Customer Reviews

The Art of Hellboy

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I would be warry of spending too many of your hard earned dollars on this book. I am a new fan to Hellboy, and absolutely love Mignola's art. However, the reason I would be heasitant about recommending this art book is that there is very little new art in it. Most of it is just rehashed covers, pages and posters. Probably about 10% of it is stuff that you've never seen before; which in my mind, does not warrant the hefty price tag. If you have all the books in the series then you already have 90% of the art found in this book. The sketches and other doodles that are only in this book can most likely be found floating around the net if you look hard enough for it.

Mike Mignola's amazing art for Hellboy looks very different from anything else being used in comics today. His distinct linework and inking style, combined with a well-honed eye for panel layout makes his artwork a perfect complement to his stories.

That said, this book is mostly a collection of finished art, covers and promotional pieces. What I really expected from an "Art of" book was process, sketches, and perhaps some discussion of technique. A fair comparison would be the recent Usagi Yojimbo art book or the Blacksad Sketch Files.

Maybe one of these days Mr. Mignola will put out a "Making of Hellboy" book that fills the gaps. The few sketches and thumbnails in this book really aren't enough.

I paid retail for this book and have no qualms about doing so. It's defintely worth it, whether bought from Amazon or some other vendor. The Art of Hellboy is an oversized cloth-bound harcover with embossing, metallic ink, and a glued illustration on the cover. A fairly short introduction gets you set up for the barrage of Hellboy-related art that is to follow! You get color works, covers, pin-ups, sketches, preliminary drawings, comic page roughs, completed comic pages, concept art... the list goes on and on. The only downside is that many of these pieces have either been used in other Hellboy books or have appeared elsewhere. Still, it's nice to see them in a larger size. This is a beautiful book, end of story!

I don't know if I'd really say that Mike Mignola is one of my 100%, all-time favorite artists, though I do like his work. Even so, when I saw this book I just had to buy it (even at the fairly steep cover price) because it's just plain beautiful. It has to be one of the best-produced art books I've ever seen. The reproduction, even on Mignola's little scribbles and sketches, is top notch. Yoo can actually see his brush strokes in the black ink, and the non-repro blue sketch lines that would fall away in the normal comic book printing process. Even if you've seen many of these comic pages and drawings before, you'll see them in a new light once you view them here. If you're one of those who loves to see how artists do what they do, get this book.

I was very satisfied with the condition of this used book. It was in excellent condition as advertised. One corner of the back cover had a small defect that was hard to detect.

This book is absolutely gorgeous. Basically, it is a compilation of practically all the Hellboy comic book covers, pin-ups, merchendise designs, rare ads, prints - things like that. In addition, the book contains some of Mignola's sketches, unpublished drawings, conceptual ideas, finnished pages from some of the comic books, and a decent amount of convention sketches.

All in all, the book is well executed and the quality and thought that went into it really shows. My only gripe is that more of Mignola's sketchbook pages would have been a great addition, but trust me, if youre a Hellboy fan or like the art style, this book is definetly for you.

as a hellboy fan i had to buy this book. this tome of mignolas hell boy art is a great buy it feathers great black and white.color and unused art pieces. it shows the evolution of the character it has lots of concept art of liz sherman, abe sapien, and hellboy himself.this book proves one thing mike mignola is a genius his ability to make amazing works of art there are no bad words to be said about this book it is the most in depth look at a great character and a master artist

An excellent collection of Mignola's work that you won't find anywhere else. Definitely for true fans and collectors.

The Art of Hellboy is a book that can not be missing in the collection of a comic fan.
Fans of Mike Mignola will be delighted with the high quality of this book. Fantastic designs, full information, awesome details. Great editing and a good choice.

Viva Hellboy!!!!

A must-have, obviously, for MIGNOLA / HELLBOY completists, this book is also an introduction to a) the creative process at work in artist MIGNOLA's mind, b) his quest for his unique style. Along the years, "less becomes more" as the emphasis is put on conveying a specific atmosphere in lieu of drowning the reader with details. Not that there is no details in the gothic surroundings of HELLBOY's adventures. There are plenty. The point is that MIGNOLA does not compete with artists in the "super hero" field but with himself. The books praises that. And is good at it.