Gregory ManchessAbove the Timberline

Since the book itself is beautifully illustrated (I had checked it out in the past from the library), after I purchased it, I wasn’t able to open it on my iPad or computer (both are quite new devices). Evidently our internet isn’t speedy enough to download such a large file. I wish I had purchased the hard copy instead.

Above the Timberline is a graphic novel by the artist Greg Manchess.This book started out with the cover. Manchess painted it because he just wanted to paint polar bears and snow. He showed it to his publisher and the idea to make a book of it came to fruition. Manchess painted over a hundred oil paintings in seven years. I have been following his endeavors online. There is a video of the process of making the cover image. I will leave a link in the description. This book is truly a labor of love.Above the Timberline is an homage to old pulp novels from the fifties. It tells the story of Wes Singleton, a fearless young adventurer that is searching for his lost father. The story takes place in the year 3518 in a world of ice. The story is told in a journal. They are snippets of text and are not more than an addition to the beautiful imagery. In this Kindle version, you really need to zoom in on the text to make it readable. But as great a storyteller Manchess is in his images, a writer he is not. That is unfortunate because the images are breathtaking. I stopped reading the text because it did not flow well in the journal style it is written in. As I read in an interview about Above the Timberline, Manchess told he started this project by painting the cover image, because he wanted to paint snow and polar bears. He made up the story afterward. I think that also happened with the writing of this story. The images came first and the text was an afterthought.So let’s concentrate on the art. All the painting are oils on canvas. Manchess paints in a very loose style and yet it looks very realistic. When you zoom in on the images, you can see the texture of the canvas and the lucid strokes he made to make the images come alive. The art reminds me a bit of Indiana Jones. Cool vehicles, like a zeppelin, a Red Baron-like plane. Aviator outfits and animals of a future ice age. It has a lot of elements of Jules Verne. A Steampunk related future.Greg Manchess also makes a cameo in this scene. You can see him with a glass of Whiskey.The composition of all the scenes is impeccable. And the lighting and color schemes Manchess uses are astounding. His brushwork is very loose but very effective.To be honest, I don’t care much for the story. I bought this book for the art of Greg Manchess. He is one of the best illustrators at the moment and you can only be in awe of the beautiful art in this book. You can learn a ton by looking at the images and learn from the compositions, layouts, brush strokes an lighting.

The book is beautiful. I spent an evening in Manchess’s world and definitely enjoyed it. The setting is interesting: a steampunk, post-apocalyptic future ice age. The story uses standard sci-fi fare: technology meets mythology. A young man embarks on a quest and comes of age while discovering his destiny. The world is divided between a science-driven steampunk civilization, nomads who live out in the frozen wilderness and a mystical/spiritual group of monks. Not terribly original, but it works. The story has enough mystery to keep the pages turning. My only criticism is the writing itself. The prose are sparse indeed. At first this works as the story is first told in a series of journal entries and data logs. But there are points when it hinders rather than adds to the world building. And the story has to shift at times to scenes outside of the main characters POV and it just begins to feel a bit awkward. Conversations can be tricky to follow as there’s virtually no “he said, she said”, just lines of dialogue one after another. Characters appear out of nowhere with little explanation, and scenes are often vaguely written. Perhaps this is to let the art step forward and make up the difference, or create a cinematic feel, but at times it feels awkward. Manchess is clearly an artist first. There are whispers of Dinotopia, in story and style, which other reviewers have noted. The future is full of familiar arctic creatures as well as ones that have evolved to survive in the new climate. There’s also a race of intelligent, spiritual polar bears that assist the heroes and share traits with Dinotopia’s evolved dinosaurs. The story does not completely resolve, so perhaps there will be a sequel to continue the adventure. In spite of the sometimes awkward prose, the book is a beautiful experience and worth the read. I do hope to see a series.

I bought this book because the original Above the timberline painting is one of my favourites.Greg Manchess has a painting style that I greatly admire and this work is full of wonderful examples of it. Great price for such a quality product too.This book will provide endless inspiration for my own paintings.

Greg Manchess artworks are really beautifully presented in this book. Each page has at least one painting, usually covering the whole page.The overall story is quite interesting and is set in the far future but with early 20th century technology and aesthetics.If you like Dieselpunk and exploration stories full with Zeppelins, ancient machinery and snowmobiles, you will love this book.

I bought this book because I greatly admire the artwork of the author, and was not disappointed by the stunning and beautiful paintings throughout. Unfortunately the weak writing for me actually spoiled the paintings, this book would have been 100% better by taking all the words out and leaving the viewer to decide the story for themselves.

Truly beautiful book. The art work in this book is inspiring and created by someone who has a true gift and who we should thank for sharing it with the world.

Format, story and quality of the illustrations amazing. Plus, an epic story!