Wednesday 29 February 2012

Rowland B. Wilson's Trade Secrets

Bill Peckmann just alerted me on this book:
Rowland B. Wilson's Trade Secrets: Notes for Cartooning and Animation


Looks like a "must have" and I can't wait to grab a copy!
Click HERE to go to the Amazon listing. (Publishing date: June 20, 2012)

And while you are waiting there are lots of Rowland artwork over at Michael Sporn's Splog and on Leif Peng's Today's Inspiration to check out!


Wednesday 22 February 2012

The Art of Joe Kubert

Just did a "review" of the book The Art of Joe Kubert on Amazon.com and thought I'd share it here too.
[I gave it two stars while the five other reviewers all gave it five stars.]
Only 2 stars?
Let me start with saying that this is a nice collection of scans of comic book pages and covers, plus a few complete stories from the 40's and 50's by Joe Kubert. Hard to find stuff by a great, great artist. All put in context by Bill Schelly.
It feels like reading a special Joe Kubert issue of "Alter Ego", in color with hard covers.
Nothing wrong with that.
In fact this is a perfect companion to "Man of Rock" by Schelly.
And I have to say the choice of paper used in this book is excellent!

Then why only two stars?
Well, as an "Art of" book it fails miserably.
What we get here are mostly scans from comic books.
Almost no personal works, no sketches or preliminaries etc. (A childhood drawing is the only piece reproduced in this book not related to his comic book work. And it has been previously published.) Did Kubert only draw finished comic book art and nothing else?
That's the impression you get when looking in this book.

Either Schelly didn't get access to the Kubert archives or he didn't care for unpublished artwork.
However there are 25 pieces of comic book art reproduced from original art. Of those are all but five taken from Heritage Auctions.
(Ca 200 pages of original Joe Kubert art can be viewed on their site. Check under "Reference".)
Unfortunately those pages shows traces of compression in the images, jagged lines etc. The Heritage Auctions scans are great to watch on a computer screen, but reproduction of those pages in this book leaves a lot to desire.
(Check out Mark Evanier's "Kirby: King of Comics" for how nice original art can be reproduced.)
Why not go for original Kubert comic book artwork not easily available on the net when producing a book like this?

If you, like me, expect a fantastic book like "B. Krigstein" by Greg Sadowski, the above mentioned Kirby book or a stunning art book like Dean Mullaney's "Caniff" you will be disappointed. The title "The Art of" is simply mis-leading in this case.
But if you are looking for a nice companion book to "Man of Rock" you can add two stars to mine.

Links to the other books mentioned above:
Man of Rock: A Biography of Joe Kubert
B. Krigstein, Volume 1
Kirby: King of Comics
Caniff HC

Sunday 19 February 2012

Loomis week...

... is almost over but here are a few odd items, that I guess only the hardcore Loomis collectors are aware of. Enjoy!



May 17, 1931

September 13, 1931

The Dionne Quintuplets "Out For Fun", 1951

For more Andrew Loomis make sure to grab Illustration Magazine #20!
And if you don't have the old Looms books Titan Books are now reprinting them as facsimile editions. Check them out by clicking HERE.

Saturday 18 February 2012

This Week ...

... continues.
April 16, 1939
Tomorrow: No more "This Week", but a few other goodies.

Friday 17 February 2012

This Week ...

... is soon coming to an end.
But not yet.

Thursday 16 February 2012

This Week ...

You know what?
August 4, 1940
It's still This Week week!
(And, yes, it's still Andrew Loomis artwork gracing the covers.)

Wednesday 15 February 2012

This Week ...

Guess what? Time for another Loomis!

Tuesday 14 February 2012

This Week ...

... is This Week week, feat. the magnificent Loomis.

Monday 13 February 2012

Sunday 12 February 2012

Buck O'Rue to be released

 News of the day:
Classic Comics Press will publish the Buck O'Rue book!

Cover by Paul Murry and Gerben Valkema.

 More info to come...

Follow Classic Comics Press on Facebook by clicking here.

Sunday, sunday here again ...

Spending the sunday afternoon with some drawing and restoration work.
Snowy outside, warm inside the apartment. A cup of coffee and the radio playing some good music. Quite cozy. 
Just finished inking a puzzle page with Nils the Cat scheduled for the 120 anniversary issue of Kamratposten. The restoration work is on a few Russell Patterson things.
Damn he was a good artist.


Now, back to work...

Wednesday 8 February 2012

NCS 1970

Bill Peckmann was digging through his files last week and found this poster from the National Cartoonist Society, dated 1970. So many, and many not so, familiar faces.
Can you find your favourite cartoonists?
Enjoy!








PS. Make sure that you don't miss the great, great Rowland B Wilson artwork Bill is sharing over at Michael Sporns Splog! Just click HERE!
Update: More Wilson artwork has been added. Click HERE to find a great set of roughs for TV Guide.

Monday 6 February 2012

Drawings From The Left

Just got a book in the mail from Tim Walker: "Drawings from the left".
Diagnosed with lateral Parkinson's disease on his right side a few years ago he learned to draw with his left hand instead of his right. How can I describe the book? I think Animator Dan Haskett already did it better than I could: "One of the most inspirational messages I've ever heard. What artist hasn't feared the sudden loss of his ability to make art? Tim's courage and patience are exemplary and uplifting."
For more info check out Tim's website: http://jamestimwalker.com/

Wednesday 1 February 2012

The Westerner #194, 1966 part V

Here are pages 20-23!
This time it's all about one of the sellers of Whitman products.
Meet Fred LaBelle "Our Man in the Maumee Valley".







Bonus: Here's a photo from ca 1941-42. It's the Western lobby and reception area in Racine. Bet few of you have seen this photo before. :)


Any sharp eyed reader who can identify the Disney publications on the wall?

Update: Are Myklebust was able to identify the publication! It turned out to be "The Victory March", Random House, 1942. Thanks, Are!