UDON Winter/Spring 2014: Game Art Books

1:44 am March 3, 2014

We’ve been previewing all of our Winter/Spring 2014 books! All books can be found (or pre-ordered) at Comic Book Stores, Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com, Book Depository, and pretty much wherever awesome books are sold! Today, it’s the final part: Video Game Art Books!

The Eyes of Bayonetta Art Book & DVD

A member of an ancient witch clan and possessing powers beyond the comprehension of mere mortals, Bayonetta faces-off against countless angelic enemies, many reaching epic proportions, in a game of 100% pure, unadulterated, all-out action. The Eyes of Bayonetta collects the stylish artwork behind this cinematic action game, featuring character sketches, CG models, monster, weapon, and location designs, and creator commentary. Also included is an exclusive DVD documentary taking you behind the scenes of Bayonetta’s creation!

Release date: Available Now
Price US: $49.99
ISBN-13: 978-1926778426
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 224, Color
Size: 8.25″ wide X 11.75″ long
DVD: Region Free, 78 Minutes

View a 14 page preview of The Eyes of Bayonetta

Buy UDON Books | Buy at Amazon.com | Buy at Barnes & Noble

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Dark Souls Design Works

One of the most critically acclaimed (not to mention difficult!) games of the last several years, Namco Bandai’s DARK SOULS challenged players to survive in a relentless, hostile, and eerily beautiful world…! Now, fans old and new can discover the mystic land of Lordran and all of the monsters, weapons, environments, and undead hordes that lie within in Dark Souls: Design Works, from UDON Entertainment.

Dark Souls: Design Works showcases the grim and haunting artwork behind the fan-favorite Dark Souls game in a gorgeous full-color hardcover collection, matching the Japanese edition. Featuring key visuals, concept art, character, weapon, and monster designs, and rough sketches, this is a complete picture of the brutal world of Dark Souls. Design Works also includes an exclusive behind-the-scenes interview with game director Hidetaka Miyazaki and many of the game’s artists, making it a real treat for fans of the game!

In addition to fully and faithfully translating all of the content from the Japanese edition into English, the UDON edition of Dark Souls: Design Works features one of our most deluxe project treatments of all time. Released in a sturdy hardcover, UDON’s edition features a pearlized silver dust jacket, with ultra high-gloss black and silver treatments, making it practically shimmer (with evil) on your bookshelf!

Dark Souls: Design Works is the perfect tribute to the beloved (or at least grudgingly respected) game, and arrives just in time for the impending release of Dark Souls II this spring to boot! It is a book that UDON has put a phenomenal amount of care and effort into for the legions of this game’s hardcore fans, and the day of its arrival is almost here!

DARK SOULS: DESIGN WORKS
Release Date: January, 2014
Price U.S.: $39.99
ISBN: 978-1-926778-89-1
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 128, Color
Size: 8.25” wide x 11.75” long

Available at better comic shops across North America.

Buy at Barnes & Noble | Buy at Amazon | Buy UDON Books

(View a 12 page preview!)

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The History of Sonic The Hedgehog – Soft cover edition

Celebrating over 20 years as SEGA’s official mascot, The History of Sonic the Hedgehog is the ultimate guide to SEGA’s spiky blue speedster! This hefty 300-page volume covers in detail every 2D and 3D Sonic game, plus spinoffs and crossovers. You’ll also find character profiles, promotional artwork, rare concept art, and a detailed look at the origins of the “Blue Blur”. A must-have for any true Sonic fan!

Release date: Available Now

Price: $34.99
ISBN-13: 978-1-926778-56-3
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 300, Color
Size: 9.25″ wide X 8.5″ long

View a 22 page preview of The History of Sonic The Hedgehog!

Buy at Amazon.com | Buy at Barnes & Noble | Find a comic store near you

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The Legend of Heroes: The Illustrations and The Legend of Heroes: The Characters each weigh in at 272 pages, and are comprised of gorgeous, fully-rendered artwork and information! Featuring character designs and info, pin-ups, story artwork, advertising art, and much more. Covering the games Trails of Blue, Trails of Zero, and the Trails in the Sky trilogy, as well as the “Trails” artworks from the spin-off game “Ys vs. Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga.”

