August 3, 2012

Bob Peak:

Worth the Wait!

• Signed: Dave McKean, Patrick Morgan (with drawing), Pure Heroine

• Sketchbooks: Eric Canete, Claire Wendling

• Art Books: Stephan Martiniere, Daily Zoo, Framed Ink

• Shadow Statue! Nerdcore Nudes! Trail of Steel!

Bob Peak - Announced last fall to accompany an exhibit of his work, this long-delayed volume is finally here. And...it was well, well worth the wait. 390 oversize pages. Entirely in color, with spot varnish on every illustration. Extra heavy cloth binding. Embossed cover. A massive eight pounds of art! From Bob's son Tom comes this enormous collection, spanning the entirety of Peak's long and highly successful career. If you are like me, you will be very surprised to see how much major work was from Peak's brush. Chapters examine Early Years, Advertising, Editorial, Fashion, Movies (this is the BIG one), Music, Automobile Design, Sports, Travel, Time Magazine, TV Guide and Fine Art.

Star Trek, The Black Stallion, Hair, Apocalypse Now, Superman, The Missouri Breaks, Rollerball, Funny Girl, In Like Flint, Modesty Blaise, Camelot, My Fair Lady - Peak's iconic movie posters and concept paintings are his most recognizable works. Like J.C. Leyendecker, N.C. Wyeth and Norman Rockwell before him, Bob Peak was at the top of the illustration game (and well-compensated for it) in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

This is a stunning book, beautifully showcasing the art with mostly full--page reproductions and superbly printed. At $79 it is not inexpensive, but it offers full value and more for the price. This will NOT be available on Amazon nor from most traditional book sources. Our copies include a special bookplate signed by Tom Peak, Bob's son, who put together this wonderful volume. It gets Our Highest Recommendation.





More New Sketchbooks and Signed Books from Comic-Con



We've handled Patrick Morgan's work before. He's a wonderfully funny character designer, from his semi-humans to his bizarre but usually friendly critters. This is his best-looking book yet, hardcover AND he's done a full page original pencil drawing in each of our copies.

Eric Canete - Batman and Batgirl, The Shadow, elaborately jeweled fantasy & sci-fi ladies, Elektra, The Rocketeer, Thor, Harry Potter, even Calvin and Hobbes! These characters and more are here drawn in Eric's wonderfully loose style. He reminds us quite favorably of an artist he admires: Moebius. He's done comics: Spider-Man, Superboy, Iron Man, The End League and Igrat. He's done film work: Men in Black, Aeon Flux, Dark Fury, The Batman, and Justice League Unlimited. 42 full-page drawings, each produced the same size as the original. This booklet was produced for a special appearance early this year. Eric also has a fun-to-read blog online. Eric has not signed this--he only does so in person. But they are also just $10.

Pure Heroine 6 by Laurie B. - Cute gals and super heroines, drawn by a talented young lady! If you like the work of Dean Yeagle and Bruce Timm and their way of capturing cute ladies in innocent but sometimes naughty poses, look here. In full color are cute-girl versions of Vampirella, She-Hulk, Power-Girl, Zatanna, Princess Leia, Catwoman, Rapunzel... Limited to just 500 numbered copies, and signed.

Dave McKean once again was at San Diego Comic-Con and was kind enough to sign a limited quantity of his two new sketchbooks for us. They are Bilbao and Postcard from Perugia, both hardcover for just $15 each. Inspired by the people and architecture of Spain, McKean takes an initial piece of reality and then twists it into his signature surreal work. Here you get a very special glimpse at how his unique vision is inspired by everything around him. Last week we listed his Persistence of Vision, also signed.

Claire Wendling - We've brought back in stock two wonderful sketchbooks by this superlative French illustrator. Daisies collects artwork for regional French festival posters and programs from 2006 to 2008, previously unavailable outside the events themselves. Also featured are her never-before-seen exploratory and preliminary sketches and new drawings. Desk was the book that first introduced Claire to the U.S. This is an expanded American edition. Find out why Peter de Sève, Adam Hughes, Eric Goldberg, Mike Mignola and Mark Chiarello all sing her praises in testimonials, each one on this edition's backcover. Highly Recommended.





New Art Books



The Dailey Zoo Goes to Paris - Chris Ayers is a character creator and concept artist who long labored hidden in the end credits of animated films. He began The Daily Zoo as therapy to deal with a cancer diagnosis (which he beat). But he enjoyed it so much that this is now year seven, featuring a new character drawn each day. This book is inspired by his trip to Paris for a exhibition of his work. If you enjoy the wild animals of Peter de Séve or would like to feel you are behind-the-scenes of new animation characters coming in the next blockbuster...look no further. Here is also a 3-D section of wonderful sculptures, plus photos and hand-drawn art postcards. Highly Recommended.

