The Art of The Book of Life

To determine whether the heart of humankind is pure and good, two godlike beings engage in an otherworldly wager during Mexico’s annual Day of the Dead celebration. They tether two friends, Manolo and Joaquin, into vying for the heart of the beautiful and fiercely independent Maria, with comical and sometimes dangerous consequences.

There are certain names that will automatically have me interested in whatever they're attached to.  The creative genius that is Guillermo del Toro happens to be one of those.  So when I first caught wind of The Book of Life by its beautiful visuals, it only made me the more curious knowing he was a part of it.  Needless to say, having the opportunity to check out The Art of The Book of Life was one I was so pleased to have.

One of the best parts of this book, as odd as it may seem, is the intro that director Jorge R. Gutierrez wrote.  It describes his disappointment in "art of" books that never end up having much, if any, similarities to what you see in the movie.  From that, he offers readers of this art book the comfort of knowing that every bit of this spectacular book will give you a glimpse of what you will see in the movie.  That knowledge sets this art book way at the top of the heap of most others.

As one would imagine, this book allows (hopeful) future audiences a preview of the content from the movie.  The first major section shows us designs and descriptions of all the wonderful characters that were created for the film.  From initial concepts to final product, you'll have a solid familiarity of the cast before you even set foot in the theatre.  These fantastic characters are bound to make this a favorite movie for many.

Chapter two lets viewers see a very in depth look at the movie with a "Making of" section.  Details like color palettes, architectural designs, and even the ratio of overall shapes throughout locations are provided.  The final chapter then shows an overview of the other major component of the film - locations.  There are quite a few stunning places that the movie we will get to travel through, and this chapter does a great job of letting us peek at them.

Before I was lucky enough to get my hands on this art book, I was already impressed by what I'd seen about The Book of Life.  Now that I've finished reading this though, I am unbelievably anxious to see the movie.  In the mean time though, you would be doing yourself a huge favor by picking up this book and getting a good taste of what's in store.

For more information on The Art of The Book of Life or other Dark Horse books, check out Dark Horse Comics.

The Art of the Book of Life will be available 10/1.

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.