Ray Troll's Shocking Fish Tales: Fish, Romance, and Death in Pictures - Softcover

Troll, Ray; Matsen, Bradford

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0898155487 ISBN 13: 9780898155488

Publisher: Ten Speed Press, 1993

Synopsis

First published in 1991 by Alaska Northwest, this book introduced a new audience to the often edgy, always observant and colorful fish art made semi-famous by the T-shirts and cards hauled out of the Northwest by fans of this Ketchikan artist. The mysteries of the deep, the strange, the hideous and the wonderful all appear on the canvas and in the words of this highly original, wacky work. Full-color throughout.

About this title

About the Author:

From his treetop studio in Ketchikan, Alaska, RAY TROLL draws and paints fishy images that migrate ’round the globe into museums, onto T-shirts, and into books. Basing his “out of the ooze and born to cruise” images on the latest scientific research, Ray brings street smarts to the world of ichthyology and paleontology. Previous collaborations with Brad Matsen include PLANET OCEAN and SHOCKING FISH TALES. Ray and his wife, Michelle, have two kids.
BRAD MATSEN has been a merchant seaman, charter pilot, and commercial fisherman, and is currently the senior editor of National Fisherman magazine. He is the author of several books about the Northwest and a documentary for PBS. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

From Publishers Weekly:

This whimsical yet informative look at the denizens of the deep incorporates humor, trivia and natural history. Matsen ( Deep Sea Fishing ) contributes brief essays on such subjects as the mutation that began the evolution of fish into humans; a chronicle of "fish lit" over the years; the mating rituals of salmon; the significance of fish in various religions; and the "deadly blend of despair and cheap thrills" derived from working in a salmon-packing factory. The margins are dotted with notes on esoterica, such as the tale of a fisherman who was towed 80 feet underwater by a blue marlin, and that massaging a halibut's "lateral line"--a sense organ on its stomach--has a soothing effect on the halibut. Troll's illustrations in several different media are equally diverse, ranging from depictions of Native American-inspired totem poles and rituals to a Rousseau takeoff of humpies swimming through a moonlit jungle. Many of these incorporate text, like the blue and black silkscreen of upside-down fish over the legend "Bass Ackwards" and the pen-ink-and-watercolor drawing of anthropomorphized, briefcase-carrying fish clustered around a sign reading "Walleye Street."
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ten Speed Press
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0898155487
• ISBN 13: 9780898155488
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 101