Dark Horse Defines The Legend of Zelda

by Vince Brusio

If you’re a fan of video game culture, chances are it’s a hobby you entertain in between school or work, and you’re squeezing it into a schedule that unfortunately doesn’t allow for much marathon time when you want it. Dark Horse Editor Patrick Thorpe doesn’t have that problem. He turned his hobby into his job, and who has it better than that? In this PREVIEWSworld Exclusive interview, Patrick Thorpe reflects on helping to bring The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts (OCT160018) to the direct market, and how it’s a dream come true for Zelda fans as it is by far the most comprehensive look at Zelda “in totality.”

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PREVIEWSworld: So is this project personal to you? Are you a big fan of Zelda? Does this project up the ante for your geek factor?

Patrick Thorpe: I was born in 1982 and my first console was a Nintendo Entertainment System. My very first games were the Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt cartridge, Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda. I’ve been playing with power my whole life.

As for upping the ante for my geek factor, I’m not sure it can go much higher. There must be a ceiling somewhere. I mean, I edit comic books, I game, and I love terrible 1980s science fiction movies. Man, I feel like I need to up my geek game now. Have any suggestions?

PREVIEWSworld: What were your expectations for this book when you found out that Nintendo was partnering with Dark Horse to produce this hardcover? How do you see it raising the bar as the ultimate Zelda resource?

Patrick Thorpe: I was thrilled. We had been talking to Nintendo for many years before localizing Hyrule Historia, waiting for the right project to collaborate on, and Hyrule Historia was the absolute right book at the right time. It was incredibly rewarding to work on.

Dark Horse and Nintendo have built on the relationship we formed with Hyrule Historia to work on books like The Art of Fire Emblem Awakening, which comes out in October.

We knew that, with the 30^th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda being this year, and Breath of the Wild coming out in 2017, this was the time to revisit The Legend of Zelda Universe.

This book raises the bar as the ultimate Zelda resource because it explores a different aspect of the game than Hyrule Historia — the art. I would say that Hyrule Historia is largely a lore book. This is an art book. The next book is going to be . . . well . . . you’ll just have to wait and see! But know that each one of these books explores different aspects of the Zelda series, and, by the time we’re through, we’ll have a fairly exhaustive look at the entire series for fans.

PREVIEWSworld: What’s the scope for this project? Where do we start, and where do we stop in Zelda history? And how exhaustive is the research?

Patrick Thorpe: This project lands in 2016 for a reason. It explores the first thirty years of the franchise, starting with The Legend of Zelda and ending with a peak of Breath of the Wild. There are three chapters and over 400 pages. The chapters include a masterpiece gallery —which contains fully-realized artwork from each game — a character gallery — which contains art and some sketches for nearly all of the characters in each of the games — and a bonus content section, which has sprite art, interviews with the artists, promotional images, etc.

I’m not going to say this book contains every piece of art ever created for this series, because we obviously couldn’t fit it all, but it is jam- packed with artwork, all printed on high quality paper, and oversized, so that you can really see all the beautiful details. Nintendo opened the vaults for this one.

PREVIEWSworld: Can you give us an idea about what interviews will be featured in the book? Are any your personal favorites?

Patrick Thorpe: The interview section contains the memories of four artists who embody the generations of brilliant artists who have worked on the series. It contains anecdotes about what they remember about working on the games, as well as their inspirations for their illustrations.

My personal favorite part of the interview is the discussion about A Link to the Past. The Legend of Zelda may have been my first game in the series, but when A Link to the Past came out, I was finally old enough to really appreciate it. It remains one of my favorite games of all time, if not my favorite game of all time.

PREVIEWSworld: Can you give us a breakdown on all the cool features contained in this book? People love to read about DVD extras, so, please, spare no details!

Patrick Thorpe: Well, let’s see. I’m going to repeat myself here, so I apologize in advance. This book contains finished pieces from every single one of the games and some sketches and concept art as well. There are pieces from the box art, the instruction booklets, advertisements, in-game artwork, character illustrations, sprite art, comparisons of artwork from original releases and their rerelease brethren, item illustrations, every Japanese and North American logo, 25^th anniversary art, teaser art, Mario Kart 8 art, and maybe a few surprises as well.

We tried to pack in as much content as possible, while still giving each piece room to breathe so that it can be properly appreciated. This book is very much what I would call the art of The Legend of Zelda. Hyrule Historia comprises what I would call the lore. The next two books are going to explore two different aspects of The Legend of Zelda. By the time we’re through, fans will have a very comprehensive look at the series in totality. Dark Horse and Nintendo cannot wait to show you all the wonderful things we’ve been working on, starting with a look at the past, present, and future of the artwork of the series in The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts!