The Missing Artbooks from Marvel Studios
- The Artbook Collector
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
January 15th 2026
Marvel Studios have a large catalogue of artbooks for their releases, with publications from the very first Iron Man in 2008, to The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The series is now made up of 55 books for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with releases from other publishers available as well, but this could have been even higher. In recent years it has become less likely that some projects will get an artbook, and some went without one many years ago, so lets look back at what they sadly skipped.
Skipped - The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
The first time that Marvel Studios themselves completely skipped an artbook (more on Marvel Television shortly) was for their second special, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Up until this point, all movies and shows received the artbook treatment, so when the first Marvel Studios Special Presentations release received a book with Marvel Studios' Werewolf by Night: The Art of the Special, it was thought that the next would too. Sadly, it never arrived and the reasons it was skipped are unknown, but a real shame as the Guardians of the Galaxy artbooks prior to this were fantastic.
Cancelled - Secret Invasion
This was one very odd, because this book was not skipped and was actually listed for release, but ultimately never came to be. As noted in my previous reporting on the book, you could pre-order Marvel Studios' Secret Invasion: The Art of the Series and it was given a release date. At a time when every artbook from Marvel was being delayed multiple times, this one held its ground better than most, but the release date came and went and it simply became unavailable. Eventually it was delisted, confirming its cancellation.
Secret Invasion was not well received, but the same could also be said for other projects, so this became another red flag from the studio that let fans know that going forward, not everything in the Multiverse Saga would get an artbook. The lack of official cover art was a sign that something wasn't right, but I also spoke to an artists that worked on the show that said he had not been interviewed for the book, which was unusual. There is some great art online for the Skrulls, and although there may not have been as much interesting concept art for this show due to its setting and genre, it still would have been a welcome addition to the shelf. This was not the first book to be cancelled though, as you will see in this list.
Skipped - Echo/ Iron Heart
The cancellation of the Secret Invasion artbook showed that Marvel had shifted and was no longer releasing artbooks for all of their Disney+ shows. Although others like Loki: Season Two, Agatha All Along, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law did get an artbook, Echo didn't get the same love. The show based on Maya Lopez after her introduction in Hawkeye was received well by fans, but no listing ever appeared for an artbook.
This was continued with Iron Heart, a show that again didn't even get a listing for a book. Those that have been collecting the Disney+ artbooks I have now have some painful gaps in the series, some of which could have come with great artwork. With three live-action series now without an artbook, the future is looking less bright for upcoming shows.
Still Possible - What if...? Season 2 and 3
The Art of Marvel Studios’ What If...? was also an interesting release, as the book was initially cancelled in a similar way to Secret Invasion: The Art of the Series. After appearing online as part of the ongoing series from Marvel Studios, it was delisted, only to appear again in a new format from publisher Abrams Books.
This was a first for a Marvel Studios' artbook and it took three years after the season ended for the book to eventually arrive, coming as a hardcover with a dustjacket and therefore not part of the MCU series' matching set. Since then though, there has been no word on the next two seasons of What If...?, and although it has not yet been three years since the second season aired, there's been no hint that it is coming. The first long gap can be excused for the cancellation and a new publisher taking on the project, but the wait for the final seasons to get an artbook is now unusual. They could still be coming though, so watch this space.
Skipped - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Seasons 5-7
Released as part of the same slipcase format as the Infinity Saga movie artbooks, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter received 'Declassified' books that looked at the making of the shows from Marvel Television, that was then a separate division. Inside were character and episode breakdowns, VFX images, and some concept art. While both seasons of Agent Carter did get a slipcase book, Coulson and his team of agents were not so lucky, as the last book was Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season Four Declassified.
Possibly due to Marvel Television coming to an end as everything was migrating to Marvel Studios themselves, the last three seasons didn't get a Declassified book, nor did they get a Blu-ray release either. At least we got to see the fantastic artwork for Ghost Rider for the fourth season!
