Born in 1966, Guillaume Sorel is one of the most prolific and eclectic illustrators in France. Influenced by the Gothic novel and the Hammer films, he began his career, spanning illustration, comics and cover art,with the fantastic, before moving on to many different genres, Scottish mystery tales, noir and vampire fiction, adaptations of classic novels.
His 2005 cover for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, published in French by Editions Toth, is just one of the lots in Heritage Auctions International Original Art & Anime Signature Auction #7257 we reported on earlier this week, highlighting some of the British comic art on offer.
Guillaume Sorel’s well-known mastery of colours and line are once again superbly highlighted in this magnificent illustration which could have served as a cover for Lewis Carroll’s novel.
As the Heritage Auctions description notes, “Admire the composition of this work showing on its left a complex set of characters from this fabulous story and on its right, a ‘blank page’, a door open to the reader’s imagination… and Lewis Carroll’s!”
An expanded edition of this version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Sorel, was published in French in 2014, a work taking a very personal look at this piece of universal literature. Sorel’s Alice, previously imagined in the collection of illustrations Univers fantastiques (Fantastic Universes), is far from the wise little girl of Walt Disney.
In the expanded edition, produced in collaboration with the Rue de Sèvres publishing house, Guillaume Sorel offers us his interpretation of the children’s novel through some thirty original illustrations, where we find in images the different episodes of Alice’s journey. This version also includes a part of illustrations and sketches, a real immersion in the author’s creative process, in a numbered and signed limited edition.
• Check out Guillaume Sorel’s work (in French) www.guillaumesorel.com
• View the lot: (bidding currently at just over $1000) – one of four of his works in this auction, closing this weekend
• Buy the expanded edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland direct from Editions Toth
• There’s a guide to Guillaume Sorel’s comics here on Lambiek
With thanks to Ernesto Guevara
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
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