The Legend of Heroes: The Illustrations: Available Now! Price US: $44.99, ISBN-13: 978-1-926778-91-4, Size: 8.25″ wide X 11.75″ long, Format: Softcover, Page Count: 272, Color, Buy at Amazon.com

The Legend of Heroes: The Characters: Available Now! Price US: $44.99, ISBN-13: 978-1-926778-90-7, Size: 8.25? wide X 11.75? long, Format : Softcover, Page Count: 272, Color, Buy at Amazon.com

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Ys The Art Book

Celebrating over 25 years of Ys, the flagship series of Japanese RPG publisher Nihon Falcom! Ys: The Art Book collects the fantastic artwork of more than a dozen titles in the Ys franchise, from the original game all the way up to the brand new Ys: Memories of Celceta. Includes pinups, character designs, rare concept art, and more!

The Ys RPG series has been released on various gaming platforms including PC, Super Nintendo, Playstations 2, PSP, Nintendo DS, Steam, and more. The newest game in the series, Ys: Memories of Celceta, will be released in North America November 2013 for the Playstation Vita.

Release date: March 2014
Price (U.S.): $44.99
ISBN: 1-927925-01-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-927925-01-0
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 280, Color
Size: 8.25″ x 11.75″

Find a comic store near you | Buy at Amazon.com | Buy at Barnes & Noble

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Phantom Breaker: Official Visual Works

Phantom Breaker: Official Visual Works collects the artwork behind this unique, female-centered fighting game. Included are character profiles, pinup artwork, rough sketches, unused concepts, designer commentary, and an interview with the game’s creators.

Release date: March/April 2014
Price (U.S.): $39.99
ISBN: 1-927925-00-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-927925-00-3
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 112, Color
Size: 8.25″ x 11.75″

Find a comic store near you | Buy at Amazon.com | Buy at Barnes & Noble

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SoulCalibur: New Legends of Project Soul

Transcending history and the world, a tale of souls and swords, eternally retold. SoulCalibur: New Legends of Project Soul collects the artwork of the ultimate weapons-based fighting game – SoulCalibur V. Included are character designs, rough concepts, storyboards, creator commentary, character relationship charts, exclusive interviews, and more!

Release date: May/June 2014
Price (U.S.): $39.99
ISBN: 1-926778-95-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-926778-95-2
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 192, Color
Size: 8.25″ x 11.75″

Find a comic store near you | Buy at Amazon.com | Buy at Barnes & Noble

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Substrata: Open World Dark Fantasy

What happens when over 80 creators from the world’s top video game studios join forces without the constraint of committee design? You get Substrata, a hypothetical Triple-A title driven by artists, for artists. Herein lies their widely varied, unbridled visions! Inside you’ll find character designs, locations, monsters, items, interface designs, and more, all exploring the spectacular dark fantasy world of Substrata.

Please click here to preview artwork from this collection!

Release date: June 2014
Price (U.S.): $44.99
ISBN: 1-927925-13-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-927925-13-3
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 240, Color
Size: 8.25″ x 11.75″

Find a comic store near you | Buy at Amazon.com | Buy at Barnes & Noble

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Fate/complete material Volume 1: Art Material

Fate/Complete Material Volume 1: Art Material is the first in a series of art books collecting all of the illustrations, character designs, and concept material from “Fate/stay night.” It includes a wealth of cutscene illustrations, pin-ups, and rare promotional and advertising artwork. Future volumes will follow the publication of volume 1 at intervals of approximately every 3-4 months. UDON strongly urges fans to pre-order Fate/Complete Material Volume 1: Art Material, as sales of this volume will help determine availability of future volumes!

Key Features:

– Original “Fate/stay night” visual novel is one of the best-selling visual novels of all time
– “Fate/stay night” anime and film available on DVD and Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks
– Features hundreds of illustrations by fan-favorite studio Type-Moon!
– The “Fate” series will get a new anime release in 2014 from Sentai Filmworks, featuring the spin-off storyline “Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya”
– A brand-new anime adaptation of the original “Fate/stay night” story has just been announced!

