Recently a friend - to whom I'm most grateful - convinced me to commence reading the Song of Fire & Ice saga by George R. R. Martin, which as well as being a hugely ambitious and utterly compelling fantasy to rival anything in that field is also a successful game license for Fantasy Flight Games and now an Emmy award winning series from the masters of television drama HBO.
We now have two art books derived from the books and games available in the store as well as stocking several collections of fantasy art which reference the various treatments of this engrossing saga.
LE TRONE DE FER: ART ET ILLUSTRATIONS
HC 188pp Color, B+W
Soleil
This books boasts nearly as many artists as the original story has characters including fantasy heavy weights John Howe, Charles Vess and Donato Giancola.
In a medieval setting the great houses of the Kingdom embark upon " A Game of Thrones" using political intrigue and brute force to place their claimant on the Iron Throne.
This is the first book in a series of artbooks collecting images from the games and the novels, we have a very limited number of the second artbook as well but in English.
Dynamite have recently started a comic adaptation of Martin's masterpiece but the magnificently illustrated BD series from Soleil, Servitude, is strikingly similar in it's rich imagining of warring cultures and characters, the third volume in the series has just been released to an appreciative audience.
SERVITUDE TOME 3: L'ADIEU AUX ROIS
HC 72pp Color
Soleil
While we're on the subject of magnificently illustrated fantasies we're very pleased to announce the third and final chapter in Alex Alice's superb Siegfried saga.
SIEGFRIED 3: LE CREPUSCULE DES DIEUX
HC 80pp Color
Dargaud
As perfectly pitched as the singers of Wagner's Opera of the same myth, Alex Alice captures all the drama and majesty of this much loved story and delivers a rousing finale to his magnificent rendition of this European epic.
And so to another epic series but this one drawing on historical facts rather than mythology but again with a Teutonic flavor - don't be thinking beer and sausages though!
LES AIGLES DE ROME 3
HC 60pp Color
Dargaud
Enrico Marini is putting some fine looking flesh on the historical bare bones of Rome's Iraqi moment, when for no great strategic or commercial gain she marched three legions into the Teutoburg forest and promptly lost them in ambush to the Roman educated son of a German chief, Arminius.
Marini is having great fun depicting the brutality and decadence at the heart of the Roman Empire in scenes which recall HBO's hit series Rome.
OK to draw a line under this comparing comic book stories to TV series I'll quit once I've mentioned this book which looks every bit as cool as "Madmen".
RICHARD STARK'S PARKER: THE MARTINI EDITION
HC with Slipcase 360pp Color
IDW
Critically acclaimed comic art treatments of Richard Stark's respected crime novels " The Hunter" and "The Outfit" featuring the anti hero Parker by the original author and the style conscious sensational comic artist, Darwyn Cook.
This large format collection includes 72pages of rare and unpublished work as well as the three published stories.
MARVEL ART OF JOHN ROMITA JR
HC 240pp Color B+W
MARVEL
From one great stylist to another, John Romita Jr followed in his farther's foot steps and started drawing for Marvel Comics.
30 years later he's still going strong with a distinctive and dynamic style perfectly suited to telling tall tales of super beings and tough guys.
I'm going segue crazy today folks as I now lead us from one artistic dynasty to another.
LUCA NINE THE DE NOIX
SC 104pp Color B+W
LES REVEURE
Luca Nine is a chip off the old block, every bit as talented and as enamored of the deranged as dear old dad, Carlos.
A series of vignettes featuring a cast of bizarre characters in a surreal urban setting. The colors and layout remind one of Chris Ware's work but if he were under the influence of some serious drugs or alcohol rather than serious melancholia.
We're big fans of the Nine clan here at Pulp's Art where you can find plenty of books from Nine senior.
OVERKILL THE ART OF TOMER HANUKA
HC 104pp Color
Ginko Press
You may not recognize the name but you probably clocked the style, Tomer provided the cover image for the initial collection of Juxtapoz Illustration.
He's one of those artists who really does convey a story in a single image, yet that hasn't stopped him from moving about between editorial illustration and animation work.
JUXTAPOZ ILLUSTRATION 2
HC 208pp Color B+W
Ginko Press
A selection of the better contemporary artists strut their stuff in this second shinier collection from the flag ship magazine of low brow and pop surrealist art, Juxtapoz.
BTW the latest issues of Juxtapoz and Hi-Fructose are in stock, allez!
