Reading – Huke Selected Works

At 240-pages, this hardcover book is a heavy, jam-packed collection of gorgeous artwork by the Black Rock Shooter (Amazon.com search*) creator, Huke. For those of you not yet ready to dive in and drop the cash of a collection of Huke’s work I suggest studying his blog . . . the rest of us will be drooling on this fantastic collection.

Just don’t drool near my book. I have no idea how tough this is going to be to find in the future, but if it’s anything like other Black Rock Shooter items that have been released it’s going to be scarce and expensive soon enough. So I hope to keep the book in excellent condition so that I can enjoy it many years from now.

An Action Figure and Book Set

I mentioned this limited edition package recently (mentioned here), but when I ordered the set from Hobby Link Japan I never expected that the book would reach me so quickly. Roughly a week from Japan to Austin is incredibly fast, and I hate to say it but this experience with Hobby Link Japan went so smoothly that I suspect I’ll be ordering from them again. The shipping was kinda pricey, but in the end I don’t think I paid any more for the set than I would have if I ordered from a US store; and I have got this way faster then if I had waited.

So How’s The Book?

First, as an actual printed book it’s excellent. Hardcover, nice and thick paper, the binding feels good, overall I have no complaints with the quality of the printed book. It feels like the publisher sunk money into the printing and binding and everything feels and looks great. A top-notch book . . . loaded with fabulous artwork. And to see more of what’s in the book see this set of 20 pics at Flickr. I snapped the shots to give you an idea of what’s inside, but trust me when I say that if you like what you see here then you’ll be very happy with the book.

A Mix of Styles

Digital painting and lineart dominate the book, with lots of blending of the two approaches in single images. I definitely see some Ashley Wood influences in the work — especially in the mecha and robot design toward the end of the book — and I’m comfortable saying that World War Robot* fans should find a lot to love in this book, but there are also influences I know I don’t recognize. Someone with anime and manga knowledge could very likely point out specific artists who influenced Huke’s work in this book, but ultimately all I care about if that this is a great book.

And inspirational, since it has me wishing that I had time to create some artwork of my own.

Is It Worth Grabbing?

If you like the artwork you see here and in the Flickr set, and if you collect art books, then you want this book. It’s a stunning work — both artistically and as a printed volume — and I found myself looking through the book off and on all day as I answered questions and sat in on conference calls. And the more I look at the art the more I think I should try to create some original artwork while I am on vacation in a few weeks . . . and I can think of no higher praise for an artist’s work than to say that it is inspiring me to create.

Perfection in book form and I am completely happy with my purchase. And that’s without even opening the included action figure . . .

Related articles

• Reading – Giant Robot Issue 64 (battlegrip.com)
• Black Rock Shooter Strength Illustrated (battlegrip.com)
• Reading – Ashley Wood’s Art of Metal Gear Solid (battlegrip.com)