Image Announces Paul Pope Battling Boy Art Book

Image Comics announced today that they were releasing an art book on March 5th celebrating the work of Paul Pope on the New York Times Bestselling graphic novel Battling Boy, which was released by First Second.

Battling Boy was a gorgeous book (my review here), showing Pope's maturation as both an artist and a storyteller. It's arguably my favorite of his books (Batman Year 100 is really hard to top) and I don't think I've encountered any review that spoke of it in a negative light. The story of a world in need of a hero and a boy who wants to be anything but, combined with creepy monsters and god-like figures who use the plight of others for sport was a very narrow miss from my favorites lists in 2013.

So it's no surprise to hear that some of the art from that book is touring around, allowing fans and those who appreciate art to see it in a raw, original form. This book sets out to capture that same feeling for readers who cannot make one of the tour sites, or who wish to keep those memories in a more permanent form.

From the press release:

Collecting Pope’s large, lush original drawings photographed in detail from the actual art boards and with minimal editing, MONSTERS & TITANS features the art in its original format, with text in English, French, and Italian.  

Also included in the volume is a critical essay from Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Charles Brownstein and an essay from Pope himself on his process, technique, and personal influences. 

MONSTERS & TITANS: BATTLING BOY ON TOUR (ISBN: 978-1-60706-944-7) will be available for $24.99 with Diamond Code JAN140554 and will hit shelves March 5. In the meantime, definitely pick up the original story from First Second if you haven't already. You won't regret it.