Book Review: Drew Struzan Oeuvre

The new book Drew Struzan Oeuvre is a mixed bag. There’s no doubt that it contains stunning representations of Struzan’s work from throughout the years and across genres and categories of media. Projects not just from his movie-related work but also music, general entertainment and even personal commissions are included here and there’s little way they could look better. But while it reaches broadly across what the iconic artist has produced it doesn’t go very deeply into those works of art.

The problem is that this new book comes on the heels of the previous one The Art of Drew Struzan. That may have contained less examples of Struzan’s work and been focused exclusively on his movie poster work but the stories from Struzan himself that went along with each one of those were invaluable and often provided interesting insights into the artistic process. This book doesn’t have that and instead simply lists what’s what at the back.

But enough of the comparisons. What this book gets right is the high quality presentation of Struzan’s artwork. And the fact that it goes beyond the poster work he’s so well known for makes it a must have for completists and those who are able to appreciate his consistent and instantly recognizable style beyond just the movies that people like in and of themselves.

If there’s one other quibble I have with the book it’s that the “Personal” section – the book is divided by category – is largely unnecessary. We get it. People like to commission works of female nudes. We don’t need endless examples of it.

In the end, though, this is a great addition and works to complement the earlier book quite well. The fact that things are categorized nicely makes it easy to bookmark your favorite sections. It’s certainly something that can serve as a wonderful present for Christmas or whatever other holiday might be to your liking.