Axis Powers Hetalia Artbook Artestella Piccolo

There was a small anime/cosplay convention today at Hub Mall in our neighborhood in Shanghai, China. I got this from a vendor there.

Title: Axis Powers Hetalia Artbook Artestella Piccolo
Date: March 2012
Publisher: Gentosha
Writer: Hidekaz Himaruya
Artist: Hidekaz Himaruya

I have not read all that much Hetalia, but this looked like an interesting find, so I picked it up. There is not much English in the book, but the artwork is lovely throughout.

The book contains a nice collection of portraits of the major characters in the series, along with a section showing the drawing process, and a nice collection of rough sketches.

Rating: 8/10

Doodles Vol. 1

From the random stack of unread comics.

Title: Doodles
Issue: Vol. 1
Publisher: KS Productions / Kaiser Studio
Artist: Bryan Kaiser Tillman

This is really a sketchbook, as the title suggests.The sketches are mostly characters, with some pages focusing on detail work like heads and weapons.

The art all has a science fiction/fantasy vibe, with a lot of video game influence. It's all very nice technically although it doesn't feature much diversity in terms of body type. The characters all look like pretty standard types of the genre. The close-up details on heads and faces was nice, as were some smaller sketches featuring some nonhuman creatures.

A small number of handwritten notes accompany a few of the pieces and serve to give some additional insights into the mind of the artist.

This was a visually enjoyable book, but it didn't have anything that really stood out.

Rating: 5/10

Sun-Flower

Another item I picked up at Anime Boston from fellow Artists Alley participant Finni Chang.

Title: Sun-Flower
Publisher: Finni Chang
Date: 2013
Writer: Finni Chang
Artist: Finni Chang

This is a full-color sketchbook from artist Finni Chang. It opens with a 24-hour comic detailing a typical twenty-four hours in her life as a freelance artist in humorous style. From there, the book presents a range of gorgeous character illustrations with a scattering of other features.

This is mostly original characters. There is some Gaia Online work, and a three-page Pokemon fan comic, but the focus is on original characters, and there are some fascinating ones. Finni does awesome costume illustration, and her use of color is spectacular.

She also includes some sketch work with accompanying text to give some insights into her technique. For the most part, though, the art speaks for itself.

Rating: 8.5/10

My Escape

I picked up a surprising amount of comics at the National Conference on Science Education this past week, but I am still also doing reviews of some of the books I brought home from Anime Boston. This one comes from a person I've had the pleasure of working with on some of my own comics.

Title: My Escape
Publisher: Missy Pena
Writer: Missy Pena
Artist: Missy Pena

Artist Missy Pena describes this 40-page full-color sketchbook as "a collection of sketches done in my free time, whenever I felt like I needed an escape from the real world." My Escape is a full color journey told in characters, setting, fashion, and magic.

In between the artwork, Missy give short insights into her techniques, her influences, roleplaying games, and fan art.The artwork features original characters with a bit of fanart from Legend of Korra and Assassin's Creed.

This is a beautiful book, and a great celebration of fantasy as a genre, and of the look and style of the fantastical.

Rating: 8.5/10

Kristilyn's Burlesque Sketchbook Volume 1

Title: Kristilyn's Burlesque Sketchbook
Issue: Volume 1
Date: 2012
Publisher: Kristilyn
Writer: Kristilyn Stevenson
Artist: Kristilyn Stevenson

Twenty-page minicomic sketchbook based on Boston-area meetings of Dr. Sketchy's Anti Art school. Dr. Sketchy is a recurring event where artists get together to sketch burlesque models.The sketches have are a nice juxtaposition of the burlesque style with Kristilyn's endearing and cute sketching technique.

Good artwork and a nice bit of local flavor as it features Boston-area performers.

Rating: 7/10