Velocity by Stephan Martiniere - Stephan has drawn inspiration from the work of Moebius, while I also see in his work the influence of "hard" science fiction spaceships and cityscapes of John Berkey. Stephan has worked on Magic: The Gathering, The Guardian, The Looking Glass Wars, Poseidon's Fury and Gulliver's Travels--work from each of these is here. He's been an award winner in Spectrum. His alien worlds boggle the mind with their creativity but so does his technique, alien and amazing. This also offers a powerful sampling of his contemporary science fiction book covers for the likes of Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Michael Swanwick, Jay Lake, Daniel Abraham and Karl Schroeder. Another superb art book from designstudio, with commentary throughout by Stephan himself. Highly Recommended. 

Framed Ink: Drawing and Composition for Visual Storytellers by Marcos Mateu-Mestre - Looking through this I feel like Alex Toth is being channeled here. Marcos is a visual concept, animation layout and graphic novel artist with 20 years in the animation industry. Film credits include Balto, Prince of Egypt, Asterix and the Vikings and Surf's Up. His filmmaking work focuses on the design and cinematic aspects of frame composition, lighting and visual continuity. Sound like exactly what Alex Toth would be exploring? Marcos has taught drawing, illustration and visual storytelling for 12 years and is a member of several international film festival juries. This is an impressive book. It addresses visual storytelling, a topic rarely explored in other drawing books but so important in both comics and cinema. 230 unique illustrations and 166 easy-to-understand diagrams as examples. Recommended.

Trail of Steel: 1441 A.D. by Marcos Mateu-Mestre - This powerful graphic novel looks straight out of a French comic album, yet Marcos is an American animation concept designer. Here he puts to work his themes taught in his how-to book Framed Ink. "It is the Winter of 1441 in Spain and Condottiero Martin, together with his son, Sancho, and a group of mercenaries, is offered a job...a mission that will change the course of their lives forever." Powerful work told entirely in black and white. Recommended.





Something Different



Nerdcore Calendar Set - Here is one of those really quirky items that I love to turn up. In 2007, 08, 09 and 10 a bevy of beautiful models were gathered together to do "fan boy" calendars. 2008 is "Heroes and Villains" with nude ladies (undressed) as superheroes; in boots, as a human torch, with a nasty big gun, with a power ring (and nothing else on), in a red cape and red boots only. You get the idea. In 2009 the theme was Sci-Fi; in 2010 Horror; 2007 was nude girls playing video games, every fan boy's fantasy! These are oversized, huge calendars. You could cut off the small date block at the bottom and still have perfectly nice 12x14 pictures. But the dates are nicely worked in, so as long as you don't rely on them...you get 48 print-sized, wildly erotic pictures, all four calendars, for just $19.95 total. Full credits include photographers, art director and models...someone was obviously having a great time creating these and it shows. Recommended.





Other News

 

Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 is on! It will be May 17-19, 2013 in Kansas City. In case you didn't read my enthusiastic emails earlier, we were there, we had a great time, I recommend it wholeheartedly, and we'll be there again in 2013. I hope to see you there, too. More information at www.spectrumfantasticartlive.com. If you want to meet artists; find cool sketchbooks; have your books signed; discover new work and creators; or buy original artwork...this is THE place.

San Diego Comic Fest: An Old School Comic-Con - Several of the founders of Comic-Con have decided it's time to do a show that's for us comic fans--the current show being so big, so busy, and so full of movie fans and other folks who are not really fans as we know them. It's October 19-21, 2012, at the Town & Country Resort and Convention Center in the Motel Circle area of San Diego. We did the World Fantasy Con at the same location in 2012 and thoroughly enjoyed it, it's an excellent and intimate venue, far removed from the bustle of downtown San Diego. Since I'm exhibiting at a show in Sacramento, another in Pasadena, and another in Seattle in the previous 3 weeks, I'm not exhibiting here. I'll be coming just as a fan to look for old comics and visit friends. It's not endorsed by the SD Comic-Con folks. I think it sounds like great fun. For more information: www.sdcomicfest.org/ It's limited to 1000 attendees.

Even though Heavy Metal announced 2013 calendars in Diamond's Previews, they are not doing any this year. They moved their offices out of New York and things got side-lined enough to miss the crucial calendar deadlines. We do have a new graphic novel coming in from them any day now: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Simon Bisley. Borgia Volume 3 remains out of print, and 4 is still coming sometime in the future--no date set.


