"This day's experience, set in order, none of it left ragged or lying about, all of it gathered in like treasure and finished with, set aside." –Alice Munro, "What is Remembered"
From Classics Illustrated #5: Moby Dick (March 1956), here are a pair of low-quality scans of Norman Nodel’s original art for pages one and forty five, along with a pair of really low-quality scans of the printed pages, and yet, the beauty of Norman Nodel’s fine-lined compositions shines through:
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You can learn a little bit about Jewish comics artist Norman Nodel (born Nochem Yeshaya) at the Lambiek Comiclopedia.
Here are four novels with cover art by Robert Foster that I acquired this spring:
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Unfortunately, the edition of Davy that you see above is not the one I would prefer to own. The edition that I would prefer to own is the one that shows more of Robert Foster’s artwork and thus doesn’t drain all of the surrealism out of it:
Keywords:The Masks of Time by Robert Silverberg, Davy by Edgar Pangborn, Light a Last Candle by Vincent King, The Burning by James E. Gunn, Robert Foster.
An all-star roster of artists has contributed prints and original art — see gallery page one and page two — to Macab Films to support the documentary, Better Things: The Life and Choices of Jeffrey Catherine Jones, and Bill Cox, a “premium gallery owner” at ComicArtFans.com, has stepped up to assist with the sale of the works.
At the moment, twelve prints are available for purchase, including these three:
And thirty-three (!) original drawings and paintings are available, including these five:
If you have the money to spend, your support will be greatly appreciated, I have no doubt, so act now to reserve your favourites. Those links again: prints, original art page one, original art page two.
BONUS NONSENSE:
I wonder… do you suppose it is possible that Bill Sienkiewicz based the composition of the painting he donated to Better Things on the following illustration by Jones himself:
ABOVE: Jeffrey Jones, original art for “Extraordinary Verse: ‘The Tiger’ by William Blake,” Vampirella #34 (June 1974). From the collection of Rob Pistella.
Just for fun, here’s a side-by-side:
You know what? I think it’s possible… or maybe it’s just a lovely coincidence…
Freshly scanned from the collection of yours truly, here’s one of Paul Lehr’s best covers with a close-up shot of a human being, which may seem like I’m damning it with faint praise, since most of Lehr’s classic covers are populated with tiny figures dwarfed by technological wonders, strange lands, alien life forms, the cosmos itself, but that is simply not the case. So let me say it plainly: Crompton Divided is one of Lehr’s best covers, period:
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To view all of the covers with art by Paul Lehr that I’ve posted over the years, start here and click back through the (p)ages. I think you’ll like what you find there.
BONUS IMAGE:
Nice colour here; subject matter is a bit underdeveloped, like concept art for an animated movie, but it’s evocative enough, I guess:
Keywords:Crompton Divided by Robert Sheckley, And No Birds Sang by Farley Mowat, Paul Lehr.
The biggest news yesterday in the world o’ comics — yes, I said BIGGEST! — arrived in the form of the following media release:
Coming in the fall of 2013, Hermes Press presents Neil the Horse.
Now for the first time ever all of the classic Neil the Horse comic books are collected together in the definitive archival edition. Fully authorized by its creator, this book is reproduced from the original artwork.
Neil the Horse has long been acclaimed as one of the most innovative and charming comic creations of the 1980s. It has often been compared to the best work of Walt Disney; fans of the strip will finally be treated to a comprehensive reprint of this important strip.
Neil the Horse by Katherine Collins; 978-1-61345-035-2; 8.5 by 11; deluxe hardcover; reprints the complete Neil the Horse comic stories issues #1-#15; historical essay by Trina Robbins; documentary material; 320 pages; color and black and white; $60. Special signed limited edition with 32 pages of extra material and a signed tipped-in plate ISBN 978-1-61345-06-1; $95.
How much of a Neil the Horse fan am I? Enough that I am seriously considering ordering the limited edition! Maybe I can convince my wife to buy it for me as a Christmas gift…
Want a Bacon at your bus stop? Well not long to wait now…
From 8 August Art Everywhere will greet you good morning on your way to work, bump into you on the way home from the pub and make waiting for a car parking space at the supermarket a more enlightening experience.
Here’s what Bacon’s Head VI would look like if it makes the final list. Remember, its not too late to get involved:
And yesterday I tweeted the following response, which has been ignored by… uhm, well… everyone… so far as I can tell:
Frankly, I am beginning to wonder if anyone on Twitter ever reads any tweets that are not directed @them. I am following 83 feeds at the moment, and making the effort to read/skim everyone’s tweets, and it’s all I can do to keep up. For anyone who follows a couple of hundred (or more), it must be impossible! Or a full-time job…
But then again, maybe they just didn’t get the joke/reference?
How about you? Do you get it?
Anyone?
Keywords: Ragged Claws Network @RaggedClawsNet: “Francis Bacon’s Head VI makes the bus stop look like a place where one can ruin oneself, go mad, or commit a crime.”
Ragged Claws Network 