Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde

Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Selfish Giant and The Star Child; The Young King and The Remarkable Rocket by Oscar Wilde, adapted by P Craig Russell, 88 pages total

These are the first two of the five volumes of comic adaptations created by legendary illustrator  P Craig Russell from the fairy tales of Oscar Wilde.  These, in turn, have their origin in stories Wilde told to his own children.  The writing strikes the perfect balance between child-like simplicity and adult appeal, while the art is stunning.

All of the stories are similarly moralistic - each features a self-absorbed protagonist whose self-importance is shattered, although it is only the readers who witness this in the case of The Remarkable Rocket.  It is interesting how some of these characters - particularly the Young King and the Star Child, but even the Rocket - echo, or perhaps parody, Wilde's own public persona before learning their lesson (or, in the case of the Rocket, not).