The Homecoming (Wonderfully Illustrated Short Pieces, 2)

By Ray Bradbury

Illustrated classics for adults Here, Collins Design's WISP series pairs two legendary creators-writer Ray Bradbury and artist Dave McKean-to create an irresistible package perfect for Halloween and all year 'round. The WISP series (Wonderfully Illustrated Short Pieces) represents an ingenious marriage of two creative forces: the artistry of today's foremost illustrators and the literary legacy of beloved authors of popular short works for adults. The resulting offspring of this union are captivating, full-color illustrated editions of timeless classics that readers will want to savor and collect. For the first time ever, the series makes selected popular short works previously offered only in collections available in a unique, stand-alone format. Also for the first time, WISPs harness the talents of top illustrators for the benefit and delight of a new, older audience. This WISP presents Ray Bradbury's The Homecoming, a little boy's tale of his family reunion of vampires. This story was initially published in 1946 and later refashioned into further stories. Bringing this story to life are the wondrous illustrations of Dave McKean, whose delightful artwork perfectly matches the tale. These one-of-a-kind, attractively priced and invitingly formatted illustrated editions will make a great impulse buy and appeal to a broad audience.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060859628
• ISBN13: 9780060859626
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Harper
• Length: 56 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.5" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

The Perfect Merger of Visual Art and Literary Art

Ray Bradbury is a bona fide American treasure, a master of story, a virtuoso with words. In more than 500 short stories and tales Bradbury has shown his genius time and time again, proving it over and over again, especially in pieces like this one. The story concerns a little boy in a family of vampires, the model for the Addams family, who is not a vampire, who is normal. And it concerns The Homecoming, a gathering of a family otherwise spread far and wide across the globe. The writing here is Bradbury at his best, enchanting, entertaining, humoring, revealing. There are moments of horror here, moments of laughter (particularly when the vampires all play Coffins, which is like musical chairs), moments of poignancy, and moments of sadness. It could be said, truthfully, I think, that true art and true literature display human emotion, and capture us so that our own emotions are tied to the story. Here Bradbury proves that his work is true art, true literature. It proves that he is a genius, not that proof is really needed (just read The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, or Something Wicked This Way Comes and you'll see what I mean). And I have not yet touched on the illustrations. Dave McKean, as anyone who has read The Sandman and looked at his gorgeous covers, is as much a genius as Bradbury, just in a completely different medium. His paintings, in this case, are brilliant, taking us through the story and engaging us the whole way. They are humorous when the story is humorous, cute when the story is cute, scary when the story is scary. They are the perfect accompaniment to the tale. And they are always beautiful to look at. And worth mentioning is McKean's wonderful use of the text, transforming this into so much more than an illustrated book, turning this into a piece of art in its own right. The text is frenzied when the story is frenzied, big when the words are shouted, small when words are whispered and, in one instance, the text and the art are intertwined (literally) when a child's question is answered by a word spelled in a spider's web. This book is a wonder and a delight. If you are a fan of Bradbury or if you have never read a single word he's written, if you are familiar with McKean or simply enticed by this book's wonderful cover I urge you, reader, to partake and to purchase, and to enjoy.