Of Illustrators, Heros and Art Shows

Firstly, I must apologize for my overlong absence from blogdom. But work, work, work - much of which, in a somewhat ironic fashion, emanates from this blog. Insofar as my blogging activities have led me (at the behest of the Svengali - like Geoff West and his assemblage of Elven executives - aka the good people at the Book Palace) to commit my enthusiasms to the printed page.




This is a very circuitous way of saying that the blog has been in a state of inactivity, whilst yours truly races to meet publishing deadlines for illustrators issue 3 and Heros the Spartan. The former is now print ready and with the aid of my talented team, including my associate editor Bryn Havord, who has brought a lifetime's experience of working as an award winning Fleet Street art director and designer to the mix. Before Bryn acquiesced to come on board, I was only hazily aware of the devices and disciplines essential to ensure that readers absorb information in as pleasurable a manner as possible. I thought "widders and orphans" populated the streets of Dickensian London and Midge's dicks were impossible to detect without the aid of an electron microscope - not to mention the dynamics of the running turn - essential to maintaining readership momentum and not just something for the cinder track. Bryn has not only put me straight on these essentials but as art director and associate editor of Woman's Mirror in the 1960s he was also a prime mover and shaker when it came to commissioning many of the artists who were creating a real revival of illustration in the pages of UK and US magazines. Not only does he know a lot of these artists but he is a truly engaging writer, which was one of the things that really hooked me when I discovered some of his postings on Leif Peng's fabulous blog; Today's Inspiration.

Meanwhile as Steve Holland has already flagged up, issue 2 of illustrators is now out and is regarded by everyone that has got back to us, as even stronger than issue 1, not that we are in any way ashamed of issue 1, as in all these exercises, we are on a steep learning curve and there is always room for improvement, particularly in the early stages of a project such as this.

Heros, I am pleased to say, is now very close to completion, we are just finalizing some of the additional images to be included in the leather edition (second of the two cover images) and adding a few captions to the introductory section of the book - all other work is now complete - phew!!!

Lastly, but by no means leastly, Book Place Books are taking a stand at the Science Museum hosted Works on Paper Art Show, which is running from this Wednesday 31st January from 2.00 pm - 9.00 pm and then from Thursday 11.00 am - 9.00 pm and then Friday 11.00 am - 8.00 pm, Saturday 11.00 am - 6.00 pm and finally Sunday 11.00 am - 6.00 pm. Tickets for two can be obtained free by visiting the this link. This show is a real delight and is an essential visit for all collectors and enthusiasts of illustration and artwork for books, comic strips, newspaper strips and all aspects of illustration in it's widest sense.

Illustrators #2: In review

Issue two of Illustrators is a warm welcome at this chilly time of year. This latest foray into the world of art—from its understated cover through 96 pages of stunning colour by some of the most talented artists in the world—is a delight.

Front and centre is David Wright, an artist whose work has been severely under-exposed for years. You might be forgiven for thinking that Wright is a closely guarded secret, revealed only to a handful of artists who cite him as an influence. Thankfully, the appearance of Carol Day on the internet in 2008 led to a widening of the small circle that knew about his talent. The website that promoted Wrights' famous Daily Mail strip was run by Roger Clark, who describes his discovery and devotion to the strip in this issue. The man behind the pen is the focus of a long and informative lead feature by Illustrators' editor Peter Richardson, compiled with the aid of Patrick and Paul Wright—David Wright's sons and both talented artists themselves. A third son, Nicky, was an occasional telephone pal of mine who would call up to chat about horror comics.

Wright was a major British pin-up artist of immense talent, so it is marvelous to see some of his earlier work displayed as well as rare sketches and roughs. News that there is a book focusing on his pin-up art in preparation is very welcome.

C. L. Doughty should need no introduction... but sadly he does. David Ashford romps through Doughty's years as an artist of swashbuckling comic strip and touches on his many years as an illustrator for Look and Learn. As the compiler of Pages From History, I'm well aware of Doughty's immense talents as an illustrator. Hopefully his appearance here will help spread the word wider that Doughty deserves to be better known.

Raymond Sheppard may be a recognised name but I have to admit that I knew very little about his background, a problem now fixed thanks to Norman Boyd's excellent biographical essay. From winning awards at the age of seven to turning freelance at 21, Sheppard's rise to stardom was accelerated by his talent for drawing animals. A meticulous researcher and a superb draughtsman, Sheppard died far too young, only 45 when he died in 1958.

The fourth and final feature is a look at the work on Renato Fratini. Although Italian, a lot of his work appeared in the UK, perhaps most famously on the film poster for From Russia With Love. Fratini was able to move effortlessly between posters, magazine illustrations and book covers, from bodice-rippers for Fontana Books to posters for Carry On movies. Fratini also died young, aged only 40.

John Watkiss describes how he approaches a colour sketch for The Walking Dead and there is a brief gallery of art by Jordi Penalva, plus reviews and letters. Another fine issue ... and we now have issue three to look forward to, with Fortunino Matania, Andy Virgil and Peter Maddocks in the line-up.

Illustrators #2 is available from Book Palace Books.

On Sale Now

 

Just a quick word to let you know that after a Christmas and New Years' cruise around the Med Illustrators issue 2 is now with us in the warehouse. Those of you who have a subscription or have already ordered this issue will receive it in the next few days.

