Beehive Books is in the last week of its Kickstarter for an illustrated and annotated edition of Pinocchio, the classic magical coming-of-age tale by Carlo Collodi. The campaign is truly special in that two titans of the publishing world are contributing their massive, undeniable talents to the project: Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and novelist Lemony Snicket of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Included in Pinocchio: The Illuminated Edition are over a hundred annotations from Snicket as well as gorgeous covers and illustrations by Mignola.
However, that’s not all that Mignola will be contributing to the Kickstarter. Just this week, Beehive Books has announced three 8×11” fine art watercolor prints from the world of Pinocchio rendered by Mignola, exclusively for the campaign. Backers have multiple avenues to make these prints their very own: as part of their own $50 tier; an add-on with all the other tiers; and a bonus for backers getting the special edition book. Take a look at these beautiful prints below:
These prints perfectly evoke the wonder and sometime-surreal nature of the entire world of Collodi‘s original tale; Mignola is the perfect pairing for the story. Act soon, though: the Kickstarter for Beehive Books’ Pinocchio: The Illuminated Edition ends next Thursday, April 20th. And if you haven’t taken a look at the campaign yet, click the link for more! Some of the art featured in the Kickstarter is found below, as well as the official press release.
From the official press release:
Beehive Books is announcing a series of three watercolor prints of Pinnochio by renowned Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. The three 8×11″ fine art prints are exclusively available as part of Beehive Books’ Kickstarter campaign for their illustrated and annotated edition of Carlo Collodi’s classic novel PINOCCHIO featuring a cover and 50+ Illustrations by Mignola, alongside 100+ annotations by celebrated novelist Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events). The prints—of Mignola’s Pinocchio paintings currently not already included in the book—are available as their own $50 tier, an add-on with every other tier, and as a free bonus item with every special edition of the book on Kickstarter.
The full color paintings were created by Mignola as part of the New York’s Society of Illustrators exhibition, live now in NYC, which features full portfolio of yet-to-be-published Pinocchio illustrations, including all the drawings done for the book, as well as additional art not included in the book, including paintings, process work for the project, and an original puppet from Red Nose Studios. The exhibit will be open to the public until July 8.
The all-new, deluxe hardcover edition of PINOCCHIO from the Philadelphia-based boutique publisher includes exquisite original illustrations from Mignola, which breathe new life to the charm, gloom, and chaos of the seminal novel, alongside over 100 full text annotations by Snicket, presented as slipped-in typewritten sheets produced by Snicket during his Pinocchio-induced descent into madness. The project is part of Beehive Book’s acclaimed Illuminated Editions imprint, the Philadelphia-based company’s distinctive line of book art editions of literary classics which reimagine literary masterworks with all-new covers and illustrations from the world’s greatest graphic artists, including the Balbusso Twins, Rebekka Dunlap, Brecht Evens, Dave McKean, Paul Pope, Yuko Shimizu, Bill Sienkiewicz, Kent Williams, and Jim Woodring, alongside original essays from the likes of Academy Award-winning filmmakers Guillermo Del Toro and Darren Aronofsky and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Cunningham. The Beehive Books Illuminated Editions feature singular design sensibilities, the highest production values, and a special emphasis on comics and graphic art. Beehive Books is now crowdfunding the PINOCCHIO: The Illuminated Edition on Kickstarter.
PINOCCHIO: An Illuminated Edition comes in three print editions: a slipcase hardcover, a signed and numbered edition, and a sketched and lettered edition. All ten titles in the Beehive Books’ Illuminated Editions series are available through the campaign, and Beehive will offer certain discounts on bulk orders. Each title also comes as a DRM-free digital PDF, which is included along with every print edition. The standard edition is an oversize 9×12″ hardcover, bound in sewn signatures, and housed in an elaborately embossed and debossed die-cut slipcase, silk-screened or foil-stamped with artwork. The interior is printed on creamy, acid-free heavy-weight 140gsm uncoated paper with a fine tooth, and includes dozens of full color illustrations, illuminated letters, and special design pieces. The entire package is designed by Maëlle Doliveux with a restrained graphic boldness, and an unparalleled eye for beauty, clarity and readability. There will also be a signed & numbered edition limited to 250 backers which comes in a foil-stamped slipcase wrapped in natural-fiber binding cloth. The editions have dyed edges, bound-in silk ribbon markers, and specialty bookplates, signed and numbered by Mike Mignola and Lemony Snicket. This edition also comes with a Kickstarter-exclusive foil-blocked 8×11″ print by Mike Mignola. The lettered edition comes in a clamshell housing with enamel plates re-creating Mignola’s artwork mounted onto its French door enclosures, and includes an original Pinocchio drawing from Mignola. All editions include dozens of slipped-in typesheet pages authored by Snicket on a mid-century Smith Corona typewriter.
For updates on Beehive Books, follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. To back the project, head to Kickstarter.