By Abbie Bernstein

Titan Books, out now

A gloriously illustrated look behind the scenes of the long gestating movie.

In addition to their fiction tie-ins to the movie, Titan has once again bagged the rights to produce an art book that showcases some of the intricate and clever designs that went into Robert Rodriguez’s film.

Veteran writer Bernstein knows the questions to ask to prompt the most information from the creatives involved, and there are some fascinating insights within the pages which have a very loose alphabetical structure (well, it starts with A and ends in Z!) – so even though most people will buy this for the visual material, it’s well worth a read, even if the movie didn’t live up to your expectations. The entire process is covered, from the earliest ideas of it becoming a movie up to the final melding of CGI and live action, with concept art that stretches a decade.

One thing that comes out through the whole book is the desire of all involved to ensure that this story has heart (literally in Alita’s case), and to honour James Cameron’s vision of the manga.

Verdict: Beautifully designed, with strong text to back up the visuals. 9/10

Paul Simpson