BRANDON SANDERSON ...

Is an American science fiction and fantasy author known for his prolific output and large fictional universe called 'the Cosmere'. Among his many works, he is probably best known for 'The Stormlight Archive' and 'Mistborn' book series, but it is his lesser known book series called 'Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians' that he should be more known for as it is almost a parody of fantasy in general and from the title alone, you should be able to tell that it is not your usual book series. 

                                                   © Brandon Sanderson                                        © Brandon Sanderson                                                                                                                      

The narrator of the series is one of the most overbearing you will ever encounter, and if you thought that the narrator of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' was contrary and difficult, then you need to read this series, as about half of each book is entirely composed of the narrator's diatribes. It is a five/six book series and is illustrated throughout by Hayley Lazo. The story is somehow still very engaging and clever despite the silliness and still works very well thanks to Sanderson's skill.

Here's a link to Brandon Sanderson's website and here's a link to Hayley Lazo's. And here's a link to the book series on Amazon where you can buy them.

MARK SIEGEL ...

Is an author and illustrator of several children's picture books and comics, he lives in New York and is also the founder and creative director of 'First Second Books'. Among his award winning picture books such as 'Oskar and the Eight Blessings' and 'Sailor Twain' or 'The Mermaid in the Hudson', Siegel also produced a much longer work in the form of a series of five comic books called '5 Worlds'. He cowrote the comic books along with his brother Alexis Siegel and the art was drawn by three artists in total, who are: Xanthe Bouma, Matt Rockefeller and Boya Sun.

Impressively the comic books are very consistent and well paced despite the number of artists, like the title of the series itself, and the comic books are extremely vibrant and packed full of character and design from each artist.

                        © Mark Siegel                                                       © Five Worlds   

Incidentally, the comic books actually inspired the art design for the new Netflix series of 'She-Ra', called 'She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'. 

His latest project is with his wife Siena Siegel and is called 'Tiny Dancer'.

Here's a link to  Mark Siegel's website. 

And here's a link to Xanthe Bouma's website. 

And here's a link to Matt Rockefeller's website. 

And here's a link to Boya Sun's website.

I Couldn't find one for Alexis Siegel.

And here's a link to the website for the 5 Worlds comic books.

STEPHEN COLLINS ...

Is a London based illustrator and comic artist whose strips have appeared in 'The Guardian Weekend' magazine and 'Prospect Magazine'. He has also created a comic book called 'The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil', which despite the humorous title tells a more profound story then you would expect and is hard to describe. It is still well worth a read though!     

                                                                                        © Stephen Collins   

                                                          © Stephen Collins                                    

A collection of his strips were released as 'Some Comics by Jonathan Cape' who also published 'The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil'. He has also illustrated a series of children's books called 'Baby Frank'. He is now currently working on a new graphic novel called 'Susan Wogan's Journey To The Stars', which will be released by Faber and Faber.

Here's a link to his website. And here's a link to The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil on Amazon where you can buy the comic book.

JOHN FARDELL ...

Is a British author and cartoonist. He has worked for Viz magazine among others, where he contributed various comic strips and illustrations. He has since written and illustrated a series of children's adventure books called: 'The Seven Professors of the Far North', 'The Flight of the Silver Turtle', and 'The Secret of the Black Moon Moth'. They are very exciting and well told stories with an unusual amount of science and research to them. Fardell's illustrations work well with the text and are very engaging.

    © John Fardell                                           © John Fardell

He has published a couple of children's picture books as well called: 'Manfred the Baddie', 'The Day Louis Got Eaten', and 'Jeremiah Jellyfish Flies High'.

Here's a link to his books on Amazon where you can buy them.

SUSANNA CLARKE ...

Is a British fantasy novelist best known for her debut novel 'Johnathan Strange & Mr Norrell' which I consider to be probably the best fantasy novel written, as it combines the realistic historical detail of a fantasy novel like 'The Lord of the Rings' with great characters like 'Harry Potter'. The story is set in an alternative 19th century England against the background of the Napoleonic Wars and follows the exploits of two magicians as they attempt to return magic to England. The novel has smoky illustration's that complement the text well throughout.

 

                    © Susanna Clarke                                            © BBC

It was turned into a BBC TV series that despite a limited budget really captured the spirit of the book well and somehow managed to adapt all of it into just seven episodes. Clarke has also written a collection of short stories called 'The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories' and a short novel called 'Piranesi'. She is currently working on a new novel set in Bradford England.

Here's a link to her books on Amazon where you can buy them.

 

LINK'S AWAKENING ...

You may know Link from 'The Legend of Zelda' and Hyrule but in amongst the typical games of our hero saving Zelda and fighting monsters is a much more unusual game that was only the fourth Zelda game produced. It is called 'Link's Awakening' and is a very inventive and different take on the Zelda universe even when compared to all the various iterations there have been. I actually wish that there were more Zelda games like this since there could be more adventures outside of the typical medieval fantasy context of the other games.

