Faux Military

I love the faux military designs of Ralph Lauren that he also brought to the 2012 US Olympic Team. This design is from earlier than that runway. The look is commanding.

Ralph Lauren — Ski Wear

No Better Cause

This is one of the drawings that I bought from Gil Kane himself, at the time he was creating a lot of Superman material for DC. It's an iconic pose, with iconic power auras like Kane was prone to draw at the time. This and some other stuff I've been hoarding for years is coming up for auction at Heritage Auctions. I'm loathe to let them go, but I have no better cause than to help our daughter to continue her college education.

Gil Kane — Superman — 1980s

Breath of Fresh Air

These three characters were ALways mistreating each other over many years, so it was a breath of fresh air to have the charm of music bring them together harmoniously. 

George Herriman — Krazy Kat — March 31, 1941

Ghostly Host on the March

This is a beautiful rendition of a ghostly host on the march. See, the idea here is that the lady in white can see the apparitions and they are in obeisance to her, while the warrior guy can't see any of the spooky stuff and — and — and there's a whole story here that you just need to go find. I'm not involved with this stuff, somebody out there is and can tell you about it (is this a book and a role playing game?)—I just really like the art, so it ended up in my image morgue.

Matt Stawicki — Dragons of a Lost Star — Dragon Lance

Showman of Science

For all his quirkiness, I really miss Carl Sagan — his enthusiasm, his optimism, his writing, his showmanship, his vision, his Cosmos.

And yes, his quirkiness.

Does anyone else miss Carl Sagan?

Time — October 20, 1980

The Enigma of the East

Last post, there was a comment from ToB that reminded me of one of my favorite character renderings by Nick Cardy, back at the tail end of the Silver Age of Comics. Lilith, an empathic clairvoyant who joined up with the original Teen Titans was drawn and written as a mysterious and caring teen wonder, and I, well, I sorta had a mid-teen crush on this paper doll, thanks to Cardy's drawing style.

Kid Robson wrote a post of this schoolboy phenomenon, here. 

I wonder, did girls have crushes for Superboy, or Brainiac 5, or Robin the Teen Wonder? Wally West? Hawk and Dove? AquaLad?

 Above and below, Nick Cardy — Lilith — The Teen Titans

The Daring & The Different

I have a genuine fondness for the DC comics of the 1967-74 years, a transition period of sorts between the Silver and Bronze Ages. The art and the stories were actually better in many ways than the Golden and Silver Ages, as the comics industry was starting into its 3rd generation of talent. Don't get me wrong though, the Golden and Silver years were raw, bold, colorful, and wonderful — with a huge nostalgic factor. 

Below is a tribute by Nick Cardy, one of the 2nd generation artists that was at the top of his game during this period. I have bittersweet memories of this time, as it bookended my high school years into my army years, when I was still collecting as I could, attending early comicons and such, and seeking out my favorite creators to shake their hands.

Nick Cardy — Comic Book Artist — 1999

And Now . . .

And now for something NOT controversial . . . but refreshing.

Marion Kavanagh Wachtel

Crystal Craig and Lake George

1925

No Happiness Like That Given by a Woman

The text sentiment regarding women is spot on in my little universe.

Art: Milo Manara — I think the text is by Fellini

(I've lost track of the book, except for a couple of scans)

Moving Ahead

Spammers be damned. Let's move ahead with alacrity. 

What a pleasant arrangement of color:

Helen Dryden — Vogue — January, 1918

Spammers Keep Coming

The spammers keep coming, no matter how fast I defeat delete them! Underscore_slash/THIS you hellish dogs!

Richard Corben — Infinity Four — 1972

Under Siege

Is anyone else under siege from spammers? I have been inundated with horrible gibberish and fake comments sneaking past my spam filter. It's like fighting off a goblin army!

© Frank Thorne — Ghita under siege

Liv Tyler and Proper

Matt Groening

I Want My Life to Have Meaning . . .

Matt Groening is one of the wisest billionaire cartoonists in the business, even though his business these days probably precludes any cartooning time (sadly, he did retire recently from Life in Hell).

His wisdom and humanity shines through every Life in Hell page, bless his heart, and he still hasn't invited my little family over for dinner. But, Matt, I'm inviting you to either brunch, lunch or tea, my treat. I'd love to render a portrait of you and talk about life in hell.

Really, email me.

© 1989 Matt Groening — Life in Hell — 10-13-89

Lovely Lalique

A lovely modern ad graphic for vintage art captured in glass.

 René Lalique – Bacchantes – 1927

Blushing Vegetables

Another reason for the boys to come home in WWII—

the beaches were lonely.

