The Art Of P. Craig Russell (Signed Edition) (Hardcover)

by P. Craig Russell (Author, Artist)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
For the first time ever, a volume devoted to one of the most legendary and influential comic book artists of the past 35 years - P. Craig Russell! This book offers readers and fans a chance to witness his immense and phenomenal career from start to present, offering glimpses of previously never-before-seen material from Russell's files and sketchbooks, as well as beautifully reproduced images of his personal favorites.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Desperado Publishing; Sgd Ltd edition (December 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979593905
• ISBN-13: 978-0979593901
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 10.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,550,141 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rare artist retrospective, January 23, 2008

By	Richard A. Tucker "Tucker at large" (Pembroke Pines, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Art Of P. Craig Russell (Hardcover)

There's no other rating for this book than 5 stars from me. P. Craig Russell has been a fine artist and innovator in comic art as well illustration for at least 35 years. The first landmark work appeared in a story about Marvel's master of the occult, Dr. Strange. About the same time he was taking up the job of drawing an obscure but incredible comic about a second wave of Martians who attack Earth and conquer it in Marvel's War of the Worlds. These stories, of course are based on the story written by H.G. Wells. Russell, along with writer and cutting edge storyteller of the day, Don McGregor, they carved one of the most compelling and truly strange adventures to ever see print in comics. The main character, Killraven was an escaped ex-gladiatorial champion and his band of escaped gladiators and other escapees actively rebelled against their Martian overlords. From both the written and artistic perspective this book introduced concepts like accepted slavery, that being it was better to be a slave in some people's minds than it was to be perpetually on the run in a losing cause, and even a story about the rebels experiencing life in a virtual world created by a computer. That particular story was drawn in such a surreal but valid way that it looked like a model for PC virtual worlds yet to be designed and this was published in 1975. The look of the series was never more stange, oddly real and yet decidedly distinct than when Russell was providing the art. It was like someone cloned Erte', Mucha and Ruebens and set the creation loose after a steady diet of Stanley Kubrik films.
Suffice it say Russell was on top of his game, so much so, that he seemed to work in world of his own. He was one of the unsung pioneers of independent comics creating a series of comics based on everything from SF to operas. His stylized but meticulous rendering method flows across the 2 dimensional surface like an exotic wind through a forest of legend. He has no competition for the style he utilizes. When you see a P. Craig Russell effort it stands apart from the rest.
This book is a gorgeous production keeping the information intact but words are concise saving a lot of room for the art to flow throughout the book. It's a bargain for it's size, heft, variety and stellar production values. This is THE P. Craig Russell experience.
I hope to see more collections from the publisher, Desperado.