When a book such as this comes across the transom, my staff of thousands urges me to post a notice, even though I am far from an informed reviewer of graphic books. What I can do is extract some of the images to offer an impression of the artwork. The entire book dazzles the eye, while the narrative documents the life. Here are a few sample pages. They give the merest hint of the book’s contents.
William Morris (1834-1896), the celebrated 19th-century designer, was a driven polymath and radical socialist. Cartoonist Nick Thorkelson moves through the events of his life, weaving a rich tapestry of the major artistic, social, and political questions which animated him. He explores Morris's politics and arts, and how his hatred of class tyranny and love of humanity shaped his poetry, design, and relationships
Available for purchase and for more images..
Edited by Mari Jo Buhle and Paul Buhle.
With an Afterword by the editors.
The book brings to life the tensions of Morris's efforts to democratize art while creating pieces for the wealthy, his critique of Britain's Empire, and his central place in socialist culture and propaganda.
Thorkelson's striking and idiosyncratic drawings chime with the Arts and Crafts movement's emphasis on the humanizing power of the handmade.
The book also features fourteen pages of immersive illustrations by Sharon Rudahl, pioneer of women's comics, honoring the literary work for which William Morris was best known during his lifetime.
(Notes above taken from the cover flyleaf. Click on the images to enlarge them for reading.)
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