74 is the final count for the number of art books I’ve reviewed this year in 2018; a slight dip from the 82 I did last year. Quantity notwithstanding, 2018 was still a fantastic year for those of us who enjoy beautiful art books, with plenty of amazing book releases, and I hope next year will be even better.
As we welcome 2019 here’s the round up of my favorite art books of 2018 ( in no particular order ); I hope you’ll find something of interest in the list. Do note that not all the books listed here were published in 2018. Enjoy, and Happy New Year ! –
1) The Electric State – Simon Stålenhag
Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag’s art book once again makes it to my list of favorites this year ( Things From The Flood was on my 2017 list ). The Electric State delivers more of the artist’s signature art work, sci-fi images evoking a strangely detached combination of awe, loneliness and nostalgia all at once.
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan
2) Tokyo Storefronts – The Artworks of Mateusz Urbanowicz
I’ve been following Mateusz Urbanowicz, a Polish illustrator based in Tokyo, Japan for quite a while on twitter, and I was elated when he published this wonderful art book, his first. Illustrations of quaint old Tokyo storefronts are beautifully rendered in the artist’s soft watercolors and are absolutely delightful to look at.
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK
3) Jamie Hewlett Art Book
Taschen’s expansive monograph ( 424 pages covering over 400 pieces of art work ) for famed English comic book artist/designer Jamie Hewlett explores in detail the huge gamut of art work created by the artist since the Tank Girl era ( 1988 ) through Gorillaz and right up to the present day. Exploring the book I’m completely amazed by the artist’s incredible versatility in his drawing style.
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan
4) Futurelog – Range Murata
Futurelog is the latest art book by famed Japanese illustrator Range Murata ( Blue Submarine, Last Exile ), and this is his 2nd art book released this year ( the other being Tara Duncan art works ) after an absence of any art book publication for 7 years. These Attack On Titan illustrations ( image above ) are some of my fav in the book.
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK
5) Hellboy Artist Edition – Mike Mignola
The Artist Edition comics published by IDW presents complete stories scanned from the original art, and reproduced at the same size. As a long time fan of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, I was inclined to pick up this limited edition featuring the first first five issues of Hellboy in Hell, as well as supplementary materials and several items of note selected by Mignola. The gargantuan size of the art book is the highlight and really shows off Mignola’s beautiful art work to great effect.
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan
6) Akira 35th Anniversary Box Set Manga
The absolute best way to read and enjoy Otomo Katsuhiro’s Akira manga, period. Two notable highlights from this new set includes the the original Japanese right to left reading format, as well as the original Japanese hand drawn sound effects. The sturdy cube cardboard box that houses the 6 volumes + Akira Club art book is stylishly designed, printed in bold black, white and red colors. A perfect gift for any Akira fan.
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan
7) The Art Of Mondo – Movie Posters
A beautiful synthesis of graphic design, typography and illustration, The Art Of Mondo celebrates the limited edition and much sought after film posters created by the Texas based company, which also specializes in Vinyl soundtracks and toys. The posters are usually sold out within minutes after their release, so this huge catalog ( with over 350 pages of art work ) is a perfect way to enjoy Mondo’s considerable collection of fantastic poster art.
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan
8) Tokyo Sweet Gwendoline Sorayama/RJB/Terada
A follow-up erotic art book to their 2014 “Pussy Cat ! Kill ! Kill ! Kill !”, Tokyo Sweet Gwendoline once again reunites 3 renowned Japanese artists – Hajime Sorayama, Rockin’ Jelly Bean and Katsuya Terada.
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon UK
9) Marvelocity : The Marvel Comics Art of Alex Ross
Marvelocity is a 30 year long culmination of the very best Marvel comics art work by famed illustrator Alex Ross, in the same vein as his Mythology : The DC Comics Art Of Alex Ross. There is just so much outstanding imagery compacted in this one single volume that I get visual overload when flipping through the pages.
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan
10) The Art Of Solo – A Star Wars Story
Solo did not do as well as expected at the box office, but there’s no denying that the film is a stunning showcase of beautiful cinematic imagery and VFX. The behind the scenes concept art work are marvelously distilled and collected in this art book, written by Lucasfilm creative art manager Phil Szostak. The book has everything you would look for – production paintings, concept art and sketches, storyboards, matte paintings and more.
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan
11) TAIYOU – Matsumoto Taiyo Illustration Collection
TAIYOU is a much overdue art book by renowned Japanese comic artist Taiyo Matsumoto, the creator of manga like PingPong and Tekkon Kinkreet. This is his first published art book in almost 2 decades ( the last being “101” in 1999 ). The book includes art work for novel covers, t-shirts, posters, cards and more. Many of the art work collected will be familiar to fans of the artist, but it’s great to finally be able to enjoy all of them in one single volume.
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon UK
12) Jin-roh – The Wolf Brigade Storyboard Book
Japanese publisher Fukkan has released this beautiful storyboard book for Hiroyuki Okiura’s highly acclaimed anime film Jin-roh The Wolf Brigade ( released back in 1999 ). The storyboards are extremely detailed and serves as an excellent study/resource for Hiroyuki Okiura’s composition techniques. My highest recommendations.
Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon Japan | Buy From Amazon.com |Buy From Amazon UK
There’s quite a few notable mentions that didn’t make my list, some of which include the storyboard art books for Satoshi Kon’s Tokyo Godfathers and Millenium Actress, Ohrai Noriyoshi’s Beauty In Myths, The Art Of God Of War; you can take a look at the full list of 2018’s art book reviews here, and I also recommend my favorite art books from other years –
2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012.
If you need help with ordering on Amazon Japan, the FAQs below will guide you through, step by step.
And lastly, I’ll love you hear about your favorite art books this year too, if you have any to share. Happy New Year !
My Favorite Art Books of 2019
2018 Art Books Review List ( 74 Total )
My Favorite Art Books of 2022
My Favorite Art Books of 2015
My Favorite Art Books of 2021
January 2nd, 2019 at 12:37 pm
Exquisite!!!!
January 4th, 2019 at 12:53 am
thanks for all the great reviews!!
January 6th, 2019 at 5:58 am
Thanks for the reviews.
As always, many interesting editions discovered through your blog.
You may be interested in these books:
1) Dover Publications’ collection of illustrations by Gustave Doré:
I personally have “The Bible”, “Paradise Lost”, “The Divine Comedy”, “London, a pilgrimage”, which I would recommend.
This edition is interesting for those seeking only the illustrations, not the voluminous texts they originally accompagnied.
The edition however could be better:
Hard cover, instead of the Soft cover;
The paper quality: a coated paper (matte or glossy) would be the best for the illustrations, especially, it would make profound blacks.
Despite these shortcomings, it’s the sole edition I know of containing only the drawings.
If a better edition is released, I would be willing to pay more for it.
2) “Robert Vickrey: The Magic of Realism”
If you don’t know Vickrey, I invite you to discover his unique world.
3) “The Complete Hokusai Manga”
Reviewed here: https://someartbooks.wordpress.com/tag/hokusai/
I took advantage of my trip to Tokyo last summer to buy a copy. A really beautiful edition.
These books are available at Amazon (and maybe other stores).
Don’t hesitate if you have more specific questions about these editions.
And happy new year 🙂
January 6th, 2019 at 10:36 pm
There looks to be some great books here. And I really should be checking out Simon Stålenhag.
Thank you for posting this.
January 7th, 2019 at 2:26 am
Thanks for the support guys, and Atom thank you so much for the recommendations ! I’ll definitely check all of them out ! :]