I am just a bit fond of bookstores like Berkelouws, there in Paddington right next to College of Fine Arts, arguably the artiest suburb of Sydney.  The stairway up to the second floor says it all, the four paintings by Hilary  just set a perfect tone.  I just had to take a photo.

I really like the art books section, very considered, and extensive.

Also upstairs is a groovy cafe, and there were magazines scattered about to flick through that I had never even heard of before.

What I also liked is the relaxed feel here, where you could breathe and take you time to browse the collections.

The grand entrance

The great artbook wall

Great paintings by Hilary

OMG!  That’s today!

With only a few hours till the formal release and worldwide shipping of The Art of Uncharted 2, I am gettig more excited by the second… I have never seen a title so anticipated by the reseller world since I started here at Ballistic 4 years ago…

Ballistic Publishing has taken the bold step of leading the world in showcasing and preserving the breath-taking artwork behind the fantastic Sony Playstation 3 games.  As a Playstation fan myself, I am delighted to see these lost treasures unearthed and shared with the world.  As far as playing the games go, I am hopeless, mainly because I tend to get caught up in the stunning graphics and while distracted in this way, the baddies get me.  So I found the best way to play these games and enjoy the artwork is to let my son play, blasting his way through the levels while I lose myself in the environments.

What has also delighted us here at Ballistic is the viral press we are getting, thanks to the power of Joystiq, Destructoid, the Official Playstation blog, and dozens of other internet news sites.  There have even been controversial reviews  which has only added to the energy.  The collector/special edition market hs become a veritable feeding frenzy!

My favorite review has come from IGN, with a video review!  Utterly hilarious and I highly recommend you have a look…

IGN Book review video

Keep an eye on this one, video game art fans are going to start comeing from everywhere!

The NGV is one of my favorite galleries in the world, and have admired the bookstore for years.  When I first started with Ballistic, it became my goal to get our books into NGV.  At that time, digital art recognition by the mainstream was still in it’s infancy, and so I waited, biding my time.  Over the last few years though, digital art has really risen in stature and more and more people are recognising it as a legitimate art form as well a collectible item in book form.

Just before Christmas our books went into the  Federation Square location.  This is such a beautifully designed store,  and felt chuffed to have our books included in their selection.  It was a further sign that digital art was finding its feet.  In February I visited the store, and was delighted to find only a couple of copies left from the original order!

Once again, apologies for the quality of the photo, this was the best one I took…

Just a portion of the store...

Kinokuniya Sydney have been huge supporters of our books since day one, and over time have shown this commitment by giving us greater and greater exposure within their absolutely massive store.

I mentioned in the last post that you should put Minotaur at the top of your ‘must see’ list when traveling in Melbourne.  When you next get to Sydney, and are a bibliophile like myself, in particular an art and design book collector, Kinokuniya will blow you away.  I have spent many hours here over the years just drooling (not a good look) at the sheer depth of the art book collection.  Really, you could spend days here…

Once again, apologies for shoddy pics, but further down the page are some well made shots, thanks to Steve Jones…

What a great spread, and that's a stack of Exotique 5 to the bottom left!

This is just one part of the design section

Whatever you do try and stay out of the stock room...very dangerous place...

Bookstore as far as the eye can see... and just as immense behind me...

Hi everyone

We here at Ballistic are very excited to announce a number of Syd Mead shows here in Australia.  If you are not familiar with his work, let me rattle off a few movies you may have heard of…

Tron

Aliens

Star Trek

Blade Runner

If you would like to see even more amazingness, check out his website… http://www.sydmead.com/v/10/splash/

Syd’s vehicle designs and other concept work has made him a legend in the industry, with a legion of fans.  And he is also a brilliantly entertaining speaker. An evening with Syd will be a highlight of your year!

Here is where you can see him.  Tickets have sold so quickly in the initial pre-sale that the organisers were forced to find these bigger digs!

Orpheum Sydney http://www.orpheum.com.au/syd-mead.htm
Creative Masters Sydney http://creativemastersforum.com/seminar.html
RMIT Melbourne https://www.alumni.rmit.edu.au/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=1093

I hope to see you there!

Cheers

Alan

Welcome to one of THE most awesome stores in the world!

