Marvel Rivals season four lands tomorrow, and after spending time gazing down at the gorgeous illustrations found in the Art of Marvel Rivals artbook, I'm more excited to dive back into my favorite hero-shooter on my PS5 than ever before.
The $54.99 / £49.99 book from Dark Horse launched earlier this month on September 2, so none of the art from the latest season, and two new playable characters, are included amongst its 208 full-color pages. However, the gorgeous and detailed spreads of my favorite characters, funny little titbits on every page, and detailed looks at the grandiose stages have well and truly prepared me for the Marvel Rival victories (and many, many deaths) ahead.
Artbooks can be a bit of a weird one to recommend when it comes to video game merch, but this is easily the best Marvel Rivals collectible I have in my collection for the game so far. That's saying a lot, as I also own the Marvel Rivals Galactic Tunes Vinyl, and am very partial to its gorgeous transparent purple aesthetics and Galactia art that takes up the majority of the soundtrack's cover.
I'm well aware books like this tend to be more sought after by budding artists, who want to see concept art and take inspiration for their own projects. That being said, if you love Marvel Rivals and want a physical piece of merch you can hold in your hand, this is a lovely collectible that's perfect to browse through between matches.
You're not meant to judge a book based on its cover, but I knew I had gotten my money's worth the moment I glanced at the gorgeous depiction of the Marvel Rivals key art that's wrapped around this book. Dark Horse has opted for that glossy effect that makes this less of a coffee table book and more something worth popping on display next to my fancy Marvel figures.
I won't go into too much detail about what the pages hold, as that'd be giving away all the Marvel magic that's inside its over 200+ pages.
However, what I will mention is that it features a foreword by Executive Producer Danny Koo, who explains that the team "carefully worked" with Dark Horse to curate all the best artwork from the game. Koo goes on to thank Art Director Dino Ma for the "unwavering push for artistic excellence," and I want to get in on that, as the illustrations in this book are even more stunning on paper than they are on my TV screen.
Each playable character (besides the newer Blade, Daredevil, and Angela) has their own section, which shows concept art of their move-set and illustrations of some of their iconic costumes. My favorite of the lot is undoubtedly the inclusion of Squirrel Girl's Nut-Rocker punk skin from season two, as it shows off every incredible little detail. I own that skin as she's one of my favorite characters, so it's great to see how it looked before being added to the game.
Characters aside, the rest of the artbook is filled with close-ups of art of the various stages in the game, from the Hall of Djalia to the Sanctum Sanctorum. You see this art briefly before a match, but it's far better to see it close up and in person. Stills from the animations that play after you win or lose matches are also depicted, and these have me more ramped up for season four than ever before.
If you're after some game art inspiration, or just want to physically own a bit of merch for a game an online game where no physical boxed version exists, the Art of Marvel Rivals is a lovely collection.
I hope this is just the first art book of many, but at least in the meantime, NetEase has also got the Marvel Rivals Poster Collection available to pre-order for $29.99 at Amazon, so I can drape my shelves and my walls in that glorious game art.
- View all Marvel Rivals merch at Amazon
- Marvel Rivals The Poster Collection pre-order for: $29.99 at Amazon
- Marvel Rivals: Timestream Adventure comic pre-order for: $9.99 at Amazon
Check out the Marvel Rivals characters and tier list if you want to start season four off with some well-deserved victories.
