2021 has been a big bumper crop of a year for art book reviews here at Halcyon Realms, with a total tally of 80 books reviewed; the 3rd highest number ever since I started doing this as a hobby way back in 2009. There has been a very steady flow of high quality art book releases this year ( with many that I did not manage to get to actually, which I will next year ), and coupled with the pandemic and the longer hours spent in-doors I’ve had more time to review a larger number of titles.

I hope you’ll find something that will excite or interest you in the list, and if you do decide to make a purchase please consider doing it through my Amazon affiliate links; it will cost you absolutely nothing, but will go a very long way in helping me to keep this blog sustainable. Have a Happy 2022 ! –

1) Anime Architecture : Imagined Worlds and Endless Megacities

Technically a 2020 book release, my review copy of this title was unfortunately lost in the mail, delaying my review process and so I was unable to include it in my fav list last year.

Anime Architecture : Imagined Worlds and Endless Megacities is a deep dive into one of the most important visual elements of Japanese animation; the environments, or more commonly referred to as the background art. Using case studies from some of the most influential anime ever made like Akira, Ghost In The Shell, Patlabor The Movie / The Movie 2, Tekkon Kinkreet and more, author Stefan Riekeles ( follow him on Twitter / Instagram ) crafts an engrossing read that illuminates the production details and stories behind some of anime cinema’s most iconic backdrops.

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2) The Art And Making Of Control

Control is a 2019 action-adventure video game developed by Remedy Entertainment, and one of the best games I’ve played last year; no mean feat considering there were other major AAA games like The Last Of Us II, Death Stranding and Sekiro vying for my attention and time.

Control revolves around the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), a secret U.S. government agency tasked with containing and studying phenomena that violate the laws of reality. As Jesse Faden (voiced by Courtney Hope), the Bureau’s new Director, the player explores the Oldest House – the FBC’s paranormal headquarters – and utilize powerful abilities in order to defeat a deadly enemy known as the Hiss, which has invaded and corrupted reality.

I like Control immensely and have previously waxed lyrical on the game’s superlative environment and set designs, which I dubbed “Super-Brutalism” on account of the game’s brilliant application of the hulking architecture style.

This massive 384 paged hardcover art book for the game is everything I’ve wished for, and then some. The book takes an in-depth dive and exploration into the numerous creative disciplines including VFX work, narrative design, creative direction, character/costume design, world building and much more.

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3) Hayao Miyazaki And The Ghibli Museum Art Book

Hayao Miyazaki And The Ghibli Museum (宮崎駿とジブリ美術館) is a sumptuous 2 volume art book set that explores the huge collection of illustrations, sketches and art work created by the famed Ghibli director for the many exhibitions held at the museum, located in Mitaka, Tokyo. Most of the art work included have never been published in any book before.

Since its opening 20 years ago in 2001, Hayao Miyazaki has been heavily involved in many of the creative aspects of the museum like planning the architecture designs and decor, creating special animated short films for the Saturn Theater as well as curating the special animation exhibitions.

Running at almost 600 pages, the expansive content are spread across 2 books – CREATING THE GHIBLI MUSEUM ( 174 pages ) covers the sketches, imageboards and ideas that Hayao Miyazaki created during the early planning stages of building the museum, and CREATING SPECIAL EXHIBITS 2001–2020 ( 424 pages ) details the production materials, sketches and art work created for the special animation exhibitions held at the museum across 2 decades.

This is an absolute unit of an art book and despite the expensive price tag, I would still highly recommend for fans of Hayao Miyazaki’s delightful art work.

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4) Mike Mignola : The Quarantine Sketchbook

During the coronavirus quarantine, legendary Hellboy creator Mike Mignola posted original pencil sketches online and auctioned off the art to raise money for José Andres’ World Central Kitchen. The sketches went viral and were the talk of the comics internet.

Now those sketches are published in print for the first time, with all profits going to the World Central Kitchen.

This new, oversized hardcover collection is a must have for Mignola readers and art fans alike. The book features an introduction by Christine Mignola, alongside sketches of Hellboy, beloved and unexpected pop culture characters, macabre chess pieces, gothic vegetable creatures, strange vampires, and more.

