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xsleepyshadows's review against another edition
4.0
It's an excellent book if you are a fan! Really fun to read with the episodes or if you just finished watching them again!
Venture bros. The movie came out, so I've been about them recently.
Nice book, it's for a very specific audience of the venture watchers. Which is both a compliment and criticism. I took off a star for it. You can't casually like this book. Maybe if it showcased some full cover art spreads? Maybe? But if you are a fan, it's a really great book!
I used to have the dvds a long time ago that I probably that I had to sell at some point. (Rip), but it's got a nice commentary type reading. It was great to revisit and get some new details about it.
A loveletter.
Venture bros. The movie came out, so I've been about them recently.
Nice book, it's for a very specific audience of the venture watchers. Which is both a compliment and criticism. I took off a star for it. You can't casually like this book. Maybe if it showcased some full cover art spreads? Maybe? But if you are a fan, it's a really great book!
I used to have the dvds a long time ago that I probably that I had to sell at some point. (Rip), but it's got a nice commentary type reading. It was great to revisit and get some new details about it.
A loveletter.
cortjstr's review against another edition
5.0
It doesn't include episode summaries so it's best read with a rewatch (or at least plot-summary skim). The main ding against it is that it was made during production for Season 7 which makes me wish they delayed the book to include it.
scheu's review against another edition
5.0
A must-buy for Venture fans. Non-fans can just skip this review. Stop reading now.
mschlat's review against another edition
4.0
It's a luxuriously produced $40 coffee table book that covers the first six seasons of The Venture Brothers. You get an introduction to each season along with a few pages about each episode along with background paintings, sketchbook drawings, and a photo-collection of related paraphernalia (t-shirts, glasses, DVD sets, etc...)
And I'm not quite sure it's worth it.
Here's the issue. Ken Plume, in compiling this behemoth, has included copious interviews with Jackson Publick (show creator, writer, director and major voice actor) and Doc Hammer (writer, painter, and major voice actor).
And nobody else.
There's nothing from any of the other voice talent (most notably, nothing from Patrick Warburton). There's nothing from anyone from Adult Swim. There's nothing from anybody else who regularly works on the show. You get a teensy introduction from Patton Oswalt.
And, yes, it's Jackson's and Doc's baby. You absolutely need to get their take on almost everything. But there's no other perspective. And the emphasis on just those two leads to two problems.
1) There's often more focus on how they work together than on the nuts and bolts of the show. It's cool to see how they develop as a team, but I was yearning for more details on characters and creative decisions than what I got.
2) It's repetitive. The first time you get an insight about how they write shows out of order or how Jackson falls apart around show eight or how the backgrounds are designed, it's cool. The second or third or fourth time, it's just filler. So when I was (again) hoping for more details on characters and plotlines, I get filler.
Now, if you are a Venture Brothers fan, you're probably getting this anyway. And I don't blame you --- there's still a ton to learn. (For me, I loved the early glimpses of the comic book origins of the show and the kerfuffle over the season 2 cliffhanger.) But the whole didn't really work for me.
And I'm not quite sure it's worth it.
Here's the issue. Ken Plume, in compiling this behemoth, has included copious interviews with Jackson Publick (show creator, writer, director and major voice actor) and Doc Hammer (writer, painter, and major voice actor).
And nobody else.
There's nothing from any of the other voice talent (most notably, nothing from Patrick Warburton). There's nothing from anyone from Adult Swim. There's nothing from anybody else who regularly works on the show. You get a teensy introduction from Patton Oswalt.
And, yes, it's Jackson's and Doc's baby. You absolutely need to get their take on almost everything. But there's no other perspective. And the emphasis on just those two leads to two problems.
1) There's often more focus on how they work together than on the nuts and bolts of the show. It's cool to see how they develop as a team, but I was yearning for more details on characters and creative decisions than what I got.
2) It's repetitive. The first time you get an insight about how they write shows out of order or how Jackson falls apart around show eight or how the backgrounds are designed, it's cool. The second or third or fourth time, it's just filler. So when I was (again) hoping for more details on characters and plotlines, I get filler.
Now, if you are a Venture Brothers fan, you're probably getting this anyway. And I don't blame you --- there's still a ton to learn. (For me, I loved the early glimpses of the comic book origins of the show and the kerfuffle over the season 2 cliffhanger.) But the whole didn't really work for me.
ambermarshall's review against another edition
5.0
If you're a Venture Brothers fan and want to get a little more into the idea and show making process (and more explanation into some of the long hiatuses and between-season gaps) as well as a ton of concept art, check it out. Grab a magnifying glass for the scans of Jackson Publick's show notebook pages. It's partially a series companion but it doesn't really recap the episodes. Almost like a visual creators' commentary.
kryten4k's review against another edition
5.0
Spanakopita! A nice read! Gets more serious than the DVD commentaries.
dancarey_404's review against another edition
4.0
This took me a long time to finish because I was basically reading it as I re-watched The Venture Brothers. I don't have a lot of bingeing time, so 6 seasons takes a while. Hence the year-and-a-half reading time.
But the book is cool. It's filled with a lot of fun facts and sweet art. Getting to know the behind-the-scenes thinking of Doc Hammer and and Jackson Publick was... kind of weird, honestly.
But the book is cool. It's filled with a lot of fun facts and sweet art. Getting to know the behind-the-scenes thinking of Doc Hammer and and Jackson Publick was... kind of weird, honestly.
kevingentilcore's review against another edition
5.0
After just watching the entirety of The Venture Bros series again it seemed fitting to finally sit down and jam through this massive art book I've had on my shelf for over a year now. And fucking massive it is. I didn't realize that it was essentially a 300 page interview with the creators as well as an "art of book." I don't really give a shit what the creators have to say about the making and evolution of the show. Nothing against them, because I fucking love The Venture Bros. I just want to enjoy it how I do now, which is almost uninformed about any of the behind the scenes goings-on. However, the art I'm highly interested. Everything in the visual development category I'm all about. This book just further proves why this show is in a class of it's own. If only for the design alone. Particularly the set designs.
While flipping through the book I was thinking about how cool all these character designs, prop designs, set designs, and weird, world-building (a phrase I fucking never want to hear again) props and visual gags that aren't ever seen truly are. It's something I'd love to be a part of, or more exactly, creating my own ideas like this but without the hangups of having the story to back it up. Just all the cool accessories and ideas. What kind of art product is that? Regardless, The Venture Bros. is amazing and you'd do well to put it in your eyes.
While flipping through the book I was thinking about how cool all these character designs, prop designs, set designs, and weird, world-building (a phrase I fucking never want to hear again) props and visual gags that aren't ever seen truly are. It's something I'd love to be a part of, or more exactly, creating my own ideas like this but without the hangups of having the story to back it up. Just all the cool accessories and ideas. What kind of art product is that? Regardless, The Venture Bros. is amazing and you'd do well to put it in your eyes.
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