On the Trekkie scale, I probably average about a 4 out of 10. I don’t have a costume and only recently, finally, saw all of the original movies. But I’m a fan nonetheless. I loved the J.J. Abrams movie last summer and am thrilled to see that Library Journal gave a stellar review of Star Trek: The Art of the Film from Titan Books!
“Director J.J. Abrams bold—and smart—reimagining of the dying Star Trek franchise was a pleasant surprise to both critics and especially rabid fans, whose phasers were set on kill if he mistreated their baby. He didn’t. Both Abrams and the screenwriters handled the material with the utmost seriousness and respect it deserved, creating a thrilling sci-fi action adventure revealing the iconic characters’ beginnings. This tie-in volume sports text by NY Times best selling author Vaz (an old friend to sci-fi film fans), and a ton of concept art, screen grabs, and behind-the-scenes shots covering all aspects of the film’s technical production. Chapters cover the creation of the assorted alien species, ships (the Enterprise, of course, gets more than 20 pages of coverage), props, uniforms, poster art, and more. Publisher Titan does Art of books right and this is no exception, the photos and illustrations are outstanding and what fans really want. Just loads of coolness for Trek heads, who’ll be crazy for this book. Grab it.”—Mike Rogers, LJX/LJ
Titan will publish Transformers: The Art of the Movies just prior to the release of the eagerly awaited movie sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The movie is slated to release June 26, 2009 and will star Shia LeBeouf and Megan Fox!
The first and only book on the making of the blockbuster Transformers movies and packed with previously unpublished concept and design art!
By Simon Furman
978-1-84856-373-5 | $34.95/$43.00C | June 16th, 2009
-Erica
We’re all bursting with excitement, in anticipation of the WATCHMEN movie. I was thrilled to read Ann Kim’s editors’ pick in the September 1st issue of LIBRARY JOURNAL! She highlighted a few titles from our client publisher, Titan Books. Major reserve alert!
Watching the Watchmen (978-1-84856-041-3)
Watchmen: The Official Film Companion (978-1-84856-067-3)
Watchmen: The Art of the Film (978-1-84856-068-0)
Watchmen: The Film Portraits (978-1-84856-069-7)
A Library Journal 3/6/09 Roundup -
Titan Tie-Ins
Aperlo, Peter. Watchmen: The Art of the Film. Titan. 2009. 254p. illus. ISBN 978-1-8485-6068-0. $40. FILM
Broken into lucky seven parts, Aperlo’s book offers a quick introduction before moving on to the good stuff: concept art, sets, props, Owlship design, costumes, and posters. Each section is an amalgam of Gibbons’s original drawings juxtaposed against studio concept art, storyboards, set pix, models, screen grabs, you name it. Watchmen in print has a very distinct look, and the studio boys nailed it! The film features smokin’ hot props and costumes, and there are sweet, detailed pix of everything. Superb.
Aperlo, Peter. Watchmen: The Film Companion. Titan. 2009. 176p. ISBN 978-1-8485-6067-3. pap. 
$19.95. FILM
As if Art of wasn’t orgasm-inducing enough, Aperlo offers this companion volume of dossiers on the major characters, plus extra info on costumes, stunts, etc., all on pages dripping with even more yummy pix. In a less design-oriented layout than what’s featured in Art of, director Zack Snyder, who previously scored a huge hit with the film adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel 300, reveals his approach to bringing the Moore/Gibbons masterpiece loyally to the screen. Several of the actors also discuss filling their characters’ shoes. It’s a coin toss, but if you can’t afford this and Art of, opt for this one (and be prepared to replace it a few times because it’ll either be swiped or the die-hard fanboys will be drooling all over it).
Enos, Clay. Watchmen: Portraits. Titan. 2009. 240p. photogs. ISBN 978-1-8485-6069-7. $50. FILM
There are movie books, and there are movie books, but this one truly rocks the casbah! Portrait photographer Enos was hired as the film’s official photographer and took extensive advantage of his proximity to the cast and crew by photographing each of them individually. All characters great and small, plus some of the production hands, went before the lens. The result is a stunning gallery of toned monochrome portraits that are absolutely killer! Trust me, there are countless Star Wars/Indy fans out there who’d die for books like this. Not only are the pix top-shelf, but the book is roughly 10.5″ x 14,” so they’re big (and juicy, baby!). Beside the cast and crew, there also are select shots of top props like Rorschach’s neato grappling gun and the Comedian’s pistols and bloody smiley pin (woohoo—thanks, Clay!). Though drop-dead gorgeous, there’s no info here besides the pix, but buy it if your budget allows.
Behind the Scenes
Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test. Wiley. 2009. 227p. ed. by Mark D. White. index. ISBN 978-0-470-39685-8. pap. $17.95. PHIL
Though comics generally are viewed as lightweight, Watchmen sports some pretty heavy moral and 
philosophical themes that become more apparent through multiple readings. This volume, part of the “Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture” series, tackles the issues that Moore/Gibbons present in plot and characters. Watchmen is far more than a case of the good guys being good and the baddies bad. Here the lines blur, and some of the good guys are bad—don’t ask the Comedian what he was doing in Dallas when JFK was shot—and others are downright whackos (Rorschach). Those characters’ behavior, along with the godlike Dr. Manhattan’s emotional indifference and Oxymandias’s megalomania, are dissected in essays presented in a very hip style. Along with the weighty issues, fun stuff like the significance of the aging Nite Owl’s expanding gut also gets some talk. There’s great chatroom/term paper fodder here for those who are waayyy too into it (give it a few years and this will be a college course). For public and academic collections.
Gibbons, Dave & others. Watching the Watchmen. Titan. 2008. 272p. illus. ISBN 978-1-8485-6041-3. $39.95. FINE ART
Related to the graphic novel only, artist Gibbons provides a thorough behind-the-scenes account of Watchmen’s genesis, generously including a ton of concept art ranging from rough pencil sketches to full color panels showing the characters’ evolutions. There also are notes between him and writer Moore allowing an inside look at how the series developed. An LJ Editors’ Pick for 2008, Watching the Watchmen is another fan’s dream come true. How many books on Degas do you need? Buy this instead.
-Erica
