Some more official info on the Zavvi exclusive Breaking Bad Steelbook collection

So you’ll know by now that Zavvi have the UK exclusive on the complete Breakng Bad steelbook collection. The artwork, by the incredible Ralph Steadman, seems to have really devided people, but whatever your thoughts (I love it), there’s no denying this is a real effort to do something special.

Now we have a full press release from makers Sony Pictures, which gives a bit more detail on the project, including, for all you Zavvi haters, the news that it was show creator Vince Gilligan who chose Steadman for the artwork. So feel free to moan at him, because, after all, you all clearly know best 😉

Here’s the press release:

The chemistry continues for Breaking Bad fans as Emmy® Award-winning show creator and executive producer Vince Gilligan has partnered with world-renowned British illustrator and cartoonist Ralph Steadman to create all-new, limited edition Blu-ray Steelbooks which will be available from February 2, 2015 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. These collectible steelbooks will have unique covers for each season, dedicated to one of six main characters (Walter, Jesse, Gus, Mike, Hank and Saul), and each will feature exclusive, hand-crafted character illustrations by Steadman, the legendary illustrative mastermind behind Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. This unprecedented creative offering will be available in single season presentations, exclusive to Zavvi.com in the UK.

Gilligan on working with Steadman:

“When I first floated the idea of approaching Ralph to work with us on this project, it was a bit of a pipe dream on my part,” said Gilligan. “I can barely describe the combination of disbelief and giddy joy I felt when I heard he was on board to do it! Ralph is the Walter White of artists: He’s a dark genius whose output is disturbing, yet habit-forming. I am thrilled by his arrestingly bleak, visceral imaginings of our Breaking Bad characters.”

Steadman on Breaking Bad:

“I watched the Breaking Bad whole series in two weeks and now suffer withdrawal symptoms,” Steadman said. “At first, I thought ‘this series is going to be all about death and desecration,’ but instead became a more complex landscape of human relationships. I hope I put something of these feelings into the portraits that I made of the characters, which were landscapes in themselves. An irony in the subject of crystal meth is how beautifully it resembles the desert sky.”

Steadman on Each Character:
WALTER WHITE: “The characters are specific, primarily Water White appeared to be an -intensely honourable family man who during the course of the story, became indelibly corrupted.”
JESSE PINKMAN: “I thought Jesse was going to turn out to be a waster and in fact, he developed instead into an incredibly compassionate human being.”
HANK SCHRADER: “The warmth of friendship between Hank and Walt was both touching and tragic, and I wanted to take both Hank and Walt and get them to realise each others’ points of view. I constantly wanted to shake them and tell them ‘pull yourselves together and work this thing out.'”
SKYLER WHITE & MARIE SCHRADER: “As for the wives, sisters Skyler and Marie, there was something about them that at first seemed so foolishly unaware of what was happening, that it couldn’t possibly happen that way.”
THE WHITE FAMILY: “Regarding baby Holly, Skyler and Walt seemed rather too old to be starting a new family, although early on in the series, there was obviously strong affection between both of them. A dimension of the family was the beautiful adoring son, Walt Jr., who at first simply would not believe there was anything wrong with his beloved dad, and then discovered that all that glitters is not gold.”
SAUL GOODMAN: “I loved the lawyer. He was so wonderfully crooked.”

Steadman is best known for his work with American author Hunter S. Thompson (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), as well as his political and social caricatures, cartoons and picture books. Steadman’s accolades include the American Society of Illustrators´Certificate of Merit, the W.H. Smith Illustration Award, the BBC Design Award, as well as several awards from the Designers and Art Directors Association.

Breaking Bad, the Emmy® Award-winning TV drama series, remains one of the most ground-breaking and highly acclaimed shows of all time, praised by both critics and viewers around the globe. The series has aired in over 90 countries worldwide, and was among the most-watched cable shows on American television, as well as worldwide by its end. The show received numerous awards, including 16 Primetime Emmy® Awards, eight Satellite Awards, two Golden Globe® Awards, and a People’s Choice Award. In 2014, Breaking Bad entered the Guinness World Records as the highest rated show of all time.

Synopsis:
The incredible saga of high school chemistry teacher-turned-meth kingpin Walter White is here in its entirety: all 62 uncut, uncensored episodes! Emmy® winner Bryan Cranston portrays Walter White, a family man who turns to crime after a lung cancer diagnosis unravels his bland but simple life. Recruiting former student and small-time drug dealer Jesse Pinkman (Emmy® winner Aaron Paul) to be his partner in crime, Walt rises to the top of the meth trade, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. But he can’t keep his dogged DEA agent brother-in-law Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) off his trail forever. Will Walt get away with it all, or die trying? Re-live every moment of this groundbreaking original series with riveting performances by Emmy® winner Anna Gunn, Giancarlo Esposito, Jonathan Banks, Bob Odenkirk, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte and more. Breaking Bad was executive produced by Vince Gilligan, Mark Johnson and Michelle MacLaren.