Gallery, artists, and collector’s editions present comic art as art, as opposed to narrative, with full-size renditions of the original drawings, complete with flaws and corrections, as well as concept art, variant covers, and other goodies. Here’s a look at some new and upcoming titles.
Jim Lee DC Legends Artists Edition is a look at 25 years’ worth of Lee’s comics art, including the Dark Knight Detective and the Last Son of Krypton as well as WildC.A.T.s and Lee’s other pre-DC Wildstorm work. The 140-page, 14.25” x 20” hardcover is available now. (IDW, $150.00)
Frank Miller’s Ronin Rising Collector’s Edition is the sequel to the classic Ronin, written and partially drawn by Miller with additional artwork by Philip Tan and Daniel Henriques. The oversized 13.25” x 11.25” landscape-format hardcover includes a new cover, a foreword by Jim Lee, Miller’s layouts, Tan’s concept designs, and six full-page wraparound variant covers from the original comics. The book is also available as a manga-format paperback (see “Abrams ComicArts to Publish Frank Miller Graphic Novels”). (Abrams, October 9, $40.00)
Hell, Ink, and Water: The Art of Mike Mignola is the catalog from Mignola’s New York art gallery show, slated for September 20-October 26 2024. The 64-page, 8.3” x 12.3” hardcover features 31 new watercolors by Mignola, focusing on his usual macabre subjects, as well as Hellboy covers and pencils, all scanned from the original art. (IDW, October 16, $39.99)
Innocence and Seduction: The Art of Dan DeCarlo: Expanded Edition is a retrospective of DeCarlo’s art that goes far beyond his well-known Archie work. With text by historian Bill Morrison, the book includes almost 350 pieces of art, including DeCarlo’s World War II-era cartoons through his comic strips, commercial art, and pin-ups. Originally published in 2006, this expanded edition has a new cover and an additional 40 pages, bringing the page count for the 9.25” x 12.25” hardcover to 248 pages. (Fantagraphics, October 16, $65.00)
Drawn and Quarterly has published many of Shigeru Mizuki’s black and white yokai manga, but Yokai: The Art of Shigeru Mizuki presents a different side of the artist. Mizuki was fascinated by the flora, fauna, and folklore of rural Japan, and his full-color artworks represent the yokai and their surroundings in imaginative, often grotesque stand-alone images. The 200-page, 8.5” x 10.5” landscape-format hardcover includes commentary by Mizuki scholar and translator Zack Davisson. (October 16, $44.95)
The Art of the Amazing Spider-Man collects original art from John Romita Sr.’s run on Amazing Spider-Man, which begin in 1966 with issue #39, when Romita replaced Steve Ditko, and ran till issue #122 in 1972. The 200-page, 10” x 14” hardcover includes seven full stories as well as covers and other art, all shot from the originals in the Marvel archives, accompanied by essays by editor and designer John Lind and Ian Chalgren and a foreword by Brian Michael Bendis. This is the first book from Dark Horse’s new imprint, Bullpen Books (see “Dark Horse and Marvel Sign Multi-Year Licensing Agreement”), which will focus on the art of legendary Marvel creators. (October 23, $59.99)
Savage Dragon Vault Edition, Vol. 1, pulls together archival quality reproductions of the original art from Erik Larson’s 1992 miniseries Savage Dragon #1-3, one of the Image launch titles, and The Dragon #1-5 as well as material from the first Savage Dragon trade paperback, including covers and pin-ups in a 144-page, 12” x 17” hardcover. (Image, October 23, $150.00)
Fantastic Four: Full Circle (Expanded Edition) is a giant-sized director’s cut of Alex Ross’s 2022 homage Fantastic Four: Full Circle (see “Expanded Edition”). The Expanded Edition is a 352-page, 10.5” x 13” hardcover that includes not only Ross’s original, 64-page graphic novel but commentary by Ross on his vision for the book, early concept art, thumbnails, pencils, inks, color guides, the covers Ross created for Marvel Comics in 2023 that featured the Fantastic Four in the costumes used in his book, and the original comic, Fantastic Four #51 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, that inspired Ross’s graphic novel. (Abrams ComicArts, October 30, $65.00)
The Marvel Art of Russell Dauterman is the fourth of Clover Press’s deluxe art books (see “Marvel, Clover Press Collaborate on New Series”). Dauterman is best known for his work on X-Men, Thor, and Scarlet Witch, and the 216-page, 9” x 12” hardcover collects his favorite covers and interiors from his decade-long career at Marvel. Clover Press is offering a direct market exclusive cover (shown) as well as the standard one. (November 6, $75.00)
DC Best of War Artists Edition, first published in 2016, is back in print with a new cover. This 180-page, 12” x 17” volume collects work by artists Joe Kubert, Russ Heath, Jack Kirby, Alex Toth, and John Severin, working on war stories written by Bob Kanigher, Joe Kubert, Archie Goodwin, and Kirby. (IDW, November 20, $150.00)
The Art of Something Is Killing the Children is a deep dive into the visual world artist Werther Dell’Edera created for the best-selling comic series, with sketches, pages, and cover art as well as commentary by writer James Tynion IV. The 208-page, 7.25” x 11.25” hardcover is available on its own with an MSRP of $49.99 or as a slipcase edition with an MSRP of $69.99 (BOOM! Studios, December 4)
For more great suggestions for gifts merchandising this holiday season, click here.
Source: ICV2
