Redwall Collectors Community: Ukrainian Redwall

Contributed by LordTBT at 6:20PM GMT, 02 December 2024

In today's edition of Redwall Collectors' Community, we're covering the new Ukrainian edition of Redwall, Редволл by Браян Жак! This thick paperback was published in 2024 by Nebo BookLab Publishing, featuring a translation by Anna-Maria Baralus.

What makes this edition really special is that it features an all-new map, plus 17 full-page illustrations from illustrator and cover artist Maria Kolosova, and six of those 17 are in color! This is the first time since the Russian editions of the mid-2000s that a version of Redwall has included full-page illustrations to go along with the text, and the first time since the 1997 Tenth Anniversary editions of Redwall that any interior artwork has been in color (previously, Troy Howell and Chris Baker both contributed color plates to those). Additionally, this is the highest number of full-page illustrations to appear in any translation or publication of Redwall, which is very exciting!

Kolosova cited Redwall as a dream project in an interview with Nebo, saying "It tells about the medieval world in which instead [of] knights and people in general — various forest animals [are the characters]. Omitting the fact that books are interesting in themselves, because in them everything is written - geography, characters, their beliefs and legends of the fictional world - these are books about a mouse in chain mail. AND with swords."

What I particularly enjoy about Kolosova's artwork is that it seems to convey the sense of scale in the Redwall universe quite well, and the attire for the characters is properly medieval. Some illustrations almost feel like they could appear inside of a comic book; I really like the attention to detail, like the blood pouring out of Cluny's tail stump and the digging claws of the moles.

Please see below for a full list of all of the interior illustrations for the Ukraine edition of Redwall, as well as a look at a few more of them!

If you appreciated Kolosova's artwork as much as we do, get pumped because the translation, editing, and illustrations are already complete for Nebo's next Ukrainian language translation, Mossflower - Мохоцвітна країна. We very much look forward to showcasing that release, hopefully soon!