June 29, 2012

Bluewater announces graphic novel artist bios

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The covers of Bluewater's upcoming Milestones of Art visual biography series

Comics publisher Bluewater has put out some truly puzzling graphic novels—including biographies of Lady Gaga, the cast of Glee, and a series about the British royal family. But the latest project they’ve announced sounds particularly interesting, and in fact looks like a perfect fit for the medium.

Beginning this October, they’ll release a series of graphic novels they’re calling “homage biographies” of famous artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, and Keith Haring.

The series, titled “The Milestones of Art,” will be produced by German artist William Bloess.

In addition to telling artists’ life stories, each of the books aims to represent the style of their work as well. As Bluewater president Darren Davis explained in a press release, “What makes these truly stand out is that the artist’s life story is told in the style of that artist. Bloess has meticulously researched and painstakingly emulated the style of each artist featured.”

Based on the covers, the effort seems to be successful—you get a sense of Picasso’s multi-faceted cubism, Van Gogh’s brushstrokes and use of light, Dali’s surreal aesthetic, and so on. And this won’t be the end of the series; Bloess has produced 20 titles featuring artists from the past 125 years. Personally, I’m looking forward to what he comes up with for Duchamp or Mondrian.

Each 40-page book will cost $7.99 in print and also be available as a digital edition.

Nick Davies is a publicist at Melville House.

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