish traditions, re-imagined in sequential-art form, in collaboration with some of today's strongest fantasy writers.
Here are New York Times bestseller Neil Gaiman with "The False Knight on the Road"; popular mystery author Sharyn McCrumb's version of "Thomas the Rhymer"; acclaimed children's writer Jane Yolen with "King Henry" and "The Great Selchie of Sule Skerrie"; popular novelist Charles de Lint's contemporary reworking of "Twa Corbies"; Bone creator Jeff Smith with "The Galtee Farmer"; Emma Bull's version of "The Black Fox," and much, much more.
Introduced by award-winning editor and writer Terri Windling, and finished with full lyrics and discographies of the classic versions of these songs and tales, The Book of Ballads is an event in the worlds of fantasy and graphic storytelling alike.
Here are New York Times bestseller Neil Gaiman with "The False Knight on the Road"; popular mystery author Sharyn McCrumb's version of "Thomas the Rhymer"; acclaimed children's writer Jane Yolen with "King Henry" and "The Great Selchie of Sule Skerrie"; popular novelist Charles de Lint's contemporary reworking of "Twa Corbies"; Bone creator Jeff Smith with "The Galtee Farmer"; Emma Bull's version of "The Black Fox," and much, much more.
Introduced by award-winning editor and writer Terri Windling, and finished with full lyrics and discographies of the classic versions of these songs and tales, The Book of Ballads is an event in the worlds of fantasy and graphic storytelling alike.
192 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2004
5 people are currently reading
1521 people want to read
About the author
Charles Vess
275 books192 followersCharles was born in 1951 in Lynchburg, Virginia and has been drawing since he could hold a crayon. He drew his first full-length comic when he was 10 and called it "Atomic Man." Minimalist in nature, it required no drawing of hands, feet or heads ("they just glowed"). Since then, he has painstakingly drawn thousands of hands, feet, and heads in great detail. Charles graduated with a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, and worked in commercial animation for Candy Apple Productions in Richmond, Va., before moving to New York City in 1976. It was there that he became a freelance illustrator, working for many publications including Heavy Metal, Klutz Press, and National Lampoon. His award-winning work has graced the pages of numerous comic book, publishers such as Marvel, DC, Darkhorse and Epic. He has been featured in several gallery and museum exhibitions across the nation, including the first major exhibition of Science Fiction and Fantasy Art (New Britain Museum of American Art, 1980) and "Dreamweavers" (William King Regional Arts Center, 1994-95). In 1991, Charles shared the prestigious World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story with Neil Gaiman for their collaboration on Sandman #19 (DC Comics) --- the first and only time a comic book has held this honor. In the summer of 1997, Charles won the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award for Best Penciler/Inker for his work on The Book of Ballads and Sagas (which he self-publishes through his own Green Man Press) as well as Sandman #75. Soon after Charles finished the last of 175 paintings for Stardust, a novel written by Neil Gaiman, for which he was given the 1999 World Fantasy Award as Best Artist.
In 2002 Charles won a second Will Eisner award, this time as Best Painter for his work on Rose, a 130-page epic fantasy saga written by Cartoon Books' Jeff Smith. The year continued to be busy for Charles with the publication of Seven Wild Sisters (Subterranean Press) and The Green Man, Tales from the Mythic Forest (Viking), both utilizing cover art and interior b/w illustrations by the artist, and both making the 2003 American Library Association's list for Best Books for Young Adults! By the end of the year he had completed 28 paintings for his first children's picture book, A Circle of Cats, done in collaboration with writer Charles de Lint (Viking). This cover art won the Gold Award for Best Book Art in the 10th annual "Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art" even before it was officially published. A new edition of Peter Pan (Tor/Starscape) featuringa cover as well as over 30 b/w interior illustrations by Vess was released this past Fall. Another collaboration with de Lint, Medicine Road (Subterranean Press) and the YA anthology,The Faery Reel (Viking ) will be arriving this Spring and he is currently hard at work producing drawings for several new books, including, A Storm of Swords (MeishaMerlin), the 25th anniversary edition of Moonheart (Subterranean Press) and a graphic novel collection of his ballads material for Tor.
In 2002 Charles won a second Will Eisner award, this time as Best Painter for his work on Rose, a 130-page epic fantasy saga written by Cartoon Books' Jeff Smith. The year continued to be busy for Charles with the publication of Seven Wild Sisters (Subterranean Press) and The Green Man, Tales from the Mythic Forest (Viking), both utilizing cover art and interior b/w illustrations by the artist, and both making the 2003 American Library Association's list for Best Books for Young Adults! By the end of the year he had completed 28 paintings for his first children's picture book, A Circle of Cats, done in collaboration with writer Charles de Lint (Viking). This cover art won the Gold Award for Best Book Art in the 10th annual "Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art" even before it was officially published. A new edition of Peter Pan (Tor/Starscape) featuringa cover as well as over 30 b/w interior illustrations by Vess was released this past Fall. Another collaboration with de Lint, Medicine Road (Subterranean Press) and the YA anthology,The Faery Reel (Viking ) will be arriving this Spring and he is currently hard at work producing drawings for several new books, including, A Storm of Swords (MeishaMerlin), the 25th anniversary edition of Moonheart (Subterranean Press) and a graphic novel collection of his ballads material for Tor.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
August 27, 2021
(B-) 71% | Satisfactory
Notes: The artwork's nicely done, but its stories are hit and miss, and too short to really garner much interest or investment.
Notes: The artwork's nicely done, but its stories are hit and miss, and too short to really garner much interest or investment.
