A new issue of Illustration Magazine is always a special event. This is no exception, featuring three long and satisfying articles on fine artists of the 1950s-1980s: two vintage paperback artists, one finally being recognized, plus Coby Whitmore, whose beautiful, stylish women were the epitome of 1950s glamour.Several of the latest issues of Illustration have quickly sold out. We hope he has now increased his print run to keep these available for some time, but we won't know for sure...so don't miss out, these are tough to find after they're gone. We have a good selection of all available issues, including re-issues of #1-3 and much more. Click here for everything now available.
Frazetta Funny Stuff. Another special event is the appearance of a new collection edited by Craig Yoe. Craig is a good friend of mine, but that doesn't impact my endorsement of his books. What we have in common is our love of the best and the wackiest in comic book history. Each of us, in our own way, work hard to introduce fans to delicious comic book art and stories. This book gets my rarely given "Our Highest Recommendation." If my own review isn't quite enough, here is another glowing review! Plus this is discounted to just $39.99, a $10 savings.
Click here for all our books with Frank Frazetta.
Everett Raymond Kinstler: The Artist's Journey Through Popular Culture, 1942-1962...now at a discount in all three editions. My long-time friend and partner Jim Vadeboncoeur regularly produces Images, a fine magazine collecting illustrations from the late 19th and early 20th century. His one and only book project, which took more than two years to produce, was all about Everett Raymond Kinstler."Ray," as he is known to friends, began in the comic books in the 1940s, even drawing Hawkman for DC and The Black Hood for MLJ. He hit his stride and became the premiere cover and story illustrator for the much-collected Avon comics in the early 1950s. Avon was one of the most lurid comic book publishers, adorning covers with near-naked ladies, classic bug-eyed monsters, heroic and villainous western heroes like Jesse James and Kit Carson, film noir detectives like The Saint, and horror and savage war titles. Kinstler did it all there, and here is his gorgeous fine line art, including the fabulous "contents page" inside cover art that introduced the stories and is one feature that makes Avon comics so highly collectible today. Ray then worked on paperback covers, pulp and magazine illustration, and finally, became known in the "high art" circles for his iconic portraits of presidents and celebrities.
But he remains proud of his roots in popular culture and helped Jim to produce this superlative book. Featuring his early work, often from the original artwork Ray still owns, this is a treat for any comics, paperback or illustration fan. Kinstler was a long-time admirer and friend of James Montgomery Flagg, whose fine line style was a strong influence on Kinstler. Ray ended in the top leadership of the Society of Illustrators, a friend and supporter of artists classic and contemporary.
My friend Jim put together the book and had a softcover edition co-published by the renowned Underwood Books (Spectrum annual, the three Frazetta collections, The Art of Jeffrey Jones). But lacking the time and money to promote this, it has quietly been selling only to the in-the-know fans like my customers. Jim has reduced the price on these prize editions: The Deluxe, a signed and limited of just 700 copies was $95. Now it's $79. It includes 16 extra pages and a color signature plate, in slipcase. The $44.95 hardcover, in jacket, is now $29.95. The satisfyingly thick softcover, 224 pages, was a bargain at just $24.95. Now it's at the ridiculous low price of just $12.95. Act now...the printings were very small and once gone, these will be tough to find.
Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons is available at $50 off the published price of $125. This two-volume set features over 800 pages of wonderfully macabre and dark cartoons, in a handsome illustrated slipcase. If you like Charles Adams or Gary Larson...well, Wilson took Adams a step further and darker but still hilarious. And there is no doubt he inspired the work of the perhaps better known Larson, whose own work has also been collected in a large volume like this. Wilson is a master, and his work for Playboy is clearly his finest in a long career of scaring the wits out of us. Now just $75.Showcase Presents: All-Star Squadron - these are printed in black and white. But for exactly that reason, DC can give you 500, sometimes 600 pages of complete stories. An Archives with far less pages runs $50-$60! Here you get quite literally dozens of issues! I carefully pick just the best in this series, titles and artists that are the most fun to read. This new collection by Roy Thomas is a great tribute to the 1940s Justice Society stories in All Star Comics. Recently we brought in the widely acclaimed run of The Spectre. Plus we have Our Army at War, Ghosts and the surprisingly fun Young Love. All are disounted to just $17.99 each. That is around three cents a page!
Enjoy!
--Bud
Some of my favorite new Items:
FRAZETTA FUNNY STUFFOur Highest Recommendation Frank Frazetta! He's been rightfully called "The Grand Master of Fantasy Art"! But, it's little known that Frazetta also conquered other worlds in the Golden Age of Comics, as shown in his Donald Duck-ish funny animal and hilarious hillbilly comic book stories. Even those aware of this wonderful Frazetta art don't know the complete extent and incredible range of this wonderful, seminal and charming work. This book is a whopping 256 page, large-format pages, culled from several key collectors to include each and every humorous text illustration and story Frank did circa 1944-1953! Don't miss this incredible part of the Frazetta legend, a labor-of-love book from the dedicated Craig Yoe Studios.
Item Code: FSFFH
Published at $49.99
On Sale! Save $10!
Your price: $39.99
ARCHIE'S SUNDAY FINESTRecommended Continuing the Eisner Award-winning series of the rare Archie newspaper strips by Bob Montana, we turn our attention to his remarkable full-color Sunday pages--never before collected! Archie's Sunday Best is the first-ever collection of the late 1940s and early 1950s color Sunday strips. Montana is approaching the peak of his creative juices in these pages, which feature classic Archie characters, the still-evolving but lovely Betty and Veronica. An entirely new take on this seminal comic book icon, as the creators put their very best into these delightful weekly episodes.
