Grunt: The Art and Unpublished Comics of James Stokoe

by James Stokoe

"The largest and most comprehensive book of James Stokoe's art ever published! Featuring art and never-before-published work and comics! This deluxe hardcover artbook showcases the work of inimitable comics creator James Stokoe, who has drawn some of the most visually meticulous and surreal illustrations in modern comics, featuring some of his bestselling illustrations from works such as Orc Stain, Dead Orbit, Wonton Soup, well-known cover work, and some of his never-before-published comics"--

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Art

184 pages, Hardcover

First published June 4, 2019

About the author

James Stokoe (born September 4, 1985) is a Canadian comic book artist who is known for his work on such titles as Wonton Soup, Orc Stain and Godzilla: The Half-Century War.
Along with Corey Lewis, Brandon Graham and Marley Zarcone, he's a part of a studio/collective called "Yosh Comics".

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Stokoe's art reminds me of Geof Darrow if he drew Manga. Stokoe's art is incredibly detailed and busy with a bit of a anime look to his facial features. This collects a lot of random artwork from his major books like Wonton Soup and Orc Stain along with a lot of unpublished stories that are often unfinished. There's plenty of pages for books that have been released but were pages Stokoe eventually redrew. There is also some of the Marvel covers he did. It's a somewhat strange hodge-podge collection of art, but Stokoe fans will definitely enjoy it.

Received a review copy form Dark Horse and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in now influenced by the aforementioned.

[Alex Sarll]

Cover art for Marvel et al, process work from Stokoe's own books like Orc Stain, and various unpublished and/or incomplete strips with typically understated titles like Murder Bullets. That one particularly leans into the air of the disreputable which always hangs around his art, what with the Bad Company-esque soldiers on a planet where cigarettes are medically mandated, but between the wanking orcs and unnecessarily detailed frog butts, there's precious little here you'd dare show a maiden aunt. And even when the subject matter might not appear that outrageous, simply having it rendered in this fleshy, maximalist fashion makes it seem dodgy; I suspect that, if the Comics Code Authority weren't mercifully dead and buried, it would probably have slapped Stokoe with the same sort of lifetime ban it did Kevin O'Neill, given he has a brattier, less angular version of that same knack for making everything look unsound.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Stokoe and this art book are gronch-crushingly amazing! I'm kind of sad his two-page Predator comic featuring Super Grover was not included, though the Orc Stain pages alone are worth the price of admission.

[Corey White · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Stokoe, so it's all great stuff, but if you've kept up with his published work and his website over the years then you won't find much new stuff in this collection.

[Jesse A · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing, outlandish, highly detailed art style! Will definitely be seeking some of his work out.

[Zack B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a bit of a difficult book to rate because its more of an art collection than a story. The quality of the book is excellent. It's really a great coffee table book if you have the sort of friends coming over who won't be freaked out by hyper-detailed, photo-quality drawings of orcs cutting each other's penises off.
The content is a grab-bag of Stokoe's art over the past decade. Including his big comic works like Wonton Soup and Orc Stain. It also includes some random art work from him as well as some unpublished comics. However, if you follow Stokoe's art like I do, the vast majority of this will probably be stuff you've seen before, although not in quite as high of quality. So, if you're getting this expecting a lot of previously unseen content, then you'll also be disappointed by what's included in here.

In addition, some of Stokoe's work is not showcased in here, certain blog comics, and Sullivan's sluggers are not included or even highlighted, and I know he has more Marvel work that could be included as well. Maybe it's a copyright thing?
Regardless, I love this collection, but it loses the 1 star because I was expecting there to just be more of it here.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of James Stokoe before picking this up on a whim and it was a treat! The drawings are hyper detailed to the point that having them in a large book in front of you like this feels like a stoner equivalent of I Spy books from grade school. The content of his creations seems to trend towards bulbuous, dripping orcs and the food they eat but hey, everybody's got their lane!

[Kevin Duvall · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole thing looks great, of course, and I loved seeing the Marvel covers and the stuff from Alien: Dead Orbit. The rest was OK. It’s worth noting that I read the digital version, and knowing the quality of Dark Horse’s physical books, I bet the hardcover is a more striking experience.

[Chad Brock · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Shamanjules · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to believe that Stokoe’s art is from this reality, let alone this planet, let alone this hemisphere, let alone this continent. Margin to margin weirdo-ness and corner to corner detail.

[Sezer Turgay · Rating 5 out of 5]

He is one of the my favourite artist.Devil in the details.Pure Stokoe goodness

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loads of imaginative ideas and highly detailed sketches and drawings. Definitely not for everyone, but it delivers some singular eye candy in a signature style.

[Philip Athans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cool and weird, with remarkable detail work and abundant creativity. Loved it!

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some five star illustrations for sure! Love the detail and vibe of tons of it. Inspired. Kinda cheeky and juvenile at times but worth the laffs.