HEAVEN'S DOOR 2021 ✦ CG, publisher-provided artwork✦ book
design
This was a very special project for me. I only get
the chance to do a manga project for my friends at Last Gasp every few
years, and when I do, it's always something unique. "Unique" is definitely
the word to describe Heaven's Door. It's Keiichi Koike's first full
book to be released in English, and it's amazing. It's all about trips
- time trips, drug trips, death trips, dream trips... Very avant-garde and
creative. I have a bunch of examples of the
lettering I did for the book
in the Comics section, but this page focuses on the book design. I was pretty
faithful to the original Japanese release's design, but with some tweaks here
and there. The cover has a die-cut gatefold that you can use to look at the art in
different ways. This was a supremely challenging thing to line up just right,
but after a few tries I got it. Also, the front and back cover has spot gloss
treatment on the logo and flourescent artwork that glow under black light!
Early on in the process it was looking like we'd have more freedom to go in a
different direction with the cover design, so I made a pretty wild alternate
cover that I'm quite proud of. Hopefully I can share that as well, later on
after the book's been out a bit longer.
