Category: Miscellaneous

An Illustrated History

By Mike Benton (Taylor Publications)
ISBN13: 978-0-87833-659-3

This lavish and informative coffee-table book is also a hugely useful primer into the history and secrets of that purely American graphic invention: The Comic Book.

Beginning with a brief introduction into the birth and nature of comics, covering the years 1896-1932 , the text goes on to summarise the growth and consolidation of the industry with a year by year précis of trends, sales, personalities and significant events starting with the birth of the physical artefact in 1933 all the way through to 1989.

A second section details each and every individual publisher, their output, impact and, most usually, demise, and the text concludes with a final section which features a lively analysis of Genres in comic-books ranging from Crime to Western, by way of such milestones as Educational, Horror, Satire and even Underground Comix.

Sumptuously illustrated with hundreds of beautiful comic covers, many of them incredibly rare, all of them wonderfully attractive and compelling, this is a treat for any fan, and if there is the odd factual inaccuracy, it is more than counterbalanced by the sheer enthusiasm and joyous exuberance of the total package. This is an utter delight.

© 1989 Mike Benton. All Rights Reserved.

By Jon Gustafson (Father Tree Press)
ISBN: 0-936861-00-2

The fields of science fiction and comicbook publishing have lots of historical links. Indeed many publishers of “pulps” moved into the funnies industry (such as Avon, Fiction House or Marvel) with varying degrees of success. One of the most individual and impressive creators of science fiction covers was possibly also the most unique and iconic comic cover artists of the Golden Age. His name was Alex Schomburg.

This lovely volume, part biography, part gallery, lavishly represents some of the glorious pulse-quickening masterpieces of his twin careers with lots of highly informative detail that nonetheless never intrudes on the many lavish and spectacular illustrations of this hugely talented individual.

Although by no means a complete archive of Schomburg’s output, his landmark covers (throughout World War II he was the regular cover artist of Marvel Mystery Comics, Captain America Comics, All Winners and many other Marvel titles, and performed the same painterly role for Pines/Better/Nedor – whose character pantheon formed the basis for Alan Moore’s America’s Best Comics a few years ago) are a visual treasure trove for any fan, and the sheer beauty and wonderment of his other work will delight any reader with a passion for fantasy.

This volume also includes appreciations and paeans of deserved praise from such luminaries as Stan Lee, Kelly Freas, Brian Aldiss, Harlan Ellison and others. A beautiful addition to any collection of art-books and a nostalgic delight for fans gifted with a sense of wonder.

© 1986 WaRP Graphics, Inc., Jon Gustafson & Alex Schomburg. All Rights Reserved.

By James Steranko (Supergraphics Publication)
No ISBN

I apparently started something when I reviewed Chandler last week so I’m going to do another Steranko oddity in the vain hope that somehow he hears, and feels loved, encouraged or embarrassed enough to get some of his delayed and uncompleted graphic projects finally out into my greedy mitts, if not everybody’s.

I used to teach comic writing and publication courses and it absolutely appalled me that every term there would be a fresh intake of eager wannabes, and every term there were fewer students who had seen the remarkable achievements of Steranko.

I’m not honestly sure if Unseen Shadows actually qualifies as a book, but this slim package was self-published by the man himself in 1978, and features 50 pencil/concept sketches of The Shadow, pulp legend and prototype for every ‘Dark Avenger’ that has populated fiction and especially comics since his inception.

Steranko moved into paperback cover paintings in 1969, bringing the same innovative design and illustration flair to single illustrations that he brought to comic books. For these Pyramid Books covers he produced tonal pencil sketches rather than preliminary colour roughs and the conceptual information needs of a single image rather than a pictorial sequence lead to some of the most striking drawings of the artist’s distinguished and varied career.

Also included are brief text pieces from Steranko outlining the background and working practice of the project, and his methodology, plus an Afterword from the Shadow’s creator Walter Gibson.

Steranko still has a presence on the internet (which is probably your best and only hope of tracking down this wonderful, beautiful art-book – and it is absolutely worth the effort so to do) but such talent and ability should be a household name, which is swiftly being forgotten even in the small pool of comic fandom, and surely that’s not right…

© 1978 James Steranko. The Shadow is owned by Condé Nast Publications, Inc.

With not enough drawings by Ronald Searle (Methuen)
ISBN: 978-0-41374-230-8

Christmas Time is here by Golly
Disapproval would be folly.
Deck the hall with hunks of Holly,
Fill the cups and don’t say “when…”

Are you musical? I already know that you are a lover of graphic and narrative excellence, so the wonderfully dark, sinister, disturbing and utterly brilliant cartoon illustrations of Ronald Searle will delight you.

But the name of mathematician, songwriter, satirist, Intellectual and early proponent of sick and bad taste humour Tom Lehrer is not so well known, although his achievements are as remarkable and far-reaching. If you know of him you’ll know why I’m pushing my self-imposed criteria to include him, and if not, Google or Wikipedia him. It will be the most fun you’ve had in ages.