November 30, 2022
The artwork is lovely and I liked Charles Vess' style, but the storytelling is lacking, resulting in a bunch of scattered auto-conclusive stories that read disjointed and uneven because they're too independent from each other, and there's no theme in common besides they all being folk ballads from the British Isles.
I think this anthology of mini-graphic novels would've benefited from having a main character as narrator, say, a bard telling each ballad by turns at court/an inn or by a campfire, to give them all a tidy and unified format instead of placing them together with no thread running through them. Personally, I only cared for the "Thomas the Rhymer" and "Tam Lin" child ballads, and that's mostly due to familiarity, so I appreciated the little tweaks here, and I also like that they included the full original songs at the end of each retelling.
I think this anthology of mini-graphic novels would've benefited from having a main character as narrator, say, a bard telling each ballad by turns at court/an inn or by a campfire, to give them all a tidy and unified format instead of placing them together with no thread running through them. Personally, I only cared for the "Thomas the Rhymer" and "Tam Lin" child ballads, and that's mostly due to familiarity, so I appreciated the little tweaks here, and I also like that they included the full original songs at the end of each retelling.
October 10, 2016
In this graphic novel, Charles Vess illustrates many traditional folk ballads that have been rewritten by some fairly popular fantasy artists like Neil Gaiman or Emma Bull.
I didn't realize how many traditional ballads have negative interactions with strangers as their primary topic. According to these stories, any stranger is either a fairy or the devil. If it is a male, he'll either kill you or impregnate you and then come later to take your kid back to whatever magical land he came from. If it is a female, she'll either imprison you, change you into a snake, rape you, or take you away to fairyland. An alternate title for this book could be: Strangers are Bad- Don't Talk to Strangers or Let Them In Your House or Have Sex with Them Unless You Want to Die.
But all joking aside, there are very few ballads that end either happily or well. It is unsettling reading them altogether, like delving into a book of short horror stories. From the introduction by Terri Windling: "Ballads, which are stories in narrative verse, are related to folktales, romances, and sagas, with which they sometimes share themes, plots, and characters (such as Robin Hood). No one knows how old the oldest are. It's believed that they are ancient indeed..." pg 10 Which disturbs me even more when I consider that these stories were written for a reason. Can you imagine raising a kid in the dawn of time? 'Don't go talk to that stranger over there 'cause he might eat you. We don't know about that exact dude, but seriously... it has happened. Remember how you used to have a sister?'
Take the ballad of Tam-Lin for instance: "O I forbid you, maidens a', That wear gowd on your hair, To come or gae by Carterhaugh, For young Tam-Lin is there. There's nane that gaes by Carterhaugh But they leave him a wad, Either their rings, or green mantles, Or else their maidenhead." pg 92 In other words, don't go over there or he'll take your stuff or rape you.
Despite the depressing nature of the stories, the artwork is very pretty and it's all in black and white which makes the stories even starker. My favorite of the bunch is The Great Selchie of Sule Skerry which was re-written by Jane Yolen. In it, a young maiden falls in love with a man from the sea. Guess how it ends?
Some read alike graphic novels: A Flight of Angels by Rebecca Guay, The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen, or The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman.
I didn't realize how many traditional ballads have negative interactions with strangers as their primary topic. According to these stories, any stranger is either a fairy or the devil. If it is a male, he'll either kill you or impregnate you and then come later to take your kid back to whatever magical land he came from. If it is a female, she'll either imprison you, change you into a snake, rape you, or take you away to fairyland. An alternate title for this book could be: Strangers are Bad- Don't Talk to Strangers or Let Them In Your House or Have Sex with Them Unless You Want to Die.
But all joking aside, there are very few ballads that end either happily or well. It is unsettling reading them altogether, like delving into a book of short horror stories. From the introduction by Terri Windling: "Ballads, which are stories in narrative verse, are related to folktales, romances, and sagas, with which they sometimes share themes, plots, and characters (such as Robin Hood). No one knows how old the oldest are. It's believed that they are ancient indeed..." pg 10 Which disturbs me even more when I consider that these stories were written for a reason. Can you imagine raising a kid in the dawn of time? 'Don't go talk to that stranger over there 'cause he might eat you. We don't know about that exact dude, but seriously... it has happened. Remember how you used to have a sister?'
Take the ballad of Tam-Lin for instance: "O I forbid you, maidens a', That wear gowd on your hair, To come or gae by Carterhaugh, For young Tam-Lin is there. There's nane that gaes by Carterhaugh But they leave him a wad, Either their rings, or green mantles, Or else their maidenhead." pg 92 In other words, don't go over there or he'll take your stuff or rape you.
Despite the depressing nature of the stories, the artwork is very pretty and it's all in black and white which makes the stories even starker. My favorite of the bunch is The Great Selchie of Sule Skerry which was re-written by Jane Yolen. In it, a young maiden falls in love with a man from the sea. Guess how it ends?
Some read alike graphic novels: A Flight of Angels by Rebecca Guay, The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen, or The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman.
March 15, 2016
Charles Vess is an artist I've come across a number of times. His work is instantly identifiable, with lots of long flowing lines and a timeless sensibility, it's easy to imagine his work in a renaissance tome or a fairy-tale library. I personally remember his work in Sandman (the "A Midsummer's Night's Dream" fae story), Fables and the illustrated version of Gaiman's Stardust.
From what I gather, this was a labor of love for Vess. He took classic old English and Scottish ballads and had various friends create stories around them, which he then illustrated, and produced on his own label. And when you consider among his friends are Emma Bull, Charles de Lint, Terri Windling and Neil Gaiman, you have something special.
