The Art of Mouse Guard 2005-2015

Mouse Guard

by David Petersen, Mike Mignola (Artist), Stan Sakai (Artist)

What’s to Love: Since its debut in 2005, David Petersen’s Mouse Guard has been a New York Times bestseller, won Eisner and Harvey awards, and has become an influential staple of the comics industry, earning thousands of fans. In honor of the 10-year anniversary of the series’ debut issue, The Art of Mouse Guard: 2005-2015 is a celebration of the beautiful world, memorable characters, and intensive artistic process of David Petersen’s beloved series.

What It Is: Celebrate the first 10 years of a comics classic from the very first sketch. For the first time since the series debut, David Petersen’s process for creating the world of Mouse Guard and bringing it to life in stunning illustration is documented in exquisite detail. With never-before-seen sketches; 100 pages of full-color, oversized artwork; and commentary from colleagues, collaborators, and Petersen himself, readers and fans get an unprecedented look behind-the-pages at how their favorite characters and adventures were born.

"Petersen’s comics manage to both thrill on both historical-adventure and fantasy-extravaganza levels… [His] story and art work hand-in-hand in a way that is impressive. And oh, that art…" - Comic Book Resources

Genres: Comics, Art, Fantasy, Graphic Novels

328 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 15, 2015

About the author

Note: There are more than one David Petersen on GR's database. For catch-all profile, see here (dissambiguated via 7 spaces).

David Petersen was born in 1977. His artistic career soon followed. A steady diet of cartoons, comics, and tree climbing fed his imagination and is what still inspires his work today. David won the 2007 Russ Manning Award for Most Promising Newcomer. In 2008, David won the Eisners for Best Publication for Kids (Mouse Guard Fall 1152 & Winter 1152) and Best Graphic Album – Reprint (Mouse Guard Fall 1152 Hardcover). He is the creator of the Mouse Guard series and is excited to be working on projects he dearly loves doing. David and his wife Julia reside in Michigan with their dog Autumn.

Reviews

[Václav · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just the art book to Mouse Guard. Expect no more story to the lore, but expect loads of backstories. Loads of sketches. Loads of whole pages from comics books. Some extra arts. But most important are the backstories. How MG came to life, what inspired David in creating parts of it. His workflow through the models, he created only for the drawing purposes. At first, with this over three-hundred-page book, I just wanted to flick the pages and enjoy the art. But eventually, the text was the most enjoyable of all. Well written stories about making the MG. So full of information. This is, well, fascianting.

[Thomas Maluck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed at No Flying, No Tights.

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is everything you want an art book to be: oversized, packed with sketches and drawings, and also packed with text. That's the important part; sure, it's nice to have a book full of art, but to get so much text about the history, process, and evolution of Mouse Guard is the best thing about this book. Worth every penny.

[Craig Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

EPIC

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic insight into the world of Mouse Guard and Peterson's creative process. A must read for all fans of the series.

[Richard Gombert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good look at the artist and his craft.
I'm now interested in reading the Mouse Guard books.