Bagatelles - Histoires brèves 1984-2008 #[nn]

A beautifully assembled collection spanning nearly a quarter-century of Frezzato's short-form work, this Pavesio volume gathers the breadth of his imaginative storytelling from 1984 through 2008. The cover alone is a feast — a red-haired girl, a wide-eyed boy reading a book, a hulking troll-like figure, a barn owl, a wizened elder, a masked face, a mechanical creature, and several smaller characters all crowd together in Frezzato's distinctively lush, painterly style. It's a wonderful showcase of the varied worlds and characters that have defined his craft over the decades.