Charles Vess

Charles Vess (born June 10, 1951 in Lynchburg, Virginia) is an American fantasy artist and comic-book illustrator who has specialized in the illustration of myths and fairy tales. His illustrations are strongly influenced by the work of artists and illustrators such as Arthur Rackham and Alphonse Mucha. Vess has won several awards for his illustrations. In 1991 he illustrated the official comic-book adaptation of Steven Spielberg's Hook, in 2003 he did illustrations for an edition of Peter and Wendy (published as Peter Pan), and in 2004 he produced the cover and spot illustrations for The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm, which contained a short story by Bruce Glassco about Captain Hook.

Biography
Vess began drawing comic art as a child. He graduated with a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1974. His first professional position was as a commercial animator for Candy Apple Productions in Richmond, Virginia, which he held for approximately two years.

In 1976 he moved to New York City and became a freelance illustrator. He contributed illustrations to publications including Heavy Metal, Klutz Press (now an imprint of Scholastic Press), and National Lampoon. One notable publication from this early period was The Horns of Elfland in 1977, which Vess wrote and illustrated. From 1980-82 Vess worked as an art instructor at the Parsons School of Design in New York City. Also during that period, his work appeared in one of the first major museum exhibitions of science fiction and fantasy art, held at the New Britain Museum of American Art in 1980.

By the late 1980s Vess had found a niche in the world of fantasy comic art with publications such as The Raven Banner: A Tale of Asgard written by Alan Zelenetz and published by Marvel Comics in 1985, The Book of Night, published by Dark Horse Comics in 1987, and The Warriors Three Saga, Marvel Fanfare #34-37, 1987-88. His success was also mainstream, however, as evidenced by his illustration of Spider-Man: Spirits of the Earth (a 1990 graphic novel from Marvel), and a ten issue run (#129-139) as cover artist of The Swamp Thing by DC Comics in 1993.

In 1989 Vess began one of his best-known collaborations to date, with writer Neil Gaiman. He illustrated "The Land of Summer's Twilight", one of the four episodes in the original The Books of Magic mini-series, and also worked on three issues of Gaiman’s critically acclaimed Sandman series. Sandman #19 ("A Midsummer Night's Dream") is a meta-fictional adaptation of Shakespeare's play. In 1991, that issue won the World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story, the only comic book to hold the honor, as award organizers subsequently amended the rules to specifically exclude comics. Vess contributed eight drawings for a prose-based inset that appeared in Sandman #62 ("The Kindly Ones: 6") and illustrated the final issue of the series, Sandman #75, a second Shakespeare adaptation ("The Tempest"). He also drew the covers for the Books of Faerie spin-off series Molly's Story (1999).

Between 1997 and 1998 the collaboration between Vess and Gaiman continued in the four-part series Stardust, a prose novella to which Vess contributed 175 paintings, later reprinted in a single volume. It won an Alex Award from the American Library Association, a Mythopoeic Award, and the 1999 World Fantasy Award for Best Artist for his work on the series. In 1999, Vess produced a portfolio as a benefit for his wife Karen, injured in a car accident, titled A Fall of Stardust, which contained two chapbooks and a series of art plates.

Beginning in 1995 Vess self-published a series of comics entitled The Book of Ballads and Sagas, illustrating adaptations of traditional Scottish and English ballads, written by a variety of contributors, including Emma Bull, Charles de Lint, Neil Gaiman, Sharyn McCrumb, Jeff Smith, and Jane Yolen.

Vess has illustrated a series of anthologies edited by Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow. They are: The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest (2002), The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm (2004), and The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales (2007).

Probably his most productive collaboration is with longtime friend and writer Charles de Lint. The pair have worked together on at least half a dozen publications, including Seven Wild Sisters (2002) and related projects A Circle of Cats (2003), and Medicine Road (2005), along with others mentioned above.