Published on June 26th, 2024 | by Adrian Gunning
DARK HORSE TO PUBLISH NEW RANGE OF MARVEL ART BOOKS
Dark Horse and Marvel today announced an exciting multi-year publishing collaboration featuring a range of art books that focus on new video games, artist monographs highlighting legacy Marvel talent, typography and graphic design, and retrospectives celebrating the history of Marvel collectibles. This collaboration includes the launch of Bullpen Books, a new line of deluxe art books that honor the works of legendary Marvel Comics characters and creators. The books that make up the new publishing collaboration between Dark Horse and Marvel Comics will begin to debut in 2024, with additional details to be announced soon.
“I grew up with the Marvel characters and their creators from my earliest days, so I’m very excited about this new collaboration,” said Dark Horse President and Publisher, Mike Richardson. “We’re very excited about working with Marvel to highlight some of the greatest art and artists from their extensive library. I’m sure these books will be a special treat for comics fans everywhere.”
Previously, Dark Horse announced two art books tied to the Marvel’s Spider-Man video game franchise including The Art of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (and a Deluxe Edition) and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales—The Poster Collection. These titles showcase the love and attention to detail that fans can look forward to as more titles in this line are announced.
Upcoming art book projects include explorations celebrating some of Marvel’s iconic artists, writers, letterers and colorists, as well as jaw-dropping insights into some of Marvel’s most beloved franchises. Within these deluxe art books, fans will discover brand new perspectives on the Marvel process and its catalog of content through the lens of award-winning designers including Mike Essl (co-founder of The Chopping Block Inc., dean of The Cooper Union School of Art) and Vincent Iadevaia (owner/curator of kirbycovers.com).
Also launching with this program will be Bullpen Books, a new series of art books that honors the work of legendary Marvel Comics characters and creators, starting with The Art of the Amazing Spider-Man by John Romita coming in Fall 2024! This oversized hardcover features essays on Romita’s work, covers, and original art scans from the Marvel archives.
“Our initial projects will concentrate on exploring the extensive artistic and design legacy of Marvel Comics, including the substantial contributions made by its iconic creative teams. Combining the incredible depth and content within Marvel’s art archives with Dark Horse’s exceptional design and production will offer fans unparalleled editions of this material,” said John Lind, creative director, editor and designer of the collaboration.
Details on more projects and publication dates are still to come.
The Art of Amazing Spider-Man is available for pre-order at your local bookstore, comic shop, TFAW, Amazon or Barnes & Noble for $59.99. This oversized (10” x 14”, 200 page) in-depth art book is set to arrive in bookstores on October 15, 2024 and comic shops on October 16, 2024.