Every panel is intricate and detailed, dreamy and dramatic. Really a lovely book, and one I will be looking for to add to my own collection.
From what I gather, this was a labor of love for Vess. He took classic old English and Scottish ballads and had various friends create stories around them, which he then illustrated, and produced on his own label. And when you consider among his friends are Emma Bull, Charles de Lint, Terri Windling and Neil Gaiman, you have something special.
Every panel is intricate and detailed, dreamy and dramatic. Really a lovely book, and one I will be looking for to add to my own collection.
June 20, 2024
I am definitely and indeed rather conflicted regarding the graphic novel anthology The Book of Ballads (2004). Sure, Terry Wildling's introduction to British and Irish ballads is both interesting and enlightening, with Wildling also providing an appreciated list of titles for further reading, and Ken Roseman's discography notes on the final pages of The Book of Ballads are equally marvellous and will as such also serve as a future musical resource point for me (and of course, I also am glad that after each ballad retelling, the original ballad verses are presented in The Book of Ballads, although sadly without musical scores).
However, even though Charles Vess' black-and-white comic book style artwork for The Book of Ballads is stylistically adept and generally visually lovely (although personally, I would definitely prefer colour illustrations), well, the ballad retellings in The Book of Ballads (by different authors) are rather lacking, uneven and with no transitions from one story to the next either, which leaves the texts of The Book of Ballads rather hanging in the air so to speak, not to mention also annoyingly, choppily frustrating. And considering that from the thirteen ballads being retold in The Book of Ballads, I have admittedly only really enjoyed Neil Gaiman's The False Knight on the Road, Jane Yolen's King Henry, Midori Snyder's interesting and imaginative reimagining of Barbara Allen and Delia Sherman's The Daemon Lover, sorry, but with regard to reading joy and how the ballads featured in The Book of Ballads have been retold, I truly and personally speaking cannot and will not grant a rating higher than two stars for The Book of Ballads. Because even though I do think that the featured stories and Vess' accompanying images work well enough together (both mirroring and expanding on each other) and that as mentioned above the introduction and discography information for The Book of Ballads are very much appreciated, I just am unable to consider a higher rating than two stars for a reading experience that has been pretty disappointing and frankly rather tedious and frustratingly annoying at best.
And finally, would I still recommend The Book of Ballads? Yes, but ONLY for the excellent introduction and musical notes, NOT for the actual retellings, not for the textual body proper of The Book of Ballads (and perhaps also a bit for Charles Vess' artwork, although it is kind of sad and frustrating that in a graphic novel anthology of retold British and Irish ballads, that in The Book of Ballads, the stories are to and for me far far too often majorly annoying, hugely lacking, and that only the illustrations and the secondary sources are actually worth it and to be celebrated).
However, even though Charles Vess' black-and-white comic book style artwork for The Book of Ballads is stylistically adept and generally visually lovely (although personally, I would definitely prefer colour illustrations), well, the ballad retellings in The Book of Ballads (by different authors) are rather lacking, uneven and with no transitions from one story to the next either, which leaves the texts of The Book of Ballads rather hanging in the air so to speak, not to mention also annoyingly, choppily frustrating. And considering that from the thirteen ballads being retold in The Book of Ballads, I have admittedly only really enjoyed Neil Gaiman's The False Knight on the Road, Jane Yolen's King Henry, Midori Snyder's interesting and imaginative reimagining of Barbara Allen and Delia Sherman's The Daemon Lover, sorry, but with regard to reading joy and how the ballads featured in The Book of Ballads have been retold, I truly and personally speaking cannot and will not grant a rating higher than two stars for The Book of Ballads. Because even though I do think that the featured stories and Vess' accompanying images work well enough together (both mirroring and expanding on each other) and that as mentioned above the introduction and discography information for The Book of Ballads are very much appreciated, I just am unable to consider a higher rating than two stars for a reading experience that has been pretty disappointing and frankly rather tedious and frustratingly annoying at best.
And finally, would I still recommend The Book of Ballads? Yes, but ONLY for the excellent introduction and musical notes, NOT for the actual retellings, not for the textual body proper of The Book of Ballads (and perhaps also a bit for Charles Vess' artwork, although it is kind of sad and frustrating that in a graphic novel anthology of retold British and Irish ballads, that in The Book of Ballads, the stories are to and for me far far too often majorly annoying, hugely lacking, and that only the illustrations and the secondary sources are actually worth it and to be celebrated).
September 27, 2010
Very cool concept--a graphic novel made up of illustrated folk ballads retold by popular fantasy authors.
Unfortunately, I didn't find the retellings all that compelling; many of them didn't make added sense of the often very sparse ballad storyline, and almost every single one was sexually explicit.
I also would have liked notes from the authors explaining their take on the ballads.
Unfortunately, I didn't find the retellings all that compelling; many of them didn't make added sense of the often very sparse ballad storyline, and almost every single one was sexually explicit.
I also would have liked notes from the authors explaining their take on the ballads.
May 7, 2013
I have had this graphic novel on my shelf to read forever. I finally got around to reading it; I originally picked this up because I love Charles Vess’s artwork and thought the concept of him illustrating a whole bunch of traditional ballads sounded really awesome. It was a very good read. Some of the ballads were retold in really wonderful ways, others were just excerpts from the original ballads.
This book consists of a series of traditional ballads. The ballads are first told via graphic novel format. Some are retellings and some are pretty much word for word from the original ballads. Then after the graphic retelling, the ballad is printed in its entirety.
