Dokument Press have done it again with their latest book, Subway World. It’s unlikely the book that you think it will be based on the title alone. You’ll probably assume (if you are unfamiliar with the book already) that it’s simply another book about graffiti and its rich train painting history. Well it’s not… but it is… but it’s not! Subway World is apparently the first book in the world dedicated to “world-wide subway graffiti” and I while I can believe that it doesn’t actually say what the book is really like because it’s actually unlike any other graffiti book I’ve seen.

The onus in Subway Graffiti really is more on the subway rather than the graffiti. Actually, if you take the graffiti away from this book and you would be left with something a little cold and more suitable for an conventional train-spotter! However, this isn’t at all what it’s like. While it’s primarily a book about the world’s subway systems, it’s been infused with the graffiti spirit. So, while you’ll learn about a particular city’s system such as when it was opened, how long, how many lines, how many stations etc.. As well as those basic facts, you’ll also learn many general geography facts like population etc. as well as some more geeky (in a good way) bullet-pointed facts about each individual system including lots of generally interesting facts about the lines’ creation and all kinds of other things that you would never imagine about the subject; it’s all very interesting stuff. Then there are the things that are off the traditional train-spotters curriculum and here’s where the whole thing takes suddenly takes a sharp turn back onto the more orthodox graffiti track.

Each system’s opposing page is decorated by a photo of painted train. Many of these are close-up pieces but we’re treated to quite a few more open shots showing some of the trains’ yards in the backgrounds. I would prefer if they were all these photos to be honest. I guess it’s the geek inside of me that always wants to see the details in the background. However, there are enough of these shots to please me and the other photos are great anyway so I can’t complain.

The photos aren’t the only thing that make this a proper graffiti book though. Scattered among all the interesting facts are also a few excerpts written by writers from the individual cities relating to the systems and how they relate to the region’s graffiti scene. And it’s these extra parts are what makes this a real graffiti book. Without them it would be a book about subway systems with photos of graffiti; although they are related, the two aren’t necessarily best veiwed together without the glue that these extra stories and graffiti related facts bring to the mix.

Subway World is a really well researched and entertaining book whose unique format brings a neat twist on both graffiti and the world’s subway systems. Four continents and 75 cities later and I’m feeling particularly well travelled and full of interesting facts! Subway World weighs in at 160 landscaped pages and is available direct from Dokument Press or from all the usual places including Amazon UK.

I’ve just managed to get my hands on Ed Mironiuk’s (site NSFW) first proper book, The Art of Ed Mironiuk (also NSFW) and thought it was definitely worth updating my original post about it that I wrote a couple of months back.

To be a successful pinup artist you need to stand out from the crowd and this is exactly what Ed Mironiuk does with his kinky twist on the genre. I’ve been enjoying Ed’s refreshingly painted modern take on pinup girls for about five years now. I’m fortunate enough to know how amazing his work is on a larger scale because I own one of his prints and seeing his work outside of the internet is where it really starts to become very special. I was very excited to learn that The Art of Ed Mironiuk was being released to that I could see more of his works in more detail. It’s a soft-cover edition that measures around 23cm x 30cm so we are treated to some really nice large-scale images of Ed’s work and, like I said, at this size it allows us to properly examine his work.

Things that I’ve never noticed by looking at small internet images in Ed’s art suddenly become very obvious. Although thematically the paintings are all quite similar (it’s all fetish-twisted pinup art and there’s nothing wrong with that!), they are all subtly different in style from one another. I obviously not paide enough atteention to his line-work for instance. Sometimes outlines are very thick and cartoony, sometimes they are not there at all (a more realistic approach to the paintings) and other times they are there in a much more delicate manner that you barely even notice. In fact, the attention to detail in his work really shines throughout this book. These subtly lined paintings force you to look deeper into the images actually. While some of his paintings are overtly cartoonish or realistic (although still recognisable as illustrations of course), it’s these ones that live in a world between the two that demand the most attention from me. And while there is loads of kinkiness involved throughout the book, it’s never filthy or offensive (apart from some blood, but blood doesn’t offend anymore does it?!). It’s all just on the right side of tasteful… for my eyes anyway.

Tattoos, guns, knives, blood, ropes, whips, peircings, nakedness, uniforms, latex, guitars, monsters… all beautifully and skilfully painted; what more could you ask for?! The Art of Ed Mironiuk weighs in at just under 50 pages and can be purchased from SQP (the book’s publisher) or you can get a signed copy, or even a copy with an original sketch direct from Ed Mironiuk. Oh, this book is titles Volume one so here’s looking forward to a follow up sometime in the no-so-distant future.