Charles Vess' The Book of Ballads - The Original Art Edition #[nn]

This Original Art Edition of *The Book of Ballads* presents Charles Vess's pen-and-ink artwork in its rawest, most immediate form — a fitting showcase for an artist whose draftsmanship rewards close study. The cover, rendered entirely by Vess in richly detailed black-and-white linework, depicts a wild-haired, bearded old man struggling to control a rearing horse, while a small cloaked figure crouches nearby amid a rugged, windswept landscape of rocks and scattered birds. It's a dramatic, folk-tale atmosphere that feels genuinely rooted in the ballad tradition, and with Sharyn McCrumb's adaptation of "Thomas the Rhymer" inside, this 2017 Titan volume makes a compelling case for comics as a home for ancient storytelling.