 

Check these great articles:

 

A Brush with Fitzrovia

The Elegant Art of David Wright

My Affair with Carol Day
Lipstick in My Collar - Roger Clark Confesses All

Blades and Brocades
The Historical illustrations of Cecil Doughty

Under the Great Arch of Heaven
The Pure and Sparkling Art of Raymond Sheppard

Taking the Rough with the Smooth
The Revolutionary Paperback & Film Poster Art of Renato Fratini

The Studio
John Watkiss Gets Under the Skin of the Walking Dead

The Gallery
Jordi Penalva's Fleetway Super Library covers

 

You can order a copy here:

 

We think that there is a great mix of articles in this issue from newspaperstrip art, pin-ups / fashion and historical adventure to name but three. £15 cheap! (With apologies to Mad.)

 

Right back to sticking stamps and mailing envelopes.

See You Soon. Best Dave

Illustrators Issue Two Update

 

We've just received our proof copies of llustrators issue 2 and I have to say it's looking for nice indeed. We've gone for a matte finish on the cover this time that really shows off the David Wright design to best effect.

 

 

 

The images above and below are from our feature on the wonderful art of Cecil Doughty who really had a feel for historical adventure, another highlight of issue two.

 

 

The copies of Illustrators 2 are currently on the high seas and the ship should dock the first week of January. All subscription copies will be mailed out within 48 hours of our receiving them.

All The Best

Dave

H. Rider Haggard Adventures

Here's a first look at one of the next books due from Book Palace Books, reprinting three classic British strips based on the works of H. Rider Haggard and drawn by Bill Baker, C. L. Doughty, Mike Hubbard and Jesus Blasco. Yes, four artists for three strips ... you don't get more value than that!

The strips included are King Solomon's Mines, Allan Quatermain and Montezuma's Daughter. The cover is by John Millar Watt from an illustration originally published in Look & Learn. The image is taken from the original artwork, which is absolutely stunning. The image was flipped when it appeared in print in Look & Learn issue 18 (19 May 1962) and was published facing a page of text about Haggard and a quote from the novel. The text of the feature is of interest as it may have been written by Mike Moorcock – after all these years even he can't be sure, but it is something he suspects he may have written.

We will have more news on the book, including a release schedule, shortly.

Pandarve: The Worlds of Don Lawrence

 

 

This stunning book was published as part of the 30th birthday celebrations for Storm, the comic strip. In 1976 Storm was seen for the very first time on the drawing board of Don Lawrence. The concept for the strip was the invention of Dutch comic creator Martin Lodewijk and Don Lawrence (artist for the popular Trigan series) was given the task of bringing Storm to life with his dramatic full colour artwork.

 

 

In the Chronicles of Pandarve the whole Storm universe was created and gave Lawrence the chance to display the qualities that made him one of the finest comic artists in the world. This book gives you the best images and artwork chosen from almost 600 pages drawn by Lawrence. All the art was taken from new digitised scans of the original paintings.

 

 

 

The English language edition of this book is available only from The Book Palace and is limited to just 250 copies worldwide. If you think you know Don Lawrence's work from the eternally popular Trigan Empire series in Look and Learn you owe it to yourself to check this out. Lawrence really let his imagination run riot with this series which is held in very high regard across Europe and especially in The Netherlands.There are very few copies left from the edition published in 2006 buy now or regret later!

 

 

Once you've set foot on Pandarve you'll naturally want to find out more about the adventures of Storm. Luckily for you we can help there too with the stories collected in 12 handsome volumes available here. If you buy the set you get 12 volumes for the price of 10. They are also available individually. Here's the great cover to volume 11 The Genesis Formula/ The Armageddon Traveller



 

Hope the Winter Chill isn't biting too hard. See you all back here soon.

Best Regards

Dave

The Toughest Man In The West

 

Or at the very least the toughest man in Bolton! It's been gratifying to read the plaudits that we have received concerning The Art of Denis McLoughlin. Credit where it's due, author David Ashford and editor Peter Richardson deserve the kudos. The book had some strong pre-publication support and has been selling very solidly for us. However with all eyes currently on the development of Heros the Spartan and the second issue of Illustrators Quarterly I didn't want this great book to get overlooked.

 

 

 

When I first saw those glorious crime noir images that feature in the book I was taken aback by how good they are. Just recently though I've been going back to my first introduction to Denis' oeuvre and that was his sterling work on his first love The Wild West and in particular his work on the Buffalo Bill annuals that I eagerly collected some years ago.

 

 

 

 

Here comes the Cavalry...

 

 

So I thought a few more images to help show more of the range of Denis' great work wouldn't go amiss.

 

 

 

With Christmas just around the corner, and given that you've all been working hard and deserve to give yourselves a bit of a treat, it's worth reminding you that the Deluxe limited edition  just 120 copies available worldwide signed by the author, plus numbered limited edition print and a 12-page facsimile edition Roy Carson comic; is available here.

 

Of course you'll be wanting to give a copy to those special people in your lives to show how much you care, in which case the handsome devil of a hardback that is the regular edition is also available.

 

 

 

That's all for now, but the more I look at this book the more I find to enjoy so expect more images soon.

Best Regards

Dave