Mossflower Collector's Edition

Written by Brian Jacques
Illustrated by David Elliot

I am what you would call an avid Redwall collector. For many, that simply means they buy the books, hardcover, and a few side products. For me, it means I buy it all-- hardcover, paperback, trade paperback, reissued paperback, Firebird paperback, audio book/radio play, sculptures, companions, DVDs, the works. As such, when a new edition of a Redwall book is released with the monniker "Collector's Edition", you just know I'm going to pick it up.

To date, only a few titles have been given the "Collector's Edition" treatment. This time around it was the Mossflower Collector's Edition, released in February 2004. In many ways the follow-up to 1997's 10th Anniversary Edition of Redwall, the Mossflower Collector's Edition actually surpasses its predecessor in many respects (while falling disappointingly short in others). The new edition is basically a way to fancy-up the presentation of the classic story and slide a few new items into the mix. The point of this review is to let you know what exactly sets the "Collector's Edition" apart from the standard one, so that you can better decide whether or not you want to pick it up for yourself.

Like the 10th Anniversary Edition, all of Gary Chalk's original chapter illustrations have been dropped. In the case of Redwall, they were dropped in favor of full-page color illustrations by longtime cover artist Troy Howell. In Mossflower, they were also replaced by full-page illustrations, only drawn by current interior-illustrator David Elliot. This time, however, they're black and white. While the loss of color is disappointing, the illustrations shouldn't be dismissed as sub-par. Elliot chooses six key scenes to illustrate and makes up for their black and white nature by pouring as much detail into them as he can.

First up we have Martin and Gonff's daring escape from Kotir as Tsarmina rages behind them. While a simple drawing, it's the classic adventure shot-- the hero and sidekick leaping into the air and leaving a frustrated adversary behind.

The next illustration is a very detailed, somewhat grotesque shot of the Gloomer. A drowned, blind rat living a pitiable existence, chained for the use of his wildcat Queen. Cross a Hobbit-era Gollum with a rat and you've got a good idea of how Gloomer looks.

The third illustration finds the hedgehog dibbuns, Ferdy and Coggs, being interrogated by Tsarmina, Cludd, and Fortunata. While Elliot's style of drawing the character's long necks can be distracting, the image is a great mood piece and conveys the emotional tone Brian was going for, as these two young creatures are trapped in the lion's den.

The fourth illustration is less of a character driven one than it is an environment driven one. Fortunata sneaks through Mossflower Woods, looking for the CORIM base of Brockhall. Elliot's attention to the trees is what steals the show, as the full expanse of Mossflower takes shape and you feel like it is a dark and enormous place where one might easily get lost. That kind of depiction of Mossflower gets downplayed in some of the more recent works.

The fifth illustration takes us to the coastline, as Martin, Gonff, Dinny, and Log a Log make their way over dunes, heading towards the towering Salamandastron in the distance. Like the Fortunata piece, this one is more about the environment, only with slightly more emphasis upon the characters and their long, arduous journey.

The sixth and final full-page illustration is of the great eagle Argulor wrestling with Bane high above Kotir. Not only is the character conflict an attention-grabber, but the view of Kotir and Mossflower that the altitude provides gives us a nice glimpse at the land pre-Redwall.

Elliot also tackled a brand new map for the book, drawn in his distinctive three-dimensional style. Some nice touches include an eagle in the southern forests, obviously denoting Argulor's location-- a swan, to show the location of the small pond Martin & Co. encountered-- a downthrust sword at the site of Boar's final battle-- and the Wuddship, Martin standing out front, on its way back to Mossflower.

A sketch of Kotir graces "Book One", a sketch of Salamandastron and the Bloodwake (providing a nice contrast in size) is on "Book Two", and a fully-armored Martin drawing his sword wraps things up for "Book Three".

Unlike all previous hardcovers, the Mossflower Collector's Edition doesn't sport a dust jacket. Instead, the book is bound in a dark green leatherette that is embossed with gold lettering. The main picture from Troy Howell's original cover, of Martin flanked by Gonff and Dinny, is pasted in the center. As an added bonus, the book also sports an attached red ribbon page marker, eliminating the need for a bookmark (or the more basic action of folding in the page corner).

Rounding out the package is a full page introduction by Brian Jacques, relating the story of how his ideas for Mossflower were formed-- such as the vivid description of seeing Martin the Warrior in his mind's eye, tattered cloak, carrying his father's sword, striding towards destiny.

The story of Mossflower is unchanged-- it's still one of the best entries into the Redwall Series. For collectors, there's no question that this is an excellent purchase. For the more casual fans, though, it boils down the question: are six full-page illustrations, three sketches, a new map, a BJ introduction, and a leatherette cover with ribbon marker enough to warrant a new (or more expensive) purchase? That's up to you, because that's all you'll really be getting from this.

The Mossflower Collector's Edition isn't perfect, but it's certainly one of the nicest presentations of Redwall around.