Release date: June/July 2014
Price (U.S.): $39.99
ISBN: 1-927925-12-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-927925-12-6
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 240, Color
Size: 8.25″ x 11.75″

Find a comic store near you | Buy at Amazon.com | Buy at Barnes & Noble

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Darkstalkers Official Complete Works

It’s the ultimate collection of Darkstalkers artwork and history! Darkstalkers: Official Complete Works collects the artwork of every Darkstalkers game, including key visuals, character illustrations, promotional artwork, rough concepts, and creator commentary. Also featured are multiple new interviews with the creators behind the series, plus all-new tribute pinups from your favorite Capcom artists!

Release date: June/July 2014
Price (U.S.): $39.99
ISBN: 1-927925-04-5
ISBN-13: 978-1-927925-04-1
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 224, Color
Size: 8.25″ x 11.75″

Find a comic store near you | Buy at Amazon.com | Buy at Barnes & Noble

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Rage of Bahamut: Official Art Works

Featuring unmatched artwork of heroes, heroines, demons, and gods, Rage of Bahamut has taken the mobile world by storm to become the world’s most popular mobile card battle game! Rage of Bahamut: Official Art Works includes some of the best artwork from the epic card game, plus exclusive interviews with the game’s artists.

Release date: June/July 2014
Price (U.S.): $39.99
ISBN: 1-927925-06-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-927925-06-5
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 144, Color
Size: 8.25″ x 11.75″

Find a comic store near you | Buy at Amazon.com | Buy at Barnes & Noble

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Hyperdimension Neptunia +mk2 Artworks

Welcome to Gameindustri, a parallel world of goddesses, humans, and monsters, all engaged in an epic battle known as the Console War! Collected in this volume is the illustration work behind both the original Hyperdimension Neptunia and the sequel game, Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2. Inside you’ll find character designs, profiles, rough sketches, rare promotional art, creator interviews, and more!

Release date: June/July 2014
Price (U.S.): $39.99
ISBN: 1-927925-09-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-927925-09-6
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 152, Color
Size: 8.25″ x 11.75″

Find a comic store near you | Buy at Amazon.com | Buy at Barnes & Noble

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Alright! That’s it for our Winter/Spring 2014 preview! Thanks for reading and we hope you’re as excited about our new titles as we are. Keep reading our blog, liking us on Facebook, and following us on Twitter! We’ll be announcing some of our Summer titles soon!

– The UDON Crew

The History of Sonic The Hedgehog (UDON 2012 in Review)

8:00 am January 29, 2013

historyofsonic010-011

201209_History of Sonic_the_Hedgehog Celebrating more than 20 years as the official mascot of video game giant SEGA®, Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most recognizable video game characters in the world! With over 70 million games sold, hundreds of episodes of his TV series, countless licensed tie-ins, and comic book series’ that have been running non-stop since 1993, FANS KNOW SONIC, and now UDON has teamed up with Pix’n Love Publishing to bring fans the ultimate guide to SEGA’s spiky blue speedster— The History of Sonic the Hedgehog!

The History of Sonic the Hedgehog is a hefty 300-page hardcover book, featuring everything you thought you knew… and much more… about the famous “blue blur!” The book has been a true labour of love for the crew at Pix’n Love Publishing, who partnered with SEGA of Japan to produce the original French edition earlier this year! The new UDON Edition of The History of Sonic the Hedgehog features all the same great content, but with a complete English translation for North American fans!

The History of Sonic the Hedgehog

Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 300, Colour
Size: 9.25″ wide X 8.5″ long

Price (U.S.): $49.99
ISBN: 1-926778-56-1
ISBN 13: 978-1-926778-56-3

‘The History of Sonic The Hedgehog’ – SOLD OUT AT DISTRIBUTOR LEVEL!

12:00 pm January 22, 2013

The History of Sonic The Hedgehog – SOLD OUT AT DISTRIBUTOR LEVEL
Copies still left at retail level… but for how long?

