[By Ramin Zahed] Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse -The Art of the Movie-[Hardcover] Best selling book for |Animated Movies|

Spider-Verse: The Art of the Movies #1

by Ramin Zahed

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the creative minds behind The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street, bring their unique talents to a fresh vision of a different Spider-Man Universe, with a groundbreaking visual style that’s the first of its kind. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse introduces Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, and the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse where more than one wears the mask.

Unmasking the artistry behind the hotly-anticipated movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse The Art of the Movie contains concept art, sketches, and storyboards, and will give you fascinating insights into the creative process. With exclusive commentary from the animation team, plus a foreword written by Miles Morales co-creator Brian Michael Bendis, this extraordinary collection of art will take readers into the Spider-Verse.

Book:
PAPER STOCK & WEIGHT:
Chinese Matt Art plus Spot Machine Gloss Varnish, 157gsm
BINDING:
Threadsewn
SLIPCASE SPECIFICATION:
Overall Matt Lamination with Spot Gloss UV
SIGNED:
Tip-in sheet signed by Christopher Miller, Phil Lord and several artists from the film
LIMITED TO:
Limited to 175 copies

Comic book:
PAPER/CARD COLOUR, STOCK & WEIGHT:
8-page comic book printed on glossy art, 105gsm with cover printed on glossy art, 130gsm
IMAGE DESCRIPTION:
Exclusive comic book created as a prop for the film and hand-inked by Marcelo Vignali in the pulpy, dot screen style of the Silver Age.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Marvel, Comics, Film, Reference, Superheroes

Unknown Binding

First published December 18, 2018

About the author

Ramin Zahed is the Editor-in-Chief of the Los Angeles-based monthly publication, Animation magazine. He has been covering the animation and visual effects world for over 15 years. Before joining Animag, he was a senior editor at Daily variety. His articles have also appeared in Variety, Hollywood reporter, The Los Angeles times and The Christian science monitor.

Reviews

[Gretel Hernández · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una película excelente; la cual destaca principalmente por su extraordinaria animación; fue increíble ver su arte.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since Christmas 2018, I have been obsessed with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, an animated film from Sony who, without the assistance of Marvel Studios, is able to do something fresh with a comic book property that has been around since 1962. The obvious influences behind this film are producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who wanted the film to centrally focus on the origin story of Miles Morales – an Afro-Hispanic teenager created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli during the Ultimate Spider-Man comics – and to create an animated film like no other. The final result is a perfect achievement on both those tasks, leading to see it five times at the cinema and umpteen times on 4K.

Why the multiple viewings? Like I said, I'm obsessed with this film, which has so much detail in its unique mixture of 2D and 3D animation, you have to watch this numerous times to notice the tiniest little details. After devouring the special features on the Blu-ray, I still need to know more and six months after the film's initial release, I picked up the coffee table art book. Opening with a foreword by Bendis, who talks about how he and the Marvel offices came up with Miles Morales, and how this character, making his way onto the big screen has given him such delight (we were certainly delighted with what we saw).

Written by Ramin Zahed, this book is more on the artistic nature of the film as oppose to the storytelling itself, of which you can listen to the filmmakers' commentary as well as the many YouTube videos that have dissected the multi-layered narrative. In creating a thoroughly modern hero with Miles, the filmmakers talk about why this character means a great deal, in terms of diversity and representation. For a whole generation of Spider-fans, Miles is their Spider-Man and to see him treated with the greatest respect for people who are also pushing the technical merit when it comes to animation. Although this film wasn't as commercially successful as Black Panther, but there are plenty of videos on the internet that are touching tributes to the film and its youthful hero.

A big credit for the film's visual look is production designer Justin K. Thompson, who brought in an extraordinary art department. Looking at the comic books and using many of the techniques of the medium, it is also amazing to see the amount of concept art that the film recreates the style where the lighting is stylised, as well as maintaining the authenticity of New York, albeit an alternative universe version of the web-slinger's city. There are a number of pages where there is nothing but concept art and storyboards, some of which gives an idea about Spider-Verse in its numerous incarnations.

