Book Info
Book Title: I Am 8-Bit
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
Writer: Jon M. Gibson
Artists: Various
Release Date: 2006
Mario Plays Nes by Martin Cendreda
Artists from all over the world come together to celebrate their love of videos games through original art inspired from video games classics from the arcade, Atari, and Nintendo heyday. Be it Donkey Kong, Mario Bros., Q-Bert, Zaxxon, or Dig Dug, video gamers everywhere unite and enjoy some great, fun art.
Jon M. Gibson helms the I Am 8-Bit collection of art with a foreword by Chuck Klosterman. The book was published by Chronicle Books LLC and released in 2006.
The art really does range all over in the collection and like much art, can be debated by critics and fans of the games portrayed. There is some great art in the book. There is also art that you look at and say…“Ugh”. It mostly comes from games in the ’80s and early ’90s, so younger video game fans might not appreciate the vintage games cover in the book.
Dig Dug by Luke Chueh
Art like the art found in I Am 8-Bit sometimes can be a bit frustrating in that you think “why didn’t I think of that”. It would make some clever wall art for a modern home and would definitely be a talker if guests came over. Of course now if you attempt to recreate it, it would just be copying.
The editor Jon M. Gibson wanted to recreate the wonder of an arcade from the ’80s and did a great job doing it. There are games you probably walked by in arcades hundreds of times but you forgot about, but they were important to someone. There are games you wish where in here (Kangaroo…come on I know it is a Donkey Kong rip-off but that game rocked), but they were omitted.
I Am 8-Bit is a fun book for those who are not even art fans simply because of the subject matter. If you love art and video games, this book is a must. Even if you don’t, flip through for some creative works…you might not get everything, but it still can be appreciated. The book also is inspiring and has you thinking about what art you would do and what games you would choose. While I would have gone with I Am 16-Bit for children of the ’90s, I Am 8-Bit was followed by Super iam8bit in 2011.