                                                                                      © Link's Awakening Nintendo    

                       

                                                                                      © Link's Awakening Nintendo

The game is actually quite silly and has tongue in cheek references to other Nintendo and Zelda games. 'Link's Awakening' was actually remade by Nintendo into a full color and fully updated game which even more surprisingly it looks just as good as the original, if not better!

Here's a link to the remake on Nintendo's website where you can buy the game. 

GUILLERMO DEL TORO ...

Is a filmmaker probably best known for works such as 'Pan's Labyrinth' and 'Hellboy'. But it is his earlier movies that are more interesting to me, and that I find more accomplished. In his first movie 'Cronos', you already had all his signature style, although it is sometimes too badly lit to tell what is going on properly. Its story was interesting and worked well with the visual style of the movie. His next film 'The Devil's Backbone' is my favorite though and it is here where style and story really come together well. Although 'Pan's Labyrinth' is more well made in the sense of props and art design the story does not work as well with the fantastical elements and art style as it does in 'The Devil's Backbone'.

        © Guillermo del Toro                   © Guillermo del Toro         

He has produced many other movies and TV series such as: 'Pacific Rim', 'Hellboy 2: The Golden Army', 'The Shape of Water', 'Pinocchio', and is now currently working on a soon to be released Frankenstein Movie.

Here's a link to his films on Amazon where you can buy them.  

MARTIN STIFF ...

Is a British comic writer and artist. He is often called 'Britain's best kept secret' and he runs a design company called 'Amazing 15'. He has published two comic books to date called 'The Absence' and 'Tiny Acts of Violence' respectively. The first is in black and white with grey used in flashbacks, while 'Tiny Acts of Violence' is in full color. They are both drawn in a rough and simple way but Stiff's style is very well-honed and dynamic. He was previously a playwright and now continues to work on more projects, the latest of which is called 'Five Points'; written by Simon Furman. 

                                                               © Martin Stiff                                                  © Martin Stiff

Here's a link to his comics on Amazon where you can buy them.

 

JOSHUA MOWLL ...

Is a British author and illustrator of children's fiction and he is known for the insanely detailed and comprehensive design he puts into all his work. His most famous work is called 'The Guild of Specialists' trilogy and is a series of adventure books much in the vein of Indiana Jones but better researched. The series is actually presented in the context of old journals and technical blueprints with plenty of illustrations. This all adds to the realism of the plot and unlike most other attempts at adding extras like this they all work well together and add to the momentum of the plot. This is probably because Joshua Mowll used to work as a graphic artist for 'The Mail on Sunday'. He has also produced more science fiction based works like 'The Great Space Race'; which involves a talking robot monkey among other things!

     © Joshua Mowll                             © Joshua Mowll

                                                                                                            © Joshua Mowll   

Here's a link to his website where you can see the other work he has done.

And here's a link to 'Operation Red Jericho' (the first novel in 'The Guild of Specialists' trilogy) on Amazon where you can buy the book series.

And here's a link to 'The Great Space Race' on Amazon where you can buy the book.

      

BILL WATTERSON ...

The artist behind 'Calvin and Hobbes', Bill Watterson is known for his reclusive nature and lack of public appearances so it is quite a special surprise that he has actually come out of retirement and produced a new piece of work, his first since Calvin and Hobbes and his first in over 28 years. It is called 'The Mysteries' and is a fable for grown ups about what lies beyond  human understanding. The picture book was a collaboration between Watterson and another artist called John Kascht who is a caricaturist. 

                                © Watterson and Kascht

Here's a link to the making of the picture book by its respective creators on YouTube which is well worth a watch!  

Here's a link to The Mysteries on Amazon where you can buy the picture book.

And here's a link to Kascht's website.

DAVID LLOYD …

Is the British artist more well known for his work on 'V For Vendetta' with Alan Moore and for his highly realistic and detailed art style. He has now produced his own work in the form of a small comic called 'Kickback' that is a gritty Crime-Noir set in a nondescript American city. It is a short but clever story and has plenty of twist and turns. The art is in his usual style but this time more experimental and mixed with color, photographs and digital effects.

                           

                               © David Lloyd

Here's a link to Lloyd's website where you can buy the comic.

Here's a link to the 'Kickback' comic specifically, on his website.

And here's a link to 'Aces Weekly' which is a weekly online comic Lloyd started that serializes many different artist's work and is entirely online.

UPDATE: I just received an update from David Lloyd himself! Providing me with this link to the book's Facebook page.

HAYAO MIYAZAKI ...

