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Princess And Comic-Con
Recently I watched Disney's The Princess And The Frog animated feature
and I was blown away by incredible art. Animated using traditional hand-drawn
cells and with painted background, the films brought to the Silver Screen a
new classic that ranks right up there with Disney's other classic "Princess"
movies such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.
Jeff Kurtti and Chronicle
Books, with assist by Walt Disney Pictures, present a beautifully
illustrated book that takes art directly from the movie.
Look for character designs, storyboards, background illustrations and scenes
taken directly from the film accompanied by text filled with production
facts, artists accounts and a preface by John Lassiter along with a
foreword from directors John Musker and Ron Clements. This is pure Disney magic with lush
illustrations and fascinating text.
Comic-Con International: at the
mere mention of the phrase comic book readers, toy collectors, movie-lovers
and lovers of popular culture grow weak in the knees. Of all the "Comic Book"
conventions held across the United States (and the world) Comic-Con is the granddaddy
of them all. I've never gone, but
one day...one day.
Chronicle Books has compiled the ultimate Comic-Con book that tracks the
entire history of the historic convention.
Look for sections about the early days of the con including
celebrities that attended them, the people who helped organize them and the
fans (many who would become professionals in many of the represented media)
who made the con possible.
Sergio Aragones provides the cluttered cover (as only he can) and
legendary sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury the foreword. This luxurious oversize hardbound book
is brimming with art, photos, historical documents and anecdotes and
commentaries for pro and fan alike.
This is a book you can spend hours just looking at, let alone
reading. San Diego Comic-Con International
is the Mecca of comic book and pop culture fans. If you can't attend, buy this book. If you can attend, buy this book also. It's that good!
 Firefly Rain
As a young boy growing up in the small town of Maryfield, North
Carolina, Jacob Logan was anxious to move away and start a life of his
own. Small town life was not for
him and after leaving for college, graduating and setting up his own
successfully business his visits home were few and far between.
His life suddenly took a sour turn when his business failed, his
personal life was in a shambles and everything seemed fruitless.
Reluctantly he moves back to Maryfield and takes up residence in his
childhood home. Both of his parents
had died and are buried on the property.
Jacob hopes his trip home will let him catch his breath and bearings
before he decides which direction his life should go.
His old homestead seems to be the perfect setting: It’s quiet and peaceful and just the
place to reflect and regroup.
But when a series of mysterious incidents pile on top of another: lost
belongings, stolen car, etc., and no one hears or sees a thing-or do they?
The townspeople seem unusually distant, his ground caretaker, Carl,
seems too good to be true and the fireflies…they die whenever they approach
Jacob’s home.
Then there’s the sounds at night, creaking, creepy sounds and the
unnerving feeling that he’s being watched-but by who or what?
Something wants him home and refuses to let him leave-but what and
why? Firefly Rain by Richard
Dansky, published by Gallery
Books, it's a horrific page turner that never lets up. Coming home has
never been so scary.
 
 
Comics, Comics, Comics!
From Krause Publications comes
Tony Isabella’s newest book: 1000 Comic Books You Must Read. Now this is my kind of book! I’m a huge comic book fan and read
scores of books on the subject.
!000 Comic books is high on my must-read list.
The book is jam-packed with full color cover illustrations of Tony’s
picks for the top 1000 comic books every comic book reader must read. For the most part I agree with all of
his choices, although there are a few notable issues absent-such as The
Incredible Hulk #181, the first appearance of Wolverine.
Still, the book is a veritable encyclopedia of visual excellence coupled
with Tony’s historical notes, personal collecting anecdotes and interesting
trivia. This is an awesome book
that I recommend to any comic book reader.
It’s a real treat to look at, loads of fun to read and makes and
excellent addition to any comic book collector’s library.
