King Features Syndicate, a unit of Hearst and home to some of the world’s most popular entertainment characters, has announced a feast-worthy lineup of upcoming book releases for Cuphead fans from Dark Horse Books, including the new graphic novel, Cuphead Volume 3: Colorful Crack-Ups & Chaos, and two art books titled The Art of The Cuphead Show and The Art of Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course. The announcement includes the official cover reveals for both The Art of The Cuphead Show and The Art of Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course.
Cuphead Volume 3: Colorful Crack-Ups & Chaos, Cuphead, Mugman, and Ms. Chalice return in this brand-new collection of chaos and capers! The gang gets themselves into some close calls and hilarious hiccups featuring ice cream enterprises, literally jumping into board games, and more! This original graphic novel features exciting all-new adventures drawn in the magnificent, magical, award-winning vintage style of Cuphead. The graphic novel spans 72 pages and measures at 6”x9”. It will be available August 20, 2024 in bookstores and August 21, 2024 in comic shops and will retail for $10.99. Pre-order links for all these books can be found below.
The Art of The Cuphead Show explores the creation story of the acclaimed Netflix animated series, The Cuphead Show! The series’ producers, writers, graphic artists, and more take readers on a deep dive into the development and production of this beloved series. Never-before-seen production art, character designs, and more await inside this hardcover art book collection. The book contains 248 pages and measures at 8.5”x11”. It will be available September 3, 2024 in bookstores and September 4, 2024 in comic shops for $49.99.
And finally, following the highly successful The Art of Cuphead book released in 2020, The Art of Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course again transports readers back to the classic rubber hose cartoon style of 1930s animation with an art book celebrating the extension pack to the acclaimed platformer, Cuphead…The Delicious Last Course! Take a gander at the celebrated expansion’s traditional hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation and peek at the early concepts, production work, and unused ideas that went into the making of The Delicious Last Course’s new characters, bosses, and stages! Relive the most cherished and challenging moments of Cuphead and Mugman’s adventure with their new pal Ms. Chalice, all in a way you’ve never seen before! The book contains 272 pages and measures at 8.5”x11”. The art book will be available October 8, 2024 in bookstores and October 9, 2024 in comic shops and will retail for $39.99 for the standard edition and $99.99 for the deluxe edition.
“The world of Cuphead features some of the most visually compelling artwork created in the modern age and we are thrilled that Dark Horse, who has been a committed partner since the game first launched, is now taking fans deep inside the creative process behind the game and animated series with two new beautiful art books,” said Christina Nix Lynch, Senior Director, Licensing, King Features. “As Cuphead’s universe continues to expand from gaming to television to books, we’re committed to building a lasting legacy for Cuphead, Mugman, and their companions that keep fans emersed in the adventures of the Inkwell Isles.”
“One of the hardest things to do when bringing any art to life is spending so much time with your head down, often working in secret on things you aren’t quite ready to show off,” reflects Studio MDHR Chief Operating Officer Maja Moldenhauer. “With that in mind, we couldn’t be happier that the team at Dark Horse is helping both ourselves and the amazing creatives at Netflix Animation pull back the curtain on The Delicious Last Course and The Cuphead Show! So much love and attention has gone into making these latest art book releases truly meaningful deep dives into the world of Cuphead, and we can’t wait for our community to get their hands on both titles.”
All three books will be available for purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and TFAW.
Cuphead is a classic run and gun action video game created by independent developer Studio MDHR. Inspired by the cartoons of the 1930s, the visuals and audio are painstakingly created with the same techniques of the era with the traditional hand-drawn cel animation, watercolor backgrounds, and original jazz recordings. Cuphead recently celebrated its 6th Anniversary on Xbox by bringing behind-the-scenes content exclusively to players of the gaming system. Following the success of the video game, three seasons of the animated series, The CupheadShow! debuted on Netflix in 2022.