First, I must compliment the great care with which this big, heavy, expensive book was packed and shipped. The book was wrapped in a plastic sleeve to prevent scuffing and scratches, then secured snugly with foam pads inside a sturdy box. The book arrived in great shape with sharp corners, much to my delight.
Second, the book itself is impressive, with quality paper and good binding. I haven't read all the contents yet, but it's great to see Rude's Sunday-newspaper-strip style art at this large size. I hope the Rudes are proud of the significant accomplishment this book represents.
The only suggestion I could make for any future volumes is in the organization of the contents. This book presents all the Gourmando pages in their final colored form, then in pencils, and then in inks. It makes sense to present all the colored pages together to be read as the final product, but I would have preferred to see the pencilled and then inked version of each strip on facing pages of the book, as was done in the fantastic Nexus Chronicles book from Flesk. Seeing these two successive stages of the pages side by side would make comparison easier and give further insight into the process Rude goes through to create his magnificent comics art.
