From: Bud Plant Posted: 01/06/09
When we were still using my personal recommendations on titles, I reserved My Highest Recommendation for a mere handful of titles each year...maybe six or eight. Often I'd use it for books like Spectrum or the three Frazetta collections from Underwood Books, or something phenomenal from publisher John Fleskes, like his Joseph Clement Coll or Franklin Booth collections.
This gets my highest recommendation.
This stunning new collection is everything you might expect and more. For more than a decade, maybe even two, Dave Stevens was overdue for a full-blown look at his work. Why no book? Because Dave was such a perfectionist he'd never really get off the ground on the project. This book was in process when he passed away, so it offers his very personal touch combined with the always-superlative design of Arnie Fenner, who is also responsible for the above-mentioned Spectrum and Frazetta books.
My words can't do this justice. Dave was simply one of the finest artists in the world of comics, of beautiful women, of alluring heroes and gals. His work was always special because we really didn't get all we wanted...his being a perfectionist meant he refused to hack anything out. Every piece was the product of his passion and intensity and had to be just right.
So here we finally have a thick, satisfying collection of his finest work, from rare Bettie Page images to his famous Rocketeer to never-before-seen work from both early and very late in his too-short career. Don't miss this.
The Diamond Collector's Edition features a wonderful 16-page section of rare and unpublished work. It's limited to 2000 copies. The Super Deluxe Edition was actually signed before Dave passed away. We are the exclusive source for this very special, leather-bound book. With just 200 copies, reservations are pouring in and we don't expect to have this available much longer, if it isn't already gone as you read this.