Every principal character gets their own page or two, in terms of their background and the various character designs they went through, from the rogues gallery to his roommate Ganke Lee, who originally had a much larger role. As for the Spider-people, there are the more conventional designs of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, and then there are Peni Parker, Spider-Noir and Spider-Ham, each of the three have their own style, giving more justification on why this story had to be animated. One of the best treats on the character pages are the many facial expressions drawn by character designer Shiyoon Kim.

There is only one sequence from the film where the book goes in-depth and this is the introduction of Peter B. Parker, leading to him and Miles swinging through New York, which is perhaps the most slapstick-y the film gets. It is funny and inventive with two characters have no control of the situation, during a beautiful snowy night. I wish there were more scenes – in fact, every scene – that got the spotlight, because after reading this fine book, I still feel like I'm scratching the surface and the ongoing question of how they achieved everything in Spider-Verse remains unanswered. If you are a fan of this Oscar-winning piece of animation, this is a must-read.

[LaDonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

BEYOND AWESOME!!

The movie WOWED me!! This book just added to that experience.

Ramin Zahed truly pulls us into the Spider-Verse via the spoken word and detailed explanations of the artwork that comes to life on the big screen. We are shown how the art, we take fore granted, is a crucial character within its own right. In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: The Art of the Movie, Zahed reminds us that the art, itself, helps draw us in; develop the story; and guide us through the Spider-Verse.

Miles, like every incantation of Spider-Man, is someone whose nose is pressed against the window, wanting to be part of something that they think they’re not a part of. That’s a [sic] universal feeling for all of us.

While reading this book and really seeing the art, for the first time, I found myself genuinely appreciating the time and effort that went into creating the film. The book concretely illustrates (no pun intended) a clear understanding about what Miles and his counterparts can mean for this and future generations.

...anyone can wear the mask...It’s up to future generation of this country to stand up and do the right thing.

In case you missed it, I highly recommend this book!!!

SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read the book, unless you’ve seen the movie. Otherwise, it may spoil your entire movie experience.

[Erin A · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorite movies was just made so much better from reading this book. This movie was one of the biggest reasons why I’m going into animation school next year, and it is so inspiring to see the process in this book. Every single piece of artwork is beautiful.

[Neil R. Coulter · Rating 5 out of 5]

If aliens landed on Earth and asked what kinds of superhero films we produce here, we could just show them The Incredibles and Into the Spider-Verse and that would be sufficient. Into the Spider-Verse is one of my favorite movies of the decade, so reading through this collection of concept artwork and reminiscences by the filmmakers is a total delight. The book affirms how much thoughtfulness and creativity went into the film.

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve owned this book for so many years and finally got around to looking through it. It’s so gorgeous and I can’t wait to own the sequel art book too <3

[McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, one of the best art books in my collection! I love all of the insight it gave to the movie, even though I wish the book itself were longer. I adore this art style and would love an even deeper look into the process of creating this stunning movie!

[Deivid León López · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una lectura maravillosa que descubre el universo a aquellos que se enamoraron de él en la película.

[Lori Scharf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full honesty-- I still haven't seen the movie 😂😭 but reading this made me want to even more! Seeing how the characters evolved from concept art to finished product, and just how much thought goes into every aspect of animation is just amazing.

[nezgraba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Гарно

[Olga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muerte a la IA y a los live action remakes hoy y siempre, ojalá pudiera coger todo ese dinero y dárselo a la gente que hace animación

[Trike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent movie art book that has some behind the scenes stuff but comes across as more of a PR exercise in than an incisive look into the creation of this amazing movie. (I fully expect the film to win Best Animated Film at this year’s Oscars.)

It’s a little light on character design, favoring backgrounds and storyboards, and, as always, far too many pictures cross the valley. Some are low-information bits and being a 2/3-1/3 affair it’s not as bad as some other books, but it’s continually baffling why they do this. As with the terrible Aquaman art book, the few foldout pages are devoted to small pictures. In this case, it’s storyboards. What is the point of that?

Okay overall.

