The DC Vault Book Review

 





The DC Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the DC Universe by Running Press

Written by Martin Pasko

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Synopsis:  In 1935, popular culture was forever transformed when DC Comics published the first book of “all new, all original” comic material. To the delight of millions of readers everywhere, the modern comic book was born, and from its pages came leaping an exhilarating cast of characters.

Now The DC Vault unlocks DC Comics’ most fascinating secrets and deeply buried treasures, presenting a colorful array of historic and never-before-published memorabilia, including early sketches, covers, memos, press materials, and much more. From a working reproduction of a 1942 Junior Justice Society of America decoder, to a series of Public Service Announcements starring Superman and Batman, to the original pencils and inks for Wonder Woman #63, this dazzling chronicle contains more than 25 plastic-encased archival pieces for readers to pull out and examine—all while learning about the artists, writers, and world-famous super heroes that make up the DC Universe. Whether you’ve been collecting Superman comics since the ’40s or have just discovered the amazing Sandman saga, you’ll revel in this vibrant treasury!

Review: Nothing is quite so magical as history.  It shows us where we’ve been and where we have yet to go.  With the DC Vault book Running Press has provided DC Comics fans with a classy and worthwhile representation of Dc history.

The trip through history is made ever so fun with props, postcards and cut outs from the past decades of Dc Comics history.  Many of these are items you’d never otherwise see, and the book is full of tidbits and stories from the eras gone by.   The golden and silver ages of comics are something that fans treasure and this book is an essential for any serious comic book fan.

This set is so magnificent that you’ll want to leave it on the coffee table as a discussion piece.  Beware of your children, though!  The fun colors, images and cut outs in the book will serve as a tempting target for trouble!   Keep this one on a high shelf and resist the temptation to let your children play with it…unless you can afford to buy two copies!

Rating: 5 out of 5 bats!

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The Art of Pixar Short Films Book Review

The Art of Pixar Short Films Book Review







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Written By: Amid Amidi
Forward By: John Lasseter
Published By: Chronicle Books

About the Book: While Pixar Animation Studios was creating beloved feature-length films such as Monsters Inc. Ratatouille and WALLïE it was simultaneously testing animation and storytelling techniques in dozens of memorable short films. Andre and Wally B proved that computer animation was possible; Tin Toy laid the groundwork for what would become Toy Story; and Mike’s New Car exposed Pixar’s finely tuned funny bone. In The Art of Pixar Short Films animation expert and short film devotee Amid Amidi shines a spotlight on these and many more memorable vignettes from the Pixar archive. Essays and interviews illuminate more than 250 full-color pastels pencil sketches storyboards and final rendered frames that were the foundation of Pixar’s creative process.

About the Author:Amid Amidi is the co-founder of CartoonBrew.com and author of Cartoon Modern. He lives in New York City. John Lasseter is the chief creative officer at Pixar, and the director of Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, and Cars.

Review: This book is really a stand-apart from the other Pixar “Art Of” titles, because it explores an aspect that is beloved by children and adult animation fans alike..the Pixar short films. The forward by the great John Lasseter brings an immediate credibility to the book. From the moment that you delve into this title you are bombarded by information and images. You get to go in-depth into how Pixar creates their short films, and of course you get the art. You get to see production photos, backrounds, wire sculptures, sketches and other concepts.

A lot of us had never heard of Pixar studios prior to the release of Toy Story in 1995. This book gives you insight into the company all the way back to the 1980s and highlights all of their achievements and milestones that made Pixar what it is today…an innovative animation powerhouse.

One nice thing about this book is that its full of important information, but it also frees up a majority of its space for the actual artwork. To avoid getting too wordy was really the goal in a book like this and Amidi did a fantastic job of balancing the artwork and the information.

Amidi is a well-known online blogger and animation personality from CartoonBrew.com. His creation of this title is a great addition to the Pixar Shorts Collection DVD/Blu-Ray release. They should be sold together, in my opinion.

Rating: 5 out of 5

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The Art of Up (Pixar) Book Review!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Art of Up (Pixar) Book Review!