I used to visit Minotaur when I was still in high school (nearly 30 years ago!), and it was just so out there, displaying books, magazines, movies and figurines that completely blew my mind, and nothing has really changed.  Back in the 80’s alternative book and music culture was very underground, there was no crossover whatsoever into the mainstream, and this added to the thrill of haunting places like this in my misspent youth.

And now Minotaur is the leading reseller of Ballistic books in Australia.  As you can see they make a pretty big fuss of our stuff!

I took some pics while I was in the shop, and appear to have put the camera setting on ‘ghastly’.  Normally I take a half decent shot! Many apologies for the poor quality, but I still want these images here.  And these shots show only a small portion of the store.

All I can say is, when in Melbourne, put Minotaur at the top of your ‘must see’ list…

Colin is the King of Minotaur!

As you can see we are in very good company!

Hi all

It is a good couple of weeks since my last posting here.  I have been away cycling, holidays, and then a week long tour of East Coast bookstores.

Even though I am bitterly disapointed with my photography and inability to set the camera to take acceptable shots (some pretty ordinary shots coming up, I will use the best ones though), I will start posting up my great visits to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane…

Bookstores really are the most interesting places, aren’t they!

Stay tuned!

Cheers

Alan

Premier Art Supplies recognised our digital art books from the early days and may well be amongst our first resellers in the world.

Throughout this whole time the books have been proudly displayed in both stores. The Rundle Street store has them on the first shelf you see when you walk in the door! In the Gilles Street location they are front and center in the art book section.  Premier also service schools in South Asutralia and having amazing success with our books with the art teachers in our state, which is very exciting.  This is just another sign that digital art is becoming more and more widely embraced by the art community.  Thanks to Clive and his staff, digital art continues to grow  and establish it’s sphere of influence.

Welcome to Groovytown

Today's prize is this exquisite set of Ballistic titles. Thanks Kirsten Anne!

The spread

Jenni!

Welcome to LA’s mecca for all things comics and pop culture!  Meltdown absolutely blew my mind the first time I went in, so big, so much cool stuff, so many ways to empty my bank account in an instant.

I found the store on Sunset Boulevard, arguably LA’s most famous/notorious street, and really there is no better place for it.  It is a little out of the main hussle further up the road, but this just means it’s easier to park and avoid all the hassle.  I would put a pic here of the front of the store, but none of those shots worked very well, so instead I am putting in this shot of the Viper Room which is a block or so away (Vale River Phoenix… you could have stopped your brother rapping)

The Viper Room - just as seedy as you dreamed it would be...

Now onto the inside, where the real fun is.  This is the sort of place that gives you the rabbit in the headlights effect. Where to start? I wanna play with everything! Turn left and it is toy central, right for books and comics, and behind the sales c0unter, more more more! Gasp…

I had to concentrate at first, find the Ballistic section, play later.  And then to my surprise and delight I found a greatly diminished supply of our books behind glass, sharing space with a bunch of Gnomon dvds and a digital art tutorial in progress.  It looked great!  Next I found other copies scattered about, an Expose with the Mexican wrestling books.  Where else!

A great store, one I recommend anyone either living in LA or visiting from anywhere in the world, to drop in and gleefully lose a few hours and all your savings…

An excellent showcase for digital art

Toys to the right of you...

Illustration heaven to the left...

Digital art and Mexican wrestling - brilliant mash-up

A few days before my visit I heard that this had just become a banned book, and here is a lifesize poster!

I hope one day I can get to visit the UK, if only to see the Forbidden Planet International stores!  Who needs to see The Queen and the Millenium Ferris Wheel thingy?

FP International have been amazing supporters of Ballistic for years, capturing a growing demand for digital and video game art.  The stores below see it as an important modern art movement and give the books some serious real estate to show them off.

Another part of FP I get a daily kick out of is their blog.  Here is arguably the smartest and most comprehensive comic, illustration, and pop culture review site that I have come across. Joe Gordon runs the show there and he has an amazing team of incredible and erudite reviewers, all with intimate knowledge of their subject and a genuine affection for the ouvre.  I take particular note of the graphic novel reviews, as this is a personal area of interest for me.

Nostalgia & Comics - Birmingham

Wolverhampton store