For Jim Henson’s the Storyteller: Witches #4, Jeff Stokely adapts “Vassilisa the Beautiful,” using an unproduced The Storyteller play for its base. His telling jumps straight into the bleakness of the tale, stressing the darkness of the forest and the despair in Vasilissa’s heart when her stepmother comes in. The stepmother and stepsisters are pure evil, full of spite. Stokely parallels their language with that of the witch, showing the two households as not so different. The language throughout keeps to the rhythmic cadence of a traditional fairy tale telling without being too archaic for modern readers.
At the heart of this tale is the famous witch, Baba Yaga, the witch who rides in mortar and steers with the pestle—details Stokely keeps as he does other small, but significant elements that make Baba Yaga distinct from other witches. Where Vasillisa is conventionally pretty with her blond hair, Baba Yaga is barely human, terrifying and decked with skulls. Stokely zooms in on her terrifying eyes and on her mouth with its crooked teeth as Baba Yaga talks of the consequences of disappointment. The forest is dark and tangled, with a huge horse and rider rushing by, heedless of wanderers. Rauch keeps the palette dark with deep purples, blues, and blacks dominating.
“Baba Yaga” tales are always welcome, and Stokely’s telling captures the Russian witch well; dark and terrifying, with her own sense of justice. The Jim Henson’s the Storyteller: Witches series has been a showcase of different tales and tellers, one well worth reading and a type I hope to see repeated.
Based on the unproduced The Storyteller teleplay written by Susan Kodicek and Anne Mountfield, and revised by Anthony Minghella
Adapted & Illustrated by: Jeff Stokely
Colors: John Rauch
Letters: Ed Dukeshire
Cover by Jeff Stokely with Colors by John Rauch
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