201209_History of Sonic_the_Hedgehog UDON Publishing is pleased to report that it has completely sold out of it’s first printing of the acclaimed new art book The History of Sonic The Hedgehog. The book was officially released to comic book stores on January 19th and to book chains and online retailers on January 1st, this means that the first printing officially sold out in less than a month! This is one of the fastest sell-outs in the history of UDON.

When faced with the worldwide enthusiasm of Sonic fans we probably should have known to print more, but the passion with which this video game icon is greeted surprised even us…!

So what does this mean for you, the Sonic the Hedgehog fan who hasn’t picked this book up yet?

Well I’m glad you asked. The situation is that UDON has no more copies left, but our retailer partners including Comic Book Stores, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and others still have the stock that they ordered… but since reorders have been coming at a fast-and-furious pace they probably won’t have them for long. If it’s important for you to have a first edition of this book, don’t delay and go get one a.s.a.p.

If you can’t afford to do so right now for whatever reason, UDON will likely be reprinting the book this spring/summer. The exact date is not known yet, as it will depending on gaps in our printers’ schedule and our very heavy spring/summer production schedule, but we wanted you to know in advance it is likely there will be a gap in availability.

Thanks to the thousands and thousands of Sonic the Hedgehog fans who have already picked up The History of Sonic The Hedgehog. On behalf of the entire team who produced it, we’re very proud of this book and we appreciate all of your support!

– UDON

In Comic Stores This Week – The History of Sonic the Hedgehog!

9:00 am December 16, 2012

Celebrating more than 20 years as the official mascot of video game giant SEGA®, Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most recognizable video game characters in the world! With over 70 million games sold, hundreds of episodes of his TV series, countless licensed tie-ins, and comic book series’ that have been running non-stop since 1993, FANS KNOW SONIC, and now UDON has teamed up with Pix’n Love Publishing to bring fans the ultimate guide to SEGA’s spiky blue speedster— The History of Sonic the Hedgehog!

Available in comic book stores This Wednesday, December 19th. Available through additional outlets later this month.

The History of Sonic the Hedgehog is a hefty 300-page hardcover book debuting this fall, featuring everything you thought you knew… and much more… about the famous “blue blur!” The book has been a true labour of love for the crew at Pix’n Love Publishing, who partnered with SEGA of Japan to produce the original French edition earlier this year! The new UDON Edition of The History of Sonic the Hedgehog features all the same great content, but with a complete English translation for North American fans!

The History of Sonic the Hedgehog covers every 2D and 3D Sonic game in detail, ensuring that every generation of Sonic fan will find a lot to love! The book also details every spin-off game, every crossover, and even rare cameo appearances by Sonic across the gaming universe! Whether you’re looking for a detailed history, character profiles, promotional art, game packages, or even rare concept art, you’ll find it in The History of Sonic the Hedgehog!

The History of Sonic the Hedgehog is the book that fans of this series have been waiting for, and whether you’re an avid gamer, a Sonic comic reader, or just have fond memories of this series, you’ll want a copy on your shelf!

Key Features:

• Beautiful 300-page hardcover collection in a unique “widescreen” format.
• Sonic’s longevity and popularity is rarely matched in video games! He’s appeared on more than 15 video game systems and in more than 100 games, including the recent fan-favorite Sonic Generations for PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft!
• The Sonic the Hedgehog video game series’ covered in this volume have sold more than 70 million units!
• The Sonic the Hedgehog comic line from Archie has been running non-stop since 1993, with over 300 comics released! Sonic has also appeared in manga, novels, picture books and even colouring books, but this is his first-ever art book appearance!

The History of Sonic the Hedgehog

Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 300, Colour
Size: 9.25″ wide X 8.5″ long
Price (U.S.): $49.99
ISBN: 1-926778-56-1
ISBN 13: 978-1-926778-56-3
Available in comic book stores this Wednesday, December 19th!

Preview Images:

BACKSTAGE: The History of Sonic The Hedgehog!

