The DOLLMAN!

Heya!

A long time between Posts, I know. Been busy trying to track down some solid employment..
To keep my skills sharp, I jumped onto this month's JAM Thread in the 'Superheroes' section of 'The Drawing Board'.. This month's Theme is: "Weird Science".. In other words, any character that is featured as a Scientist. Or, the creation of a Scientist..

Well, being a HUGE fan of Golden-Age characters.. Particularly, anything that was done by Reed Crandall or Lou Fine.. I chose to add an illo of "The DOLLMAN" superhero; who happened to be both a Scientist, as well as his own creation!
Part of me thinks (also), that perhaps my choice may have been influenced by my fiancée's current obsession with Barbie Dolls? If you haven't checked it out, yet.. She started a new Blog that's JUST about that subject. Click HERE to give it a look-see!

Yup.. It was in 1939, that scientist Darrel Dane (working in the Lab of his mentor: Professor Roberts) developed a serum that was designed to shrink a man down to the size of Doll.. But rather than go thru a series of ultra-boring "testing",-- he decides instead to play the role of Guinea Pig, himself.
The serum works.. And he immediately shrinks down to approximately 6 inches in size! But his mind can't cope with the rapid change. And initially, he goes a little insane.. nearly killing his colleague/mentor: Professor Roberts..
Fortunately, he soon masters the ability to change size.. And can eventually do so, at will. But rather than gaining wealth & power as a criminal mastermind.. He decides that these amazing skills must be exploited, for the wider Good of the World. And commits himself to devote his newfound powers to "crusade against all Crime & Evil!" *yawn*
Just kidding..

On the upside for him, apparently his girlfriend Martha (the Professor Roberts' daughter, natch) has no real problem with the fact that he's now hung like a gerbil!! ha ha
Pretty understanding of her, don'tcha think?! *wink*

See y'all later!

Police and Thieves!

Okay, here's a couple of 'Noir'-esque doodle pages..
I do these when I'm bored. Or sometimes, when I'm trying to get out of a drawing funk. A bit of both, in this case..
Essentially what I do, is drag out a bunch of my favorite Golden-Age CRIME comics.. And start drawing the Faces & Figures that strike me as the most interesting/intriguing. Sometimes, I'll do a straight facsimile. But more often than not, I'll attempt to "push the pose" by distorting the proportions. Or even, change Heads & Costumes from one character to another..
It's fun exercise & a great way to build an understanding of another artist's process!

As usual, most of the Ne'er-Do-Wells on these sheets, were inspired by looking at a lot of early Will Eisner & Jack Cole artwork.. It's a mix of Cops & Robbers. But as you may have noticed,-- it's mainly the Gangsters that got the full "inked" treatment. I suppose I just find the Bad Guys more fun to finish.. Humble apologies, to John Law!

Most of the Gunsels on this 2nd Page, look like they're from an early installment of Eisner's 'The SPIRIT'.. Probably from the Jack Cole period of that comic-strip series. I can't get enough of his slick cartoony artwork. Fun poses, always. But also, always beautifully drawn!

I'm not entirely sure where I pulled the crazy walleyed Lummox on the Bottom Right from? He definitely looks like trouble with a capital "T", though!

Hope you likey.. Talk to y'all laterz!

I LOVES Me Dem "FUNNY ANIMALS"!

Anybody that knows me.. Already knows that I'm slowly assembling my own scrapbook/binder of Frazetta's old-timey 'Golden Age' comic-book work. And a big chunk of that, was the beautiful "Funny Animal" text illos & stories; that were published by 'Standard Comics' in the mid-to-late 4o's..
Today, was an awfully good day for me.. As I received the last of 3 different "Funny Animal' books that I'd been waiting on, won off eBay. This last one, was entitled: 'BARNYARD COMICS' #20. And not only did it have 3 different (2 of which, are featured here) text illos. But it also had a very nice 7-page "Barney Rooster" story!


If memory serves,-- both the 'Big Ears' and 'Forest Concert' illos were featured in the Kitchen Sink 'Small Wonders' trade paperback; published in '91. But I have a complete Checklist of the entirety of Frazetta's comic-book output.. And it's pretty shocking just how much artwork, is actually still missing from that particular book..
Plus, it was only published in black&white. To truly appreciate how gorgeous this stuff looks, it behooves you to see them in color! There's something about that slightly off-register printing on old yellowing pulp, that really enhances the "warmth" of these Pics!