Another great book that any true comic book collector must have for
their own is Chris Ryall’s and Scott Tipton’s Comic Books 101: The History,
Methods and madness form Impact
Books that gets into the meat, bones and guts of the comic book
industry starting from the earliest pre-Golden age publications right up to
today’s slick and highly commercialized comic books.
The book is an extremely comprehensive guide to all things comic books,
from publishers to creators, inside politics and to company policies and
why certain things can and can’t been done with characters and titles.
Stan Lee provides the foreword and other notable figures such as Harlan
Ellison and Paul Dina offer their own reflections on the industry they
love.
If you want to know about the long, and sometimes arduous, history of
comic books in the United States this is the book for you. Brimming with historical facts and
stunning artwork, the book is a veritable cornucopia of comic book
information.
Learn about publishers come and gone, important and influential comic
book writers and artists, pivotal events that shaped the industry and so
much more.
Two publications that serious collectors need to have on their shelves
both come from Krause Publications.
Comics Values Annual 2009 by Alex G. Mallory features more than
95,000 comic book values from all the many comic book publishers ranging
back to the Golden Age. Titles are
listed alphabetically and are oprice3d in near-mint condition.
Wolverine editor is interviewed and a short section on grading comic
books is also included. Any serious
collector needs to carry this book with them when looking to add to their
collection.
Comics buyer’s Guide’s 2010 Comic Book Checklist & Price Guide 1961
– Present 16th Edition (whew!) is also brimming with black and
white photos, 130,000 alphabetically listed titles and prices, a guide to
condition grading and a short history of comic books.
Both the Annual and CBG Guide are invaluable resources for the serious
collector.
 How To Train Your Dragon
Dreamworks Animation, the folks behind Shrek, introduces a wonderful new
fantasy later this year with the release of its How To Train Your Dragon
animated feature. Tracey
Miller-Zarneke, with preface by Cressida Cowell and foreword by Craig
Ferguson, present The Art Of Dreamworks How To Train Your Dragon published
by Newmarket Press.
The book is brimming with character sketches, concept art, production
notes and developer insights. The
art consists of preliminary sketches to final designs for key characters,
the Vikings, the dragons, background art and effects. Look for details on how the story
developed, how much research went into creating the feature and provides
and upfront tour of the land of the dragons and their human antagonists.
 The Art Of Jaime Hernandez
Todd Hignite and Abrams Books
presents The Art Of Jaime Hernandez: The Secrets Of Life And Death, about
one of the most influential and pivotal figures in the creator-owned,
direct sale comic book field.
Known primarily for his stunning art in Love & Rockets, Jaime's
clean, crisp style eliminates unnecessary clutter and gets straight to the
point. His superb pen and brush
work gives his art a clarity and focus that immediately catches the
eye. When reading and looking at
one of his illustrated stories you'll immediately notice no wasted words or
detail.
The book examines Jaime's life, beginning in Oxnard, California as one
of three Latino brothers, and his unquenchable desire to draw. Like many young artists, Jaime slowly
developed his own personal style through many different venues, most
notably comic books and comic strips.
The book follows his career through self-publishing to his serialized
work in the New York Times Magazine.
The book is brimming with sketches, color studies, character
designs, archive photos and finished art accompanied by insightful and
informative text.
 Kick-Ass
When writer and Mark Millar and artist John Romita Jr. introduced their
new comic book collaboration, Kick-Ass, to the world about two years ago
they really stirred things up.
For the first time superheroes entered the real world and they weren’t
really super at all. The story
centers on high-school student Dave Lizewski, a huge comic book fan, who
decides all it takes to be a superhero is a funky costume, a couple steel
pipes and a passion for fighting crime.
He was right in a sense-until he got the sense nearly knocked out of
him in his first crime-fighting encounter.
Undaunted, he resumes his crime-fighting career unaware that his
escapades inspires other superhero wannabes and suddenly the city is filled
with costumed do-gooders- some skilled fighters such as Hit-Girl and her
partner Big Daddy.