Enjoy! -Bud

Some of my favorite new Items:


VELOCITY
Stephan has drawn inspiration from the work of Moebius, while I also see the influence of "hard" science fiction spaceships and cityscapes of fabulous John Berkey. Stephan has worked on Magic: The Gathering, The Guardian, The Looking Glass Wars, Poseidon's Fury and Gulliver's Travels--work from each of these is here. He's been an award winner in Spectrum. His alien worlds boggle the mind with their creativity but so does his technique, alien and amazing. This also offers a powerful sampling of his contemporary science fiction book covers for the likes of Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Michael Swanwick, Jay Lake, Daniel Abraham and Karl Schroeder. Another superb art book from design studio, with commentary throughout by this amazing French painter of fantasy and sci-fi. Highly Recommended.
Item Code: VELO
Published at $24.95
On Sale! Save $4!
Your price: $20.95
   
 
TRAIL OF STEEL 1441 A.D.
This powerful graphic novel looks to me as though it should be a French comic album, yet Marcos is an American animation concept designer. Here he puts to work his themes taught in his how-to book Framed Ink, which we also handle and recommend. "It is the Winter of 1441 in Spain and Condottiero Martin, together with his son, Sancho, and a group of mercenaries, is offered a job...a mission that will change the course of their lives forever." Powerful work told entirely in black and white. This reminds me of the same powerful storytelling and use of black and white contrasts and cinematic panels that Alex Toth brings to his work. Recommended.
Item Code: TROST
Published at $24.95x
On Sale! Save $5!
Your price: $19.95
      
 
ERIC CANETE: Dédicace
Batman and Batgirl, The Shadow, elaborately jeweled fantasy & sci-fi ladies, Elektra, The Rocketeer, Thor, Harry Potter, even Calvin and Hobbes! These characters and more are here drawn in Eric's wonderfully loose style. He reminds us quite favorably of an artist he admires: Moebius. He's done comics: Spider-Man, Superboy, Iron Man, The End League and Igrat. He's done film work: Men in Black, Aeon Flux, Dark Fury, The Batman, and Justice League Unlimited. 42 full-page drawings, each produced the same size as the original. This booklet was produced for a special appearance early this year.
Item Code: ECD
Your price: $10.00 

DAISIES: Wendling
Wendling delights us with a book of her new artwork. This collects her art for regional French festival posters and programs, new exploratory and preliminary sketches and new drawings inspired by this work. Wendling's recent output has included character design for animation, live-action feature films, television and commercial illustration. Her very fluid, free style has humor, depth and charm. This is a showcase of Wendling on her own turf in her own terms.
Item Code: DAIS
Your price: $20.00


DOES THIS MAKE ME LOOK FAT? The Art of Patrick Morgan
We've handled Patrick Morgan's work before because it's just so much fun. He's a wonderfully funny character designer, from his semi-humans to his bizarre but usually friendly critters. One of his signature characters is Whaleboy, a kid in a crazy giant whale costume. Included here is a "Whaleboy Guest Artist Gallery" which offers full color pictures by Justin Ridge, Joe Vaux, Jose Lopez, John Nevarez, Stephen Silver, Tom Neely, Bobby Chiu and others, including Chris Sanders! This is his best-looking book yet, a full color square hardcover. Patrick's added a full page original pencil drawing in each of our copies, gals or zany characters...or both! Recommended.
Item Code: DOESS
Your price: $20.00 

PURE HEROINE 6
Cute gals and super heroines, drawn by a talented young lady who has already done 5 other collections! If you like the work of Dean Yeagle and Bruce Timm and their way of capturing cute ladies in innocent but sometimes naughty poses, look here. In full color are cute-girl versions of Vampirella, She-Hulk, Power-Girl, Zatanna, Princess Leia, Catwoman, Rapunzel... Limited to just 500 numbered copies, and signed.
Item Code: PUH06S
Your price: $10.00 

THE SHADOW Statue
Fight evil with this amazing statue featuring pulp hero The Shadow! Standing a full 12" tall and brandishing two .45 automatics, Lamont Cranston looks like he's just stepped out of the pages of his legendary pulp magazine. This includes a poseable fabric cape, scarf, hat, tie, vest, jacket and shirt--all cloth. Plus two variant sets of hands (the third is gloved) featuring the Shadow's famous ring. And the box art is fabulous, using the original pulp artwork. A Velcro-bound door opens to show the statue under acetate, so it can be displayed in the box itself. This will add a sense of dramatic gravity to any display case and is perhaps the finest Shadow statue we've seen yet.
Item Code: SDW
Your price: $149.99

NERDCORE 2007-2010 NUDE CALENDAR SET
Here is one of those really quirky items that I love to turn up. For 2007, '08, '09 and 2010 a bevy of beautiful models were gathered together to do "fan boy" calendars. 2008 is "Heroes and Villains" with nude ladies (undressed) as superheroes; in boots, as a human torch, with a nasty big gun, with a power ring (and nothing else on), in just a red cape and red boots!. You get the idea.
In 2009 the theme was ladies in Sci-Fi settings; in 2010 Horror; in 2007 it was nude girls playing video games, every fan boy's fantasy! These are oversized, huge calendars. You could cut off the small date block at the bottom and still have perfectly nice 12" x 14" pictures. But the dates are nicely worked in, so as long as you don't rely on them...you get 48 print-sized, wildly erotic pictures, all four calendars, for just $19.95 total. Full credits include photographers, art director and models...someone was obviously having a great time creating these and it shows.
Item Code: NERDSET
Published at $100.00
On Sale! Save $80!
Your price: $19.95
          
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