Freddie L. Almaguer 
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Do you know someone just finished an epic game, movie, or comic book series and are looking for the next best thing? This Christmas, you can help them fill that void by gifting them one of these awesome pop culture art books to get lost in.
Below is a collection of our favorite art books, across a range of games, movies, comics, manga and anime that are sure to surprise and delight.
This whimsical, full-color hardcover edition chronicles Ubisoft’s design and development process Immortals: Fenyx Rising.
Inside you’ll find stunning illustrations of key moments from the game as well as an array of in-depth illustrations of mythical creatures from all over the world. Fenyxthe world. If you are a huge fan of Greek Mythology, you will deeply appreciate how the artists brought the creatures of myth and legend to life, not only in the game, but in this art book.
To verify The Art of Immortals Fenyx Rising here.
The Dark Horse Books Trilogy THE Legend of Zelda Hard covers are some of the best video game companion books of all time, but I especially want to thank Art and artifacts.
This collection covers everything from the original THE Legend of Zelda, until 2015 Heroes of the Tri Force, and plenty of artwork including character designs and promotional pieces. It even has sprite flips and those super detailed artwork that would show up in instruction booklets (remember that?).
Art and artifacts is a fascinating glimpse into how the aesthetics of THE Legend of Zelda have evolved over time.
To explore The Legend of Zelda: Art and Artifacts here.
Ah, Spyro. A feeling of nostalgic fun for many PlayStation gamers. When the Spyro trilogy remake was announced, many passionate fans shouted “Shut up and take my money.” Which was all the more evident when the remake sold 1.04 million units in its first week, boasting a stronger opening week than all other Spyro games combined.
This definitive guide to The Art of Spyro: The Trilogy Relaunched contains never-before-seen concept artwork for this mind-boggling remake. It also features an array of behind-the-scenes content from the best illustrators in the industry as well as a bunch of trivia from the developers.
You can get your copy of The art of Spyro here.
Inspired by original video games, the Castlevania the series was a smash hit on Netflix. Now fans can enjoy a beautifully rendered hardcover art book featuring concept illustrations and expertly crafted commentary on its four seasons.
While waiting for the release of the spinoff series, take a behind-the-scenes look at these never-before-seen illustrations of its monsters, characters and locations.
Get your copy of Castlevania: The Art of the Animated Series here.
I can’t get enough Super Mario Odyssey? Continue your globetrotting journey by purchasing the The The art of Super Mario Odyssey hardcover edition.
This art book has 358 pages full of fun illustrations, concept art, and designer commentary. A huge bonus is that it contains information about early ideas that weren’t incorporated into the game!
Relive your odyssey here.
If you are a die-hard fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, you certainly can’t miss this bestselling art book.
Avatar: The Airbender The Art of the Animated Series was compiled by series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. You can find out how their initial sketches turned into a worldwide phenomenon in this extremely detailed concept book. Inside you’ll find a number of illustrations of the adorable hybrid animals from the world of Avatar as well as actual martial arts sketches that inspired the various bending styles of the TV show.
In this second special edition, you will also have the chance to read an exclusive foreword from the writer of the comic book series, Gene Luen Yang.
Enter the art of the Avatar world here.
Hot take: everyone loves Dragon Ball, and anyone who says otherwise is just going against the grain.
This visual story covers it all Dragon ball– linked that creator Akira Toriyama worked on, from the original manga up Great (although the real Great the content is quite small). This art book also includes interviews with Toriyama himself, where he reflects on the impact of Dragon ball.
Just flip through this to get a real feel for how Toriyama’s sense of style and design has evolved over nearly four decades. Like a big Dragon ball fan, I was amazed at the amount of art I had never seen before.
To verify Dragon Ball: a visual story here.
If you thought about the movie Into the Spider-Verse was a visual feast, wait until you open this making of book. Just like Spidey, it’s amazing, spectacular and sensational.
This art book strives to bring together everything you would like to see of Into the Spider-Verse, from gorgeous backgrounds, a bunch of character designs and storyboards for various sequences. It also includes commentary from the production team that explains many of the film’s excellent design choices. If you like animation… you probably already have this book.
Swing in the Into the Spider-Verse Art here.
The long line of artist’s editions from IDW, which reprints the original art pages from various comics, is really awesome. However, they are both very expensive and the size of a small coffee table, so your purchase can be difficult to verify.
Fortunately, IDW has released a series of Craft Editions, which reprint these original comic book collections at a more manageable price and size.
Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli Daredevil: Born Again is my favorite comic that Marvel has ever released and is one of the highlights in the company’s long history. This handcrafted edition brings together each of Mazzucchelli’s pages for the series, so not only do you see every detail that goes into its pages, you can also read the story from start to finish.
You can see Daredevil: Born Again (Artisan Edition) here.
When you have finished an episode of The Mandalorian, have you ever been like, “Well, I wish there was a way for me to look at this great concept art without the layered end credits.” First, what an oddly specific thing to think about. Second, the The art of the Mandalorian is the solution to your problem.
This collection also includes commentary from Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, which gives a good look at many of the show’s design choices. Unsurprisingly, Filoni has a lot of interesting things to say.
This art book only covers the first season of the series, so don’t expect to see anything for Ahsoka Tano or Old Man Fett. Star wars art books usually drop around the end of the year, so I can only assume something for the second season is on the way.
This is the way to The art of the Mandalorian. If you want to grab the Season Two Edition, head over here.
Hayao Miyazaki’s films are already packed with rich visuals, so this art book is a no-brainer. The art of escaping brings together various character sketches, storyboards, and watercolor illustrations for the Oscar-winning anime. It’s downright beautiful from cover to cover.
Yes Abducted as if by magic is not your vibe, there are art books for all Miyazaki movies.
If you are a Dungeons and Dragons fan, this art book is essential. Art and arcana is a comprehensive visual history of the iconic tabletop game, and packed with art and photographs from its nearly 50-year life. No stone has been overlooked in this book, and it includes art from base books, adventure modules, and rare concept sketches.
It even reprints merchandise packaging, foreign promotional material, and print ads you’d see on the back of old comics.
This powerful tome also includes a stack of interviews with various designers and artists, and it’s so interesting to see them discussing how the aesthetic of Dungeons and Dragons has evolved over time.
Initiative roll for Dungeons and Dragons: Art and Arcana here.
Batman: The Animated Series? Very good.
Phantom City Creations B: TAS inspired posters for Mondo? Extremely good.
A big art book that brings together all of PCC’s work on Batman, including long out of print pieces? Kiss of the absolute leader. Take it here.
