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(1976- ) Swedish-born illustrator and graphic artist, in the UK since 1999, active from around then. He has illustrated picture books to texts by Swedish authors (published only in Swedish); the books for which he is wholly responsible have appeared in English, beginning with The Tristan Story (graph 2004) whose young protagonist loses his "crying", which he must search for in the bowels of his uncle's car: a Little-Big quest into a huge world growing huger, whose inhabitants increase constantly in number. [For Little Big above and Animal Fantasy below see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below.] Bear (graph 2023) shows the influence of Shaun Tan, in particular for the similarly wordless The Arrival (graph 2006). An animal fantasy set in what may be clearly (if Equipoisally) be understood as a Near-Future land partially returned to wilderness after some great Disaster, though littered with Homo sapiens relics, a realistically drawn bear with a pail (or protective dog collar) stuck over his head is befriended by an Avatar-like cartoon hare. At tale's end, they sit together gazing at the scumbled world. [JC]
born Lund, Sweden: 24 May 1976
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Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2011-current) edited by John Clute and David Langford.
Accessed 08:43 am on 8 December 2025.
<https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/gnosspelius_staffan>