A lot of these were just the ballads with pictures without much retelling done by the authors. There were a couple that really stood out though with excellent retellings done by the authors. The Two Corbies by Charles de Lint was a very well done retelling and delivered a fantastic story while still referencing the original ballad. The Black Fox by Emma Bull was also very well done, Bull gave an American twist to this traditional ballad.
Most of the Ballads feature supernatural being like fey or witches. All of the Ballads have fantasy or faerie tale bent to them.
Charles Vess’s artwork is as stunning as always. I was a bit disappointed that everything was in black and white, because I love what Vess does with color. Still the drawings were wonderful and did an excellent job of portraying the mood of the story. His artwork ranges from cartoonish (in the Galtee Farmer), to stunningly beautiful (in Tam-Lin and Savoy), and even to disturbingly ugly (in Alison Cross).
I also really enjoyed reading the poems in their original format. I love epic poetry and folklore and these were fun and interesting to read.
Overall an enjoyable read. I was a bit disappointed that so many of the “retellings” were just excerpts of the original ballads/poems. Still there were some excellent retellings in here as well. Charles Vess’s illustration was absolutely stunning and really set the mood for the stories. Recommended to those who enjoy fantasy graphic novels or are interested in folklore/fantasy poetry.
This book consists of a series of traditional ballads. The ballads are first told via graphic novel format. Some are retellings and some are pretty much word for word from the original ballads. Then after the graphic retelling, the ballad is printed in its entirety.
A lot of these were just the ballads with pictures without much retelling done by the authors. There were a couple that really stood out though with excellent retellings done by the authors. The Two Corbies by Charles de Lint was a very well done retelling and delivered a fantastic story while still referencing the original ballad. The Black Fox by Emma Bull was also very well done, Bull gave an American twist to this traditional ballad.
Most of the Ballads feature supernatural being like fey or witches. All of the Ballads have fantasy or faerie tale bent to them.
Charles Vess’s artwork is as stunning as always. I was a bit disappointed that everything was in black and white, because I love what Vess does with color. Still the drawings were wonderful and did an excellent job of portraying the mood of the story. His artwork ranges from cartoonish (in the Galtee Farmer), to stunningly beautiful (in Tam-Lin and Savoy), and even to disturbingly ugly (in Alison Cross).
I also really enjoyed reading the poems in their original format. I love epic poetry and folklore and these were fun and interesting to read.
Overall an enjoyable read. I was a bit disappointed that so many of the “retellings” were just excerpts of the original ballads/poems. Still there were some excellent retellings in here as well. Charles Vess’s illustration was absolutely stunning and really set the mood for the stories. Recommended to those who enjoy fantasy graphic novels or are interested in folklore/fantasy poetry.
May 23, 2011
Up until I saw the call-number for this book at the library, I'd assumed it was a heavily illustrated anthology of short stories.
Instead, it's in graphic novel form rather than prose form. This disappointed me a bit since I'd much rather read prose than a graphic novel. However, less writing means more room to showcase Vess's lovely artwork.
In collections of retold fairy tales, I'm used to authors taking a lot of liberty with the material they're working with. Part of the fun is seeing what things they can pluck from the threads of the source story and what it looks like when they're done. But in this collection, the majority of the stories stick very close to the original work. They might add an event or motivation here and there, but the bulk of the story remains unchanged. In fact, most of the stories still have recognizable chunks of the source ballad contained in them. One of Gaiman's stories seemed entirely identical - I didn't compare word for word, but if anything at all was changed I'd be highly surprised.
While some of the additions to the story were interesting or entertaining, I can't shake the feeling that I would have been just as happy with a book full of Vess's artwork and the original ballads word for word. His art made so much more of an impact than the changes to the ballads.
Instead, it's in graphic novel form rather than prose form. This disappointed me a bit since I'd much rather read prose than a graphic novel. However, less writing means more room to showcase Vess's lovely artwork.
In collections of retold fairy tales, I'm used to authors taking a lot of liberty with the material they're working with. Part of the fun is seeing what things they can pluck from the threads of the source story and what it looks like when they're done. But in this collection, the majority of the stories stick very close to the original work. They might add an event or motivation here and there, but the bulk of the story remains unchanged. In fact, most of the stories still have recognizable chunks of the source ballad contained in them. One of Gaiman's stories seemed entirely identical - I didn't compare word for word, but if anything at all was changed I'd be highly surprised.
While some of the additions to the story were interesting or entertaining, I can't shake the feeling that I would have been just as happy with a book full of Vess's artwork and the original ballads word for word. His art made so much more of an impact than the changes to the ballads.
March 5, 2017
Vess is a wonderful, award winning illustrator, creating detailed, intricate black and white drawings in the style of Franklin Booth (look him up - amazing pen and ink illustrations!)and Arthur Rakham. The book is worth the time for the artwork alone - it won an Eisner award; high praise in the world of graphic novels and comic books.
But wait, there is more! The stories illustrated in this volume are illustrated adaptations of English and Scottish ballad, written by his favorite writer-friends, with a helpful introduction into the world of the old English and Scottish ballads.
Highly recommended.
But wait, there is more! The stories illustrated in this volume are illustrated adaptations of English and Scottish ballad, written by his favorite writer-friends, with a helpful introduction into the world of the old English and Scottish ballads.
Highly recommended.
January 19, 2012
Charles Vess has taken a selection of British and American ballads (folk songs) from the collection of Francis James Child and had them written up by prominent comic book authors into stories for him to illustrate. His elfin, Arthur Rackham-influenced style is well-suited to these uncanny tales of fairies, enchantments, and tragedies.