In Mark Millar: Kick-Ass: Creating The Comic, Making The Movie, Titan Books presents a
blow-by-blow account of how the uber-violent Kick-Ass comic book was
translated into an equally violent movie.
Learn all about the cast choices, location shoots, set and costume
designs, cast and crew insights, pre and post production and more.
Included are sketches, photos, storyboards and glimpses of art created
by John Romita Jr. specifically for the movie. No powers? No problem.
Be prepared to Kick-Ass!
 Inception
Fans of the original Star Trek series must read S.D. Perry's and Britta
Denison's new Star Trek novel, Inception, from Pocket
Books.
In Inception readers learn how Kirk met the 'hot little blond lab tech'
Kirk's longtime friend Gary Mitchell (see Where No Man Has Gone Before)
introduced Kirk to. Later in The
Wrath Of Khan, the lab tech was revealed to be Carol Marcus (the inventor
of the Genesis Device and the mother of Kirk's son David).
How Spock's romantic entanglement with Laoli Kalomi began and ended is
chronicled. Later In This Side Of
Paradise, Spock and Laoli would meet again and consummate their love.
The parallel stories intertwine when Laoli joins Carol's team and Kirk
and Spock are forced to place their careers before their personal
feelings. Environmental tensions
mount and Starfleet's Prime Directive is pushed to its limits as Kirk,
Spock, Marcus and Kalomi begin their separate journeys that will ultimately
lead to one of the most pivotal events in Starfleet's long history.
Sketchbooks
If you've never taken the opportunity to purchase and look at Comix
Buro's Sketchbook series now's a good time to start.
Comix Buro recently released four
more titles in its Sketchbook series of soft back books. Measuring in a just a little smaller
vertically as a comic book, the Sketchbook series are square bound, printed
on heavy paper stock and contain a wide variety of art as reflected by the
many artists the series spotlights.
This time around the releases cover Valley, Mazan, Mathot and CiVello.
Of the four CiVello's art is the most realistic-at as rendered. The book is filled with realistic rendering
along with fantasy sketches and drawings.
Of the four titles this one is my favorite.
Mathot's work is much more cartoonish with a heavy emphasis on character
and costume design. I especially
like the pencil sketches.
Valley has a thing for urban art, specifically got urban chick-semi-nude
urban chicks. 'Nuff said.
For less realistic cartoon figures Mazan fills the bill. But, as if to demonstrate the talent of
the artist, very realistic renderings of ancient archeological sites are
also included.
Regardless of what book you choose to buy (Why not buy all of them?),
Comix Buro's Sketchbook recent releases are a perfect choice.
 Fantasy Genesis
Now here's something I've never seen before: a book that that not only shows
you how to draw fantasy figures, etc. for a game but also includes the
game.
Fantasy Genesis: A Creativity Game For Fantasy Artist by Chuck Lukacs
and published by Impact Books is
just such a book.
Inside both gamers and artists will get over forty demonstrations on how
to draw anything from monsters to environments. Step-by-step instructions illustrate how to start an idea,
evolve it into a creature or other fantasy element, refine it and put the
finishing touches on it with detail and shading.
Once you've completed your creations you'll proceed to play up to three game variations that include
three full-length demonstrations on how to play the game from start to
finish.
The book is jam-packed with black and white and color illustrations,
helpful technique tips and instructions on how to kick-start your
imagination. It's fun to read and
just as fun to play! Don't just
play the game, make the game!
 From The Pen Of Paul
Our current digital age offers a tremendous advantage to illustrators
and painters of all genres. Fantasy
and science fiction artists have decades of reference material from past
artists to build upon, the internet makes gathering reference material a
snap and with the new digital output and printing capabilities art
reproduction is amazing.
But, what if you were one of the first science fiction and fantasy
artists? What if you were
pioneering a whole new genre? What
if reference material was few and far between and you had to rely on sketchy
reference, at best, and your own imagination and talent?
