'SpongeBob SquarePants: The Art of an Undersea World' Delayed into March

Jan 3
2 min read

January 3rd 2026

The upcoming SpongeBob artbook was revealed in October by IDW Publishing, however "I'm ready!", has become "I wasn't quite as ready as I thought.", as the book has unfortunately has its release date pushed back.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Art of an Undersea World promises an exciting look at the show and movies, but has now been delayed from February 17th to March 3rd, giving fans a little longer to wait to see the early art behind Bikini Bottom and its cast of characters.

The book will come as a massive 352-page hardcover made in partnership with Nickelodeon. You'll be able to get a look at the early art for SpongeBob, Patrick Star, Gary, Squidward, Plankton, and more, as well as storyboards, backgrounds, and final art for the the now classic cartoon.

The reason for the delay is unknown and follows another delay from the publisher for The Art of Star Trek: Lower Decks, which could indicate a scheduling issue that has affected multiple releases. The delay was spotted when checking retailer listings and confirmed on websites that include Amazon US and Barnes & Noble. The delay is relatively short for an artbook though, and hopefully the last one the release will see.

As noted when it was revealed, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Art of an Undersea World comes with an RRP of $49.99/ £41.99, an fantastic price point for a book of this size. This makes it the perfect gift for those that grew up with the show, but also parents of a younger generation of fans as well. The previews seen here are not final, but indicate that there will be a lot of insights to read alongside the artwork showcased on the pages, further adding to the book's appeal.

The upcoming book comes a few months after the last appearance of everyone's favourite sponge too, as on December 19th 2024 a new movie was released, titled The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. While this will have created some new fans, most will no doubt know SpongeBob from the TV show that is still going today, over 25 years after its debut in 1999. Season 16 ran from September 12th to November 28th, continuing the show's slapstick comedy and entertaining scenarios the characters find themselves in.

Any updates will be shared here, as well as a review when the book arrives in March. If you grew up with the show as I did and want to add this book to your own collection, you can pre-order SpongeBob SquarePants: The Art of an Undersea World here;