Go behind the scenes of the highly anticipated Captain Marvel film with this latest in Marvel's ART OF series! Ace Air Force pilot Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. This collectible volume is full of exclusive concept art and interviews with the creators behind Marvel's first solo super heroine.
Eleni Roussos is an author and entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. After working behind the scenes on some of today’s biggest blockbusters, she transitioned into writing about them. Roussos is primarily known for her film-companion works, notably penning several volumes of Marvel’s The Art of the Movie book series.
Looks like I’m the first person to review this on Goodreads.
This was released on my birthday, so of course I preordered it. I debated whether or not to read it before seeing the film so as to keep the experience spoiler-free, but I couldn’t help myself. I’m weak, what can I say? [My personal stuff behind the spoiler tag because it’s not germane to this review: ] Was this full of spoilers? You betcha! But only in broad strokes as to major story beats, most of which I gleaned already from the first trailer.
The bad parts of this book are mercifully few. There are only a couple instances where the art spans two pages, something that I hate and wish designers would stop doing for art books. (I know it looks cool on your computer screen. It looks terrible in book form. Stop it.) There are a few typos, mostly of the dropped-word variety. Most people won’t notice, but I was a proofreader once upon a time. (Yes, my reviews often suffer the same issue, but these are mostly for me and they’re free.)
The good parts of this book are amazing, because it’s wall to wall cool art. Because this movie will span the cosmic types of MCU films like Guardians and Infinity War as well as the Earthbound films like Captain America, this really has a range of art we don’t get even in other blockbuster sci-fi films. Plus, all the Earth stuff takes place in the mid-1990s, so it’s historical design, as well. All the human tech has to be of that era, which is a somewhat unique challenge. Captain America: The First Avenger did it with 1940s tech, but that’s so far removed from our time that it might as well be alien. Nineties stuff, though, that is fresh in our collective memory, so it’s a tricky thing to pull off. Based on what I see in this collection, they’ve nailed it.
The other thing about the human tech is that the SHIELD stuff has to do double duty of looking plausibly 90s while also appearing like earlier versions of things we see in the Avengers movies that take place circa 2015. They really had to juggle a lot of different demands all at once, and the result looks amazing.
I also like the fact that Andy Park had to design the look of Captain Marvel for Avengers: Endgame because that would be filmed first, yet Captain Marvel is being released first. That’s a lot of moving parts in this complex cinematic experiment. There’s a reason why I tweeted last year that my list of Top 5 Favorite MCU Movies has 15 films on it.
Fully half this book is devoted to the bad guys, the shapeshifting Skrulls. That’s to be expected because the Skrulls are THE alien race in the Marvel comics and the galactic conflict known as the Kree-Skrull War is the defining event in the Marvel universe. The Kree-Skrull War involves almost everyone eventually, especially the Avengers, so this looks pretty large.
Given the great number of alien planets we’ve already seen in the MCU in both the Guardians movies and Infinity War, it must have been a daunting task to come up with original designs for iconic aliens like the Kree and Skrulls. Seems like they pulled it off.
Plus we have younger versions of Nick Fury, Agent Coulson, Kolrath the Pursuer and Ronan the Accuser, so it is cool to see wayback versions of them. For some of the art they went full Julius of Pulp Fiction for Samuel L. Jackson, which looks pretty hilarious in this context. I really hope that’s a disguise he dons in the movie and not just an art department jest.
So yeah, cool aliens, spaceships, environments, 1990s Air Force tech, and outfits, all of which comprises one of the best Marvel artbooks yet.
Buy this book, it's beautiful and I've learnt so much from it that I didn't already know which I'm surprised at, considering I trawl the internet about it almost hourly. Well worth the money which isn't something I say often. Absolutely awesome book five stars
First of all I went to see the movie and a really, really enjoyed it. So much I plan to see it again. (I very rarely go to the movies, by the way. I'm not big on being around very many people at a time. Even grocery shopping can be somewhat upsetting.)
Anyhow, this first of all comes in a beautiful slipcase. The book is large (and rather heavy, actually.) I lover the covers of the book. There's loads of artwork relating to the movie including variations on what became the final look for the various beings and places in the movie.
There's not much more I can say about it other than that it's great (somewhat pricey, though) and a fantastic addition to any Captain Marvel collection.
Marvel's Captain Marvel: The Art of the Movie is a gorgeous behind-the-scenes companion that feels like a must-have for Marvel fans and art book collectors alike. The slipcase presentation makes it feel especially premium, and the book itself is packed with stunning concept art, costume designs, set pieces, and character development sketches that really showcase the creative work that went into bringing Carol Danvers’ story to life.
I especially loved seeing the evolution of Captain Marvel’s suit, the Kree and Skrull designs, and the visual world-building for Hala and 1990s Earth. The commentary from the artists and filmmakers adds great context and makes it more than just a coffee table book.
The only reason this is a 4-star rather than a 5-star read for me is that I would have loved even more in-depth discussion of certain scenes and character concepts, particularly around the supporting cast and some of the cosmic visuals. Still, it’s a beautiful and thoughtfully assembled volume that celebrates the artistry behind the film.
Great book structure and construction, lots of characters designs and input, wish it had more Cap Marvel ones than the Skrulls since they have designs of them before this movie