Drew Struzan: Oeuvre

Rating:
Summary: Great art, OK book, Publisher problems
Review: First of all, I'm second to none in my admiration for Mr. Struzan's work, all of which garners five stars. This book, however has a number of problems ( and reviewers have given it 5 stars w/out even seeing it!)
To paraphrase Oscar Wilde; it's worse than bad, it's half good. What a missed opportunity! Despite its size and promise, this is not a career retrospective. Although there are a number of anecdotal stories of Drew's early years, there is very little early work. We're told of his many album covers, but shown only the much reproduced Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper art. There is very little here a long-time fan hasn't seen before. ( For those of you contemplating Running Press' "Movie Posters of.. " book, 91 of the 97 pieces in that book are here as well. Frankly, it's a better book. At least you can read the title of the art on the same page.)
The lack of any type of information or credits on the work is extremely frustrating. We're told virtually NOTHING about the work. Pieces possibly done as prints or other than movie one sheets are credited only as "c. 2000 Drew Struzan". What were they done for? How were they done? Some of the more experimental pieces seem to be in oil, rather than Struzan's airbrush and prismacolor style; NO information,not even a simple " 27 x 41 in., acrylic on board" is provided. There are no thumbnails, reference or preliminaries shown; no actual size details. Sequential images of a work in progress? Not here. The Superman poster done for the Thought Factory is a different image here, done in the Leyendecker oil style, rather than the airbrush piece printed. No explanation. No comparison. Just look at the art- what, you want to learn from a book?
OK, so what does the book provide? The production is problematic. The writing is printed in gray, not black, it's lighter on some pages than on others, and the page numbers are printed both in gray AND tiny, making them almost impossible to read. You'll need those page numbers; you need to flip to the rear section to find the list providing the titles and copyrights (again, no other info) of every painting. I know those Star Trek covers I like were comic books because I know Wildstorm is a comic book co.; if I didn't, I wouldn't. Like that Star Wars piece you've never seen before? It's copyright Lucasfilm , of course, so whether it was done for a book cover, video game, fan club magazine or comic book is anyone's guess; unless you know already you're out of luck in terms of finding it in its original incarnation.
The book comes with three 3-page foldouts, another production problem, another questionable result. Two of them in my copy were slit halfway down the fold; I had to exchange it, for which I rec'd a second damaged copy. More on that later. Except for the Star Wars Special Edition triptych, wherein all 3 posters have a common background, the foldouts are wasted. The other 2 are used to see the 3 "Back to the Future" and "Indiana Jones " posters side by side. (The initial -and re-release- domestic "Raiders" poster was done by Amsel, and the 2nd too was by another artist; the 3 Drew posters are not linked compositionally.)Considering the cost they undoubtedly added to the book, they ( at least the two right-side pgs.)could have been put to better use showing a horizontal work , such as the "Lost World" art on p.44-45 or the "Star Wars Roleplaying Game 2000" on p. 140-141, both of which are instead spread across the gutter of the book, a wide 3/4 inch split running down the center of each image. Most of the 2 page spreads are broken up in this manner, though a few have a smooth transition.
So, is the book worth it? To an artist and collector who waited a year and a half for it, it's a disappointment, though a nice set of plates to show your family and friends who Drew is and why you like him so much. The problem seems to be getting a good copy .I rec'd 2 damaged copies, Amazon wouldn't let me exchange a 2nd time so I took the refund; I MIGHT try again in a few months. But I'll be reading other reviews; look at the "used and new" section on the page listing; you'll see multiple " "fulfillment by Amazon. Never read copy" 's at cheap prices with "large wrinkle or bend on DJ" or "multiple folds and tears" listed. Can you say, "return"? This publisher doesn't inspire confidence. That "Howard Pyle, His Life and Art " is coming out soon;a big ticket item, a more omportant artist; maybe we should save our $$ for that, you know? CAVEAT EMPTOR.

Rating:
Summary: Finally - but not quite
Review: "Finally," because as the previous reviewer announced, this book is actually in stores although apparently very few and far between. One copy was in a comic book store down the street from me on the 22nd of Dec. and nearly a week later it is still there as I have ordered it from Amazon and am not going to pay full price at the store and end up with two. "Not quite," because although it is in a store or two Amazon still says it will be a month or three before it is sent out to those of us who ordered it months ago. Why? What's going on?

As for the book itself, it is larger than average although not one of those 15 pound coffee table books that pop up now and then. I am not quite as excited about it as a previous writer as many of the reproductions are slightly on the thin side, lacking the contrast and rich colors that one finds in the earlier book, "The Movie Posters of Drew Struzan," and I found this disappointing. The posters of "Sahara" are a good example of the differences.