I wonder if Vess is a fan of the folk-rock band Steeleye Span, which has done its own versions of quite a number of the ballads included.
I wonder if Vess is a fan of the folk-rock band Steeleye Span, which has done its own versions of quite a number of the ballads included.
August 1, 2014
The artwork didn't work for me, too busy. The text in the thought balloons was often hard to read. Most of the adaptations were well done and there was a good variety of style. Some of the stories were new to me and I enjoyed reading them.
maybe-read-sometime
December 3, 2012Gorgeous art, interesting concept, but I'm not sure what I think of the panel layout. I only read the Emma Bull story, which was okay.
January 31, 2016
Parte testo, parte illustrazione, parte fumetto, tutto capolavoro.
May 14, 2025
This book is the reason I have developed a passionate interest in ballads as an art form. The illustrations are masterful, as well. This isn’t just a book of poems or a short story—I would honestly call it an art book! Highly recommend if you want to learn more about folklore and traditional ballads.
August 6, 2010
This is a collection of slightly retold English/British ballads by various authors illustrated by Charles Vess.
The introduction by Terri Windling was especially wonderful to read. I don't know much about ballads at all (my definition of them before were "sappy slow songs") and she wrote in an intriguing style. Good resources, too.
I also like the format of book. After each story, the actual ballad is written, so we can either compare, or also read the original for our knowledge and pleasure.
"The False Knight on the Road" - Neil Gaiman
Didn't really deviate from the original in his, but I do like the cleverness of the original ballad. Courageous boy!
"King Henry" - Jane Yolen
Wow, this story was quite a mind-blower. A nice introduction about a dead mother and how King Henry knew her. Vess's art was really fascinating in this one.
"Thomas the Rhymer" - Sharyn McCrumb
I guess I got really confused as to when he couldn't speak for 7 years in the illustrated story. The ending was really sweet, though.
"Barbara Allen" - Midori Snyder
I've read some of Midori Snyder's short stories before and I rather liked them. In her retelling she gives Barbara Allen a motive for her apparently cruelty to her lover. In the original ballad she just does it and we don't know why.
"The Three Lovers" - Lee Smith
It was interesting how this was posed a play about the 3 lovers. I don't really get how the male could've wooed the "brown girl" if he loved his "fair Ellender" so much (or so it seemed in the story). What? But it was somehow an amusing story. I suppose because it was so dramatic and...kind of "wtf."
"The Daemon Lover" - Delia Sherman
Oh, the lover was smart at the end, asking her what she wanted to see, and abiding to her wish, yeah in a very twisted manner. I feel really bad she left her family and babe behind, though... :(
"Twa Corbies" - Charles de Lint
I read this story after a long absence from the book. For some reason I didn't really take to it. I suppose part of it was I got reminded of Sandman by Neil Gaiman for some reason and it confused me...
"Sovay" - Charles de Lint
This one I really loved. I liked de Lint's inclusion/fleshing out of the original ballad and I especially love Vess's illustrations. While I do think Sovay was a little dramatic in her test (and she shouldn't have tested him, at all), it made for an entertaining story.
"The Galtee Farmer" - Jeff Smith
Oh, this reminds me of nursery rhymes! This is a cute and funny story, and has a stronger "here I am, a moral" feel to it than the other stories. To me, at least.
"Allison Gross" - Charles Vess
This was a somewhat bizarre story, but I liked Vess's addition to the original ballad.
"The Black Fox" - Emma Bull
The outcome of this story is expected, but I liked how Miss Parris was a strong female character and took it in a ride. As brief as this story was, the personalities of the characters came out strongly and quite well.
"The Great Selchie of Sule Skerry" - Jane Yolen
(Wow, Firefox spell check did not like the title of this short story!) Ah, tragic ending, but I like the introduction Yolen gives to the story before jumping into the part where the original ballad begins. It really fills out the female character, Mairi.
Vess's illustrations are pretty fantastic. There's nothing overwhelming wrong with this book, but I suppose I don't feel like giving it 5-stars because it took me so long to read it and it's a rather short anthology. It didn't grab me.
The introduction by Terri Windling was especially wonderful to read. I don't know much about ballads at all (my definition of them before were "sappy slow songs") and she wrote in an intriguing style. Good resources, too.
I also like the format of book. After each story, the actual ballad is written, so we can either compare, or also read the original for our knowledge and pleasure.
"The False Knight on the Road" - Neil Gaiman
Didn't really deviate from the original in his, but I do like the cleverness of the original ballad. Courageous boy!
"King Henry" - Jane Yolen
Wow, this story was quite a mind-blower. A nice introduction about a dead mother and how King Henry knew her. Vess's art was really fascinating in this one.
"Thomas the Rhymer" - Sharyn McCrumb
I guess I got really confused as to when he couldn't speak for 7 years in the illustrated story. The ending was really sweet, though.
"Barbara Allen" - Midori Snyder
I've read some of Midori Snyder's short stories before and I rather liked them. In her retelling she gives Barbara Allen a motive for her apparently cruelty to her lover. In the original ballad she just does it and we don't know why.
"The Three Lovers" - Lee Smith
It was interesting how this was posed a play about the 3 lovers. I don't really get how the male could've wooed the "brown girl" if he loved his "fair Ellender" so much (or so it seemed in the story). What? But it was somehow an amusing story. I suppose because it was so dramatic and...kind of "wtf."
