Adventure Time: The Original Cartoon Title Cards Season 3 & 4

Review by Paul Fiander
ISBN: 9781783298969
Hardback: 92pp
Publication date; 7 August 2015
Published by Titan Books
 Author Pendleton Ward 
First things first if you have never seen Adventure Time then you may be astounded to know that this book is a celebration of images that you routinely only glimpse for a few seconds at the start of an episode. The reason these short bursts of imagery deserve this form of treatment though should astound you even more. Instead of keeping the same image and altering the words  the Adventure Time creative team create new title cards for each episode, like the one you can see to your left.
This image is taken from Season 4 episode 9, and on the mirror page in the book you can read a comment form the artist about what they are trying to depict. In this case the comments are from artist Andy Ristanio and comes along with a early sketch. This is the gravy that makes this book even more delicious, the insight into creation along with the finished article.
Quite frankly this is a review where the images speak for themselves, the image to your right is from Season 3 episode 15. It comes complete with two creation images and more Andy Ristaino commentary. One of the secondary images on the page looks almost identical to the scene we got to see at the start of the episode, however it feels almost like a game of spot the difference as you try to discern why one image was used over the other. 

The vibrant nature of the cartoon has always been a major attraction to viewers both young and old.and the book does a great job in making you appreciate the subtlety of the colourists work. From ultra bright to slightly muted and even black and white imagery every image shows something a little different from the last making it a genuine page turner.
Picture
The Image above is taken form the Hug Wolf Episode (Season 4, Episode 5) and shows two unused images. The colour addition from the first sketch to the second image show how the image is created. The red outline of the shadow of the wolf is a great example of this, the rough draft is obviously worked on in order to convey the tone of the story. Honestly though if they had not added the wolf would we have noticed? Probably not but it shows true dedication from the artistic team and that can only mean great things for us, the viewing public.
The landscape presentation of the book make it a great reading experience. Each page has background imagery and a look as though the images have been added to canvas to present to you. This along with inflated quotes from the episodes characters help to give the finish we would expect from the Adventure Time team.

This is a perfect gift not only for Adventure Time fans but also those interested in design and cartooning. The images although simple to look at are complex and full of details that a quick glance can not do justice to. The real trick is that although the creative team know this they still insist on trying to make a image that feels complete in every sense of the word. This book celebrates that and that is why it ends up being a great purchase in my mind.
Book and Images from Publisher