Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie's Zarafa

Described by Variety as a 'fanciful retelling' of the journey of the first giraffe taken to France, Zarafa (Arabic for Giraffe) is set in 19th century Sudan, Egypt and France:
Maki, a young Sudanese boy, escapes from a French slave trader and befriends a giraffe calf.  When the giraffe is captured by an Arab man Hassan, Maki tags along with Hassan to protect his animal friend. The trio head to Europe when the giraffe Zarafa is sent to France by the Egyptians as a gift to the French king...

Zarafa links:
Official site
Zafara at 2012 Fantasia Film Festival
Zarafa: Berlin Film Review (The Hollywood Reporter)

Stephen Smirl's Island Tales Comics

Island Tales, created by Stephen Smirl, is a comic anthology based on folklore and mythology from the Pacific. Some stories are adapted from traditional stories while others are modern retellings of the classics.

To the left, art from Nanaue's Bite, a modern version of the Hawaiian folktale of the Shark-man Nanaue. Nanaue's Bite is available for purchase at the Island Tales store.

To the right, Goddess #1 print from the Island Tales print shop.

Visit the Island Tales site to view more art from the various comic book artists who worked on the project.

Leo and Diane Dillon's illustrations for Mansa Musa

The Emperor Musa of Mali was a historical person, so do book illustrations about him belong in a blog focusing on fantasy and mythology?

In this case, the children's book Mansa Musa: The Lion of Mali, published by Harcourt Inc, is a fictional account that abundantly weaves magic and allegory throughout the plot. According to an Africa Access review, "The names are authentic African names. All else... is invented or imagined....It would be tedious to document all the errors of history and background...Teachers looking for reliable African material... should avoid this book."

The first image above depicts Musa and his Tuareg companion in the Sahara against a sensitively-colored backdrop of giant spirit beings who appear like mirages. The lushly detailed second image shows Musa returning to the pomp and splendor of his brother's royal court.

Daxiong's Water Margin series

Angoulême International Comics Festival honoree Daxiong reinterprets the 12th century Chinese classic Water Margin. Water Margin, aka Outlaws of the Marsh, retells the legends surrounding a group of 10th century outlaws, from their fantastical origin as 108 ancient spirits released into the world, to their involvement in human history.

Todd Lockwood's Stone Car

Magazine illustration.

Click thumbnail to see full size image on artist's site.

Trina Schart Hyman's illustrations for Children of the Dragon

Children of the Dragon: Selected Tales from Vietnam is a collection of Vietnamese myths and legends retold by Sherry Garland and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman.

De rides the giant raven in The Raven and the Star Fruit.

Pleasantly subtle warm-cool color temperature shift on the raven's feathers. The concentric bands of turquoise in the sea below nicely evokes the clear waters of Vietnam's beautiful beaches.

The marriage of Princess Mi Nuong and Son Tinh, Lord of the Mountains in The Legend of the Monsoon Rains.

Delicious depiction of Southeast Asian fruits in the foreground: durian, mangosteen, starfruit, rambutan... It's nice to see the flora of tropical Asia get some love :-)

Will Eisner's Sundiata: A Legend of Africa

Sundiata: A Legend of Africa, published by NBM, is comic book legend Will Eisner's retelling of the Sundiata Epic of Mali:

Emperor Sundiata of Mali is a historical person.

There are supernatural elements in both the oral history and the Eisner adaptation.