Samurai 2.0: A Tribute to Men
Publisher: Yaoi Revolution
Project & Graphic: Sirwendigo
Cover Art: Ezombie, Sirwendigo, Ulvar & Len-Yan
ISBN: 978-1-943695-08-9
Website: www.yaoirevolution.com
Reviewed By: Sandra Scholes
Great art needs no introduction, and it's the same with this art book. The striking cover of a samurai warrior caught from behind in blue hues is the only introduction you need and it comes from the steady and creative hand of Sirwendigo.
As the second edition it is packed with art to suit every taste from painterly to realistic, portrait and eve landscapes full of handsome naked men. I can see the reason for why there are only a handful of artists in this book, they wanted readers to get a more rounded view of what each artist could provide.
I had only seen a few of the images on the Yaoi Revolution website which got me interested. Artists like Aldaria, Sirwendigo, Gerwell, Zephyrhant and Duckie are by far the best at capturing the look of the character in all their sensuality. They use their skill to show detail as well as giving the reader a good eyeful of the male torso. Pecs seem to feature a lot in this art book, as does the rest of the male anatomy above the waist. There is also a dual reason behind Samurai 2.0 as many of the images also contain characters from Yaoi Revolution novels and graphic novels.
Zeilyan's work is painterly, seeming faded and made me think it gave the portraits an air of mystery. Ezombie painted portraits using a form of speed painting that gives the images a life of their own.
Samurai are not the only genres covered in this art book full of handsome men. There are sexy mermen, vampires, fauns, hot biker guys, prisoners, centaurs and angels. Zephyrant's images remind me of the sexyness of Heise, while Skoptsy and Paexie use similar colour palettes and hues.
There are a fair few extras to this art book, the first being Samurai 2.0 and its guest artists slot featuring Akura666 It's Just Yoghurt where her character is sat close up shirtless with something on his six pack you could easily mistake for something else. Andaglas's Scum is simplistic in its use of colour and tones with a central figure almost in darkness with the word scum behind him in neon.
For those who like to see how the artworks have progressed from concept to finished piece, Samurai 2.0 has a Samurai 2.0 Step-by-Step where artists such as Sirwendigo, In the back there is an artist biography section that will surely interest the reader as they can see the influences on their art including artists and writers as well as some comical remarks along the way.
Whatever your taste and preference in yaoi art, the artwork in Samurai 2.0 will satisfy the urge of seeing the characters from Yaoi Revolution's novels and graphic novels in full colour. The art varies from realistic to simplicity with great ease.
When I first opened this art book I could see how professional it looked and how sensual the portraits were. As they are full colour I could imagine them being sold as large postcards for those who have their firm favorites. Aldaria and Sirwendgo's will, I believe be snapped up.