That’s exactly what artist Frank R. Paul did. His work and career is chronicled in the new book from Shasta Phoenix edited by
Stephen D. Korshak: From The Pen Of Paul: The Fantastic Images Of Frank R.
Paul.
This lavishly illustrated book follows Paul’s career. As a young man he was slated for
priesthood, but his talent for drawing architecture, machines and the human
body and his ability to compose interesting compositions both in color and
black and white eventually cemented his occupation.
His art output was prolific and varied.
Beginning his career as a magazine illustrator for science
magazines, Paul soon transitioned to interior illustrations and color
covers for the burgeoning science fiction magazine market. His bold use of lines and color made him
the perfect artist for the new media.
Limited by the crude color printing processes of the Pulp magazine era,
Paul nonetheless used what was available to his advantage. His bold, rich and primal color scheme
cover paintings captured the energy and excitement of the subject
matter.
His art continues to influence artists today and he is considered to be
the master and father of science fiction illustration.
 The Sorrows Of Empire
The last time we saw the alternate universe Spock from the classic Star
Trek TV show in the Mirror, Mirror Universe he had just assisted this
universe's Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and Uhura to escape and transport back home.
Captain Kirk challenges Spock to change the tyrannical empire in which
he lives with this statement, "In every revolution, there is one man
with a vision." Kirk informs
him of the Tantulus field, a deadly device used by that universe's Captain
Kirk to eliminate his enemies.
As Kirk and the others beam away, Spock tells Kirk he will consider his
offer.
In Star Trek: Mirror Universe: The Sorrows of Empire, written by David
Mack and published by Pocket
Books, Spock puts action to his words.
He kills Kirk, takes his weapon and his Captain's woman and sets out
to put in place the various elements to bring the eventual downfall of the
Empire and put in its place a democratic Federation.
In order for his plan to work Spock must gain the throne for himself,
change long held Empirical policies amidst the disgruntled status quo and
eliminate those threats to his plan.
Along with his new wife Marlena, Spock becomes that one man with a
vision.
The Sorrows Of Empire is a great addition to the Star Trek mythos. It sets in place a whole new arena of
story possibilities.
 
Loverboy And Visions
When I first say the name Irwin Hasen on the cover of Vanguard Productions new
soft cover Loverboy book for the life of me I couldn't place the name.
The cover art showing a diminutive man standing next to naked female
legs made me wonder if he was a Playboy cartoonist. The book begins with an illustrated tale
about the short man and his many sensual and sexual escapades, his romantic entanglements and their
subsequent ups and downs (pardon the pun.)
From there the book delves into delves into his career, his life, his
journeys and his reflections on
life and death all accompanied by drawings. Flipping through the books pages it suddenly dawns on me
exactly who Irwin Hansen is. All it
took was a drawing of a small ragamuffin boy with huge black eyes and
dressed in baggy oversize clothes.
The boy? Dondi: star of a
comic strip that was very popular a number of years ago and was even made
into a film.
A side note: I actually met
the man who as a child was the inspiration for Dondi. Irwin Hasen also worked for various
comic book companies during the Golden Age.
Well into his nineties, Irwin continues to draw. Loverboy is his biography disguised as a
graphic novel and makes for a fascinating read. It offers a close-up examination of his life seen over the
decades and follows his many exploits, travels and published history.
Patrick and Jeannie Wilshire edit Visions Of Never: The Collection Of
Fantastic Art. And fantastic it is!
The art anthology contains examples of some of best work by some the
finest artists in the genre. Besides
breath-taking full-color art by such artistic notables as Robh Ruppel, Marc
Fishman, Paul Lehr and many others, the book also contains insightful copy
about the artists themselves. Look
for comments by the artists, production notes and helpful tips and tricks
on how each artist created their fantastic work. The book offers real eye-candy along with extremely
informative text and examples of art contained within a similar genre
represented by widely diverse styles.
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