"The Daemon Lover" - Delia Sherman
Oh, the lover was smart at the end, asking her what she wanted to see, and abiding to her wish, yeah in a very twisted manner. I feel really bad she left her family and babe behind, though... :(
"Twa Corbies" - Charles de Lint
I read this story after a long absence from the book. For some reason I didn't really take to it. I suppose part of it was I got reminded of Sandman by Neil Gaiman for some reason and it confused me...
"Sovay" - Charles de Lint
This one I really loved. I liked de Lint's inclusion/fleshing out of the original ballad and I especially love Vess's illustrations. While I do think Sovay was a little dramatic in her test (and she shouldn't have tested him, at all), it made for an entertaining story.
"The Galtee Farmer" - Jeff Smith
Oh, this reminds me of nursery rhymes! This is a cute and funny story, and has a stronger "here I am, a moral" feel to it than the other stories. To me, at least.
"Allison Gross" - Charles Vess
This was a somewhat bizarre story, but I liked Vess's addition to the original ballad.
"The Black Fox" - Emma Bull
The outcome of this story is expected, but I liked how Miss Parris was a strong female character and took it in a ride. As brief as this story was, the personalities of the characters came out strongly and quite well.
"The Great Selchie of Sule Skerry" - Jane Yolen
(Wow, Firefox spell check did not like the title of this short story!) Ah, tragic ending, but I like the introduction Yolen gives to the story before jumping into the part where the original ballad begins. It really fills out the female character, Mairi.
Vess's illustrations are pretty fantastic. There's nothing overwhelming wrong with this book, but I suppose I don't feel like giving it 5-stars because it took me so long to read it and it's a rather short anthology. It didn't grab me.
June 22, 2007
I agree with Delia Sherman in the introduction: the best part of these ballads is that they don't reveal a motive. It is more like there is no real story, but just this idea. It's interesting these ballads can inspire something seemingly irrelevant to themselves; the most important thing that can be said about them is they inspire thought. They are mysterious and inconclusive enough to do that.
I suppose what I like best is the elf setting of a lot of these. Druids and fawns, and faerie queens are absolutely awesome. My favourite story in here is the Twa Corbies ballad, where an artist goes out at night, and sees a homeless man talking to crows that turned into girls. He tells them about his life as a corporate leader, which he envisioned to be like a great knight being slain. The whole story is very casual, and the whole philosophy about crow superstitions is amusing.
The art in this book was relatively good. A lot of the images have plenty of imagination in them, and for the most part, the illustration does make the feel of the story adequately. But I would say only adequately: there are plenty of places that I think could use more elaborate illustration, and the illustration has a lack to it like a story with grammar and spelling errors. There are some images that make me wish that was my drawing style, and others that should just be redone.
The most visually vivid story to me was the King Henry ballad, where King Henry is courteous to a witch living in a barn; his courtesy turns her back into a beautiful woman. I think the picture of him having sex with her really makes the whole.. twisted-ness of that ballad stand out. (There are a lot of sex scenes in this whole collection. They're pretty well done; they are not pornographic.) The picture looks very much like something I'd draw, which I suppose, is why I understand it easily.
I suppose what I like best is the elf setting of a lot of these. Druids and fawns, and faerie queens are absolutely awesome. My favourite story in here is the Twa Corbies ballad, where an artist goes out at night, and sees a homeless man talking to crows that turned into girls. He tells them about his life as a corporate leader, which he envisioned to be like a great knight being slain. The whole story is very casual, and the whole philosophy about crow superstitions is amusing.
The art in this book was relatively good. A lot of the images have plenty of imagination in them, and for the most part, the illustration does make the feel of the story adequately. But I would say only adequately: there are plenty of places that I think could use more elaborate illustration, and the illustration has a lack to it like a story with grammar and spelling errors. There are some images that make me wish that was my drawing style, and others that should just be redone.
The most visually vivid story to me was the King Henry ballad, where King Henry is courteous to a witch living in a barn; his courtesy turns her back into a beautiful woman. I think the picture of him having sex with her really makes the whole.. twisted-ness of that ballad stand out. (There are a lot of sex scenes in this whole collection. They're pretty well done; they are not pornographic.) The picture looks very much like something I'd draw, which I suppose, is why I understand it easily.
April 5, 2010
Ballads were little known to the literate world until the 18th century, when scholars began writing them down. Since then, they've received attention from folklorists, folksingers and, now, cartoonist Vess. I've been a fan of Charles Vess's art since I first saw him in Sandman and Stardust, and to be honest this book was not only a delightful display of his talent but also an enjoying book of ballads and tales from yore.
Vess and his collaborators put a little meat on the ballads' often bare-bones stories, adding fantastic elements not in the originals, giving them modern settings, teasing sensuality from it, and otherwise putting their own mark on them. Vess approaches them with an appropriately elegant style.
Ten of the chosen ballads come straight out of Child, the remainder from contemporary folksingers' repertoires; the text of each follows its visualization. Verbally, the adaptations are often clumsy, but Vess' artwork lushly compensates. The best stories involve passion, whether celebrated ("King Henry" and "Savoy") or cautioned against ("The Demon Lover" and "The Three Lovers"), though even the least effective stories are still beautiful.
Although is black and white, Vess is able to use this on his favor, from exquisite textures to intricate patterns; he surely knows how to visually please his readers. Also each story ends with the original ballad or tale it was based upon, which was a nice addition in order for the reader to get an idea from where it came from and enjoy this past tradition.
