45 Years Of 2000 AD – An Anniversary Art Book Review
Summary: 45 years of 2000 AD has meant a lot of artists have contributed to the many stories and successes of this beloved publisher. In this collection we get to interpretations of some well known, and some less well known characters.
4.8
Amalgamated Art
45 years is a long time to be putting out stories and as the first few pages of 45 Years Of 2000 AD – An Anniversary Art Book points out… that’s over two thousand and seventy issues published, which also means, that’s a lot of art. A number of the artists who have contributed over the years have their interpretations of some of the many characters that have come out in the pages of 2000 AD publications displayed here for viewers enjoyment. Whether an old fan or new… there’s a lot to enjoy here.
Writing
As this is focused more on the art, there’s not a lot of writing but what is here is a nice compliment to the art. We have a brief overview of 2000 AD, then we have minor artist bios accompanying the art. It’s not a lot, but it’s nice to have a little context for what we are seeing.
Artwork
This is it… this is the reason you would have/will grab this book. If I was going to be super blunt… I’d say that the first thing that ever drew me to comics was the art. It’s an interesting industry to ponder that old notion of “never judge a book by it’s cover” because while there is a certain amount of truth to that… you could also say “let your eyes lead you to greater things” (or something like that). Comic art certainly lead me to some great stories and there’s nothing I like more than when the art and writing are in harmony, one enhances the other. Here we get a number of different interpretations of characters we have grown to know over the years and the sheer number of artists represented in this book means the art styles are quite varied, meaning there is likely something for every taste here. I’ll be honest, there are some images in here that I’m really not that fussed about, but equally there are many that I think are absolutely stunning and would be more than happy to have enlarged versions of on my wall. That is certainly the strength of this collection… there are plenty of images here to flick through and you are bound to find some that will just make your jaw drop.
Final Thoughts
I’m a big fan of art books… I very much enjoy visual stimuli and this collection is nicely laid out and features some really impressive art. Worth a look if you are a fan of 2000 AD certainly but just as worthwhile having a look if you are simply a fan of art!
Publisher: 2000 AD
Writer: Kevin O’Neill, Henry Flint, Mike Allred
Artist: Chris Weston, D’Israeli, Henry Flint, Kevin O’Neill, Mike Perkins, Richard Elson, Sean Phillips, Simon Coleby, Staz Johnson, Steve White, James Harren, Dave Kendall, Raid71, Rachael Stott, Kyle Hotz, Eduardo Ocana, Brett Parson, Mick McMahon, V.V. Glass, Kelley Jones, Andreas Butzbach, Vincenzo Riccardi, Jamie Smart, Hannah Templar, Michael Allred, Colleen Doran, Sanford Greene, Chun Lo, Francesco Francavilla, The Gurch, Stathis Tsemberlidis, Phil Noto, Jenn St-Onge, Ian McQue, Annie Wu, Josh Hicks, Lando, John Allison, Mateus Manhanini, Priscilla Bampoh, Langdon Foss & Kev Walker
Genre: Art Book
Format: 101pgs FC, HC
Release Date: 25th May, 2022
About the Author
Chris O'Connor Father of four, husband of one and all round oddity. Gaming at home since about 1982 with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Moving on to the more traditional PC genre in the years that followed with the classic Jump Joe and Alley Cat. CGA, EGA, VGA and beyond PC's have been central to my gaming but I've also enjoyed consoles and hand helds along the way (who remembers the Atari Lynx?). Would have been actor/film maker, jack of many trades master of none.
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