Of course being over 300 pages long there is a vastly larger amount of material which is great; portraits of movie stars both new and old as well as tons of material that most of us have never seen at all, along with many of his personal works. Wonderful. There are, I think, 3 or 4 foldout pages, containing a series of Star Wars or Raiders posters. Oddly enough the one almost mural like piece presenting a history of movies which would have made a wonderful foldout was not presented as such but occupies just two facing pages. Later in the book there are some blank pages which could certainly have been put to better use. There are a few pages of text at the front of the book but that also could have been better presented as the type is a medium grey and more difficult to read than straight black and white would have been. Also, it would have been nice to have had at least one example of Struzan's working proceedures, a few progressive stages of a painting which would show his techniques, but alas, nothing of the kind was included.

Nonetheless, in spite of all my carping and complaints, it does seem to be a very worthwhile book with much to offer and I anxiously await the arrival of my copy, hoping that it will arrive before Summer.

Rating:
Summary: I hope this is it!
Review: According to Drew's website this should be in stores by Dec. 15th. I hope this is the final release date. I've been waiting for a book about Drew's work since I was kid. It's a shame when someone of Drew's caliber has a hard time getting a book published. He's as pivotal to illustration as Norman Rockwell and Andrew Loomis.

Rating:
Summary: Bongo
Review: Amazon have shipped my copy! They finally have it, so the wait really is over for all of you around the world who will be relying on Amazon to get hold of this book. Rejoice! Etc.

Rating:
Summary: FINALLY!
Review: For those of us who have faithfully waited the whole year since the announcement of this books' release for Oct.'03 and then get delayed for quality assurance for a release in Nov.'04. We get our hopes delayed one more time with some problems with the publisher for a release on Dec.15'04.

But now, I can finally say, with the book in my hands, it really lives up to the reviews. I found a store which had it in stock just today and snagged it. It truly is stunning. A huge, thick book containing all the beautiful images of Drew's career. Drew Struzan: Oeuvre is absolutely gorgeous.

Everyone: No more worries! It is finally here. I just can't believe more than a whole year has passed us by. I've had this in my cart forever....

Rating:
Summary: Release date - possibly
Review: I emailed the publisher earlier in the week regarding this book and they assured me it would be out before Christmas. Although Drew Struzan doesn't seem so optimistic on his own web site.I guess it's a case of "fingers crossed"!

Rating:
Summary: HOW CAN ANYONE REVIEW THIS BOOK YET!?
Review: I received a gift card LAST Christmas so I could get this book when it came out, imagine that. I STILL have the gift card and a year later the book still isn't out.. I know it'll be phonomonal if it ever is published, distributed and shipped. The people at Barnes & Noble know nothing and I have a gift card that hopefully won't expire before this book hits the shelves. If we can put a man on the moon, you'd think a publisher could get a book right within one year! Still waiting and frustrated.

Rating:
Summary: What's going on?
Review: I thought this was finally coming out. Struzan said on his webpage that the books were printed and just needed to be distributed to stores. Anybody know where it is?

Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: If you are a drew fan than it was definitely worth the wait. What I liked most about the book was that it contained work that is not commonly found by the artist. He includes some from his own collection and some with a different approach.

If I have any criticism of the book it would be the quality of a few of the reproductions. Some of the blacks could be richer. I was also hoping for a few more of his grey tone sketches. He has such wonderful line work it would have been nice to see a little more of that.

I was very glad to see some of the pieces that used to be on his website in the book. I miss the old website, this book captures some of whats missing there today.

I like the grey type and blank spaces, both put the art center stage. Overall it is a wonderful collection from a truly amazing artist and person.

Thank you drew!
Debbie Mason
Michigan

Rating:
Summary: A Montage of Memories from the Mind of Drew
Review: If you're reading this review from earth, it's very likely, then, that your life has been touched by Drew Struzan, in some way, shape, form, or fashion. He is a one-of-a-kind illustrator whose heart is more beautiful than the sum of his incredible works, no matter how far reaching they may be.

These works of his would not be milestones in Hollywood history if his heart were not the masterpiece Yehowah Elohim created it to be. To be sure, we all have our gifts from God. However, some gifts are more obvious than others. A blind man can see Drew's gifts.

You will no doubt recall pleasant memories as you think back to the excitement of standing in long lines that snaked their way around corners for Raiders of the Lost Art, or Star Wars, or a host of other movies whose posters sprang from the Mind of Drew, and captured our imaginations.

In paradoxical beauty, through his illustrations, we could feel the warmth of moments frozen in time. It was not uncommon for his stationary poster illustrations to rival the rapid-fire action of the motion picture itself. You have to be an artist with extraordinary talent to do that.

Bravo! Drew. Bravo!

Firpo W. Carr
Screenwriter
Film Critic