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bookwomble's review
4.0
Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor has been a firm favourite since I delightedly found a second-hand 1977 copy back in the '90s. Great find though it was, that edition was in a small format that compressed the lines in Peake's illustrations, dropping detail and, where colour was added, it was a vivid but disappointingly flat, orange-yellow only: [bc:Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor|8660980|Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor|Mervyn Peake|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1280183066l/8660980._SX50_.jpg|1332136]
Finally, I've decide to upgrade to the large format Walker Books edition of 2001 - what a revelation! The delicacy and intricate shading and hatching of Peake's pen are now clearly visible and, whilst the colours, where used, are still flat, they are colours: plural! Pastel shades of green, blue and pink abound, earth colours for (most of) the pirates, purple and lilac for the strange creatures of the island and, of course, bright yellow for the Yellow Creature!
I've always suspected that the tattoo of the woman on Charlie Choke's left arm was Peake's wife, [a:Maeve Gilmore|58130|Maeve Gilmore|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1284805804p2/58130.jpg], now I can read the name beneath the portrait to confirm that it is: a romantically humorous touch.
What's it about? The illustrations, really. They are absolutely integral to the book, which has little in the way of plot or narrative. Such as it is, it's a slight tale of the pirates discovering an island full of strange creatures, one of which becomes the object of the Captain Slaughterboard's rather obsessional affection, with whom he eventually decides to settle down and "drop anchor". Despite the lack of any deep story, the book is made vibrant and full of humorous energy by the fantastic quality of Peake's illustrations.
Finally, I've decide to upgrade to the large format Walker Books edition of 2001 - what a revelation! The delicacy and intricate shading and hatching of Peake's pen are now clearly visible and, whilst the colours, where used, are still flat, they are colours: plural! Pastel shades of green, blue and pink abound, earth colours for (most of) the pirates, purple and lilac for the strange creatures of the island and, of course, bright yellow for the Yellow Creature!
I've always suspected that the tattoo of the woman on Charlie Choke's left arm was Peake's wife, [a:Maeve Gilmore|58130|Maeve Gilmore|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1284805804p2/58130.jpg], now I can read the name beneath the portrait to confirm that it is: a romantically humorous touch.
What's it about? The illustrations, really. They are absolutely integral to the book, which has little in the way of plot or narrative. Such as it is, it's a slight tale of the pirates discovering an island full of strange creatures, one of which becomes the object of the Captain Slaughterboard's rather obsessional affection, with whom he eventually decides to settle down and "drop anchor". Despite the lack of any deep story, the book is made vibrant and full of humorous energy by the fantastic quality of Peake's illustrations.
mat_tobin's review
5.0
The first book from Mervyn Peake and a glorious look into the imagination of a 29 year old writer and illustrator. I had no idea that Peake was an illustrator but his work here is excellent and shows exactly why he has gone on to illustrate Alice in Wonderland and Treasure Island for his characters are richly drawn and the world of Captain Slaughterboard is as odd as Wonderland itself.
The story itself is quite simple in which Slaughterboard, coming to the end of his pirating days, stumbles across a creature who is also out of sorts upon the island it inhabits. Together both find a companionship which takes them on great adventures and also shows Slaughterboard the true meaning of contentment. Although, as expected with Peake, the work is well written, it is the rich and beguiling illustrations which make the book. The oddity and nonsensical nature of the island's inhabitants reminded me very much of the excellent [b:The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear|62032|The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear (Zamonia, #1)|Walter Moers|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388176963s/62032.jpg|1482372]
The story itself is quite simple in which Slaughterboard, coming to the end of his pirating days, stumbles across a creature who is also out of sorts upon the island it inhabits. Together both find a companionship which takes them on great adventures and also shows Slaughterboard the true meaning of contentment. Although, as expected with Peake, the work is well written, it is the rich and beguiling illustrations which make the book. The oddity and nonsensical nature of the island's inhabitants reminded me very much of the excellent [b:The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear|62032|The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear (Zamonia, #1)|Walter Moers|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388176963s/62032.jpg|1482372]
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