The Art of Reboot [Hardcover]

Dave Roberts (Author), Gavin Blair (Author), Brendan McCarthy (Author), Scott Lee (Author), and more! (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 25, 2008

This is the most comprehensive collection of art from the ground-breaking animated series, ReBoot!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 104 pages
• Publisher: Arcana Studio (February 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976309572
• ISBN-13: 978-0976309574
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 6.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #570,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Alpha- Numeric!, March 6, 2008

By 

Gord Wilson "alivingdog.com" (Bellingham, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: The Art of Reboot (Hardcover)

How welcome to see interest revived in the dazzling CGI series which premiered on ABC in the fall of 1994, and which was kicked off the air at the height of its ratings when Disney bought Capitol Cities/ ABC. At that time Claster Television packaged the first two seasons and syndicated it to over one hundred independent stations. Freed of the restraints of ABC's Standards and Practices code, The ReBoot studio in Vancouver B.C. made a third season that was a bit wilder, although I think still OK for kids, and with one continuous story arc. But the Disney cancellation meant that the many imaginative ReBoot toys made by Irwin failed to sell. The third season was never seen in the US until at the request of fans, Cartoon Network ran it along with seasons one and two.

Throwing caution to the wind, the studio- Mainframe Productions/ BLT/ Alliance made a fourth season, such as it was, actually two feature length episodes. What the shows gain in edginess they lose in the innocence that made the original series an instant winner, and ReBoot, known for parodying popular culture, largely became a parody of itself. Both season four shows are simply badly- written. There were also two IMAX rides created. At one time season three was available on four DVDs, but even then fans would write asking how to get seasons one and two. Like so many animated shows, ReBoot misjudged its audience, which would far prefer the innocent shows over the new "edgy" ones.

The Art of ReBoot is a long overdue tribute to the world's first all CGI show. It's a hardback about 10 X 7, about a hundred full color slick pages. There is no text except small comments from designers worked around the montage style pages. It's published by Arcana Studio/ Beach Studio/ DMF, with Jim Su listed as producer, not of the ReBoot series, that was Chris Brough, but of this book. Su's idea was to give credit to all the animators and designers behind the scenes, reversing the policy of early cartoon studios of witholding credit. This approach gives readers an insiders' view of ReBoot from the artists' perspective.

Inluded are numerous character and set designs by Brendan McCarthy, along with color shots from the show of the final versions. The final fourteen pages, titled ReBoot Re-Imagined, show the ReBoot characters reversioned in various styles of graphic novels. Many of these artists are better known for other properties, including Spiderman, Transformers, Marvel Comics, and X- Men. Some also work for DMF, a Toronto comic book/ graphic novel company, and the Arcana Studio. This book is a dazzling tribute to a series many viewers remember fondly. Hopefully revived interest will spur the first two seasons' release on DVD, and maybe even reboot ReBoot back to the air (in its classic form, not an 'edgier' one).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice 'little' book..., May 7, 2009

By 

K. Phillips (Auckland New Zealand) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Art of Reboot (Hardcover)

I like the Art of Reboot book - It contains all the stuff any keen ReBoot fan would want to see is here - Vehicle designs, sets, all the characters...

The artwork is interesting - its nice to see plenty of hand-drawn concept artwork, as well as the various coloured pieces and variations between the way the concept art went in relation to the final CG work.

A good book - though beware the small size (7" x 10.5") when you get it. I was expecting a larger book that would look proud placed on my coffee table... Not something I looked like I picked up for the kids.

Nice book, but I'm no fan of the physical format of it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Art of Reboot, February 24, 2009

By 

Elena Vorobieva "spiteful kitten" (Vienna, Austria) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Art of Reboot (Hardcover)

Great book! I'm a hopeless fan of the series, so this kind of book is just for me. The book is full of bright illustrations and original animation drafts as well as comments from its creators, as they recall how this cartoon was being brought together.
Although the delivery was slow and it took three weeks to actually obtain the item after purchasing it, the wait was worth it.