The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

You may recall a few weeks ago we had Joe Pruett chatting away here on the blog and one of the subjects that came up was the Art of Brian Bolland book Joe had been working heavily on for Image. It was due a number of months back and has seen its publication date pushed back a few times – always a bit annoying for readers waiting to see when the book they are after is going to arrive, but such is publishing I’m afraid.

But now, at last, the Art of Brian Bolland has arrived – was it worth the wait? Oh, drokk, yes! One of the reasons it took so long is because the book almost doubled from the original page count as it progressed (it now stands at 312 pages). The other is because Joe wanted not to make a simple art book of pretty pictures but a book which explores the actual artist who created them, so we have a book which moves chronologically through Brian’s life from the 50s to the present day, putting context to the artwork.

“I’m a big fan of art books and, after looking around, I noticed that iconic artists like Bolland and P. Craig Russell didn’t have any art books. But what I didn’t like about the art books I’ve seen, for the most part, is that they’re basically just pin up books. I wanted a book that not only showed the art of an artist, but told me about the artist himself. That’s the approach I took when I started talking with Brian and Craig about their art books. I wanted the books to be about THEM.” Joe Pruett on the FPI blog a few weeks ago.

As I have said here several times I am a huge fan of Brian’s artwork, having pretty much grown up with it from a young age (his outstanding Judge Dredd work) through to today (his rendering of the Joker in the Killing Joke with Alan Moore is such a powerful image of a classic villain I’ve never really gotten it out of my head). Available as a lovely hardcover or as a signed and numbered edition this may be a bit late, but it is very, very welcome (and frankly it looks like a perfect Christmas gift for the serious fan, so start dropping hints to your nearest and dearest as to what you want in your stocking now). Oh and if this isn’t enough, Joe told me that he is planning a similar art book for the great P Craig Russell in the future – fantastic.

Also in the new arrivals to tickle your comics fancy this week is another equally arty book but one somewhat smaller and more affordable – yes, the Acme Novelty Library 17 has finally arrived. I could explain at length how fascinating and gorgeous these works are (another potential Christmas gift, folks!) and how much delight is packed into such a small hardback, but really I only need two words to recommend this to you: Chris Ware. ‘Nuff said.

And to end on something completely different, I spotted Dark Horse’s Book of Monsters among this week’s new arrivals. Similar in format to their previous ‘DH Book Of…’ titles it is a very neat little anthology themed around, well, the more observant among you may well have already guessed it is monsters. The Most Excellent Mike Mignola is in there, as is Jill Thompson, Kurt Busiek, Evan Dorkin, Leah Moore and John Reppion among others, all wrapped up in a very nice (and very good value for money) hardcover.