An interesting book with a great deal of love and attention, but ultimately thin and unfulfilling.
Creative Staff
Author: Sideshow Collectibles
What They Say
For the past 20 years, Sideshow Collectibles has distinguished itself for producing stunning 3-D representations of pop culture characters and original designs. Now for the first time, fans can step inside the colorful rooms and hallways of this creative haven.
Through dynamic photography, Inside the Sideshow Studio: A Modern Renaissance Environment takes an in-depth look at an artistic space expressly devoted to the development of high-end collectible figures, offering a one-of-a-kind examination of the relationship between innovation and spatial design. This beautifully illustrated book not only grants a look at Sideshow that few have ever seen but also inspires readers to push the limits of their talent and surround themselves with artistic spaces of their own.
Sideshow Collectibles is a specialty creator of licensed and proprietary collectible products. A talented team of renouwned sculptors, model makers, painters, and costumers, Sideshow artisans are regularly distinguished for achieving a level of authenticity seldom seen in the figure collectible arena. Sideshow has been highlighted in national trade and specialty toy publications, where its collectible figures and statues have been repeatedly awarded “Best of the Year.”
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
If I had all the money in the world, I’d allocate about 80% of my disposable income to buying statues and collectibles from Sideshow Collectibles. The other 20% I’d squirrel away in a savings account for the eventual additions I’d have to make to my house to store all my cool things.
The company is world-renowned for the quality of its merchandise, but as is the case with most art, the general public only sees the final product. We never see the time, energy, or materials that go into creating them. Inside the Sideshow Studio offers readers a rare glimpse into the creative spaces of the artists whose care, passion, and attention to detail have created some of the best collectibles out there.
Each chapter is devoted to one particular area—Paint, Waxworks, Graphics, etc.—and we see not just where the work happens, but we get a short blurb from select individuals who work in these areas, such as Matthew Black, who writes: “I love the whimsy and the general feeling of fantasy of fictional worlds like Harry Potter. I’ve also always been drawn to Jim Henson’s style of world-building, his aesthetics. Filling the space with items like these makes it less boring. It’s definitely more fun than coming to work and seeing gray walls. It makes me feel at home.” The other blurbs work more or less along the same lines, and while it’s interesting to see where the magic happens, so to speak, and while I think it’s great that these people have a place where they can show off their workspaces and interact with the people who buy their products, I’m ultimately unsure what purpose this book serves.
Partially this is due to my general attitude towards coffee table books. For my money, they fall into one of two camps: they provide a great deal of fascinating information and images related to their subject, or they stay on the surface level, providing a few images and a little text. Inside the Sideshow Studio falls under that second category for me.
This is not to say that the book is bad in any way. It’s a very pretty book full of great illustrations and a general sense of joy at the work the contributors do, but it doesn’t provide enough content for me to ever really want to revisit it. I feel bad about saying that, given that I think there is a genuine desire on the part of the contributors to share their passion with others and step out from behind the curtain, but the book reads like an appetizer: brief, interesting, but unfulfilling.
In Summary
I’m going to chalk this one up to “your mileage may vary.” I was excited to get a behind-the-scenes tour of one of my favorite collectible companies, but there wasn’t enough content to make this anything more than a brief, but enjoyable, diversion. However, this is the issue I have with most coffee table books. The kind that I like is thick enough to break the back of a bull elephant seal. While I appreciate the obvious passion behind this book and the desire of the artists to share their workspace with others, there just wasn’t a great deal here to read. Professor Josh gives this a…
Content Grade: C+
Released By: Insight Editions
Release Date: 16 June 2015
MSRP: $24.95