Cancelled and Skipped - The Netflix Shows
Secret Invasion wasn't the first book to get delisted and cancelled, as it also happened years before. Listings were online for 'Declassified' style books for season one of Netflix's Daredevil and Jessica Jones in 2015. After delays, Marvel's Daredevil: Defender of Hell's Kitchen: Season One and Marvel's A.K.A. Jessica Jones: Season One were eventually removed from retailer websites and no book was ever published for this more adult corner of the universe. Nothing was ever listed for Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders, or The Punisher either. The only concept art printed was on a spread in Marvel Studios: The Art of Ryan Meinerding that highlighted Daredevils costume, which can be seen below.
Artists Jackson Sze did post on social media in April 2025 that an artbook was coming for Daredevil: Born Again, the return of the character now under Marvel Studios, as opposed to the old Marvel Television division. Sadly though, no listing has been revealed since and could be a sign that is is now not getting one. Fingers crossed that Daredevil is finally getting a dedicated artbook in the near future and it's just taking longer than expected!
Skipped - I Am Groot
Although you could argue that I Am Groot doesn't need an artbook as it was made up of episodes that were under 10 minutes long, it is also visually more unique than other shows on this list and likely has some fun concept art hidden away for it.
A full 224-page hardcover like the others may be a bit much for the misadventures of Baby Groot, but a combination book with The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special would have been a great way to showcase some of the work behind its creation. Who doesn't want more from Baby Groot after all?!
Cancelled - The Incredible Hulk
The first cancellation was for The Art of The Incredible Hulk, which would have been the second ever release for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Originally scheduled to hit shelves in November 2008, the book didn't get a release at all.
This could have fallen through due to the fact that Marvel didn't have the rights to the solo film, which was handled by Universal at the time. Artbooks for the Spider-Man movies that are owned by Sony did arrive though, but at that point Disney had bought Marvel, whereas in 2008 the MCU was under Paramount Pictures. We will never know the reason and can only speculate, but IP rights and contracts can be messy and so possibly the reason.
Unlikely - Marvel Zombies/ Eyes of Wakanda
Likely to suffer the same fate as I Am Groot, these miniseries have no upcoming releases set to showcase the art behind them. I don't think that they will get a printed showcase, but I would like to see a combination book with each other, or even with What If...?, as they are all made under Marvel Studios Animation.
It is worth noting that it if they do come to fruition, they would almost certainly come from publisher Abrams Books and not part of Marvel's own ongoing series. The reason for this is that they seem to be handling all of the animation artbooks. This includes the previously mentioned What If...? title, but also X-Men ’97: The Art and Making of the Animated Series and the upcoming book, The Art of Marvel Animation’s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
Future Releases?
At the time of writing this, Wonder Man is just around the corner for a release on Disney+, but based on Echo and Iron Heart not getting the 'Art of' treatment, this will likely be missed too. As mentioned, Daredevil: Born Again has not appeared either, so there's a chance the TV side of MCU could go without artbooks. The upcoming Punisher special and VisionQuest series will likely lack a release too. I am expecting the Daredevil book, although I can see it coming later and covering multiple seasons.
What we can count on though, is the movies. No doubt we will be getting what will be titled 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day - The Art of the Movie' and 'Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday - The Art of the Movie', it's just a matter of when, because based on previous time gaps, they could arrive in 2027. Anything else is a roll of the dice as it currently stands and between format changes, odd pricing choices, and books being cancelled and moved around, it is clear that things behind-the-scenes aren't what they once were. It will be interesting to see what Marvel add to their almost 20 year old series in the coming years!
If any future artbooks are announced, they will be reported here and added to the collection too, so you can get previews and a review when they arrive. Be sure to check out the Reviews page to find some of their most recent releases.
Also check out Titan Books' ongoing re-releases of the Infinity Saga artbooks, each coming with all of the original content in a resized matching set. Read my most recent review here; Book Review - The Infinity Saga – Thor: Ragnarok – The Art of the Movie
