Cover Run: The DC Comics Art of Adam Hughes

It should come as no surprise that an Adam Hughes art book is fun to look at. But, having seen some lackluster releases from other artists, I was a little worried about the quality of the book itself (paper, printing, information). Holding the book in my hands now, I can say that the same intense care Adam takes when composing a cover was applied to the assembly of this book. Adam has said for years he wanted to put out a collection of his cover art, and when given the chance, he did it right. The paper is thick, luscious, bright white paper, and the printing is very good (there were a couple of defects in my book, but they were the exception, not the rule). Certainly this is the best his art has looked ... and it has already looked pretty amazing. Each featured image is printed slightly larger than the original cover, and is accompanied by a paragraph of Adam's thoughts about the process (and a fair amount of self satire). In addition to the covers themselves, Adam shows the studies he draws leading up to a finished piece of art. These are rare glimpses into his process and are almost as interesting as the finished art.All this talk about the format, I suppose I should mention the ART. It's everything you would fantasize comic art can be. It is dramatic, funny, and sexy, all while telling a story in single images. His women are beautiful, his men handsome, but they always retain a sense of humanity and personality, and that sets Adam's work apart from most comic art. And although this book does not contain every cover he's done, I feel the art in this 208 page book is representative of Adam's career at DC. All MY favorite covers were included anyway.If you enjoy comics and/or art, I feel confident you will enjoy this book.

I've been a fan of Adam Hughes for a long long time, I was still in high school when I bought my first issue of Ghost, penciled then when he was lesser known but still amazing. I no longer really read comics, though I do occasionally pick one up when the cover art grabs my attention and I was never too big into DC; this book, even so, is worth every penny.It shows not only a much wider range of covers than I'd thought it would but also manages to capture a lot of his growth as an artist. From the days when he was a bit more generic up until he began to showcase his distinctive and beautiful "good girl" technique.My favorite part of AH is that he manages to convey so much with so little. A lot of artists tend to pack in the detail and while they too tend to have some great work, I'm always amazed by Adam's ability to capture moods and gesture with a few well-placed lines.I have only one complaint and I know that it's invalid. It's not enough! I need more, lol. I realize that this book covers his cover work on the DC universe but I want to see all of it. No doubt we'd end up with a book that would be large enough to ground a 757 and every UPS man would rue the day he was born but oh, I would live in the shadow of their hatred for such a volume.For anyone into comics, Pin-ups, Adam Hughes or just great art; I sincerely recommend this book, even if you're just thinking it might be worth taking a look at, it is, take a look!

Today isn't that hard to make beautiful illustrations. With the help of the correct software almost any artist can deliver realistic portraits and landscapes.So although all works delivered by Adam Hughes are astonishingly beautiful in form, that's not what's impressive in them.AH imagines scenes that turn fantasy characters in real figures, real persons. The relaxation seen in Power Girl's face when she's flying on her back, it's the same as anyone leisurely swimming. The pain and shame of Selina Kyle being mugshoted in the police precinct is the same as any master criminal would feel being caught. The mix of boredom and despair on Superman face while Lois Lane interviews Wonder Woman is fabulous! The terrifying madness of thorn is palpable. The "I am a goner" look of the pilot seeing WW flying toward him!Each of AH works is a masterpiece with hidden meanings, secret stories and infinite drama, joy, pleasure or pain...and frequently with loads of humor.Adam Hughes may be slow to deliver, but he knows his weakness. We, his public, know his strengths.Keep up with the good job Dr. Frankenstein (yes, this is for you AH)...like him, you also created life from characters that don't exist.