BTW the latest issues of Juxtapoz and Hi-Fructose are in stock, allez!
ROBERT CRUMB THE COMPLERE RECOD COLLECTION
HC with slipcase 96pp Color B+W
W.W. Norton
Everyone in the bizz knows about Bob's love of wholesome old time melodies or if not then his absolute loathing of most modern music.
This is a nice collection of the master's illustrations for record sleeves and music promotions celebrating his love of authentic unpretentious sounds.
No real segue here except for the quality of the draftsmen concerned,
ANDREW LOOMIS FIGURE FOR ALL IT'S WORTH
HC 208pp B+W
TITAN BOOKS
A facsimile edition of the seminal work from the 40s on figure drawing by the master draftsman Andrew Loomis, you won t find a better manual for the concise instruction or refined illustrations accompanying the text.
SETTING THE SCENE
HC 270pp Color B+W
Chronicle Books
A profusely illustrated and comprehensive guide on how animators go from A to Z, Fraiser MaClean conducted interviews with pros to bring the student and the pro alike an indispensable guide on how to structure and execute scenes for animated films.
ART OF PIXAR
HC 320pp Color B+W
Chronicle Books
A celebration of the first 25 years of Pixar aniamtion art, this lavish book features all the gorgeous color scripts for the studio's feature films and shorts to date, as well as production and development art.
This is the book fans of animation art have been waiting for and being an equal opportunity book shop we have it available in English and French editions.
ART OF PUSS IN BOOTS
HC 144pp COLOR B+W
Insight Editions
Our amigos at Dreamworks Animation studios may not get the critical praise of their competitors at Pixar - though after Cars 2 critics might like to ponder their Pavlovian tendencies - but their films are serious commercial hits and so if they care about meaningless comment they might "cry all the way to the bank".
Anyway this nice artbook looks at the serious lifting behind Dreamworks' latest film to clean up at the box office, a prequel to the Shrek films featuring the popular swashbuckling feline, Puss in Boots.
EXPOSE # 9
SC 240pp Color
Ballistic Publishing
Another bumper collection of the best artwork digitally created anywhere by a stellar cast of international super talented technocrats between intense bouts of gaming.
SPECTRUM #18
SC 304pp Color B+W
Underwood Books
Each year for the past 18 Arnie and Cathy Fenner, ably assisted by the ever changing juries, have served up the best in contemporary fantasy art and each year the books get bigger and better.
Fabulous stuff, well except for those images which look like doctored photos of the artists family and friends but happily there are never too many like this.
Feed your imagination and indulge your passion for the fantastic with this stunning collection of 2010's best fantasy art.
THE DYNAMITE ART OF ALEX ROSS
HC 328pp Color B+W
Dynamite
Dynamite publish a diverse range of comic books covering just about every genre in the action cannon, from sword and sorcery, western, jungle adventure, crime, horror, science fiction, fantasy, espionage to of course super heroes and there go to artist for inspirational covers is industry legend Alex Ross.
This is a rich comprehensive collection of the covers Alex has produced for the company and in addition you get previously unpublished studies and development work along with a commentary from the main man himself, a sure fired hit if ever we saw one.
STREET FIGHTER IV & SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV OFFICIAL COMPLETE WORKS
SC 176pp Color B+W
Udon Entertainment
A welcome addition to Udon's fine collection of books celebrating the work of Capcom's talented team of artists who imbue their games with such dynamic characters and dramatic settings.
The Official Complete Works series looks at the visual work in developing and promoting the characters and environments for the games.
AMAZING EVERYTHING THE ART OF SCOTT CAMPBELL
HC 128pp Color
Insight Editions
Yeah this is the other Scott Campbell but like the other other Mr Campbell a fine artist but different, very different.
This Mr Campbell was recently featured in an expo at the Arludik Gallery here in Paris, he's a master of the whimsical, the cute and the clever and I'd guess he's really smart as well as really nice.
Of course being clever and nice doesn't pay the bills so Scott works in the fields of illustrated books for children, game design and animation.
If you want books by the other Mr Campbell the J Scott one well we're crossing our fingers and hoping his new books will arrive in the shop before the weekend.
Meanwhile I'm coping with jet-lag and now really tired from reviewing these great books and thinking up segues and witticisms in presenting them to you.
I hope you enjoyed my efforts and hope to see you here in the store soon, where you'll be relieved to know we've summoned the sparky to expel the gloom that had the back of the store gloomier than a morgue.
