Interesting look behind the development and artwork/process pieces leading to and through the making of the Avengers movie. Fun, but nothing I need to have on my shelves for rereading, methinks. ( )

Interesting look behind the development and artwork/process pieces leading to and through the making of the Avengers movie. Fun, but nothing I need to have on my shelves for rereading, methinks. ( )

I ordered this art book mainly as a way to continue to enjoy the Avengers film after seeing it. I rarely buy art books, but couldn't resist this one as a companion to the movie. I expected it to be mostly character designs, with pictures from the film complementing the artist renderings. Happily, it is much more than that, and truly is a journey through the film. There is a lot of concept art for props, vehicles, and general world-building, in addition to character design. The book has a lot to offer for any film enthusiast to enjoy. The section on the design of the helicarrier is particularly well done, as the book goes into depth on how they wanted to base it in reality while still being true to the comic origin. Physics, visual appeal, set design, and more were all taken into account. The exposition (text) enhances the art and photos rather than taking away from them (as I have noticed in other art books). The text incorporates quotes from the actors and filmmakers, as well as tidbits of Marvel comic history as it impacted the film, and more. I found I enjoyed reading the book as much as looking at the gorgeous imagery.

The production values for the book are top notch. The book comes in a hard slipcase with the cover art printed onto it, without dust jacket, as issued. The pages are thick and glossy, and the book is well laid out. The designers were careful not to have images broken across pages (one of my biggest gripes with art books), and there's a nice balance of screen shots from the film to contrast against the artist images. This turns out to be a great book for film fans and art fans alike. And I fully intend to get "The Art of Marvel Studios", which collects the art books from the previous films in one set. Highly recommended! ( )