EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 10 © 2015 Book Palace Books (96 PAGES in Full edition)

94 The Bookshelf Monte Beauchamp has an impressive provenance, with a background in award winning graphic design, art direction, writing and editing publications such as Blab, a brilliant insight into the world of comics and the talents that created them. 'Masterful Marks' is, in many ways, a logical successor to Blab . Beauchamp looks at the lives of 16 cartoonists, whose work revolutionised the art of graphic storytelling. The way he relates their stories is by commissioning 16 contemporary cartoonists to present each artist's biography in graphic novel format. The cartoonists Beauchamp selects are as stylistically distinctive as the artists whose lives they chronicle. Beauchamp shows his great art directing skills by his coupling of artists. Therefore we get to see the life of Robert Crumb delineated by Drew Friedman's densely detailed penmanship, Dr Seuss comes to life through the wacky graphics of Denis Kitchen and the incorrigibly weird Charles Addams creeps us out by courtesy of Marc Rostenthal's mordantly monochrome cartoons. A real tour-de-force for lovers of comics and a great read into the bargain. Fifty Years of Illustration By Lawrence Zeegen & Caroline Roberts Hardbound 384 pages Laurence King Publishing £30.00/ $40.00 l illustrators is also available in the USA from budplant.com This book is an essential for anyone wanting to get a handle on the movers and shakers of illustration and how the art form has evolved over the last fifty years. By commencing their retrospective in 1964, Zeegen and Roberts thrust the reader into the rumbustious world of the swinging sixties, which witnessed a flowering of zazzy illustration to match the mood of the times. The book is sensibly divided into five sections for each decade and each of these has an introduction with which the reader can contextualise the work presented. In terms of design, the book is a real delight, with beautifully laid out pages wherein appear mini biographies of each artist, and well chosen samples of their work and accompanying captions identifying each of the works displayed. Where the book might attract a degree of controversy is with the selection of artists presented, not so much those included but rather the inevitable ommissions, which alwaysoccurwithprojectsof thismagnitude. But, conversely, there is a real delight in discovering illustration that the reader might be unaware of or have forgotten. All in all, a terrific addition to the shelves of illustration enthusiasts. Drawn to Drawing By John Vernon Lord Introduction by Posy Simmonds Hardbound 300 pages NoBrow £25.00/ €30.00/ $40.00 'Drawn to Drawing' is a perfect title for a book which, in its purest sense, is a celebration of drawing. The fact that it also represents the most complete collection of the art of John Vernon Lord is a cause for celebration in itself. As has been revealed in an earlier edition of illustrators (issue 7), John's work is captivating in terms of its draughtsmanship, sense of design and obsessive attention to detail. His ability to counterpoint areas of densely cross- hatched drawing with bold applications of solid black and white, give his drawing a dynamic that when coupled with his wry symbolism is totally compelling. This beautifully produced book (NoBrow has to be one of the most exciting and visionary of recent publishers) presents the artworks with accompanying text by Lord, which gives each image added value. Be it one of his amazing "stream of consciousness" doodles or a commission for a picture book, each drawing has a tale to tell and Lord is a master storyteller. For lovers of illustration, this book will be a frequent companion and for practitioners of drawing, a catalyst of inspiration and endeavour.. Masterful Marks: Cartoonists Who Changed the World—16 Graphic Biographies By Monte Beauchamp Hardbound 128 pages Simon and Schuster £16.99/ $24.99