Customer Reviews

Fables Covers by James Jean

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Length:: 0:17 Mins

This book contains the covers drawn by James Jean for Fables.

Each cover is printed, in high resolution, on semi-gloss high quality paper. The book itself if hardcover with a dust jacket. The art on the hard cover is slightly embossed with a sticker pasted at the centre.

There are 75 single issues and 11 wraparounds, a wonderful look at his creative style over the years.

Also included are the sketches James Jean did for his covers. The covers are sometimes accompanied by his thoughts or some quote from the comic.

At the end of the book is an interview conducted by Bill Willingham with James Jean. On the last two pages are photos of his work area. One of them shows the Eisner Awards he has put neatly on his shelves. Strangely, the interview and photos are printed on non glossy paper, which I think will turn yellow in the future.

This is a higly recommended book for fans of James Jean or Fables.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

James Jean has emerged as a superstar artist with a great following and this book is a great start to see some of his exemplary work. His lavish covers for the Vertigo series, "Fables," are always eye catching and it's great to see them all gathered here in one place.


The great thing about the book is that on one side you get part of the process he uses to get to the finished product such as preliminary sketches and drawings. My only complaint would be that Jean does some commentary on his covers for the trade paperbacks of the series, but he doesn't do any commentary on the individual covers. (Note: there is text accompanying the individual covers, but they are from the Fables treatment and Bill Willingham does a inteview with Jean at the end.) I would have really like to have read more than that. This book makes for a fine art book, and I guarantee that if you put it on your coffee table that anyone who comes over won't be able to resist picking it up.

This book was a Christmas gift for my son who is an art student majoring in illustration. He absolutely loves it especially since it shows some of the process not just the finished works.

For clarification, this listing is for the First Printing (2008) Hardcover of FABLES: COVERS BY JAMES JEAN which originally retailed for $39.99. Now that this is going to a second printing (due October 2010 and retailing for $49.99), Vertigo strangely opted to re-use the same ISBN number, which deleted the original listing for the first printing.

If you are a collector, the first printing is a must-have and should retain its value well, particularly if kept in the original shrink-wrap. If you are a casual reader, you would be smart to wait for the reprint edition, which will be the exact same book as the first edition, only at a higher retail price.

The review at the other listing will tell you the rest of the story: this is a simply stunning book and should be a part of every collection.

Okay, I brought the first printed edition and it had top notch quality printing.
However the second edition had some printing mistakes like page 67 and some of the binding glue was on the pages which made it difficult to open without tearing some of the pages. The second printing has "slightly" less quality than the first, that is why I did not give full ratings to the second editions that are now available.
BUT content wise I think it's well worth the money!

Ordering art books on-line, without the ability to really page through the book, look at the quality of the printing and see all the details, is a bit of a risk. I've definitely ordered books that looked good on the web, but arrived with bad color, smaller scale images and lack of good content.

This isn't a book you need to worry about ordering from the web: It's outstanding. James Jean is well-known as a highly accomplished artist, and his cover work is reproduced in this book with great detail and clarity. Most of the covers are complimented by a thumbnail or dev drawing that lead to the final design, giving you an look into the process behind each final work.

If you're looking for multiple in-depth interviews or an art book with lots of explanatory text, this one is probably not for you. There is an afterward interview with James Jean and a very brief blurb accompanying each cover image that explains a little background on the image, but its main focus is on the images (which I prefer anyway).

There is a bit of a wait to get the book, but that's due to the order-fulfillment process and isn't a reflection of the book itself. I was a little worried the wait meant this was a print on demand product, which can mean lower quality, but there aren't any defects in the printing. The book is well worth the two/three week wait (it actually arrived ahead of delivery estimate for me).

I'd highly recommend this book for anyone interested in James Jean, Fables or just really really good illustration/art.

I really don't get that reviewer with the negative comment. For the top quality of the covers reproduced in large convenient viewable format, the price is suitable. Fables is also easy available in art books stores and online. Every page is something to marvel at, i think i spent hours just staring at each cover just because how much visual appeal there is. If you are a fan of James Jean, this should be your first purchase. Fables also includes those valuable initial sketches and gems that you won't find anywhere else. high recommended.

This is second James Jean book I bought. I like to look at sketches beside the published covers to see the thinking of the artist during the different stages of an illustration. In some cases, I even prefer the tight sketch over the finished painting/drawing.

Loved the book - thought it was going to be prints like many of his other books but there is a lot of prelim work and process work too. My favorite so far - wish he was still doing the covers!

This is one of those few books where every page just seems to get better and better.

James shows unapproved sketches, works in progress, and even process images that incorporate 3D.

This is truly an impressive work that would grace the shelves of every artist for inspiration.