Legende #1

The opening chapter of Yves Swolfs' Legende arrives with a cover that immediately establishes two intertwined destinies: a hardened warrior in ornate armor looms large in the background, while in the foreground a young boy dressed in rough furs stands his ground, flanked by a pair of wolves, staff in hand — the "wolfskind" of the title made vividly real. A dark castle and twisted trees smolder in the amber sky behind them, giving the whole composition a brooding, fairy-tale weight that Swolfs renders with remarkable painterly detail. If sweeping European fantasy with a wild-child at its heart is your thing, this 2008 Daedalus release is a thoroughly compelling place to begin.