FP Focus on: Art Books!

We spend a lot of time in these pages talking about movies and comics, Star Trek, and manga, but every so often I like to do tidbits on my favorite section of the store, my baby if you will: the art book department. It's that jam-packed section of wall immediately on your left upon entering the store and it features some of the greatest material Forbidden Planet has to offer. We rotate the books presented, but at any given time it can feature such diversity and amazingness as to boggle the mind and give your imagination that de-pantsing it's been sorely needin; boasting the likes of Frazetta, Froud, Royo, Matthew Barney, Simon Bisley, Shepard Fairey, the Art of 300 to the Art of Ratatouille. The section also features a ton of comic reference and how-to material. That all being said, here's a sampling of what's new and hot in the art book department...

Akira Club - Katsuhiro Otomo's epic manga, Akira, is considered by many to be the finest work of graphic fiction ever created, a work of astonishing power and visionary scope, and possessing a level of illustration skill unmatched. Now available for the first time in an English-language edition, Akira Club is an essential companion to Akira, a dazzling collection of Otomo's mind-blowing visions, including over one hundred title-page illustrations created for the original serialization but not included with the published collections of Akira. The book also features rarely seen alternate art, preliminary drawings, production sketches, and a variety of Akira posters, advertisements, and products, all accompanied by fascinating commentary by the artist himself. No Akira enthusiast, manga fan, or devotee of fantasy and science-fiction illustration should be without Akira Club.

World of Faerie - by Brian Froud. Drawing inspiration from the gnarled shrubbery of England's windswept moorlands, Brian Froud is best known for being the mad genius behind Jim Henson's film The Dark Crystal, and illustrating such best-sellers as Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book. In this volume, a long-awaited sequel to his international best-sellers Faeries and Good Faeries/Bad Faeries, Froud returns to the world of faerie with a wealth of new, never-before-seen paintings, watercolors, and drawings.

Toxic Waste - by Humberto Ramos. Never before seen drawings and plenty of favorites from the world-famous artist of Crimson, DV8, Revelations, and Civil War: Wolverine.

Scrap Mettle - Award-winning storyteller Scott Morse's SCRAP METTLE is the culmination of every spare moment spent away from the creation of his graphic novels and his duties at Pixar. This book is the reservoir of the products of a mind that won't empty of its ideas. SCRAP METTLE, a gargantuan volume of both electrifying images and smaller, personal thoughts, is a must-have for any admirer of sketching and painting, and a sure favorite of any follower of the retro pop art scene.

Lift Off presents personal and professional works by Scott Robertson, Program Director of the Entertainment Design major at Art Center College of Design and. This book features the following chapters: Airships, Spacecraft, Aircraft, Lefty Sketches, Hovercraft, Original "Card Collection" and selected work from the conceptual design of vehicles for the video games Field Commander and Spy Hunter 2.

Comics Introspective Vol. 1 Peter Bagge - From his Seattle studio, Bagge lets journalist Christopher Irving in on everything from just what was on his mind with his long-running comic Hate!, to what's going on in his head as a political satirist. This debut volume features an assortment of artwork picked by Bagge himself, and is printed on deluxe glossy stock to maximize the impact of the art and photography all working to make it as breakthrough as the innovator it covers.

Art of Midway: Before Pixels and Polygons - Sexy pre-production, concept and in-game art from video gaming juggernaut Midway's top selling Gauntlet, Mortal Kombat, and Psiops franchises.

The Art of Von Dutch - He wasn't just a clothing brand, ya know. Rebel, iconoclast, cult hero, curmudgeon, artistic genius, Von Dutch was a master of many disciplines and the source of countless stories and wild tales. This long-awaited book celebrates his artistic achievements and sets the record straight on his important contribution to American pop culture from the late '40s to his untimely death in 1992. Big, hardbound, loaded with photos (mostly color, some b&w). A must own for any fan.

Forbidden Planet art books will make your brain explode and your eyes cry for mercy. And they make a swell gift, don't they?

-JEFFY