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The Legend of Steel Bashaw
 
 

 

By Petar Meseldžija

Over 60 illustrations
64 pages, 9 x 12”

Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-933865-30-0

$19.95

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A contemporary retelling of this classic Serbian folktale!

On the edge of a forest as old as the mountains, they still tell a tale deep into the night…

The Legend of Steel Bashaw is Petar Meseldžija’s adaption of Baš Čelik. A folktale he first heard as a boy, it was given nightly life by Serbian storytellers illuminated by fireplaces and burning lamps.
Built from the same impossible truths that the ancients used to craft all myths, this tale concerns itself with a kidnapped princess, the deeds of a heroic prince, battles lost or won, death and redemption. As with all the best stories, it also traverses lands real and imagined, ranging from the primeval forests of the Balkans to the kingdoms of the dragons and beyond.

But unlike most tellers of legends, Meseldžija knows there is a truth underlying this oft-told tale. He grew up with it and once held crumbling proof of that truth in his hands. It’s that experience which provided him with the main inspiration for this book, and it’s that same certain knowledge which informs every word and image in The Legend of Steel Bashaw.

Meseldžija has crafted a tale as vital as Beowulf, Homer’s Odyssey and the other great stories. His paintings bring his characters and their worlds to vivid life. The Legend of Steel Bashaw is his gift to the world, and it is a masterpiece.

About Petar Meseldžija

Petar Meseldžija was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, in 1965. He began his career in 1981, publishing the comic strip "Krampi." This was followed by his work on Tarzan. He graduated from the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad. In 1991 he illustrated his first book Peter Enkorak. At the end of 1991 he moved to the Netherlands. Soon after, he stopped working on comics and dedicated himself to illustration and painting. During the 1990s he painted 120 posters and greeting cards for a Holland publisher. He did illustrations for King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. He held his first solo exhibition of illustrations and paintings in 1998 in Amsterdam. Petar is the recipient of the “Art Show Judges Choice Award” - 59th World Science Fiction Convention, and two Silver Awards and a Gold Award from Spectrum. From 2000 he has dedicated himself to gallery art. His original work can be found in the private collections in Serbia, the Netherlands, Germany and the U.S. He painted 10 book covers for books of children's fantasy literature for Scholastic. He illustrated the Serbian folk tale “Real Trouble Cannot Be Hidden."