What I Opened Today: Mezco’s Art of the Living Dead Dolls Book

One of the more exciting arrivals here at the AwesomeToyBlog HQ over the past few weeks was an early copy of Mezco’s ‘The Art of Living Dead Dolls’ book. This book is part of the on-going celebration of the Living Dead Doll’s Sweet 16.

Thoughts: Of all the Mezco properties, I have to say that Living Dead Dolls is my favorite. Over the course of 16 years, the line has consistently showcased a fantastic amount of creepy creativity. ‘The Art of Living Dead Dolls’ reflects that creativity, showing a wide range of art work with artists ranging from world-renowned artists (such as Angus Oblong, Emily Yishizawa and Shelby Vogal) to fanart.

The book itself is soft-covered featuring an embossed title and doll (Hemlock) on the cover and the entire book is printed in full color on high quality paper. In fact, I was surprised by the heft of the book. The book is 78 pages long and is printed at a standard size of 8.5″ by 11″. Following a brief forward by by artist Basil Gogos, the rest of the book is packed full of art. The book is organized into several sections, one for the artworks, one for fan art, one dedicated to highlights from the 2006 Living Dead Dolls art show and finally one featuring Living Dead Dolls tattoos.

I’d love to know the process that went into curating this book, as there’s not a bad piece of art in it. Obviously I preferred some pieces over others, but nothing left me wondering ‘how’d that get in an art book?’. Personally, I was most impressed by some of the paintings; particularly a pair of oil paintings by Becky Bray – they are gorgeous. Another standout is B. Braden’s “Envy”, an acrylic collage. An incredible amount of talented artists are included in this book.

I was also blown away by the quality of work in the section highlighting 2006’s art show. In this section, each page features 4 pieces of art from the show and there are some phenomenal custom Living Dead Dolls.

Summary: I wrestled with including a gallery with this post highlighting some of my favorites, but ultimately decided that if the review made you curious about the book, then you should go ahead an order one. While it’s ideal for fans of Living Dead Dolls (and would make a great gift for fans), it’s certainly accessible to those who appreciate great art and like things a little creepy. Mezco did a fantastic job on this book, and hope there’s not a 16 year wait before a seconds edition is released. You can order the book now from MezcoToyz.com at a price of $20 and AwesomeToyBlog would like to thank Mike Drake at Mezco for providing the early sample for review!