Many months ago, before Mirrormask started making its way around the globe in every conceivable corner except Kansas City, a very large coffee-table sized book was released entitled…oddly enough…Mirrormask. Two average joe Gaiman/McKean fans ordered said book knowing that it would be a wonderful thing to peruse once they were finally able to see the film. Unfortunately the book was not what they expected. While it was indeed a very large book with many pages it was devoid of a great deal of the pictures that these two expected it to have…it turns out this book was primarily a script book. News of another Mirrormask book began circulating but our two average joes were a bit gun shy and determined to wait until after the film before considering spending money on a second book. After seeing the film one of our two average joes was overcome by the spirit of the inner geek and simply had to have this second book. That book is entitled The Alchemy of Mirrormask, and the geeked out joe is me!

The Alchemy of Mirrormask is the kind of book film fans hope for. From a construction aspect it is perfect. The book is oversized but not unwieldy, the paper is heavy stock with quality, high gloss finish. The cover is a sturdy black hardback with a gold embossed Mirrormask logo covered by a creative, colorful dust jacket. Harper Collins did a very nice job with this one from a book production standpoint and I have to give kudos to them for that.

As far as content goes I believe any Mirrormask fan will be thoroughly pleased with this book. The Mirrormask movie is so full of imagery on each frame that a person cannot possibly take it all in during the unspooling of the film. The Alchemy of Mirrormask gives one the opportunity to dive into Dave McKean’s imagery and swim around awhile…to drink in all the little personal details present in each shot. In addition to screenshots from the film there are pictures taken during the production process, initial texture maps upon which the shots were built, 3D models, paintings of Dave McKean’s that inspired different aspects of the film, etc. One of the things I really enjoyed about The Alchemy of Mirrormask was having the opportunity to see many of the drawings by Dave McKean and Ian Miller that are featured throughout the movie, most particularly as part of Helena’s walls in her trailer and her bedroom. These drawings are so amazing and even the simplest of them are so unique and filled with detail.

Scattered throughout the book are comments by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean indicating where they got inspiration for different parts of the film, how different characters and scenes developed, behind the scenes information and more. Reading the book provided me with dozens of film titles to add to my Netflix list. The Alchemy of Mirrormask does a much better job than the film commentary in discussing the various influences and inspirations of both men in constructing this film. It is divided into chapters discussing various aspects of the film and flows in roughly the same chronological order of the film. One of these chapters has wonderful pictures of various buildings in Warsaw, Trieste, Venice, Prague…places out of which Dave McKean’s vision grew to create his city in Mirrormask.

The Alchemy of Mirrormask, like Mirrormask itself, is admittedly not for everyone. If, however you were enamored of the visual elements of the film and/or are just a fan of Dave McKean’s unique artistic style then you will love this book. It demonstrates both the craftsmanship of a well put together book and the craftsmanship that went into making Mirrormask a unique, ground-breaking cinematic experience. The Alchemy of Mirrormask is a collectible quality art book with some great information in it as well…a combination that is not always easy to find. It is well worth a good read. (And for those of you who don’t, it does have pictures…on every page!)