Is known as a world-renowned Japanese animator and director of such movies as 'Spirited Away' and 'Princess Mononoke' and as co-founder of Studio Ghibli but he also deserves attention for his lesser-known works.

The first of these is 'Nausicaa (Of The Valley Of The Wind)' which should really be considered his magnum opus and by far dwarfs any of his other work. It is a manga that he serialized in 'Animage' over the course of 12 years between work on movies.

The second is called 'Shuna's Journey' and it is much smaller and more in the style of a picture book, whereas 'Nausicaa (Of The Valley Of The Wind)' is much more in the style of a biblical epic from history.

They both - Shuna's Journey especially - contain many elements that draw clear comparisons with other characters and themes in his movies and although both enjoyable on their own are worth reading, if only just to see how all his ideas developed.

    © Hayao Miyazaki                                         © Hayao Miyazaki

You may also be interested to know that 'Nausicaa (Of The Valley Of The Wind)' was turned into an animated movie of the same name by Hayao Miyazaki himself that was pre-Studio Ghibli (it only adapts about the first quarter of the manga but can be enjoyed as its own story).

Being the busy man he is, Hayao Miyazaki also produced one other manga called 'People of the Desert' that was serialized and which predates both 'Shuna's Journey' and 'Nausicaa (Of The Valley Of The Wind)' being very early on in his career. 

Here's a link to the entire story.

Here's a link to 'Shuna's Journey' on Amazon where you can buy the picture book. 

And here's a link to the complete 'Nausicaa (Of The Valley Of The Wind)' boxset on Amazon where you can buy the manga.

J. R. R. TOLKIEN ...

May be more well known for his larger works like 'The Lord of The Rings' and 'The Silmarillion' but he also published a number of short stories that if not quite so epic or grand are just as well crafted and worthy of attention.

They are: 

'Leaf by Niggle' (a semi-autobiographical story on creativity and spiritualist fairytale)

'Smith of Wootton Major' (a fairytale about the passing on of knowledge and journeys into faerie)

'Farmer Giles of Ham' (a charming story that has similarities to The Hobbit and satirizes academia) 

'The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book' (a collection of poems that follow the further exploits of the character)

'Roverandom' (a novella about the adventures of a young dog turned into a toy by a wizard that was written for his son Michael when he lost his favorite toy dog)

The last three are illustrated by Pauline Baynes who also did the illustrations for C. S. Lewis's 'Narnia' Series.

            © J. R. R. Tolkien & Pauline Baynes     © J. R. R. Tolkien & Pauline Baynes

The stories are all short but rich in imagery and incident. The poems – all of which do not involve Tom Bombadil – are really good and Tolkien's expertise as a poet is often overlooked. I will not go into detail about each story as they are widely available and already well studied and described, but will say that they each stand on their own really well and you do not need to have read any of his other works to enjoy them. They paint a much richer picture of Tolkien and stand well alongside his other works.

If you like any of these stories you may be interested to know that J. R. R. Tolkien wrote many other pieces of literature and poetry for which I would recommend going to Wikipedia or tolkiengateway.net for a more comprehensive list. 

Here's a link to 'Leaf by Niggle' on Amazon where you can buy the book. 

And here's a link to 'Smith of Wootton Major' on Amazon where you can buy the book.

And here's a link to 'Farmer Giles of Ham' on Amazon where you can buy the book.

And here's a link to 'The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book' on Amazon where you can buy the book.

And here's a link to 'Roverandom' on Amazon where you can buy the book.

And here's a link to Pauline Bayne's website where you can see some of her other artwork.

GAREN EWING ...

Is a British artist and illustrator who's designed various games and posters for companies but it is his work as a comic artist that deserves attention. He has already produced one comic called 'The Rainbow Orchid' that is part of a larger ongoing series called 'The Adventures of Julius Chancer', much like 'The Adventures of Tintin' by Hergé. His style is in the European Ligne Claire style of comic art which means 'Clear Line'. This is the perfect term, as you can see just how clear and neat Garen's work is in this style.

                                                                           © Garen Ewing

He actually has an ongoing Julius Chancer comic that is currently being created and serialized on his website called 'The Brambletye Box' and you can support him on Patreon If you want.

Here's a link to his professional website and here's a link to his comic specific website.

And here's a link to his comics on Amazon where you can buy them. 

WHAT THIS BLOG IS ABOUT ...

Well, in the following posts I am hopefully going to be able to show and detail to anyone who may be interested, the amazing and surprising things I have found by researching the various authors and artists that have interested me. They are from many time periods and genres but will tend to be either obscure works by well known writers and artists, or more obscure but great works by little known masters of their craft. I hope you enjoy reading about them!

P.S. This a completely not for profit blog and I do not earn any money from affiliate links or otherwise.

Feel free to comment on anything, I may or may not reply.