Blushing Vegetables — crate label — 1943

Grim Determination

When this ad came out in 1943, it was still a hard fight to the end of the war, but grim determination won out. The same sentiment could be used now for the service men and women still in harm's way — "Let's Get It Over With Quick!"

Nash-Kelvinator ad — December 1943

Fair Game

At this here blog thingie we don't discriminate between "fine art" and "popular art", between "good taste" and "tasting good". All images are fair game, some more than others.

Al Feldstein, venerable artist/editor at the old EC madhouse, recreated, as an oil, his cover from Weird Fantasy #15, as many graphic artists have done to make a buck in the collector's market, and why not? 

Now THAT'S entertainment!!!

© 1991 Al Feldstein — recreation of Weird Fantasy #15

White Peacocks

About a year and a half ago I posted a few lovely paintings by Jessie Arms Botke of exotic birds in exotic settings. Well, here's another.

Jessie Hazel Arms Botke — White Peacocks & Hollyhocks — 1935

Warm 'n' Cozy

It's really cold outside my cozy little studio right now.

Hope where you're at, YOU are dry, safe, warm 'n' cozy!

Carl Barks — Blizzard Tonight — © Walt Disney Company

For Damned Intellectuals

Over 30 years ago, Joost Swarte had the courage to expose the TRUE behind-the-scenes business of how comix are produced, not unlike the movie industry, with the studio teamwork of many specialized technicians. Even some of the same Hollywoodish hanky-panky, as we spy going on in the water closet.

© 1980 Joost Swarte — Comix Factory — Raw #2

Long Ago Volume

This image is from one of those long ago volumes that a Victorian gentleman would keep on the highest shelf in his library, or perhaps in a cabinet under lock and key. This volume was a survey of sexual customs from around the world. Now that I've posted this I will replace the volume back to its high shelf.

A Terrible Day in 1872

From a sketch by E.Y. Breck

'On Christmas Eve, 1872, a dreadful derailment took place at Prospect Station, Pennsylvania. Twenty-five passengers were killed when coaches fell from the bridge into a frozen creek bed, where they were set afire from overturned stoves. The derailment was caused by a broken wheel.'

Beasts and Demons

Now and then I receive email enquiries regarding background information on this image or that. 

This image is one that particularly caught my attention because I greatly admire the artwork of WT Benda. Peter was wondering if I knew the date or where this work might be. I do not. This reproduction is from an old Architectural Digest magazine with only the caption: A Mural Decoration by W.T. Benda.

Knowing Benda's fascination with masks, collecting and creating them, this retinue of beasts and demons makes a bit of sense, but still is a mysterious crowd. Some of you out there are fans of Benda, and knowledgeable besides. Do you know the date or whereabouts of this mural? Is this a reproduction of a study or of the actual mural? Are these dimensional masks placed on a painting, or is this a conceptual preliminary meant to drive the execution of full-sized masks? Enquiring minds want to know.

WT Benda — A Mural Decoration

IT

This girl was "it" in her day and, for some, still today.

Clara Bow in Hoopla — 1933

Shocking

There's a post over on the cool Enoch Bolles site that brings up the topic of early 20th century images portraying women smoking cigarettes, a rare and shocking event at that time. Enoch Bolles used smoking as a prop for a magazine cover of 1914. But Raphael Kirchner, in the same year, showed a young Ziegfeld beauty actually savoring her nicotine. The shocking thing these days is that ANYone is smoking, knowing the damage that it inflicts.

Raphael Kirchner —Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic — 1914

An Old and New Topic

Our lives are constant blends of old with new. That's almost one definition of 'time' — old days / new days. We all own some old things and some new things.  New things become old things. We can acquire some old things and thereby make them new things, for us. We moved from our old house to our new house, bringing some old things and buying some new things. The old year became the new year, looking quite the same, except our old view is now a new view. The old computer became a new computer, looking much like the old one, but behaving in a new way. I've finished some old projects and begun some new.

Old and New are simultaneous. 

Where does one begin and the other end?

Milton Glaser — Old/New

House-Warming Party

The weather was pretty nice, and this is a pretty fair representation of what our house-warming party looked like in the back yard. 

Wish you could've been there.

Hendrik van Balen the elder — Feast of the Gods 
 date: I dunno, a long time ago

Hordes from Hades

Thank you to everyone who sent over their good wishes for a smooth move for the home, studio and new computer. Everything DID go smoothly, exCEPT for when I went to the new basement to put some things away, hordes from Hades came pouring out from the unfinished section—which really shook me up until they explained that they were from the Neighborhood Welcoming Committee, inviting us to worship with them (and you should see the basket of goodies they left!).

Virgil Finlay — Hordes from Hades (my title)

The Art of Living

Lao-Tzu

Moving

Moving into a new house, a new studio, a new computer. 

See ya in a couple of days.

