EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 19 © 2017 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

94 The Bookshelf Gats, Bats and Big Cats! ‘All TheMowgli Stories’ first appeared in print in 1933. It is essentially a compilation of parts 1 and 2 of Kipling’s 'Jungle Books'. Despite the accusations of jingoism that have consigned much of this great writer’s work to the literary wilderness, the stories within this collection pulsate with a dark and exotic allure, propelled by the over-arching narrative of a young boy brought up by wolves, deep within the forests of central India. What makes this particular iteration of the stories so desirable is the coupling of Stuart Tresilian’s magnificent illustrations with Kipling’s text. Tresilian, who also acquired a degree of notoriety for his illustrations to Enid Blyton’s 'Secret Seven' books, had previously provided the dust-jacket illustrations for Kipling’s 'Jungle Books', but it wasn’t until ‘All The Mowgli Stories’, that he was able to unleash his superb pen and ink artistry on these timeless tales. The results were breathtaking as this book reveals. The book was in print throughout much of the latter part of the 20th century and is still easy to come by. For lovers of great storytelling and great illustration, it is an essential book The Art of Reginald Heade By Stephen James Walker Hard-bound 168 pages Telos Publishing Ltd £26.99 l illustrators is also available in the USA from budplant.com Despite the fact that Reginald Heade was the cover artist whose work epitomised the post-war era of hard- boiled detective fiction; despite the fact that his work was seen throughout the UK and beyond, and despite the fact that his art continues to be a source of fascination for his legions of fans, next to nothing is known about the man behind the name. Frustratingly, this recently published retrospective of Heade’s art does nothing to rectify this situation. On the plus side though, the book does present the most complete catalogue of Heade’s prodigious output. One can only speculate about Heade’s work ethic but, bearing in mind that he died at the relatively early age of 56, the man must have been something of a workaholic. The art contained within this volume goes beyond the more familiar noir- esque depictions of sultry gangsters' molls, and includes everything from Heade’s occasional forays into the world of comic strip, to his work for children’s books and even a Philmar Jigsaw Puzzle: The Steeplechase. The reproductions appear to be sourced entirely from print, and some of the images suffer as a result. But overall, a must for fans of great pulp art. The Golden Age Batman Omnibus Volume 3 Introduction by Dick Sprang Art by Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, Dick Sprang Hard-bound 776 pages DC Comics £55.00 The third volume of this series spans the years 1943-44, with a superb cover image by the late Darwyn Cooke. By this stage of Batman’ s genesis, both Bob Kane and (the criminally under-credited) Bill Finger were collapsing under the demands of their runaway success, and stories were being farmed to other talents within the DC stable. The result was an enriching of both the look and tone of the series, which this volume reveals within its generously proportioned pages. The scripts play to the comedic as well as the darker side of Batman’ s milieu and the art, with Dick Sprang and Jerry Robinson’s styles providing a contrast between dynamic cartoon and graceful classicism, is a delight to behold. What lets this book down, as with previous volumes, is the quality of the restorations, which are, largely unchanged from the earlier Archives series. Some of the restoration work is excellent: there is a run of Batman comics which are crisp and clean, whereas the Detective and World’s Finest restorations are murky and mediocre, resulting in a loss of detail. Nonetheless, still the best way to delve into the early years of the Batman and a welcome addition to the shelves. All The Mowgli Stories By Rudyard Kipling Illustrated by Stuart Tresilian Hardbound 272 pages Macmillan Price variable