Courtesy of our network site www.PixarCollector.com

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Written By: Tim Hauser

Forward By: Pete Docter

Published By: Chronicle Books

About the Book:  After Toy Story Ratatouille WALL E and other award-winning blockbusters where else could Pixar Animation Studios go but UP? Their latest film is the heartwarming story of Carl Fredrickson (voiced by Ed Asner) a 78-year-old widower who feels that life has passed him by until a twist of fate takes him on a journey across the globe. UP is set to take off on May 29 2009. The Art of UP contains more than 250 pieces of concept art developed for the feature including storyboards full-color pastels digital and pencil sketches character studies color scripts and more. Quotes from the director artists animators and production team reveal the sky-high creativity that elevated this whimsical film to new heights.

About the Author: Tim Hauser has been a writer, creative executive, and producer in animation for over 20 years. He lives in Los Angeles.
Pete Docter is the director of UP and Monsters, Inc., and the co-writer of Toy Story and Toy Story 2.

Review:  Well, by now we here at PixarCollector.com hope that you’ve seen Pixar’s latest masterpiece “UP”.  The problem you face is that there was really no merchandising to speak of for this film..so what is a fan to do?  You pick up the high-end art book, of course!

Tim Hauser really did his research on this title.  The book is filled with info on the screenplay, the characters, directions the film was going to take, etc.  There is also an abundance of quotes from the crew at Pixar  about the production of the film.   We get an insiders look at character designs, environments and sketches.  The visuals that went into this film are truly brought to life within the pages of this book.

This is the kind of book that really appeals to not only fans of Pixar’s work, but animation fans in general.  This is a one-of-a-kind look into the making of a modern Pixar animated film.   

Rating: 5 out of 5.   It’s a must-have!

We can only hope that Chronicle continues to make Pixar art books when Toy Story 3 comes out next year!

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Superman/Batman Enemies and Allies Book Review!

Written by: Kevin J. Anderson

Courtesy of our network site www.legionsofgotham.org


Synopsis: As America and the Soviet Union race to build their nuclear stockpiles, two extraordinary heroes must form an uneasy alliance. These studies in opposites—shadow and light—must overcome their distrust of each other to battle evil and injustice. 

Review: I went into this book a little skeptical.  I’ve always regarded the comic books and graphic novels as the best source of Batman material, and honestly the novels over the years haven’t impressed me much.  Recently, thanks a lot to the RIP storyline and other such nonsense in comics, I haven’t been reading them much.  Its upsetting to me, because I love to follow along with the growth of these characters, but I feel that the direction they’ve been going is wrong.  This book, however, was a breath of fresh air.  I was surprised at how quickly it drew me in.  I highly recommend it.


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Batman: Murder at Wayne Manor, An Interactive Mystery Book Review

This review is courtesy of our network site www.LegionsOfGotham.org
 

Written by: Duane Swierczynski
Illustrated by: David Lapham

The Story: When a construction crew at Wayne Manor discovers a long-buried corpse, all the evidence points to Bruce Wayne’s late father, Thomas, as the murderer. Torn between the need to protect his father’s honor and his thirst for dispensing justice, Batman sets out to solve this coldest of cases, using police reports, his father’s private journal, maps of Wayne Manor, news clippings, forensic samples, and photographs from family albums (all included throughout the book as removable facsimiles).

Was Dr. Wayne-whom young Bruce Wayne swore to avenge on that bloody night in Gotham City-actually a killer? It’s up to you to sift through the clues and solve this thrilling whodunit. When you’ve identified the culprit, you can open the final signature of the book (sealed at the printer) to read the remainder of the story. Complete with eye-popping illustrations and first-rate production values, Batman: Murder at Wayne Manor will appeal to mystery buffs of all ages

Our Review: From the moment this bad boy arrived in the mail, I was impressed. This premium format, interactive book is a gem. The story is solid, but the real fun comes in the interactive pieces of evidence that you get along the way while trying to solve this mystery. Everything from documents to a coaster from a fake restaurant…its really above and beyond what I expected.

I sat down with my kids and read through this one and we all enjoyed it. It also makes a great piece in the ol’ Batman collection. I have to highly recommend this one. Its a lot of fun. Its high quality and looks great on the shelf, I can’t say enough about this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Bats!

Click HERE to visit the Chronicle Books site and purchase this book today!