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5) SKETCH – Katsuya Terada Art Book

Japanese manga artist/concept designer/illustrator Katsuya Terada is one of the most renowned and exciting artists working in the visual arts field today, and as a huge fan of his art style I am always looking forward to his new publications. SKETCH is his first art book since REAL SIZE (2019) and is published by PIE International, probably my fav Japanese publisher in recent years.

As the title suggests, SKETCH is a sumptuous 512 paged art book that collects a dizzying volume of Terada’s drawings and doodles, known as Rakugaki (落書き) in Japanese. Incidentally, Rakugaki is also the title of his earlier sketchbook collection released back in 2002, and SKETCH can very much be considered a follow-up ( and level-ed up ) volume.

Terada’s international profile has certainly gone up considerably over the past 5-10 years because of the many live-stream drawing gigs and also exhibitions he has taken on, many of them in the United States ( this special issue of Illustration Note showcases quite a few of these events ), and SKETCH includes many of the art work he has created at these events as well.

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6) The Art Of NASA – The Illustrations That Sold The Missions

Formed in 1958, NASA has long maintained a department of visual artists to depict the concepts and technologies created in humankind’s quest to explore the final frontier. Culled from a carefully chosen reserve of approximately 3,000 files deep in the NASA archives, the 200 artworks presented in this large-format edition provide a glimpse of NASA history like no other.

From space suits to capsules, from landing modules to the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station, and more recent concepts for space planes, The Art of NASA presents 60 years of American space exploration in an unprecedented fashion. All the landmark early missions are represented in detail—Gemini, Mercury, Apollo—as are post-Space Race accomplishments, like the mission to Mars and other deep-space explorations.

Every picture in The Art of NASA tells a special story. This collection of the rarest of the rare is not only a unique view of NASA history—it’s a fascinating look at the art of illustration, the development of now-familiar technologies, and a glimpse of what the space program might have looked like.

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7) The Garden Of Words Background Art Book

The Garden Of Words (Kotonoha No Niwa/言の葉の庭) is a 2013 animated film by Makoto Shinkai of Your Name / Weathering With You fame. It is unclear why this art book is only now published, some 8 years after the movie’s release, but I’m nonetheless elated that it is. A picture book was released back in 2013, which I reviewed here, but only a proper, dedicated art book can do justice to the sheer volume of art created for the film.

Which this book delivers, and then some; the background art pieces are nothing sort of stunning. A total of 140 pieces are showcased in this book, together with a small collection of select storyboards, character and color design sheets and more.

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8) Mondo – The Art Of Soundtracks

Mondo: The Art of Soundtracks highlights the all original art created exclusively for Mondo’s vinyl releases by world renowned artists for soundtracks to films, tv, and video games. Featuring stunning new takes on classic and modern material, this collection reinvigorates the bygone era of unique and collectible vinyl record artwork.

From vintage re-creations to new interpretations, from digital and painterly to photographic and abstract, the record art compiled in this volume captures the spirit of the record label that reinvigorated the soundtrack industry, in a beautiful mash-up fit for a book—or record—shelf.

Trust me when I say the small preview images that I’ve presented below do little justice to the stunning art work; you really have to see them at their original print size as showcased in the book for the full visual impact. It took me much longer than usual when I was taking pictures of the book for this review because I was stopping and admiring the splendid art work and designs so much.

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9) Art of Gary Gianni – George R. R. Martin’s Seven Kingdoms

Bought to international acclaim and popularity by HBO’s Game Of Thrones series, George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels depict a vast and complex fantasy world that is ceaselessly intriguing, and I am always on the look-out for any high quality art and illustration that help to enrich the visual experience of said universe; The World Of Ice & Fire book that I reviewed previously is a great example.

This handsome hardcover volume Seven Kingdoms is a fantastic addition to the list; it showcases all of Gary Gianni’s artwork for George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, with over 300 pages of beautifully illustrated scenes from the five novels in the series ( A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast For Crows and A Dance With Dragons ), featured alongside passages from the books themselves.

