Reading – Acid Rain: The 1st Rain
If you own and love Ashley Wood’s World War Robot* art book then you will not want to miss this first book in the Acid Rain series. Created and illustrated by artist Kit Lau, the Acid Rain series blends the size of G.I. Joe action figures with the transforming fun of Transformers and wraps it all up in a style and world that will appeal to any World War Robot fan out there.
Fantastic Artwork
Kit Lau’s Acid Rain art, both the painted art and the line art, is amazing. Atmospheric, moody, evocative, engaging . . . yeah, all of those words wonderfully describe the artwork inside this book and on the toy boxes. Much of what’s inside this small book has been seen on the Acid Rain World blog, so if you’ve not yet seen Kit’s art I suggest setting aside some time to browse the site. Great stuff!
Fragments of Fiction
Another way in which this book is similar to Ashley Wood’s World War Robot* art book is the fiction. Not a lot, but just enough to introduce you to the world that these soldiers and warmachines live in. I fully expect that we will see more books and fiction if this line continues, and if we do I hope the makers run the text past an editor since there are a few small spots where there needs to be some work done. Nothing terrible or distracting, just minor annoyances here and there.
Toy Pics
The last bit of info in the book is made up of photos of released and unreleased Acid Rain vehicles and action figures. If you saw my earlier Acid Rain Speeder MKII (Sand) review (review here) then you already know what to expect: 3.75-inch scale action figures and incredible transforming vehicles. Imagine if Hasbro reintroduced M.A.S.K. at this scale and with this level of weathering and toy detailing . . . stop drooling now.
Closing Thoughts
This book was included free with my order, but the back cover lists a $10.99 price point which feels about right for an independent art book of this size. It’s fun to flip through, and if a sequel to Acid Rain: The 1st Rain is announced I know I’ll be there with my ten bucks ready to pay up for a copy. Gorgeous work and just makes me more excited to see where Kit Lau takes his Acid Rain series.
We need a comic book set in this world!
