Almost a year ago, Dark Horse Comics announced that they are going to release a new art book collection of the Metal Gear Solid Series. Initially expected for a May 2018 release but was delayed for unknown reasons, The Art of Metal Gear Solid I-IV was  finally released last week and can be ordered at major book sellers including Amazon.com and initial copies have been quickly snapped up.

The Art Book is a collection of Japanese artist Yoji Shinkawa who made a lot of contributions to the characters in the video game series, one of the most successful video game franchises and created by Hideo Kojima for Konami Computer Entertainment. Whilst the art work has been available in previous releases, this is the first time that the collection is made available in English as other early editions were in Japanese. The Japanese handwriting on the art works were left intact making the collection more special.

For avid fans of the Metal Gear Solid series, which counts Popular Airsoft’s OptimusPrime who played the game upon its release for the Sony Playstation in 1998, this a must have collection. Even for airsoft gamers who want to put together loadouts of the various Metal Gear Solid characters, specially Snake.

This is a two-part book collection with a total of 800 pages and covers I-IV: Metal Gear Solid, MGS2: Sons of Liberty, MGS3: Snake Eater, MGS4: Guns of the Patriots, and MGS: Peace Walker. The collection is 20 years in the making and if you are asking why MGS5 is not covered, there is already a separate Art Book already available in English to complete the collection.

Whilst Shinkawa-san is known for his work on the Metal Gear Solid, he is very much involved in the gaming industry, where his works include the Call of Duty: Black Ops III - Zombies Chronicles and Left Alive. He also designed the Pacific Rim poster for the film’s Japanese release and Godzilla: The Final Wars.

The Art of Metal Gear Solid I-IV is available in Hardcover for US$79.99 on Amazon.com and Barnes amd Noble.