Bloggy Blog Blog

This image is totally out of season, totally unrelated to anything—who cares? Right? Bloggy blog blog. Images, images, we're all hungry for images.

Sorry, I'm a little hyper. We're moving home and studio over the next couple of days, and then I pick up my new super-duper, top of the line, dee-luxe, 800 hundred horsepower, slick-trick magic machine. Yes, it's a Mac and I'm proud to say it.

Good golly, why am I so hyper. I moved a truck-load of furniture today and I'm dead tired. But change is exciting and I'm almost done with my 3 years in the making deadlines for 3 separate clients! And then what . . . I dunno.

Okay, this image is slightly related to something relevant. This is, of course, from a Mid-Summer Night's Dream, and we saw a terrific performance of same while we were in London! You just can't go to London and not do something Shakespeare related.

From an old print, don't know the artist, date or anything else. 
But look close at the elegant engraving lines— 
somewhat like paper currency.

Relax

Flawless.

Wenquan Liu — Relax

Life

And isn't life sometimes like this, where even good fortune (here in the guise of a unicorn) can chase you over a cliff . . . ?

George Herriman — Krazy Kat

Sometimes Life Just Feels Like This

Wallace Smith —Pendleton Round Up Association
1927

Warm/Cool

I love the warm/cool impasto applied to this sweet portrait among sunflowers, by FH Varley, one of Canada's "Group of Seven".

Frederick Horsman Varley — Child's Portrait

Nostalgic and Melancholy

A nostalgic and melancholy portrayal of a young American idol.

N.C. Wyeth —The Young Charles Lindbergh — 1931

A Kind and Gentle Soul

A really great friend of ours passed away very recently. It was after a long illness, yet still it was a shock to actually lose him. He was the guiding force of Middle Earth Publishing, which was famous for having published fantasy art portfolios in the 1970s, showcasing the likes of Frank Frazetta, Jeffrey Jones, John Severin, Barry Smith, Howard Chaykin, Mike Ploog, and a number of others. 

This was a man who actually art directed Frank Frazetta, staying at his house for a number of days at a time, and actually served as a model for one of the portfolios. I will be producing a tribute to this man as soon as I can make time, and you'll learn more about him then. In the meantime we are greatly saddened at his passing. He was a kind and gentle soul . . . and Harlan Ellison is still pissed at him. More about that later.

Barry Smith — Conan of Cimmeria — © 1975 Gorblimey Press

Mother and Child

Haddon Sundblom, creator of the ubiquitous and iconic Santa Claus image for Coca Cola, painted other marvelous pieces that are not as well known.

Haddon Sundblom — Mother and Child

A Magazine for Adults

I remember being obsessed with The Spirit when Harvey Comics published two issues of reprints back in the mid '60s, bringing the stories out of retirement for a new generation. Seeing those and the one reprint story in Jules Feiffer's book, also of the mid '60s, made me crazy to want to see more. Well, of course nowadays all the Spirit stories have been reprinted in DC's archive series—yay. 

Back in the '70s, Kitchen Sink Enterprises brought the Spirit further out of retirement and into an "Adults Only" version, which was only very mildly spicy. I bought those at a headshop as beat up dog-eared copies. Then one day in the '80s there appeared a notice somewhere that Eisner was selling file copies of his later comics. I sent in an order for the underground issues along with a praising letter to Eisner. I received back mint condition copies, autographed on the inside, and a personal thank you note from Eisner himself. 

Never be afraid to let your heroes know that you appreciate them!

 © 1973 Will Eisner

© 1972 Will Eisner

Early Works—Obscure Material—Unpublished Art

I love this book, signed by Eisner, and I especially love this cover, adapted from one of his early comics. This is one of those kind of books that they'll have to pry from my dead bony hands in some forlorn nursing home (assuming of course that I make it that far).

Will Eisner — The Art of Will Eisner 

Why Did She Make Strong Men Shiver?

Hmmm, why indeed? Al Capp loved to tease, in more ways than one.

Al Capp's Wolf Gal #1

Freedom—Fraternity—Federation

I love illustrated maps, evoking exotic and adventurous travel. I'm guessing that this one is illustrated by Walter Crane, preeminent illustrator/designer of the early 20th century.

Up to the Rooftop

Ah, come my friend, up to the rooftop, where we may take a load off our feet, fill our pipes with bitter-sweet opium and dream of what is and what might've been.

Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ — Dream of a Eunuch — 1874

As a eunuch, that putto with the knife has great significance.

Winter Has Its Moments

A Magnificent Gift

The start of a new year can be like opening a magnificent gift.

Moebius (Jean Giraud)

Some Words of Wisdom for the New Year

The World Hotel

Checking out . . .

Checking in . . .