[Brenno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Por se tratar de um livro "The Art of" dessa animação que tem um visual incrível, eu esperava bem mais. Já li outros livros, como de Mulan, por exemplo, que detalham extensamente o processo de pesquisa para a criação dos detalhes do filme. O livro é lindo porque a obra por si só é maravilhosa e colocar visuais da obra numa versão impressa teria esse resultado. Porém, em questão de conteúdo, acho vazio. Não conseguiu expandir meus horizontes para além do que eu já tinha absorvido com o filme em si.

[Anthoney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down - one of THE best books I own - even though I have yet to read the texts - even if the writing is bad and details, info and insights into animator and designer's mind at play, inadequate (which I doubt it will be), doesn't matter. The art representation maybe digitally rendered but its a Work of Art nevertheless, Work of Art on a movie that itself has been a Work of Art. Stunning, stunning, stunning

[ambyr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunning art choices, neatly organized, and just the right amount of technical detail on the film's animation processes to intrigue but not bewilder this layman. I am not usually an art book person and would not have picked this up if not for the Hugos, but if you're looking for insight into modern animated films, this is a good place to start.

[David Muñoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A STUNNING LOOKING ‘ART OF’ BOOK TO GO WITH A STUNNING LOOKING FILM!

This was the 2nd ‘Art of’ book I got for the holidays and it’s for one of my favorite films of all time. The chunk of the book goes over the story of the film and their missions to bring that comic book feel to life. Obviously there’s also a lot of great art and in-depth looks at the different types of techniques they took to make the film. Great concept art and stunning paintings, mainly by Patrick O’Keefe (Art Director).

You gotta check this out if you’re a fan of this wonderful film and I’d do it before this book goes out of print cause this is a 10/10 built book that is about a 10/10 made film.

[Bel Hernández · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me dolió un poquito que no haya NADA de la escena THE RISING OF MILES MORALES porque me quita el aliento cada que la veo (todos los días; aunque no mire la peli, esa escena la veo todos los días), pero este libro es ARTE PURO Y LO AMO.

[Paolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I already adored the movie (who doesn't?) and seeing the creative passion behind the project has deepened my appreciation for it even further.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Miles, like every incarnation of Spider-Man, is someone whose nose is pressed against the window, wanting to be part of something that they think they’re not part of. That’s a universal feeling for all of us.’

[Heber Guerra-Recinos · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent resource for any artist and fan of the movie. Taking a look at nearly every facet of the movie with commentary by its creators.

[ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

majorly cool! only con — i thought this would delve into the more technical elements of animating the movies, but instead it was focused on how the characters themselves were developed

[Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Watching the movie over and over and staring at the art isn't enough anymore I need to be spiderman

[Cyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. I’m in awe at the incredible work and creativity that went into creating Into The Spider-verse. The concept art is absolutely stunning and you can tell just how much passion was driving the art works, truly amazing!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book for a beautiful movie. Wonderful pull out pages and great behind the scenes material. An absolute must additon for fans of the movie, Spider-man or both.

[Evi &#x1f608;&#x1f608; · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve recommended this book to every artist I have met so far. I have learned so much from this book and I admire each and every artist who has worked for itsv.

[Mikey &#x131a3; · Rating 4 out of 5]

the art is this book is so yummy 🤤

[Joshua Glasgow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Without boring you with all the details, suffice it to say that I am a huge fan of the movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. I therefore was excited to read Ramin Zahed’s coffee table book showcasing the art of the film. Well, to be fair, it’s sat on my bookshelf unread for almost five years, but when I finally sat down to read it I was excited. I’ve never read an art book like this before so I don’t really have anything to compare it to. As one might anticipate, the book is largely made up of images of the creative process of designing characters and backgrounds for the film—that is, it’s mostly pictures. There is some text, but the ratio is probably 85/15.

I hoped to learn a lot about the genius that went into the movie from the book, and of course to be mesmerized by the look of the movie once again. As I mentioned, though, a lot of the images are of early drafts of the primary characters. The earlier drafts, because they’re not the final versions of the characters, feel repulsive. That sounds a bit dramatic, but what I mean is that they’re sort of in that uncanny valley state of being… similar to the real thing, but not quite right in an ineffable way… which can make one feel uneasy and somewhat repelled. It’s cool to see these work-in-progress images, but it also feels like, not what I was hoping to experience when I picked up the book. I expected something I’d feel a lot more zealous about. Similarly, the mock-ups of locations empty of characters and the storyboard versions of scenes drawn in a broad, stylized manner, while beautiful in their own right, don’t make me feel like I’m experiencing the movie on a deeper level.