Book Details:
Title The Book of Ballads
Author Charles Vess
Reviewed By Purplycookie
Vess and his collaborators put a little meat on the ballads' often bare-bones stories, adding fantastic elements not in the originals, giving them modern settings, teasing sensuality from it, and otherwise putting their own mark on them. Vess approaches them with an appropriately elegant style.
Ten of the chosen ballads come straight out of Child, the remainder from contemporary folksingers' repertoires; the text of each follows its visualization. Verbally, the adaptations are often clumsy, but Vess' artwork lushly compensates. The best stories involve passion, whether celebrated ("King Henry" and "Savoy") or cautioned against ("The Demon Lover" and "The Three Lovers"), though even the least effective stories are still beautiful.
Although is black and white, Vess is able to use this on his favor, from exquisite textures to intricate patterns; he surely knows how to visually please his readers. Also each story ends with the original ballad or tale it was based upon, which was a nice addition in order for the reader to get an idea from where it came from and enjoy this past tradition.
Book Details:
Title The Book of Ballads
Author Charles Vess
Reviewed By Purplycookie
March 16, 2016
This is an utterly beautiful book, with Charles Vess's lush and gorgeous illustrations everywhere. The stories themselves... could have been better--I'm thinking of Tam Lin in particular, which is confusingly in a script format, and some others that didn't really flesh out their ballads all that much, relying instead on a more or less straight interpretation of the lyrics.
That said, there are some real standouts. The False Knight of the Road, by Neil Gaiman, is deceptively simple, but if you pay attention to the artwork, Vess has added a striking dimension that rather breaks your heart. King Henry, by Jane Yolen, adds a pointed frame story (with the painful implication that the lady in question is Anne Boleyn), and illustrates nicely why King Henry VIII is kind of a douche. Barbara Allen, by Midori Snyder, is just excellent, although I can't say why without ruining it-- suffice to say that if the ballad itself ever confused you, this story will make it better. Finally, Charles de Lint's version of Twa Corbies is stunning, transposing the idea to a modern setting and rocking it completely. de Lint also wrote Sovay, which adds a darker dimension to an already dark ballad. I also have to recommend Emma Bull's The Black Fox, although it isn't as good without the explanation for it that she gives in Firebirds. I'd recommend reading it there first, and then coming back to read it in context with the other ballads.
All in all, a good anthology, well worth the dud stories for the excellent ones.
That said, there are some real standouts. The False Knight of the Road, by Neil Gaiman, is deceptively simple, but if you pay attention to the artwork, Vess has added a striking dimension that rather breaks your heart. King Henry, by Jane Yolen, adds a pointed frame story (with the painful implication that the lady in question is Anne Boleyn), and illustrates nicely why King Henry VIII is kind of a douche. Barbara Allen, by Midori Snyder, is just excellent, although I can't say why without ruining it-- suffice to say that if the ballad itself ever confused you, this story will make it better. Finally, Charles de Lint's version of Twa Corbies is stunning, transposing the idea to a modern setting and rocking it completely. de Lint also wrote Sovay, which adds a darker dimension to an already dark ballad. I also have to recommend Emma Bull's The Black Fox, although it isn't as good without the explanation for it that she gives in Firebirds. I'd recommend reading it there first, and then coming back to read it in context with the other ballads.
All in all, a good anthology, well worth the dud stories for the excellent ones.
July 28, 2010
Fantasy and comic book illustrator Charles Vess brings to life thirteen ballads through pictures. Set out in sequential-art form, this delightful and daring book will captivate comic book, art and folk music fans alike.
With the help of many fantasy authors, such as Neil Gaiman, Jane Yolen, Charles de Lint, Vess’ elegant art gives weight and background to the musical tales adding elements not in the originals as each author expresses their ballad with their own personal style.
Here songs and folktales of England, Ireland and Scotland made popular by groups and singers as Steeleye Span and Loreena McKennitt are represented in black and white with the original ballads follows each author’s interpretation.
See the hard-hearted Barbara Allen, discover the ugly Alison Gross, admire the brave and sexy Sovay and marvel at Vess’ skill to pull them all together into this marvelous book of ballads!
With the help of many fantasy authors, such as Neil Gaiman, Jane Yolen, Charles de Lint, Vess’ elegant art gives weight and background to the musical tales adding elements not in the originals as each author expresses their ballad with their own personal style.
Here songs and folktales of England, Ireland and Scotland made popular by groups and singers as Steeleye Span and Loreena McKennitt are represented in black and white with the original ballads follows each author’s interpretation.
See the hard-hearted Barbara Allen, discover the ugly Alison Gross, admire the brave and sexy Sovay and marvel at Vess’ skill to pull them all together into this marvelous book of ballads!
May 31, 2011
a collection of old scots/irish/british folk songs, each set to Charles Vess' lovely illustrations. some are left traditional, most have a subtle expansion on the strict lyrics of the ballad to flesh it out into a bit more of a story, but none are updated or modern reworkings - go ahead and ignore the list of contributing authors, this is 100% Vess' show.
like many anthologies, this one benefits hugely from being read in small bites. the episodic comic book format means that you can breeze through the whole thing in an hour or two, so it is a quick read. the tiny details of the illustrations, though, and the shifting mood from story to story, mean that one-at-a-time savoring is recommended.
the back of the book contains a suggested listening list for each song, and most all of the songs are available in several formats on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbmcvV...
like many anthologies, this one benefits hugely from being read in small bites. the episodic comic book format means that you can breeze through the whole thing in an hour or two, so it is a quick read. the tiny details of the illustrations, though, and the shifting mood from story to story, mean that one-at-a-time savoring is recommended.
the back of the book contains a suggested listening list for each song, and most all of the songs are available in several formats on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbmcvV...
