Friday, March 8, 2013

Michel Ocelot's "Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest"

In this animated feature directed by Michel Ocelot, a sojourning Saracen widow is employed as a nanny by a European nobleman. The widow Jenane treats her young charge Azur with the same love that she gives her biological son, Asmar. Both boys grow up listening to Jenane sing about the Djinn Fairy who awaits a rescuer to break her curse.

The two boys are close as brothers until Azur's father, annoyed by the rough horseplay between the children, and uncomfortable with the bilingual upbringing that Azur is receiving from Jenane,  expels the nanny and her son.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Leo and Diane Dillon's African American folkltale illustrations

Three illustrations from supernatural tales in Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales, a beautifully illustrated collection of stories:


Click on thumbnail to visit "The Art of Leo and Diane Dillon" blog for a larger view of these illustrations and other fantastical illustrations from the same book.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo's "Trese"

Trese is a graphic novel series by writer Budjette Tan and artist Kajo Baldisimo. Contemporary crime intersects with supernatural world in present day Manila, where mythical creatures of Filipino folklore, such as the dreaded aswang,  manifest in modern forms.

When the police are stumped by mysteries of preternatural cause, they rely on Alexandra Trese, a private investigator with unique connections to the Underworld...
Click thumbnail to visit the official Trese blog. For more information, see Trese on Wikipedia.

Suggested by jnguyễn.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues

Animator/cartoonist Nina Paley's interpretation of the Ramayana utilizes diverse styles and novel approaches in the retelling of a traditional epic as an animated feature film.

Click left thumbnail to learn more about the film on the Sita Sings the Blue site.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Broeck Steadman's cover art for "The Ear, The Eye and the Arm"

The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm is an award-winning science fiction novel first published in 1994. Set in 22nd century Zimbabwe, the plot follows three mutant detectives hired by General Matsika's wife to track down the three missing Matsika children.

On the left is the cover art for the first edition. Click thumbnail to view larger image on artist's site. The leftmost character is the Arm, whose mutant powers include the ability to sense what others are feeling and peer into their memories, the latter skill being something that he tries not to use out of respect for others' privacy. He is described as "black" and is a member of the Shona ethnic group.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie's Zarafa

giraffe, Sudanese boy and Arab man in hot air balloon.
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...