In his introduction to Isolation and Illusion (2003, Dark Horse), a collection of short stories illustrated and sometimes scripted by Philip Craig Russell between 1977 and 1997, Will Pfeifer argues that ‘the key to Craig’s art – what really brings it to life – is the small stuff‘.
I would rephrase that to ‘personal stuff’. Russell’s own stories (such as Breakdown on the Starship Remembrance or La Sonnambula and The City of Sleep A Fragment of a Dream that appeared in Night Music no. 1 and no. 2 published by Eclipse Comics in 79 and 85) blew me away when I first encountered them. Imagine my initial enthusiasm when I finished reading them and anticipated exploring Russell’s bibliography… to find myself amidst seemingly endless comic book adaptations of Wagner and Mozart operas and traditional fairy tales. His work with Neil Gaiman did not spark any further curiosity on my part.* Artistically speaking, almost all Russell draws is impeccable, majestic, and ambitious in scope — but what is the pleasure in all this splendour without an emotional connection? Again and again he deploys a lush romantic carpet upon which innocent youths frolic… but it is a walk, alas, through a rose garden in which everything is scentless.
Today we’re running The Insomniac (originally published in Night Music no. 1, February 1985), one of my favourite Russell stories. It also makes for a great showcase of his artistic abilities as well as his landmark celestial landscapes. His favourite main character, a wide-eyed young man, is present and accounted for, but he’s not nearly as doe-eyed as usual, instead presented as a squinty, vaguely nerdy type, with no classical musculature with a proud Roman profile in sight.
Russell explains: « The Insomniac was conceived in 1979 and realized in 1984. Its walking/dreaming shifts in tone enabled me to work in various visual styles. From the early 80’s sketchbook surrealism to record album covers to photorealism, it incorporated about 15 years of drawing into a 12-age story. »
There’s something Eddie Campbell-esque in these panels of everyday life… As for the aforementioned celestial landscapes, they bring to mind the music of Jon Lucien (for example).
~ ds
*This is not a pro-Neil Gaiman household, unless the cats are hiding their proclivities on that subject.
Who's Out There? 
This is not one of my favorite P. Craig Russell pieces.
This is my favorite.
Russell described the Dr. Strange story he did-over twice as something along the lines of ‘an over stuffed box of chocolates’ containing the best of his past drawing elements and then-current drawing elements, but I think that description best goes with this one with its vast array of drawing styles. It also perfectly combines the prosaic and fanciful and provides a rational reason for doing so.
I really like his Killraven/War of the Worlds comics with Don MacGregor (happly picked out of quarter bins during my teenage years in the 80s) but was a lot less enthused with the graphic novel due to his switch to heavy photo-referencing. I don’t know if it’s the people he uses or his ‘directing’ but I think the ‘acting’ is often pretty bad.
That being said, I do like his later Elric adaptations and Oscar Wilde stories, especially the Wilde stories that are animal fables. I really like Russell’s cartoony style when he uses it and really wish he’d do more stuff for kids. Too bad there’s no more Dell Comics and stuff like Fairy Tales Parade ’cause I think Russell could do a bang-up job with that.
Going back to ‘The Insomniac’, I agree it’s too bad we didn’t get more stuff like this from him ’cause it just looks like such an intriguing direction. It makes me think of the handful of stories/formal experiments Jack Davis did for EC. I’m thinking of ‘Betsy’ and whatever was the name of the one where the guy’s being chased through the swap. ‘Swamped’? I think those two stories showed a lot of promise, though they are variations of the same idea, so maybe it was the only idea Davis had. Davis apparently didn’t have any more stories like that up his sleeve and apparently neither did Russell as follow-ups to this. More’s the pity.
Having mentioned Don MacGregor, I also like his Ragamuffin stories he did with Gene Colan (also found in quarter bins) and am also sad that didn’t continue for longer. Oh well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looking back over your post, I see you disagree with me about the Oscar Wilde stuff. That’s O.K., though. Nothing’s for everybody.
LikeLike