Book… James Bond Book

The art for my sold out “Secret Agent Man” print is featured as a double page spread in this James Bond caricature tribute book, which is not really in print yet but is now being offered as a sort of “Kickstarter” preorder from a company called Mad Artist Publishing. The deal is they need 350 preorders to do a print run of this hardcover book with a slipcase. I was reluctant to have my artwork in the book initially, thinking it was unlikely the publisher had secured the rights from MGM and the Fleming estate, but apparently they did so it’s all legal.

There is a preview of the book on their website. I hope this is only a sampling of the book’s content and a fraction of the caricature art actually in it, because if this is it then it is really disappointing. The preview has too many blank pages with “007” on it, too many gigantic self-caricatures of people doing short forwards, and WAY too many ads for the publishing company about how they will print your art book. The ads are really out of place. You do not place ads in the middle of content in a book, even after the forwards… that’s what magazines do. Books sometimes have ads in the front and back, but once the content starts it’s content until the end. This reads like a magazine. Some of the caricature art is really good, however. Also it’s got some innovative interactive features, with “QR” codes all over that will launch trailers, videos and other digital content including some time lapses of the artwork in the book being created.

Not sure I can recommend this, despite the fact that I am in it. If you are a big Bond fan and can ignore a bunch of intrusive ads, you might like it for the artwork.