CLAMP Art Works: North Side Illustration Book

This is the first of two complimentary artbooks from Tokyopop featuring art from the all–woman manga team, CLAMP, the creative genius behind such bestsellers as XXXholic and Tsubasa. Both collections feature extensive reprints of hard–to–access artwork from 1989–2002, and the publisher touts the detail that went into these English language editions—right down to the authentic reprinting in Japan that features “special color inks not available in the United States.” At the high price of 29.99 per softcover volume, you’d certainly expect something to make this artbook well worth the cost.

North Side covers work from titles such as: CLAMP In Wonderland, Legend of the Dragon Kings, The Legend of Chun Hyang, Magic Knight Rayearth, Clover, and a few “crossover” prints of characters from popular titles posing together that are sheer fan service. The quality of the artwork ranges anywhere from super–demented, dwarfed caricatures of characters to elaborately planned and elegantly detailed watercolor portraits.

As a special bonus: check out the “Princess Mokona of the CLAMP Kingdom” short at the end.

— Shiaw-Ling Lai

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