Drawn

I received a copy of Kevin Dart‘s Seductive Espionage: The World of Yuki 7 the other day and I still can’t put the book down. I’m awed by the beautiful artwork and illustrations showcased throughout its pages. The concept: creating a “globe-trotting female superspy” set in the mid-60′s through fictional movies, complete with posters, lobby cards, and trailers—all with the look and feel of the 1960′s Bond era, with a dash of extra influences as well. Kevin what inspired him for the project on his blog:

I combed through some folders of reference I had collected over the last few years, immersing myself in campy Euro-spy film posters, 1960’s Thai pop music album covers, and mid-century modern architecture. I went back and re-watched some of my favorite spy films like “You Only Live Twice” and discovered new ones like “Deadlier than the Male”. A world slowly started to form in my head and I could feel hundreds of backlogged ideas and unfinished stories suddenly collide into one cohesive mass. Later on, I realized Yuki 7 had been building for years even though she arrived in a flash of insight.

Read about the “Making of Yuki 7″ on the following posts:
Part I
Part II
Part III

The book features gorgeous artwork by Kevin, along with a great collection of artists & illustrators, such as:
Bill Presing, Bob Logan, Brigette Barrager, Chris Turnham, Daniel Arriaga, Don Shank, Elizabeth Ito, Horia Dociu. Josh Parpan, Justin Parpan, Megan Brain, and Ted Mathot. Nucleus Gallery will host a show featuring the above artists of Yuki 7 from July 3rd through the 14th, 2009.

Equally impressive is the writing by Ada Cole, as well as the fantastic trailer co-directed with animator Stephane Coedel:

UPDATE: Forgot to mention Grain Edit’s Yuki 7 Screen Gems Giveaway!