Dark Horse Comics originally announced The Art of Cuphead all the way back in March of 2019, and they planned to publish the 160-page book (featuring “early concepts, production work, and early ideas” from the game) this past October.
Unfortunately, the book’s release was eventually pushed back to the Spring of 2020, but Dark Horse had a good reason for the delay. With the extra time, the publisher was able to expand The Art of Cuphead to a whopping 264 pages, including content from the game’s upcoming expansion, Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course:
Each page of this curated collection of artwork is designed to capture the vintage look and feel of the 1930’s. Take a gander at the game’s traditional hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation. Peek at the early concepts, production work, and early ideas that went into the making of Cuphead’s characters, bosses, stages and more including never-before-seen content from the upcoming DLC!
Relive the most cherished and challenging moments of Cuphead and Mugman’s adventure to reclaim their souls from The Devil, all in a way you’ve never seen before! Guided by personal insights from game directors Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, take a one-of-a-kind trip through the Inkwell Isles and discover an all-new appreciation for Cuphead’s animation style and challenging retro gameplay.
The Art of Cuphead will now be released on March 17, and the game’s developer, Studio MDHR, shared a sneak peek at the book earlier this week on Twitter:
For the Art of Cuphead, we scoured our notes & archives with @DarkHorseComics to assemble the most comprehensive look ever at the game's creation. Here's a sneak peek at just two of the book's in-depth spreads.
Available on March 17, 2020!! https://t.co/U8DWSzpad1 pic.twitter.com/CKGPyOOSKC
— Studio MDHR (@StudioMDHR) January 7, 2020
In addition to The Delicious Last Course, Studio MDHR is also working with Netflix to produce The Cuphead Show! Perhaps some concept art from the animated series will make its way into The Art of Cuphead as well.
