The Worlds of Sam Kieth, Vol. 1 (Sam Kieth Collection)

Sam Kieth's work has slowly evolved into abstraction over the years and I'm glad for it because he seems to have found his "voice" now (in the early years it was Bernie Wrightson and a few others). This was a well made book that has a nice layout, interesting photo angles and lots of eye-candy. And while I think the cover doesn't do the book justice, the wonderful stories and artwork within kept my interest throughout. If you love art books, abstract paintings, comics...hell, even art in general...this is a good book to own. You'll spend hours pouring over the pages. I know I did.

Really amazing stuff here. Very inspiring, I had read in another review someone said it lacks cohesion. Strange I think the book explains itself cohesively as you read and is clearly labelled. But onto more positive things the section where he talks about his loved ones like his wife, his mother, and father really is touching as shows a very human side of a otherworldly cartoonist and artist. Can't wait for other volumes!Marcus CollarNapa, CA

Sam Kieth shows a glimpse into his world and his creative process with this book. Personal stories and beautiful art, this book is a must have for any fan of Kieth's work.

The media could not be loaded.  The Worlds of Sam Kieth is the autobiography artbook of American comic book writer and illustrator Sam Kieth. He's more known as the creator of The Maxx, Zero Girl, and My Inner Bimbo.This artbook isn't about his commercial works, although there are some but those are not the focus. It's more like a sketchbook or scrapbook for his personal works, art that look like they were created spontaneously.There are lots of sketches, doodles, colour pencil works, comic panel drafts, paintings and other art experiments. By art experiments, I mean he would draw on leather, there are pieces with surface finishing that resemble granite textures, and then there's the cover art (the sides) that you can't tell that is created from something that could actually be soil.Sam Kieth also talks about his work. The book starts off with a rather weird introduction by an alter-ego created by Sam Keith. Thankfully, the rest are first-person commentary.There are quite a lot of photos of the artworks taken with a camera. Those can be quite disorientating to look at because the artworks are meant to be view flat on. Some of those artworks are quite impossible to scan because of the media that's used to create them.The book description says the content are mainly entirely new pieces of art.Well, this is a book for Sam Kieth fans. It's hard for me to describe the style except to say that you'll probably want to flip through before buying.The book has 256 pages, hardcover. It's another good artist-centric artbook from IDW Publishing.(Check out more pictures on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

I've been a huge fan of Kieth's art since being blown away by the Sandman graphic novels. This book is a fantastic compilation of art and recollections that provides a deeper understanding of the artist and the drive behind his creations. The best part is going back and looking at his previous work with a newfound perspective.

This is an enjoyable book to look at. With the included text, it gives the reader an insight to the artist. Mr. Kieth is more than a cartoonist, he is an amazing artist.

This review will be short because it's difficult to write knowing I have nothing positive to say here. At best this is a hardcover color sketch book. But with all the inset pictures and text the layout is even messier than a sketchbook. Add to that the material selected seems so jump all over the place making this book difficult to follow (and this is a picture book). The publisher should have hired both an editor and a book designer to bring some cohesiveness to the publication. It's difficult to imagine that there are still two more volumes coming in this series. If you are a Sam Kieth fan you should definitely look at it in person before picking it up to avoid disappointment. On the production end the paper is glossy and the binding is sturdy. But even for die-hard Sam Kieth fans I can't recommend this book.

I loved this art book!Sam Kieth's art stands out among other comic artists. His work is unorthodox in style, form and content. If you want to see and understand what's going on in Kieth's mind, if you want to hear his voice visually, you will not be disappointed.I loved hearing about some of Kieth's early school problems, and other events in his young years as told by his mother. Hearing his story through her voice made it feel very intimate and touching. I felt as if I were right there. This beautiful art book is a unique presentation that gave me a better understanding of the artist.This book covers Kieth's work before 35 issues of The MAXX comic books spawned a cult-classic animated series on MTV, before Kieth drew Neil Gaiman's first Sandman issue, and was artist and writer of several comic books for Marvel and DC.I am thrilled to have learned more about this artist and his early years. This book is a great find!

Been a fan of Sam Keith's gritty artwork for some time now and with the chance to get a collected set of his works was a no brainer for me. When I opened the box it came shipped in I was surprised at the size of the book and the overall high quality of it as well. With some of the art books I have purchased recently the overall quality was not quite on par with this one. It gives a great insight into the artist I felt as well as a nice look at much of his early work and its inspiration. Overall I would recommend this book to his fans and fans of high quality art books as well, however you will not find any of his superhero stuff (Batman, etc) or anything from his Max series here. This is his early work and some insights to what lead him to creating the Max comic book in my opinion.As for the shipping, no real damage to the box but the book seems to have taken a little damage. Not sure if it occurred in shipping or was damage and placed in the ox as is. The damage is very minor with one of the hardcovers edges having a slight dent/nick into the cover as if it was dropped on something or got hit with something much harder then the cover itself.

This is a big book full of gorgeous illustration made by the inimitable Sam Kieth. You will see a lot of concept from his comic series as well as other gorgeous illustrations. If you are a fan of Kieth, you should get this. I have also found it to be a great introduction for people who are not that much into comics

Another trip down the rabbit hole into the bizarre and oddly compelling world of this artist and writer. The size of the book allows readers to study his work in detail and examine his techniques.