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Total Geek-Art: A Celebration Of Pop Culture Book Review

Geek out over “Total Geek-Art: A Celebration Of Pop Culture.”

Written by Thomas Olivri, “Total Geek-Art: A Celebration Of Pop Culture” collects geek centric art from a host of artists such as Jonathan Adrian, Erin Hunting, Monami Ohno, Benjamin Carre, Ron English, Andy Fairhurst, Rory Kurtz, Chris Malbon, and Jean-Sebastien Rossbach. Art piece subjects range from Star Wars, anime, TV series (from “Twin Peaks” to “Game of Thrones”), video games (from Mario to Halo), musicians N.W.A. and Ghost (rock!), Batman, Wonder Woman, animated series (like Beavis and Butthead), fantasy films (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings) horror films, DBZ, comic book movies, cult classics, general classics like “The Godfather,” filmmakers (Tarantino, Hitchcock, etc.) and even toys like Food Fighters (what a deep cut). Each artist page contains sample work, a short bio, social media plugs/places to find their work, picture and year labels, and quotes about geek culture and work.

After an intro about geek art by Isabel Samaras, “Total Geek-Art” dives into what is essentially a showcase of the geekdom art world. In some ways, it’s almost like a catalogue of sorts as readers can seek out the art pieces on their own. A lot of the works featured here may be familiar to some as they have popped up on shirts, social media sites, posters DVDs (like Orlando Arocena’s horror movie covers), bootleg action figures, etc. The art itself ranges in style too as it can be digital, retro, drawings, or even redone game consoles and systems (the Vadu Amka’s redesigned Xbox One S into the Call of Cthulhu is particularly incredible). In terms of the art itself, it also varies from portraits, spoofs, character interpretations, original poster designs, cultural pieces, and characters in strange situations (like the Alex Gross piece of Darth Vader riding a unicorn). There’s hundreds of pieces to gawk at here from 80 talented artists.

Although it’s tough to single out works, I have to say that my personal favorite pieces here are the dazzling cardboard art from Monami Ohno and Andy Fairhurst’s overhead side by side Delorean shots from the “Back To the Future” trilogy. I could go on about others, but it’s best left seen on your own.

Overall Thoughts: If you love art or if you love geeky imagery (or both), “Total Geek-Art” is well worth picking up.

December 18, 2020 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Book review | Anime, Art Book, Comic Books, Geek Art, Star Wars, Total Geek-Art: A Celebration Of Pop Culture Book Review, Video Games