Book Review - Marvel Studios' The Infinity Saga - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The Art of the Movie

The Artbook Collector
3 hours ago
7 min read

September 29th 2025

The Guardians of the Galaxy made their return in 2017 with Vol.2, reuniting audiences with some of our favourite characters, as well as some new faces too. It packed in more heart, humour, and—the same yet now more adorable—screams of "I am Groot!". An artbook was published for the movie, which has now been rereleased by Titan Books as part of their Infinity Saga series, bringing the book to new fans and those that missed out before.

Now that the September 30th release of Marvel Studios' The Infinity Saga - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The Art of the Movie is here, I can revisit the weird and wonderful worlds of the movie and give my thoughts on what's inside. As I own the original and it’s a favourite in the series of mine, this is a chance for me not just to review the book, but also compare it to the original!

the art of guardians of the galaxy vol 2

I will use my normal 5 review points; build quality, content, credits, use of space and value, but re-order them to save the comparison to the original, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The Art of the Movie from 2017, for the end.

Content

This book comes with 312 pages and a huge amount of concept art, significantly more than the Multiverse Saga artbooks for newer projects. This was a highlight of the older Marvel Studios’ releases, as it allowed the movies that needed more pages to get them, with this being one to take advantage of the extra pages. The spectacular artwork covers all aspects of the movie, such as characters, locations, technology, ships, and keyframes, giving fans of the Guardians a good mix of designs to enjoy.

If you have concerns that this book includes different content than the original, you need not worry as everything is kept the same. The artwork, text, page count, and order are all identical, just adjusted for the new sizing of the book. There are even references to Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War in the back as being set for future release, just like the original. This is true for all of the Infinity Saga series books, as noted in my review for the previous entry from Titan Books, Marvel Studios' The Infinity Saga - Doctor Strange: The Art of the Movie.

The character art here dives into the costumes of the returning team, as well as their weapons and technology. This of course includes a look at the fan-favourite and ever adorable Baby Groot, who captures the same charm in the artwork as seen in the movie. As expected, the incredibly detailed concepts bring the characters to life, with the artists showcasing why they are some of the best in the industry, which includes Andy Park, Jackson Sze, Anthony Francisco, and many more.

This continues for other characters too, including Yondu and the Ravagers, as well as Mantis and Ego, who get a lot of page space for their debut concepts. Ego gets a great showcase, with art that was done before Kurt Russell was cast in the role, as it depicts both Russell and other faces in the as the character. Mantis also has some fun pages too, with a range of looks and colours that fans will find interesting to pore over. I also really like the inclusion of some hand drawn sketches for the characters as these are rare for the series, but a great addition. I enjoyed the large amount of unused material found throughout too, a frequent highlight of the studios' books.

Being that Guardians of the Galaxy is in the cosmic corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are some incredible concepts of locations and planets they visit, from the pristine golden home world of the Sovereign, to the intricate designs for the planet of Ego. The use of colour is superb, making the planets feel distinct and very alien, helped by the high print quality Titan Books boast in this release. Ego’s planet and castle especially are highlights due to the geometric, yet still biological, visual style that is an impressive showcase of the talent at Marvel.

The text throughout gives insights through interviews with the artists and creative team behind the movie. It’s an interesting read that touches on the characters, the approach to their designs, some production details, and more. It’s not a text heavy book, but I like the amount included as it gives a lot of detail while keeping the art as the main focus.

Credits

Like all Marvel Studios artbooks, both old and new, The Infinity Saga - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The Art of the Movie credits the artists on each page, so you know exactly who did what. This is done with their last names, while their full name and all the pages they are featured on are listed in the back. This way, if you have a favourite, you can quickly find all their featured work which is a nice feature.

Build Quality

This is where I can start to make comparisons while continuing the review, as the differences begin to show. The most notable again is a lack of a slipcase that was present with the original release from Marvel. I liked the slipcases, they were strong and protective, but that does come at a literal cost. Not including one here has made the book much more affordable than new releases from Marvel, which now reach triple digits, so I think this was a good move to replace it with a dustjacket by Titan Books.

The new hardcover book is a little smaller that the original at 24 x 27cm, as opposed to 24.5 x 29.5 cm for the first edition. It’s not a huge difference and it is still a good size. In fact, it’s a little thicker due to the improved binding quality, despite having the same page count and content.

As with previous entries in the Infinity Saga series, the book cover of the Marvel original is featured on the dustjacket and the slipcase art is on the hardcover underneath. It’s a thoughtful inclusion and maintains the approach to including all of the material from before.

The biggest improvements in this new rerelease are again the binding and print quality. There is more flexibility in the backing of the binding, allowing the pages to open fully and lay flat, creating a better reading experience and reducing image loss for art that cross the centre fold too. The binding in the originals could be very tight, making the pages bounce back, made worse by having less page signatures, so this is a big selling point of the Infinity Saga series. You can see the difference above.

The brighter colours and improved contrast are also a highlight for me, making this book the better of the two for the display of artwork. Marvel’s release of Guardians of the Galaxy: The Art of the Movie didn’t have the darkest art like others, just by nature of the movie being much more colourful, but it is still improved here and that is a huge win for fans interested in buying this version. Below you can see two examples that highlight the better detail clarity, with the new Infinity Saga release above the Marvel published original.

Use of Space

The designers at Marvel did a great job in 2017, making the most of the space while using nice clean layouts. It’s a lot simpler that other Marvel books, there are no colourful backgrounds or designs, just simple white pages and I actually like that here. With so much art, it doesn’t need to do anything more and it makes the text nice and clear too.

For this new rerelease, the layouts are kept the same, with adjustments made to the sizing and texts to stay true to the original. This means text fills up more of the empty space and some images meet the edge of the page where they previously had a margin, but overall nothing is negatively affected. The print quality helps maintains the image clarity, even where they may be a little smaller.

Value

Marvel Studios' The Infinity Saga - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The Art of the Movie retails at full price for $50/ £35, a cheaper alternative to a second hand or sealed copy of the original found online. Part of the reason for the series was likely that some of the books are harder to come by now, and although this isn’t necessarily one of them, this comes with a quality and a price point that makes it hard to pass on.

It is worth noting that $50 in the US is a price increase from the last entry for Doctor Strange. The global economy and tariffs could be the reason for this, but it’s not all doom and gloom, as at the time of writing this before its release, on Amazon US the book is $40, so reductions are available for those interested in a copy. It’s already on offer in the UK too at £27, but of course this will fluctuate. For a wealth of concept art from some of the best in the industry, based on a fun and creative movie, you can’t go wrong with the pricing here, even without a discount.

Verdict

Marvel Studios' The Infinity Saga - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The Art of the Movie showcases superb artwork for the characters, worlds, and moments of the movie, all alongside insights that fans will appreciate. At the same time, Titan Books proves again that the Infinity Saga series is now the best way to view the artwork with a well-made artbook, big improvements, and a good price point.

One of my favourite books in the original run continues to be a favourite in this new series, coming highly recommended for not just those that love the movie, but also sci-fi art in general. People that missed out on the original 2017 book should look to get this added to their shelf!

If you need more Groot in your life and want to add Marvel Studios' The Infinity Saga - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The Art of the Movie to your own collection, you can do so here;