The Art of the Strain

by Robert Abele, Guillermo del Toro (Foreword)

Discover the incredible art behind Guillermo del Toro’s much anticipated TV series The Strain, FX and cable television's newest #1 television series.

Based on Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s best-selling book trilogy, The Strain is a high-concept thriller that tells the story of Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll), the head of the Center for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City. He and his team are called upon to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak with all the hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. As the strain spreads, Eph, his team, and an assembly of everyday New Yorkers battle to control the fate of humanity itself. The Art of The Strain will delve into the amazing design work that went into creating this chilling TV series, including del Toro’s own designs for the menacing beings that pose a threat to humanity’s survival. The book will also feature interviews with key members of the cast and crew and tell the full story of this unique production. Filled with stunning concept art and candid behind-the-scenes imagery, The Art of The Strain will be the perfect accompaniment to this year’s most exciting new television show.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror, Art

156 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2015

Reviews

[Scarlet Cameo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange and bloody can be gorgeous if you know how to do it, and Del Toro and Abele know how to do it. I've never see the serie, and actually i try to read this but i get really interested so decide stop reading until i watch the TV show and, for the moment, just enjoy the images, which are so awesome





The behind the scenes are so great, if you like FX probably you would enjoy the show, the book gives a tiny look about it, i meant you won't learn how to do it but you will enjoy the insert here. Even when vampiries looks kind of humans there's so much work in some characters or scenes that probably made you re-think, or confirm, your vocation of as an FX artist (something similar as what happen when you see how much cost create your XF make-up kit).





A digital copy of this book was provided by NetGalley

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this from Netgalley for a fair and honest review.
First off I have to say I'm a fan of the FX show and of the book. So I was excited to see this. The copy I got was a Kindle version and it was missing over half of the images. The missing pictures appear as graph paper or just blank white spots. I understand that this is an uncorrected proof and I'm basing my rating of this based on what I got. Along with missing pictures the text was wonky and mismatched in areas....on a side note being that it's supposed to be an art book I didn't expect to read as much text as I did. Perhaps if I had a finished copy I would have liked this more. What I did learn was interesting...stuff about how they developed certain looks for characters or how they chose to make new characters or give them different roles in the show.

[Latasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for a honest review.

This book is soooo deep! They dive really deep into everything The Strain. From it's early days to the tv show. There is such beautiful art work through out the book. If you love any of the versions of The Strain, you should definitely check out this book.

[Badseedgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art was a 5 star, but I found the written story of the production a bit bland, probably because the page numbering was a bit wonky in my net galley copy.

[Tim Pendry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book to leave lying around young children or those of a sensitive disposition but it is a valuable record of the 'genius' of Guillermo del Toro and his large crew of collaborators in the development of an imaginative and horrific TV series.

The value of the book lies as much in its insight into a creative process that is much closer to the large scale early modern artistic workshop designed for courtly patrons than the later romantic vision of the lone artist producing great works in a studio.

Now we (as consumers), or rather the people who want a return on their investment in talent, have replaced the Dukes of Burgundy or Mantua but the processes are much the same. A guiding genius standing between the money and the creation, backed up by lesser but still impressive craftsmen.

The series itself was very good although perhaps not in the first rank only because Del Toro's imaginative reach probably required even greater levels of budget than he was given. TV series work like a machine on careful episode by episode budgeting and a high level of project management.

A great deal of story, far more than in a two hour or three hour blockbuster movie, has to be spread over 'seasons' amounting to anything from eight or twelve or more hours each with much less resource per hour.

Del Toro's films are close to perfect as is his shorter season 'Cabinet of Curiosities' but it is too much to expect the same of 'The Strain'. What we get though is very very good with remarkable attention to detail as Del Toro inspires a completely fresh look at the biology of a vampire species.

This is where he comes into his own. Eliminating the gentleman who turns into a bat, he makes use of his own personal fascination with nature and experience as an amateur entomologist to rethink vampirism as a potentially natural phenomenon closer perhaps to Murnau's 'Nosferatu'.

The book accordingly give a great deal of space to the 'thinking' behind the horror and then its application as special effects which seem to avoid CGI unless absolutely necessary for cost or practical reasons.

The TV series arose out of a book and graphic novel series so much of the hard graft of story-lining had been done well in advance but, as with 'Walking Dead' or 'The Last of Us', a translation from one medium to another always requires recreation and not mimicry.

Those who will have seen the series will recall the strong characterisation and acting even if the story line remained 'comic book' with a rather obvious historic Nazi link. Nazis seems to be the lazy fall-back position for any discussion of evil in American horror.

This Nazi obsession has become a commonplace detached both from a critical historical analysis of the actual phenomenon of national socialism and from any true exploration of the nature of human evil. It is a bugaboo that increasingly reveals little.

Del Toro's biological species-evil is far more imaginative because it raises more disturbing contemporary concerns about humanity the predator becoming prey, a theme of science fiction films about alien life and also about disease.

The 'other' as predator is just a displacement for the grim reality that the only real monsters out there who can prey on us are other humans (although AI and tiny viruses do represent serious potential threats). The Master is totally 'other', Darwinian as Hitler actually understood it in human terms.

The rethinking of ancient lore comes across even more clearly in the book than the TV series which has to compromise the promise of the alien to maintain the human drama. The book will mean less of course if you have not seen the series so book and series are designed to exist in tandem.

[Brandon McMahon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply insightful into the creative process behind the show.
Left with pages of notes

[Andy N · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on NetGalley.

This book compliments perfectly the TV series and gives great insight on what happens behind the scenes of the series. It shows perfectly the brilliant creative mind Guillermo del Toro and the originality of the concept. Plus, the art is absolutely breathtaking for all the right reasons.

If you are a fan of the series, I recommend that you check it out. It's a book that definitely stands-out on any collection.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of an e-book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the tv show The Strain of the artwork in this is fantastic, I loved the facts it had a little bits and pieces of behind the scene stuff. I would gladly pay full price for a copy of this. Great coffee table book! I could look at it all day.

[John Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book a wonderful look
behind the scenes of the
groundbreaking
TV series
and the massive amount of work
that bringing the book series by Hogan and Del Toro
to screen was.
Filled production sketches
and stills from the show.
It is a treat for fans

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Art of the Strain' by Robert Abele is a look behind the TV series based on the novels by Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro. It also features a foreword by del Toro.

In the foreword, we learn that Guillermo del Toro has always liked vampires, and also that a lot of the ideas for this series have been running around his head for a long time. The premise is that vampires are hosts for spreading a new virus, or strain. Their internal bodies are changed to host a stinger that they can shoot out at victims. If that's not disgusting enough, there are also worms. The fate of the world rests in a ragtag team of people with unique skill sets led by an elderly Jewish man fighting against the leader of the darkness, known only as The Master.

In the book there are tons of character sketches, molds, cgi pre and post shots. There are bios and information about the major character and types of vampires. The first and second season are covered.

It's a good mix of information about the show, and information about the process of making such a show. The art is definitely on the gory side, as you would expect from a show about a vampire plague. I've always been fascinated with the movie making process and I don't mind a well made horror film. I enjoyed this peak beneath the covers at this show and world.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Insight Editions and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.