Books

There are now more books written about Doctor Who than you can shake a Sonic Screwdriver at. And thanks to the show’s phenomenal worldwide popularity, since producer Russell T. Davies reinvented the concept in the mid-nineties for the Eastenders/Reality TV audience, every facet of the once mysterious Time Lord’s existence is up for scrutiny. 

“Our challenge was to make an edgy/trippy sci-fi movie for around 30 million dollars”, says scriptwriter Alex Garland in the introduction to his illustrated screenplay for the 2012 blockbuster movie Dredd, based on the 2000 AD comic character. “Eventually we reached a point where we felt that we needed the addition of a new creative voice, one who could define some of the key Judge/Mega-City One visuals.”

We’d wager that there aren’t many art books that begin with by quoting lyrics from a song by Sir Mix-A-Lot. But it’s hard to think of a more apt opening for TASCHEN’s collection of vintage stereoscopic cheesecake photography than his importal line, "I like big butts and I cannot lie".

The last few years have seen an explosion in the growth of so-called Vault publications. These prestige-format coffee-table releases typically take the form of an archive of background info and rare imagery related to a specific company or franchise, and often come accompanied by numerous reproductions of 'artefacts' that fans simply wouldn't be able to get hold of any other way. Or that's how it all started.