Also included are illustrations from the two prequels of the series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and Fire and Blood. All together, the paintings and hundreds of drawings in pencil and pen-and-ink provide a unique view of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros as seen through the eyes of the award-winning illustrator. Describing Gianni’s artwork, George R.R. Martin says it’s “as if I am looking through a window into Westeros, that I am there with Tyrion and Daenerys, with Ned and Arya, with Dunk and Egg.”

All of Gary Gianni’s previously shown pencil sketches and paintings have been tightened up and polished for this collection, making them appear as new works. In addition, over 35 pencil drawings appear for the first time. The artist draws on his longtime experience in comics and illustration to offer a unique perspective into Martin’s universe.

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10) The Art Of Yoko Tanji Illustration Book

Japanese illustrator Yoko Tanji (丹地陽子) is one of the very first artists I discovered way back in 2004 when I first started living in Tokyo, and I’ve been a big fan of her art work ever since. Her illustrations were a regular fixture in the quarterly visual subculture magazine Kikan S, which I would always pick up for a browse during my weekend visits to the Kinokuniya bookstore in Shinjuku. Her art work quickly stood out from others pieces with her astute, expert use of aesthetically pleasing and striking compositions as well as dynamic application of colors.

This art book collects carefully selected art work from almost 20 years of her expansive portfolio for books, magazines and novel cover illustrations as well as her own personal work; including one of her online illustration series titled “I Hate Mondays” which is especially popular and has garnered her a huge following.

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11) Mort Künstler : The Godfather of Pulp Fiction Illustrators

“I learned how to compose, how to tell a story. There’s no way I could have done what I did later if I hadn’t had all that men’s adventure magazine work.” -Mort Künstler

Known today as “America’s Artist” for his popular and much admired historical paintings, it was in the wild world of men’s adventure magazine illustration that Mort Künstler honed his ability to present large-scale action while never losing sight of essential details. It led to a mastery of capturing conflict in paint-both the spectacle, and the human cost.

At long last, The Men’s Adventure Library brings an unequaled selection of Künstler’s finest pieces from the men’s adventure magazine era back into print in this bold, colorful collection, available in both softcover and expanded, deluxe hardcover editions. From the explosive intensity of battles on the sea and in the air, to taut, face-to-face showdowns and animal attacks, every page explodes with action, color, and artistry.

On top of his superb technical artistry, Mort Künstler’s even bigger strength lies in his incredible skill in crafting the most engaging framing and compositions, as full narratives and stories are told with every one his elaborately staged paintings. This 136 paged hard cover volume is a veritable bonanza of his best works, and comes highly recommended.

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12) Marvel Comics – The Variant Covers

Comprising some of the most sought-after and valuable comic art in the world, variant covers are a time-honored tradition in comics publishing. The variant cover phenomenon began in 1986 and was immediately embraced by fans everywhere; it was then bolstered in 1991 by Marvel Comics’ X-Men #1 setting the world record for the best-selling comic of all time, which is attributed to the astonishing collection of five variant covers released for the issue. The notion of variant covers caught on and has now become a regular part of Marvel Comics’ diverse output, with a spectacularly creative set of alternate covers being created for many key issues.

These works of art are now collected in Marvel Comics: The Variant Covers, which showcases some of the finest and most famous variant covers ever produced alongside exclusive interviews from leading comic artists and industry experts. Featuring an astounding selection of covers starring fan-favorite characters, such as Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Black Panther, the X-Men, and many more, Marvel Comics: Variant Covers: The Complete Visual History is a must-have for casual fans and comic book aficionados alike.

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And that rounds up my favorite art book picks of 2021; there were many other notable mentions like Accidentally Wes Anderson, Steam Reverie In Amber, The Art of The Mitchells vs. The Machines, Color Palette – Zashiwarashi Illustration Works and more; here’s the full list of art books I in reviewed in 2021.

I also recommend my favorite art book lists from these other years –
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.

Lastly, I’ll love you hear about your favorite art books this year too, if you have any to share. Happy New Year !

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