Featured above, is the custom Christmas Card that I created for my family, in 2005.. It was my own attempt at staging some "Funny Animals" in a similar way. Unfortunately, I recall that the yellows didn't printout all that well; skewing towards a more-greenish tint.
This digital JPEG-version is actually closer to the original intent of the color scheme.

Off-and-on, I've also been developing a 'Pulp'-style crimefighter story, using s'more "Funny Animals".. I hope to get some of that stuff posted on here, later.
'Til next time, see ya!

Frazetta's 79th Birthday!!

That's right, True Believers.. The mighty Frank Frazetta turns a hearty 79 years old today! So take the time to say a little prayer, for his continued good health & happiness.. After all, the guy deserves a little respect for all of the great artwork he's sent our way, throughout his long & diverse career!
If you've got artist friends that still prefer a Boris Vallejo -- or heaven forbid: a Mike (Rip)Hoffman -- over The Main Man, himself?.. Slap 'em & tell 'em to their face, what dumbasses they be.. And then go out and find yourself a new batch of friends! heh

Just check out this asstastic.. er, I mean.. fantastic example of the man's handiwork.. Painting a selection of foxy Frazetta chicks for Harvey Kurtzman, as only 'The Living Legend' can!


I know most of you are probably much more familiar with Frazetta's fantasy art oil paintings?.. Maybe others of you, prefer his pen & ink illustration work? Yours Truly loves ALL of it, don't get me wrong.. But I do have a particular predeliction for Frazetta's comic-book art!
That's right.. COMIC-BOOK artwork, amigos!!
Many fans aren't even aware that Frank had a career as a comic-book artist.. Let alone, just how much of it, he's actually done!

About a year ago, I noticed some attention on Internet blogs, being focussed on Frazetta's prodigious "Funny Animal" catalog.. But beyond those lovely Text Illos,-- it's a rare day indeed, when I see someone post (or write) about the actual Story Art, found in those old-timey Golden Age books..

As a hardcore Frazetta fan,-- that's one of the things that has always bugged me.. That even the so-called "experts" tend to be completely dismissive of Frank's cartooning skills.. The oil paintings get all the Glory. And I guess, we should expect that. But the guy completely kicks ass when it comes to creating pure "cartoony" goodness, in his comic-book material!

For your perusal.. Check out the Title page, of this LOOIE LAZYBONES story; as it appeared in 'THRILLING COMICS' #68 [October 1948]:

Ain't that splash page, a beautifully designed thing?!.. The staging & composition, work so well together! And all of the character posing, reads exquisitely.. I'm also very impressed by the color work.. Even if the registration of the printing plates is a tad wonky,-- you've gotta admire those color-to-color skylines!
These LOOIE LAZYBONES stories were clearly bald-faced imitations of Al Capp's L'IL ABNER.. But the stories were done in the late 40's. And as far as I know, Frank only began working for Al Capp as a "ghost" artist after the JOHNNY COMET/ACE McCOY strip ran outta gas. That would put Frank's "Start" date at the Capp studio, around late '53 I think?.. Suffice to say,-- quite a bit after these LOOIE storylines originally saw publication!

Here's page 3 of the same story:


For all you Frazetta trivia buffs..
Note the foreground tree in panel 4 of page 3.. You'll see that Frank has depicted a carving into the trunk, which reads: "Fritz Loves Carol". This was the name of a dancer that Frank was dating at the time, before he met & (eventually) married Ellie!
Frazetta confessed that he grew to become obsessed with Female legs & calves, as a result of dating this "Carol" girl.. And you can witness examples of these (somewhat) muscular Female dancers' legs, in his 'PERSONAL LOVE' #28 romance story, entitled: "Empty Heart".

Okay, so this next one isn't an example of Frank's comic-book work.. But I couldn't resist posting it, anyhow. It's a watercolor rough, for Frazetta's memorable 'The High Side' oil painting! This prelim was up for bid, in one of the more-recent 'Heritage Auctions'..
Ain't she a beauty?! If only had the cash!


Thankfully, the lack of a reliable Frazetta comic-book compendium, will soon be addressed.. Arnie Fenner (publisher of the most-recent trilogy of Frazetta art books) made an announcement on the 'Frank Frazetta Art Forum' ..
If things go as planned,-- Underwood Books will be releasing the first 128-page collection of Frank's comic stories in: 'THE COMIC ART OF FRANK FRAZETTA' in the Fall of 2007!
There will be somecolor examples in the book, but the majority of the material, will be printed in black&white.. Much of it, made directly from negatives of the 'Original Art' pages. The current plan, is to do at least one initial Volume. With perhaps two more Volumes, in the future.