It would be an understatement to say that Sirius Black didn't exactly look his best the first time Harry Potter set eyes on him in human form. Jim Kay's illustration of the beloved animagus captures Sirius in all his filthy, matted-hair glory in the new Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Illustrated Edition. Check it out...
Bit of a 90's-grunge look happening here, which is fitting given the time period of the story. Still, Sirius's long locks and sunken appearance isn't his effort to be on trend. The wizard had escaped Azkaban about a year prior, and had been spending the months since, hiding out, living off scraps and keeping an eye on his godson while also trying to track down his former friend, Peter Pettigrew. He was hungry, dirty and angry, and Jim Kay's rendering of Black captures that rather nicely in his photo.
It's a bit different from the Gary Oldman version of the character...
But I think Jim Kay's illustration is an awesome interpretation of J.K. Rowling's description of the character, at the time that Harry Potter first met him face to human face...
A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius Black.
This illustration is featured in the "Cat, Rat and Dog" chapter of the newly released illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It's one of many stunning images included in the book, which can be purchased on Amazon here.
The newly released version of Prisoner of Azkaban is full of gorgeous illustrations, including a detailed glimpse at the Marauder's Map, along with some amazing looks at Harry's Patronus, the Dementors, and the previously released illustration of Severus Snape.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Illustrated Edition is the third illustrated edition to be released in the series. Sorcerer's Stone released an illustrated edition in 2015. Chamber of Secrets Illustrated Edition came out last year. And though it hasn't been announced yet, it's likely we'll see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire's illustrated edition in Fall of 2018, assuming future releases follow the same pattern as the first three. We won't have to wait nearly as long for the Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them illustrated edition. The text book on which the film franchise is loosely based is set to release its illustrated edition in November 2017.
Get the latest on what else is ahead for Harry Potter fans here.
Illustration by Jim Kay (c) Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2017, via Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Illustrated Edition
