Books with author Mike Wilks

Mike Wilks set out in the 1980s to depict as many words as possible in twenty-six images corresponding to the alphabet. His four-year painting odyssey resulted in a suite of magnificent compilations, all minutely detailed, masterfully rendered, and slightly surreal. Each image contains dozens, if not hundreds, of items all starting with the same letter. It is a mind-blowing and enjoyably engaging task to attempt to identify all of the objects. One wonders at the artist accomplishing this seemingly Herculean artistic endeavor. The reader need not go crazy, however, trying to name all of the words represented in the images (at last count, 7,819!). Numbered line drawings accompanied by lists of words serve as keys to the paintings. In examining the paintings carefully, one can check findings against the keys and in doing so will discover new words, as well as take delight in the process of examining the art carefully. It s art appreciation and a game of discovery, all in one. The images in this book were first published in 1986 in the best-selling The Ultimate Alphabet, and later in The Annotated Ultimate Alphabet, in which keys to the images were included. Now, The Ultimate Alphabet: Complete Edition brings these two volumes together in this deluxe slipcase edition. One volume presents the paintings with introductory text by the artist; the other offers the keyed drawings and alphabetical lists of words.

Here is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a guided tour of the Weather Works, a unique sprawling factory where the weather is made. Open this enchanting volume and wander through Mike Wilks's atmospheric wonderland. Visit chamber after chamber, each filled with fascinating machinery dutifully churning out the weather in all its variations. Skate through the ice and sleet compartment, and sweat through the burning-hot halls where liquid sunshine bubbles in vats. Marvel at the revolutionary wonders being wrought in Research, and bask in the radiant colors of Rainbow Hall.Notice how the guide grows visibly older and more harried as the tour progresses, and keep a sharp eye on the mysterious pet, who seems intent on wreaking havoc!Charming and challenging, The Weather Works is a metaphorical epic of finely interwoven art and verse, destined to earn a place as a classic illustrated work for readers of all ages.

Prepare to enter the Mirrorscape–a world where the bizarre is commonplace and logic makes no sense.Melkin Womper is thrilled to escape his dull future as a village weaver and develop his artistic talent when he’s apprenticed to Ambrosius Blenk, one of Vlam’s most famous masters. Mel is especially excited by the colors that he’ ll be able to use, since color is a very expensive Pleasure, strictly controlled by the sinister Fifth Mystery.Mel can’t wait to enjoy the wonders of the grand city and begin his important work for Blenk. Instead, his dreams are quickly crushed by the reality of days filled with unimportant tasks and bullying by the other apprentices whose wealthy families have purchased their positions. Still, the promise of working under the great Blenk and studying his legendary paintings makes the misery bearable.But when Mel and his new friends, Ludo and Wren, inadvertently stumble into a battle between the Fifth Mystery and the Rainbow Rebellion, an underground band fighting to make Pleasures affordable for all, the trio must step through Blenk’s paintings into the Mirrorscape. In this alternative world, the friends encounter monsters, mazes, talking houses, angels, and more.Hugely original and deeply compelling, Mirrorscape is a thrilling adventure filled with the beautiful and the bizarre, the fantastical and the frightening, and entry into an incredibly visual, secret world, where the ultimate weapons are pigment, a paintbrush, and the power of imagination.

This is a tale involving kidnap, invisible burglary, tunnel-licking monsters and a battalion of moth bodyguards. Mel, Ludo and Wren are battling a new enemy - the sinister order of Ters, who have created storms over the city of Vlam. After a cry for help from a land in the Mirrorscape, the three friends go back into that strange and unpredictable world. They make new friends - and enemies - as they attempt to prevent the storms that threaten Vlam with a plague of demons. But the Ters and the terrifying demon-slayer Morg are sniffing at their heels. And it seems there is a traitor in their midst. The fate of more than one world is balanced on the tip of a brush...This story is an imaginative tour de force from a visual master that will have you on the edge of your seat.

Something has gone terribly wrong. Mel and his friends have been locked in Deep Trouble prison in the Mirrorscape, while their evil Mirrorshades - who look exactly like them - are free to cause havoc in Vlam. Luckily, their old friends Goldie and Pilfer - the invisible burglar - are on hand to help them break out and try to prove their innocence. But arson, forgery and theft are the least of what their doubles have been up to. They're involved in a plot that could destroy our heroes. The race to find the mysterious Mirrortree is on! Can the real Mel, Ludo and Wren defeat their enemies in time? The third funny, past-paced adventure in the fantastical world of the Mirrorscape.