Wildheart
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Wildheart |
| Publisher: | Wildheart Press, agented by MacWombat Press |
| Editor(s): | Beth Blighton |
| Type: | art, songs, poems, vignettes |
| Date(s): | 1990 |
| Medium: | print zine |
| Fandom: | Beauty and the Beast (TV) |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
 back cover: "Keeping Watch in the Night", pen & ink, first published in Once Upon A Time...Is Now | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Wildheart is an 81-page gen and het Beauty and the Beast (TV) zine.
It includes many, many illustrations (three of them in color) by Beth Blighton, based on all seasons, accompanied by song lyrics, poems, dialogue from the episodes, as well as vignettes written by Kathy Cox. It follows Vincent's life from infancy through the recovery of baby Jacob.
The art includes some partial nudity or erotic material.
Description
From a flyer:
Wildheart is dedicated to the story of Vincent and the people who are a part of it. It will follow the direction of the series with one notable exception... it will take a more realistic approach to the consummation of Vincent and Catherine's love. These drawings, while they would definitely be considered erotic, are in no way lewd or prurient. NO FRONTAL NUDITY. And while Catherine's death will be a part of the 'zine, there will be no pictures of her kidnap or captivity. There WILL be a picture that includes Diana as well as one that includes Elliot. If these ideas are unacceptable to you as a buyer, I ask that you do not inquire. I feel that the art and ideas in this 'zine remain true to the spirit of Beauty and the Beast -- what it has always been about, what it is and what it will ever be... the healing power of love.
The Zine's Dedication
This Book Is Dedicated To Ron Perlman... For the extraordinary talent which gave this beautiful dream life, for the respect and dignity he always afforded the character, for all the stamina and sacrifice and just plain heart it took to play Vincent week after week, and for the quiet strength that can only come from within; a strength that kept him true to himself even when some were determined only to see the fantasy, the mask, and not the man behind it.
Thank you for giving me a gift I thought had died...Thank you for the inspiration.
From the Zine's Editorial
I hope that you have enjoyed Wildheart. As Vincent said, "In this city of night, there are countless stories to be told. This is just one of them..." It's the story of one man, alone to himself in a world full of others; a man who could have surrendered to bitterness and despair, but instead chose the harder path, with only love as his guide, and triumped [sic] over his greatest weaknesses and fears. Perhaps it is not a "happy" tale, but it is one of hope, and one which depends on our faith in love; the only thing which is truly everlasting.
[...]
If any of these pictures moved you, if any grabbed your heart and wrenched a tear from it or made it smile or sing, then I will feel I have done my job, and that I've done these characters and this dream justice. It was never my intention to take the readers on a gentle trip down memory lane, it was my hope that I might be able to rekindle all the emotion, all the power that is this story.
To me, this has always been such a beautiful story...Bittersweet? Yes. Tragic? To be sure. But always, always grand, carthartic [sic] and beautiful. I hope this book lives up to those standards.
This has been a six month long labor of love, and a dream that I've had for two years. I once thought that the idea of an artzine would be utterly impossible to do, and I owe a good many people my heartfelt thanks that it ever got done at all.
[...]
[Thank you to many fans] for their incredible reference photos... and all the other fans who sent me photos out of the kindness of their hearts. (A few came in just in the nick of time!) In the last few weeks of production, my VCR shuffled off this mortal coil and joined the choir invisible, and the references I had were all I could use. Most of what you see here could not have been accomplished had it not been for their generous help.
Contents: Includes Titles of Art, Song Lyrics
Gallery
title page
"The Warrior," pen & ink, reprinted from Destiny #3
"Touch the Wind," pastel & prismacolor
"Heaven Lies About Us in Our Infancy," graphite pencil, reprinted from Destiny #2 (though the zine mis-states this as #1)
"Grrr," charcoal
Dragon's Live Forever, Not So Little Boys," (the scribble in the book is by the author's three-year old son), charcoal
"The Birds and the Bees," charcoal
"On the Edge of Seventeen," charcoal
"What a Piece of Work is Man," charcoal
"You Have the Strength... You Do," charcoal
"Fury," charcoal, reprinted from Destiny #3
"Surrender All Your Dreams to Me Tonight," graphite pencil, reprinted from One Day, A Rapture
"An Alliance of Rivals," charcoal, portrays Vincent and Elliot Burch
"Invictus," pastel & prismacolor
"Can't See Through This Veil Across My Heart," charcoal
"Who's This In My Tub?," charcoal
"The Rose," charcoal
"The End," charcoal
Reactions and Reviews
I just finished reading a gem. No... that doesn't describe it. There is no word to describe 'Wildheart.' Through a series of song lyrics, episode excepts, poetry and several phenomenal vignettes by Kathy Cox, with Beth's accompanying drawings, she carries us through the emotional gamut that was B&TB from beginning to end. I don't think I have to say that the quality of the artwork is... well, beyond compare! We've all seen Beth's work in the Destiny series and Pam Garrett's One Day, A Rapture... so we know the treat we are in for. But the choice of literary content combined with her work is enough to leave you breathless. Beyond that, it stretches your emotion s almost to their breaking point. I was doing pretty well reining in my tears until I cam to pp 68 and 69. The vignette by Kathy with accompanying picture of Vincent and baby Jacob bathing together totally just swept me away, and that was the end of that! I was in tears. It was absolutely beautiful. Then, just when I thought I had regained my composure, I turned the page to read the lyrics to 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again' from Phantom, and I was completely lost for the rest of the night. I couldn't stop crying for at least twenty minutes. I thought I had gotten over this intense reaction to the loss of Catherine, but, alas, Beth did her work well, and I sunk down again. Ahh, but a sweet journey down and back again. [1]
These pieces by fan artist Beth Blighton take us from a baby Vincent through the heartbreaking events of the 3rd season. The full-page drawings are accompanied by several vignettes, song lyrics, poems, and quotes from the show. Her renderings of Vincent (rather than Catherine or Diana), especially those that express his sorrow over losing Catherine, are her strength. Seven of the forty pieces of art have been previously published in other zines. Stunning cover. [2]
Newly available from a new publisher after having been unavailable for some considerable time. Artzine by a major fan artist. Superlative drawings, based on all seasons, accompanied by song lyrics, poems, dialogue from the episodes. Two instances of backal (as opposed to frontal) nudity. [3]
References
- ^ a review by S.R. from a August 1990 Tunnel Talk
- ^ from The Beauty and the Beast Buyer's Guide to Fanzines
- ^ from Helpers' Network Quality Fanzine Review -- 1997, Archived version