May 5, 2013
The pen-and-ink illustrations are a delight, though I wouldn't expect less from Charles Vess. The writers are top-rank fantasists, and all do a decent job with the ballad source material.
Of the 13 tales, Neil Gaiman's "The False Knight on the Road" was the one I thought I'd like best, but I ended up being completely wrong on that score. Jane Yolen creates a poignant story in the framing of "King Henry," and Charles de Lint adds a deliciously dark note to "Sovay." For fun and feminine spirit, Emma Bull's "The Black Fox" is a must-read.
Terri Windling's introduction also deserves special mention. It's a fascinating look at the history of ballads and the twists of fate that have allowed us to even retain them today.
Of the 13 tales, Neil Gaiman's "The False Knight on the Road" was the one I thought I'd like best, but I ended up being completely wrong on that score. Jane Yolen creates a poignant story in the framing of "King Henry," and Charles de Lint adds a deliciously dark note to "Sovay." For fun and feminine spirit, Emma Bull's "The Black Fox" is a must-read.
Terri Windling's introduction also deserves special mention. It's a fascinating look at the history of ballads and the twists of fate that have allowed us to even retain them today.
March 26, 2008
This beautifully illustrated collection of stories based on the traditional ballads of England, Ireland, and Scotland brings together traditional folklore and graphic fantasy. Mostly shared through oral tradition, the ballads in this compilation are those of merriment, sorrow, and the supernatural. Charles Vess illustrates the book throughout with written contributions by Neil Gaimon, Charles De Lint and other comic and graphic novelists.
There are ten ballads in total, each represented in graphic format and followed by the traditional ballad as recorded. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves graphic novels, as well as those interested in folklore, faeries, and fantasy.
There are ten ballads in total, each represented in graphic format and followed by the traditional ballad as recorded. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves graphic novels, as well as those interested in folklore, faeries, and fantasy.
January 31, 2010
The thing I love about old folk tales is their stories have bite. They are messy, mean, tragic and full of human longing. They mask reality with a harsh meta-reality that reflects all the pointy edges of life. The world of our hearts and minds is a fairy tale world that overlaps and conflicts with the world we live in from day to day. Folk tales illustrate what can happen when we let our own fairy tale world start to control the one we live in. Maybe somethings are better left hidden in our hearts never to be brought into existence.
March 5, 2013
An interesting take on the British Isles' ballads, which prior to this I knew very little of (more familiar to Shakespeare and limericks). But I loved reading and viewing the images of these stories that can be sung. Several even had twists in their illustrative interpretation, such as the "Twa Corbies" being set in contemporary (with Vess's crow girls) and "Tam-Lin" being more a devious spirit rather than an elfin love. I even went on to listen to the various formats of the ballads recommended. I now really wish to read other versions, and perhaps one not shown like "Reynardine".
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2011
I searched out this book after encountering Charles Vess' illustrations in The Ladies of Grace Adieu, and found that I prefer the still vignettes that accompany each ballad in this book to the graphic novel-style action scenes. I think I just have trouble reading the graphic novel format. Good reference material in the introduction and appendices, though.
April 24, 2016
Charless Vess is an amazing fantasy artist. This volume shows him adapting a number of ballads into comics form, with the help of a number of different writers, including Neil Gaiman, Charles de Lint and Jeff Smith.
The result is a nice b/w comics collection of fantasy tales that are well worth reading and, perhaps even more importantly, enjoying.
As a bonus, there is also an 11 page introduction on the ballad form by Terri Windling.
The result is a nice b/w comics collection of fantasy tales that are well worth reading and, perhaps even more importantly, enjoying.
As a bonus, there is also an 11 page introduction on the ballad form by Terri Windling.
November 3, 2009
Another title in my wanderings through graphic fiction.
I know very little about traditional ballads so this gave a good introduction. The written introduction itself was informative and gave a helpful overview.
I liked the way each story was followed by the original song lyrics.
I preferred the stories where the interpretation had been stretched a little further.
Nice illustrations, but perhaps various artists as well as writers would have offered even more variety.
I know very little about traditional ballads so this gave a good introduction. The written introduction itself was informative and gave a helpful overview.
I liked the way each story was followed by the original song lyrics.
I preferred the stories where the interpretation had been stretched a little further.
Nice illustrations, but perhaps various artists as well as writers would have offered even more variety.
May 5, 2011
Considering the amazing writers featured here, I couldn't believe how few of them did anything at all interesting with the incredible source material! The ballads are so rich and these writers are capable of amazing retellings... why didn't they do more?? I was very disappointed. The illustrations were, of course, gorgeous though. Vess is always amazing and the book is worth looking through for the artwork alone.
March 20, 2019
This is a really cool premise for a book. Old ballads/poems/ folk stories being retold with pictures in comic form. Nerdy and historical and absurd. I just don’t think it was executed very originally or interestingly. Most of them stuck with oldey timey language so the ballads were still pretty opaque. None of them subverted the misogyny much or spun a new take.
I did like the strain of elf queens, witches and sex with Satan.
I did like the strain of elf queens, witches and sex with Satan.
February 6, 2008
Very, very nice. Authors such as Charles de Lint and Emma Bull (among others) reinvent classic folk ballads, which are lovingly illustrated by Charles Vess. The whole volume is beautifully done -- I especially appreciated the inclusion of the full text of each original ballad, as well as the suggested recordings list at the end.
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