This book, re-issued as a comedy classic, contains the music and lyrics of his many and various comedy songs. From such classics as “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park”, the deeply disturbing and hilarious “I Hold your Hand in Mine”, “The Old Dope Peddler” and “The Masochism Tango” to the light and spiky “Be Prepared” or “I Got it from Agnes”, Lehrer makes smart people laugh, venal people squirm and all people think. There are even examples from his tenure as songwriter for “That Was The Week That Was” and educational ditties penned for the Electric Company/Children’s Television Workshop.

Combined with the razor-edged drawings of Searle this is an astoundingly entertaining book and what every liberal should make the piano-teacher use on the kids. This book is a terpsichorean equivalent of EC horror comics, and I can’t resist ending with a quote. Just remember please this is not a malicious man, just that observant Wit who claimed he’d stopped doing satire because “Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Henry Kissinger made political satire obsolete”.

© 1981 Tom Lehrer. Illustrations © 1981 Ronald Searle.

Wondering, “WHAT SHALL I GET HIM FOR CHRISTMAS?”

By K’s Art (Graphic-Sha)
ISBN 10: 1-59396-066-2 ISBN 13: 978-1-59396-066-7

With the popularity of Manga and Anime seemingly unquenchable it might be worthwhile to take a look at the one of the many reference volumes available to the would-be exponent of the Japanese method of comic making.

Getting Started is the first in a long series of books that includes specialised editions covering Maids, Giant Robots, Tone Techniques, Colourful Costumes, Girl’s Life, Guns & Military and Super-Deformed Characters amongst others. It is pretty much the equivalent of a comic strip foundation course, and in many ways it follows the tried and true western publishing format and ideology, although there are a few noticeable – one might say philosophical – differences.

Sub-titled ‘Basic Tools, Tips and Techniques for Aspiring Artists’ there is a heavy emphasis on using the right technology for creating pictures on paper, with great attention paid to which paper, pencils, erasers, pens, markers, rulers, and such paraphernalia. This stressing of the right tool is sensible and correct but I am unsure if this is purely the cultural ethic of a meticulous craft industry, or if it has something to do with the fact that the publishers run an internet Manga art-supplies company. As any artist will attest, we’re all suckers with hungry eyes when it comes to a new, sleek and shiny piece of kit.

Chapter 1 tells in great (some might say excruciating) detail everything anyone could possibly ask regarding not just pens and papers, but even how to recondition nibs and how to blot ink and apply corrective fluid. Chapter 2 deals in the same manner with the creation of characters. This includes Desirable Manga Proportions, Balancing a Frame or a Page, Drawing Heads, and How to use a Mirror.

Everything you need to know about applying those signature Tones and patterns is the topic of chapter 3 followed by a meticulous description of the Japanese way to tell a comic story – featuring Proposal Drafts, Frame Allotment Theory, Transferring Proposal Drafts to the Manga Page, How to Prepare Large Frames and How to Draw Frame Borders, Dialogue Balloons and even Flashes – those spiky circles of lines used to denote strong emotion. Chapter 5 reveals all the secrets behind the creation of backgrounds including a thorough examination of various point perspectives. Each chapter is concluded with a Question and Answer section.

In most ways this is a thorough and informative package, although it should be remembered that some of the tools and materials may not be available in your local art-shop, or may be called by another name. Also worth stressing is that even in Japan the concept of a “right” and “wrong” way to do Manga is just a value judgement, and one that is constantly ignored. All over the planet, the true maxim is, “as long as it can actually be reproduced, whatever works, works”.

Also, the book does seem to be addressing two completely disparate levels of accomplishment, with mind-numbing, patronising simplicity of tone and address side-by-side with passages of extreme complexity. Perhaps there is a more formalised approach to art education at work than we’re used to in the free-wheeling West. On a more personal note, I found the chatty folksiness a little off-putting, and got very tired, very quickly, of the cute talking animals ad-libbing on most pages. Still I’m not the one the book is aimed at, am I?

© 1997 K’s Art. ©1997 Graphic-Sha Publishing Co, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

By André Barbe (Volksverlag)
ISBN: 3-88631-075-2

I’m not saying this is setting any precedent, but to be honest there’s so much great comic material I’d like to share, and it’s not just separated from us by a gulf of years and publisher’s timidity: Lots of it has simply never been collected in English language editions. So when I came across this mostly wordless little gem I thought, “I’m Free, (as good as) Single and so very Over 21”… and this review is the result.

If you Google the name André Barbe you’ll find lots of stuff about “Shift-add correlation patterns of linear cellular automata” and the like. Well, I’m talking about the other one, the artist and cartoonist fascinated both by sex and by the progression and sequencing of pictures which slowly transform from one state of meaning to another.

Most of Barbe’s output is lasciviously erotic, with many overtones and similarities to the designs and vision of Vaughn Bodé, but the silent panoramas indicate very personal obsessions. The fascination with minute pictorial changes which lead to a total transformation, not just of the physical representations but usually also the mental or spiritual state of the subject, as well as the content make his drawings and strips a mesmerising, languid journey of discovery. He also has a wicked, sly, sardonic sense of humour.

