Last Ship Home

His artwork has graced the timeless novels of Jules Verne (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), H.G. Wells (War of the Worlds), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (The Lost World), J.R.R. Tolkien (The Silmarillion and Lord of the Rings), and Frank Herbert (Dune). But whether he’s illustrating a children’s classic like Alice in Wonderland, a magazine, an album sleeve, or a poster, Rodney Matthews’ images explode with fantasy and even joy. Few dark visions appear here; instead there are color, movement, and a host of eccentric, whimsical, and personality-filled figures to please the eye. The richly detailed paintings and preliminary sketches gathered here include The Hop, featuring an irresistible group of jazzy musical insects; the subtly glowing book cover for C.S. Lewis’s The Silver Chair; and the fanciful, slightly disturbing The Spud Snuzzler–which pictures a bizarre creature who shoots high-velocity potatoes through his trumpetlike nose. 136 pages (all in color), 10 3/4 x 11.