Book Review: Mega Man Tribute

Released in 2011, Udon's Mega Man Tribute collects nearly 300 pages of artwork all from Mega Man's plethora of adoring fans, which include professional artists, graphic designers and illustrators. I finally got around to ordering a copy as a Christmas gift for myself in December and was waiting for the right time to sit down and look through it. But with my work schedule being all over the place and between maintaining the blog and playing video games, I wasn't sure if "the right time" would arrive. So I just decided to start opening the book up at random times, sitting down and looking through the art. 

When Udon gave the OK for the artists to put up their entries on their blogs, deviant art accounts and such, it was so awesome to see all the illustrations that these artists came up with. Whether you're a fan of Classic Mega Man, X, or Legends, just about every Mega Man is covered in this book. I've posted numerous images from this book on the blog in the Game Art sections so it should go without saying that I loved this book even before I purchased it. But as cool as the digital versions of these pictures are (I'm positive every single piece from this book can be found on the net without hassle), to to actually hold the book in my hands and flip through the art for easy access, well, that's unimaginable levels of cool. I actually appreciate all the effort that went into this project even more now.

What really makes Mega Man Tribute such a fantastic art book is the different takes on Mega Man that's done in one part of the artist's style, and the other part coming from the direction they chose to go with their piece. Hitoshi Ariga's submission is of a serious flare, using his iconic art style to show the Blue Bomber along with the Mega Man Killers. Tracy Tubera's piece pays homage to the purple box art of the NES Mega Man games, complete with a rendition of Bad Box Art Mega Man. Timothy Lim and Mark Pellegrini collaborated to create a picture that unmistakably mimics Bill Waterson's classic newspaper comic strip Calvin and Hobbs. This book is filled with so many different outlooks on Mega Man. As great as the traditional Mega Man look is, a lot of these pieces show that the artists did their own thing. In more than a few instances, these characters look is drastically different from what you're used to seeing and it isn't at all a bad thing. As Hitoshi Ariga said in the book's forward, everyone's Mega Man is different and that makes this book special.

Mega Man Tribute comes in two formats, softcover and limited edition hardcover. The softcover goes for $39.99 but you can get it on Amazon for about $10 less, not including shipping. If you want the hardcover, you'll have to buy that directly from Udon's online store. The asking price is $79.99 and has a cover drawn up Hitoshi Ariga. The version I have is the soft cover and given the nature of thick books in softcover format,  I'm already worried about wear and tear. I'll definitely be trying to nab a hardcover version since they are currently still available. 

Really though, even in softcover format, I cannot recommend this book enough. As the title suggests, it's a wonderful tribute to Mega Man and the series' many characters. It makes a great gift and it's a good way to help celebrate Mega Man's 25th anniversary. 

                                                                           Score: 9/10