Item Code: ASF01H
Published at $49.99
On Sale! Save $10!
Your price: $39.99
BLOOD: Miniature Paintings of Sorrow and FearVery limited availability. Last copies of this scarce 2nd printing. It is larger than the 2x3 first printing and it contains 16 extra pages! A miniature exhibition book, from the best-selling creator of Bunnies and Bees and Anima Mundi -- both of which sold out in a matter of weeks. Includes details and drawings of paintings from "Blood" exhibited at Earl McGrath Gallery.
These surreal images are rendered in Ryden's immaculate technique that recalls early children's book illustrations, though with a bizarre twist. There are images of Christ on the cross, children weeping tears of blood, a little girl holding her decapitated head or sitting sadly at a grave side. And other beautifully rendered but strongly disturbing visions. Strikingly handsome red hardcover. Beautifully embossed borders and gilt-printed titles, with an oval color plate embossed into the cover. Plus gilt on all the page edges.
Item Code: BLOODM
Your price: $19.95
SHOWCASE PRESENTS ALL-STAR SQUADRON Vol 1Recommended The Justice Society in the 1940s All Star Comics remains one of the most beloved series of stories from the 1940s. They are at the top of the collectibles market, four books have been written about them, the best Golden Age creators worked on them. Fan Roy Thomas became a professional under Stan Lee, inspired in part by his love (and collecting) All Star.
Now here was his chance to recreate that 1940s magic in modern comics, and, oh, did he have a good time. In these stories from JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #193 and ALL-STAR SQUADRON #1-18, the All-Star Squadron has been founded on Earth II by the lost heroes from the JSA to stop Per Degaton from delivering mystic weapons to the Axis powers! The 1940s versions of The Atom, Hawkman, Dr. Mid-Nite, Robotman, Plastic Man, Johnny Quick, Liberty Belle and The Shining Knight come together, with an origin story and 19 fun-filled issues. Published from 1981-87. Even Solomon Grundy and The Spectre make appearances.
Item Code: SPASS01
Published at $19.99
On Sale! Save $2!
Your price: $17.99HARVEY PEKAR'S CLEVELAND
A lifelong resident of Cleveland, Ohio, Harvey Pekar (1939-2010) pioneered autobiographical comics, mining the mundane for magic since 1976 in his critically acclaimed series American Splendor. This is sadly one of his last, but happily one of his most definitive graphic novels. It presents key moments and characters from the city's history, intertwined with Harvey's own ups and downs, as relayed to us by Our Man and meticulously researched and rendered by artist Joseph Remnant. At once a history of Cleveland and a portrait of Harvey, it's a tribute to the ordinary greatness of both. Introduction by Alan Moore.Item Code: HPCH
Published at $21.99
On Sale! Save $3!
Your price: $18.99
MODERN MASTERS Vol 27: Ron GarneyRecommended Ron Garney really knows how to tell a story. The same can be said of many comic book artists, but few do it with as much style and panache as Garney. He can draw cinematic blockbuster action with the best of them, as his iconic run on Captain America, Hulk, Wolverine, and Weapon X will attest. But he also excels at depicting the quiet moments. There is emotional nuance in his work, which elevates every story he illustrates, no matter if the subject matter is introspective or straight-ahead action. Combine this with his eagerness to experiment and his constant professionalism, and the result is Ron Garney, Modern Master! Interview, biography, and lots of previously unseen artwork.
Item Code: MODM27
Published at $15.95
On Sale! Save $2!
Your price: $13.95 
MODERN MASTERS Vol 11: Charles VessHighly Recommended The enchanting artwork of Vess is featured, with an in-depth interview, hundreds of drawings, sketches, finished works, and a gallery. Whether it be his book illustrations, his paintings, or his comic book stories, Vess' award-winning work evokes worlds of magic and wonder. Inspired by classic artists like Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, Vess carries on that fine tradition. His illustrations for authors like Neil Gaiman (Stardust) and Charles de Lint (Circle of Cats, Seven Wild Sisters) are in perfect harmony with their fantastic worlds. But he's also done a Spider-Man graphic novel--where Spidey goes to Scotland! And a Michael Chabon historical adventure. And on and on and on... Includes an 8-page color section. Modern Masters is an ongoing series celebrating the lives and work of the greatest comic book artists. The series shares the goals, insights, motivations and influences of the featured comic artist, along with interesting background details.
Item Code: MODM11
Your price: $14.95
EURASIAN GIRL DELUXE PRINTHighly Recommended Beautiful lighting and skin tone, an olive-skinned beauty who is far from today's typical pin up. The model was a member of a visiting ballet troupe who, due to an injury, could not dance. Someone suggested modeling at the American Academy of Art, and the result was this rare work. Not a pin-up but a fine art work. Elvgren was very proud of this: painted in 1946, it hung in his living room until he died in 1980, and remains in the family. An alluring and very classy work, reminiscent of W. Russell Flint, the famous fine art painter who apecialized in nudes after a career in book illustration, and of pin-up artist Bobby Toombs' Amanda,our most popular print. Note: Some prints have a bent corner in the border which does not cross onto the image. Also may have some waviness from getting slightly damp, also on the white border and also does not encroach on the image. If this is framed both imperfections would be hidden.
Item Code: EURPRD
Published at $60.00
On Sale! Save $30!
Your price: $30.00
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