What can I say that others have not already said? Adam Hughes is all kinds of AWESOME! I am a late comer to his art yet it grips me all the same as those who have years under their belt with AH. Both the dust jacket and the actual image on the cover of the book (its even IN COLOR!, how often does that happen?!) are simply stunning, just another adjective to describe the art of Adam Hughes. Wonder Woman may be the most popular character among his works, but Catwoman stands her ground firmly in these pages, with minor appearances by Supergirl, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. Rose Stone is also featured here, as well. There are a few dudes within, maybe you've heard of them; Batman, Superman, no profound appearances but they do demonstrate Hughes' ability to articulate men to his audience.5 stars? Shoot, I'd give it 1'000'000 stars if Amazon permitted! A million stars, no diggity, no doubt.

This is a lovely collection of some of Adam Hughes' flawless cover images produced for DC. Printed in 2010 it has become a little difficult to find. I note, however that it looks like there's a re-release coming this year. I was happy to pay the inflated price (£85) for a book I've been after for years. This is a first printing, which is a pleasant surprise, and is just in the condition the seller described.My only observation is that the seller may, in future wish to check the books for receipts. I found in the back of the book the receipt from January this year, that showed that the seller has bought the book for €17!This is not a comment on the seller as they've been great and I'd thoroughly recommend them, but as a buyer: Keep your eyes peeled!

The media could not be loaded.  I made a little video browse of this book before I realised that Parka (simply THE best reviewer of this sort of material) had already done so. Mine won't be as good as his, but I'll post it anyway - maybe mine will show a page or two that was skimmed over in his.If you like Adam Hughes' art, this is a real 'no-brainer' purchase. Personally I would almost have paid the price just for the nice quality reproductions of *3* of the pictures in this book which have been long-time favourites of mine.The general format is that the picture is printed on the right-hand side of each two page spread, with preliminary sketches and explanatory notes on the left.The ONLY thing which was a TINY downer about this book was the slightly sad intro, written by Hughes himself because the other 'friends' he asked were all too busy. These friends are unnamed (for legal reasons perhaps!), but are instantly identifiable by their descriptions, and I think a lot less of them because they were 'too busy' to do this small favour for a friend.But that's by-the-by. The book is terrific. Get it!

Anyone who has typed in 'Adam Hughes' and is reading these reviews is likely to be a fan of his work already so much of this is preaching to the converted, its just a question of describing just how beautiful a book it is.Justifiably Adam Hughes is considered a god in the comics world but little known outside of it.I first became aware of his work on one of the 'Justice League' re-boots but it is, unfortunately, for his cover work that he has become best known. I say 'unfortunately' as I will not buy a comic just for the cover {I believe the interior artist should be the only one doing the cover} so have not been able to collect any of it. This book goes a long way to remedying this problem.The book itself is beautifully laid out. It is easy on the eye and highlights Adam's work with stunning full page reproductions of his covers as well as notes on the evolution of his work processes, anecdotes,sketches and layouts. The path of his work from his 'Justice League' days to the celebrated 'Catwoman' covers and beyond is a pleasure to follow.My personal favourites are the 'Voodoo' cover on page 27, though how a pose this overtly provocative was ever allowed on a comic cover I'll never know and the 'Powergirl' cover that he says of himself '...probably the best cover I've ever produced for DC {anyone}' on page 197.One niggle is that I would have liked a full, double page spread of his 'Women of the DCU' poster instead of the inadequate thumbnail picture on page 205.As it seems to be the trend for the very top artists to {annoyingly} only produce cover work these days I hope to see more of these quality, table top collections {see Alex Ross and Brian Bolland for other stunning examples.}Buy this book and wallow in the beauty inside it's covers.

Plenty of great high quality comic book covers. Even though I don't specially like his style I must admit he's a master of this art of drawing covers, from the sketches to the final colored image. He uses both traditional and digital mediums to reach his goal of create attractive images for the comic readers. Adam also tells many stories and anecdotes of his years working for DC Comics. A good addition to my collection.

Adams Hughes is a fantastic artist, hence the 5 stars, but the way the books been encoded for the Kindle means you can't even increase the size of the page, it's all set to expand to one size and it's still to small.Please Amazon, redo the book.