10:35 pm October 8, 2012

The proofs are in and they look great! (Click to enlarge)

As with all of the books that UDON publishes, we’re sent sets of print-proofs from our printers overseas, and the Editor goes over them to make sure that Sonic’s blues are the right blue, Robotnik’s reds are the right red, and the books look as good as they should.

Because we want this book to be in your hands by Christmas, we’ve already gone over all of the proofs, made one small change, and sent it back to the printers where the printing is now underway! Soon it’ll be finished, they’ll overnight us a couple of copies, and then we’ll enjoy reading this fantastic book from start to finish… (Your copies will take a little longer to ship, and they should arrive in stores in early December barring any shipping problems!).

So that’s what’s up with The History of Sonic The Hedgehog! Look for more BACKSTAGE previews in our next mailing, being sent out later this week! And if you haven’t already, sign up for our mailing list at http://eepurl.com/l3ptD.

– Chris, UDON

The History of Sonic the Hedgehog – Project Update & Preview!

9:00 am October 3, 2012

Hey Sonic fans!

We know that The History of Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most anticipated projects that we at UDON have ever published, and that’s why we wanted to update all of you who are eagerly awaiting this amazing book with the status of the project and when you can expect it in your hands.

First, the bad news: We’re expecting the book to be out in comic book stores either the first or second week of December, and in bookstores and shipping from online retailers the second or third week of December. Barring a shipping accident, the book will be in everyone’s hands before Christmas, and it is currently #1 in our print queue. I know there are a lot of ship dates floating around, but the early-to-mid December dates are the most accurate timetable for this book.

Now, the good news: The History of Sonic the Hedgehog is going to be the book that Sonic fans have always dreamed of. The reason for the delay from the original shipping date comes entirely down to quality: we wanted to make this book the very best it could be. When we put up our initial preview pages along with the book’s announcement this summer, some fans noticed that the writing was a little bit stiff. While Pix’n Love did an amazing job with the French language edition of this book, the English translation that UDON was provided with just wasn’t the strongest it could be. We at UDON have always prided ourselves on the quality of our books, so when we realized that this book wouldn’t read as smoothly as we wanted it to, we decided to re-write all 300 pages of the English translation. That’s what the fans would want, and that’s what we wanted because we’re fans too.

UDON Associate Editor (and Sonic and Mega Man super-fan) Ash Paulsen has gone through the book from start to finish and poured an immense amount of work into it, his biggest assignment ever for UDON! That whole process took him a little over a month, and then Ash’s re-write had to be approved by the good folks at SEGA. So a book that we had at the printers, and that we had scheduled for the end of September, is now coming out (fingers crossed) at the beginning of December.

UDON is also distributing the English edition internationally now, including to the U.K. We know the U.K. edition of the book was canceled a few months back, causing some confusion, so to clear that up: The only English language edition will be the UDON one.

In the end, The History of Sonic the Hedgehog is done and approved and at the printers now. Again, we want to stress that no one is at fault except us, and we just decided that if we were going to be printing the first-ever English language art book about Sonic the Hedgehog, we wanted it to be the best it could be. We sincerely apologize for the delay, and we hope that, in the grand scheme of things, the extra ten weeks it took to release it will make up for the fact that you’ll read and enjoy it over and over again for years to come.

Sincerely,

The UDON Crew

P.S.: To help make it up to you, please enjoy this new 12-page preview of the book!

The History of Sonic the Hedgehog

3:01 pm January 1, 2012

The History of Sonic the Hedgehog

Celebrating over 20 years as SEGA’s official mascot, The History of Sonic the Hedgehog is the ultimate guide to SEGA’s spiky blue speedster! This hefty 300-page hardcover volume covers in detail every 2D and 3D Sonic game, plus spinoffs and crossovers. You’ll also find character profiles, promotional artwork, rare concept art, and a detailed look at the origins of the “Blue Blur”. A must-have for any true Sonic fan!

Release date: December 2012
Price (U.S.): $49.99

ISBN: 1-926778-56-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-926778-56-3

Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 300, Color
Size: 9.25″ wide X 8.5″ long

Where to buy:

Comic Shop Locator Service