Spectrum 14: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art (Spectrum (Underwood Books)) (Hardcover)

~ Cathy Fenner (Editor), Arnie Fenner (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Drawn from work created for books, comics, magazines, art galleries, advertisements, and the portfolios of the finest contemporary fantasy artists, the illustrations in Spectrum 14 extend the boundaries of the imagination and explore new realms of creativity. The book contains nearly 350 pieces by creators spanning the globe, including works from America, Germany, England, the Netherlands, Korea, Australia, Japan, Canada, and France. Now in its 14th year, this is a must for fans of this genre of art as well as an invaluable resource for art directors and illustrators.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Underwood Books (October 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599290065
• ISBN-13: 978-1599290065
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #530,665 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PERHAPS THE BEST SPECTRUM YET!, February 23, 2008

By	Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Like Santa Claus, Spectrum only comes around once per year and is always highly anticipated. This annual collection of the world's best contemporary fantasy and Sci-fi art is always a favorite not only due to its sheer size and beautiful production, but also because of its diversity in scope. Spectrum presents the best art from the fields of books, comics, advertising, editorial, concept, and even sculpture into each year's volume.

As always, the book begins with a look at the year in review and the trends in contemporary fantasy art before getting into the opening category of advertising art and presenting the first of its gold and silver annual awards to the best in each category. This year's gold winner in the advertising category went to James Jean for his Retro-hip "Spacerace 2020" painting for Nike. This gorgeous pop-art piece is a tribute to Sci-Fi imagery of the `40s and `50s.

I'm not sure how they could have picked a winner in the book category as there are so many outstanding pieces. While Jon Foster's winning painting for Night Shade books was very good, Luis Royo's offering for his graphic novel, "Dark Labyrinth". Adam Hughes took home the Gold Award in the Comics category for his depiction of the sleek and sexy Scarlet Witch from Upper Deck. As a long-time comic book fan I love seeing the industry's artists getting their just due as the outstanding artists that they are. Other standouts included Gary Giannni's standout art from the Prince Valiant comic strip that is in the best tradition of Hal Foster, and Charles Vess/Mike Kaluta's work from the Vertigo Comics series "1001 Nights of Snowfall".

One of the categories I look forward to most each year is the dimensional chapter featuring the year's best sculptures and models and this year was certainly no disappointment. A. Brent Armstrongs mammoth 54" tall piece featuring King Kong atop the Empire State Building is simply breathtaking! The Alex Ross designed Superman resin sculpt by artist Karen Palinko features the distinctive look of Ross as Clark Kent rips open his shirt to reveal Superman's legendary logo. Shawn Nagle's "Tarzan and the Golden Lion" based on art by longtime Tarzan illustrator, J. Allen St. John, is another winner.

Spectrum never fails to deliver a little something for everyone's taste and Spectrum volume 14 may be the best edition yet. Grade A.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightfully mixed bag, January 19, 2008

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

This is the 14th volume of what I expected to be a short-lived series. So, it's long lived and hopefully that's the case for many years to come. The first thing to note is the sheer size of this book and the bargain it is at just uner $40. Reproduction quality, variety of skills and styles as well as the range of subject matter are all continuing highlights to look forward to year afer year. The large format makes this a sit-down-and-get-lost tome that has such a delightfully mixed bag approach to presenting artwork highlighting the width and breadth of the genre that encompasses SF, Fantasy and Horror. From institution illustrations to sequential art this book has it all, or at least as much range as it can present in one sitting. It's also a great place to showcase both old and new artists in an established format that does it's best to spread the wealth of ideas from cover to cover. The only downside is the fact that some of the images are produced full page while the majority have to share the page with two to four other artists. However, few artists would complain about that format.
Just being in the book lends itself to the artists' elevated status in the genre.
I'd love to list my favorites in this book but like every year they are too many and after all, what's the point?
Pick your own. Even listing the artists is such that it's an act of futility. From Martiniere to Manchess this is the book to own. If you don't know the artists I just listed, it's worth your time and money to find out what they do along with all the others.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectrum 14--a history of excellence, December 28, 2007

By	Steve Umstead "Jesse's Parents" (Amherst, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spectrum 14: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art (Spectrum (Underwood Books)) (Paperback)

Its gotten to the point where the yearly release of the new "SPECTRUM" book of the year's fantasy art has become a traditional EVENT with me. I've been buying them since "Spectrum 1", and have never been disappointed in their choice of fantasy art and artists.The books are even getting slightly larger over the years! As with any yearly colection, some years are vintage, and some are vinegar...but that's an entirely subjective decision. The Spectrum series always gives one plenty to look at and think about, and their text analysis of the year in review is always amusing. The color reproductions are of the highest quality...you get hundreds of exceptional reproductions of the year's best fantasy art. If you've never looked at the series, start now. If, like me, you are a long time fan, keep extending those book shelves, because as long as they keep publishing this yearly treat, we'll be buying them