One might think that here is where that 15% of text comes into play—bridging the gap by adding context to the images throughout, helping us see how they fit within the whole of the finished film. I felt that it often didn’t achieve this. Part of the reason I feel this way, though, is because I wanted more emphasis on how the choices in the art style and design interacted with the story of the movie, the narrative. For example, one of my favorite scenes of the movie is when the Prowler—Miles’ uncle Aaron—is shot by Kingpin and Miles kneels over him begging him to stay alive. In his last moments, Aaron removes the mechanical Prowler glove with a hydraulic whirr and the “camera”, in close-up, tracks his hand as it arcs up and grasps Miles’. It’s such a powerfully emotional moment, but it’s understated: it all takes place in the space of seconds. It’s one of the things that I found to appreciate about the movie only on re-watch, and I would have loved to read about all of the thought that went into creating that incredible sequence. But the kind of thing this book is interested in telling you, for example, is that the Prowler’s design was based on the voice actor playing the character, Mahershala Ali. That’s neat to know, don’t get me wrong! It’s just… not making me feel the movie.

I guess another way to say it is: I don’t really give a shit about Spider-Man. I disdain the Marvel Entertainment Empire and I’d be just as happy never to see another superhero movie ever again. It’s not that “Spider-Man” is cool, per se, but that, like, the moment when Miles is tiptoeing silently through a seemingly abandoned building and his spider-sense is visualized by the words “LOOK OUT!” in all caps flashing on the window behind him is cool. It’s the whole vibe of the scene, the way it makes you feel because of the choices made in how the moment was staged and drawn. This book is interested in Spider-Man qua Spider-Man, as for example when it describes that Miles was made to look gangly and awkward at first, “like a baby deer” with skinny legs, wobbly knees, and big hands and feet. It’s insightful, sure, but it’s surface-level in a way. (Full disclosure: I picked up using the word “qua” from reading Ayn Rand… do with that what you will.)

So, again, things like the trivia that Miles’ roommate Ganke at Visions Academy (I didn’t even know this character had a name) had a larger role in earlier drafts and will be further developed in sequels or that there is a green tint to the Alchemax lab because the filmmakers chose green “to be the color of evil, discomfort, and apprehension [and] it is their way of cuing the audience that bad things are going to happen” are fun, yeah, okay. But what I wanted was an in-depth discussion about every thought that went into, say, the scene where a dying Peter Parker pleads with his eyes to get Miles to take up the mantle of Spider-Man. And that’s not really what this book is about.

There was a quote very early on in the book which bothered me a lot. Producer Amy Pascal with Sony Pictures explains why the studio was interested in this property: “We wanted to produce a four-quadrant animated movie.” Now, I recognize that movies are a business, of course of course, but to me this isn’t “a four-quadrant animated movie”, but something of a cinematic masterpiece. Yet this book is focused on things like the fact that the final rendering of Miles’ father Jefferson was meant to convey an imposing but soft-hearted aura (ya don’t say!) or that Gwen’s design is intended to be both athletic and graceful, and “not just a pretty blonde girl with your typical thin princess body” (oh really?). Did you know Directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord “pushed [the artists] to look at real scientists to duplicate that same visual” when designing Doc Ock? This all seems like viewing the movie as a movie—the movie qua movie, if you will—not as the multi-faceted experience it was for me.

So that’s where I’m at. There’s absolutely some interesting nuggets of info here and definitely some sumptuous bits of artwork in these pages. The evolution of the characters from early drafts to finished product is curious to see. But where I wanted this book to further deepen my appreciation for the movie, I feel that in actuality it's kind of adjacent to it. This art book is fun, but it’s not the same as the thing I love.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its a beautiful art book of the movie that takes you deeper into the world of the movie. Everything is so vibrant and beautiful and you can 100% see all the handwork and love that went into everything that was done.

[Bowling Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love spider-man

[Paco Taco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words cannot express how much I love this book!!!