Vassily’s Father (illustrated by Russel Roehling)

Vassily lived with his father in the forest when he was a young boy.

One day while out hunting, Vassily came across an old peddler woman who had a bag filled with treasures that were unlike anything that Vassily had seen before. Vassilly’s Father found his son and the beggar woman taking in the forest and he told his son to return the trinkets.

Vassily’s father tried to tell him that the people who lived outside of the forest were not meant to be trusted and that they were poor and could not afford to waste their hard work on trinkets and baubles. Vassily, of course, didn’t listen.

For the next few days Vassily worked with his father on various tasks including hunting and gathering firewood, but one morning he left his home while his father was out hunting and, at least in the context of the story, did not return home.

Vassily’s Father appears on several pages of Sandman # 38. He is most notably on page 5 in panel 3.

This is a wonderful portrait from Russel. I like the details he put into this portrait. The line work in his clothing makes it look like it’s really worn or that it was hand made from deer skin, which it probably was. This is a great portrait.