I honestly don’t know where or even if you can find examples of his work. Perhaps some of our European readers might be able to offer some suggestions? All I know is that this is brilliant and innovative use of the techniques that are uniquely the province of graphic narrative and sequential art, and that I for one and probably many of you, would love to see more.

Artwork © 1981 André Barbe and Volksverlag. All Rights Reserved or Alles Rechte vorbehalten if you prefer.

The Unofficial Companion to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume Two

By Jess Nevins (Titan Books)
ISBN 1-84576-317-3

Close on the heels of the first volume (Heroes & Monsters, ISBN 1-84576-316-5) was Jess Nevins’s follow-up tome revealing all the secrets and factoids that went into the back-story of and literary antecedents for the sequel to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Volume Two of Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s steampunk masterpiece, although using HG Wells’ War of the Worlds as its primary narrative engine, draws from a vast spring of fantastic literature to pit the protagonists of the League against an unstoppable invasion that devastates the earth – and most especially Woking.

As with Heroes and Monsters the research and deductions are mind-boggling, and often the conclusions drawn are fanciful or erroneous – as defined by the annotations from Messrs Moore and O’Neill – but the text in the main is extensive and gratifying if a deeper reading is what you’re after. Also included in this volume are in-depth interviews with both creators.

© 2003 Jess Nevins. All Rights Reserved.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen â„¢ & © 2006 Alan Moore & Kevin O’Neill.

By Margery Williams, illustrated by William Nicholson (Egmont Books)
ISBN 10: 1-40522-228-X ISBN 13: 978-140522-228-0

Could you name the Top Twenty children’s books of all time? How about the Best Ten? What about the most influential? Or perhaps best illustrated?

Stop counting on your fingers, these are rhetorical questions. The point I want to make is that in any of those categories the book under discussion here will appear, and near the top, too.

Originally published in 1922 it tells the story of a cheap, poorly made toy rabbit given to a young boy as Christmas present, and the deep yearning the toy has to experience what it is to be real. Other toys explain but it is not the same as knowing.

As the simple, dutiful toy learns to be loved, experiences the terror of personal loss and eventually the heartbreak of being forgotten, the clear evocative illustrations of William Nicholson intensify the gently wistful inevitability of the mesmerising prose.

This elegaically simple tale of losing magic to gain maturity has a happy ending that sensitive readers can only yearn for, and briefly rekindle, by reading this story again and again and again. Even if you have no children, it is worth reading this story aloud…

This slim masterpiece has moved millions of readers over the decades, and the subtextual message that it’s okay to feel sad sometimes is one we should all remember. At once warm, sad and happy, this marvel is a book no child should ever be denied.

Illustrations © 1922 Elizabeth Banks.

Wondering, “WHAT SHALL I GET HIM FOR CHRISTMAS?”

By Alan McKenzie (Titan Books)
ISBN: 1-84576-076-X

The latest edition of this excellent How To… is totally revamped for the digital age and computer-literate creator, whilst never forgetting that everything, Everything, EVERYTHING starts with the basics.

Sub-titled Content, Layout, Style, Colour and Presentation, this volume takes the reader through easy to assimilate stages with equal attention paid to fundamental principles such as page size and proportion and exacting details like which software and programs produce the best value for your budget.

Beginning with a brief history of comics, the book covers basic elements (equipment, workspace, format, covers, figures, motion and perspective), storytelling (script, pacing, format, breakdowns and layouts with samples), drawing the story (penciling, characters, design, expression and posture, background and composition, inking, marks and textures), lettering and colour (the full course from rulers and brushes to the latest digital techniques), and selling your work.

This last chapter is perhaps the most useful, drawing as it does on the author’s decades of experience as both freelance writer and as editor of magazines as varied as Starburst and 2000AD. Lavishly illustrated throughout, with many of the accompanying pictures purpose-created by long-time collaborator Steve Parkhouse, this book is a must-have companion for aspiring creators who know this is a serious, skilled – and technical – Business, and not a soft option for the lazy or indolent dreamer.

© 2005 Quarto Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

By Sergio Aragones, with 3-D by Ray Zone (3-D Zone)
ISBN 0-925300-00-4

Since I’m all about everything to do with comics I’ve dredged up this wonderful piece of eye-candy. It is both a splendid example of the periodic fascination our industry has with the somewhat hit-or-miss print process of Three-Dimensional reproduction, and also a superb short collection of the sardonic pictorial lunacy of one of the modern world’s greatest cartoonists.

Both in comic narrative and the infinitely more strenuous field of gag-cartooning Sergio Aragones has produced a vast volumes of excellent work. His darkly skewed sensibilities and grasp of the cosmically absurd, wedded to a totally unique drawing style and frankly terrifying professional discipline have made his (usually) silent doodles a vibrant proof of the maxims that laughter is universal and a picture is worth a thousand words.

This little book features more than sixty of his best, many embracing the theme of 3-D itself, but all dipped in the grim wit of the cynic and absurdist. Shove on your specs and see the gags just jump out at you.

© 1989 Sergio Aragones. All Rights Reserved.