Sly Stallone as Rocky – National Lampoon’s December ’85 Issue!
Here’s a blast from the past! Sly Stallone as Rocky makes a cover appearance on National Lampoon’s December, 1985 cover by Boris Vallejo.
Category: Comics
Frank Frazetta’s Werewolf!
Frank Frazetta created the art above. It’s for a panel from his last comic book story. Werewolf tells the tale of a great hunter hired to track and kill a creature believed to be a demon. Werewolf appeared in Creepy #1 published in 1964 by Warren Publications.
While individual back issues of Creepy are hard to find and expensive, reprints are coming. Creepy Archives Volume 1 reprints Creepy magazine issues #1–#5 and includes original letters pages, text features, and ads. Frazetta’s Werewolf is worth the price of admission. My order is in. Click on the link if you want on board as well.
RIP: Al Jaffee
Al Jaffee, the award-winning cartoonist best known for his work with MAD magazine died yesterday from organ failure. He was 102.
Al Jaffee attended the High School of Music & Art in New York City. There he met Will Elder, Harvey Kurtzman, John Severin, and Al Feldstein all of whom would go on to work for MAD magazine and become noted cartoonists.
Mr. Jaffee’s career began in 1942 when he began getting work from Joker Comics, Timely Comics, Atlas Comics and other publishers. During World War II, Al Jaffee worked as an artist in the military. After his service, Mr. Jaffee became editor for Timely Comics humor and teenage comics. In 1957, Mr. Jaffee created the Tall Tales syndicated strip. It ran for six years.
Al Jaffee’s art first appeared in MAD Magazine in 1955. In 1964 Al Jaffee created MAD Magazine’s longest-running feature, the fold-in. Jaffee would create a full page illustration with text that when folded vertically in half would present a new illustration with text that served as a punchline to the original drawing. The fold-in appeared in every issue of the magazine from 1964–2020 except for two. One issue in 1977 lacked a fold-in although Mr. Jaffee provided a back cover illustration. One issue in 1980 had a unique Jaffee presentation: the inside back cover and back cover illustrations when held up to a light source merged to create a third image. Al Jaffee also created MAD’s popular and long-running series “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions.”
In 1971 and again in 1975, Mr. Jaffee won the National Cartoonists Society Special Features Award.
In 1973, Al Jaffee won the National Cartoonists Society Advertising and Illustration Award.
In 1979, Mr. Jaffee won the National Cartoonists Humor Comic Book Award.
In 2008, Jaffee was honored by the Reuben Awards as the Cartoonist of the Year.
In October 2011, Al Jaffee won the Comic Art Professional Society’s Sergio Award.
In July 2013, Mr. Jaffee was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame.
In April 2014, Al Jaffee was elected to the Society of Illustrators’ Hall of Fame.
On March 30, 2016, Mr. Jaffee was awarded the Guinness World Record for the longest career as a comic artist.
In June 2020, Al Jaffee announced his retirement. MAD Magazine published a tribute issue that same month.
Al Jaffee’s sense of humor and artistic talent translated into decades of smiles for countless children and adults. What better legacy could one hope for?
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Al Jaffee’s family, friends and fans.
Conan by Simon Bisley!
What do you think of Simon Bisley’s Conan? I love it. If you’d like to see more of Simon Bisely’s art, click over to the Simon Bisley Fansite!
QUENTIN BY TARANTINO by Ameziane Amazing!
Quentin Tarantino fans are gonna love this!
TAKE A DIVE INTO THE BRAIN OF MASTER AUTEUR QUENTIN TARANTINO, AS AMÉZIANE AMAZING TAKES US ON A JOURNEY THROUGH HIS RISE TO INDIE BLOCKBUSTER FAME THROUGH ICONIC DIALOGUE, MARTIAL ARTS, AND STYLISH VIOLENCE.
“The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.”
Just like that, fans of Quentin Tarantino are transported into his iconic films, but here is a deeper dive into the man himself, the story of Quentin by Tarantino!
In a first-person account, Améziane Amazing, leads us through the life story of this iconic auteur, from his humble beginnings as a video shop clerk, to his rise through iconic indie blockbusters, all the way to global superstar.
Discover the influences, opinions, and history of one of the world’s most iconic filmmakers, unmistakable in his style and talent.
This looks interesting. Pre-orders are available now.
Sly Stallone as Superman by Adam Hughes!
When I got my first sketch from Adam Hughes, I simply told him I wanted Sylvester Stallone and he could pick the character he wanted to draw. Adam surprised me with his knowledge that there was talk of Sly playing Superman. I love the art (how could I not, it’s Adam Hughes!) and the quote with the caption is icing on the cake!
“Fistful of Yen” Character Posters by Renton Hawkey!
The other day I shared the Fistful of Yen poster that Renton Hawkey created to promote his new FREE comic on Substack. It blew up (and rightly so) as more people became aware of the story that he is creating. Hawkey recently shared these two character sketches and gave some back story on Fistful of Yen. This is gonna be fun!
Marv from SIN CITY by Seth Damoose!
If I was forced to pick my all-time favorite comic character it would probably be Marv from Frank Miller’s Sin City. I love seeing other artists’ riff on Marv. Above we have Seth Damoose’s take. I could get behind a Seth Damoose Sin City tale. If you’d like to see more of Seth Damoose’s art, check out his Instagram page.
Batman by Álvaro Martínez Bueno!
Álvaro Martínez Bueno created this detailed Batman on a bike piece. You can see more of Bueno’s art at his Instagram page, his website, or his Twitter.
FISTFUL OF YEN by Renton Hawkey is Coming!
Renton Hawkey recently shared this on Twitter and it floored me. It was too cool not to share here. Click over, follow Renton and get ready for Fistful of Yen.
Barry Windsor-Smith’s Conan Saga #1 Cover!
Barry Windsor-Smith created the art above. It was used for Conan Saga #1. If you click over to Go Ask Crom! Robert E. Howard in Comics you can see how the art appeared on the cover.
BRYNMORE from Steve Niles & Daniel Worm is Coming!
Steve (30 Days of Night) Niles is reuniting with Daniel Worm for Brynmore. The two had previously collaborated on October Faction. This is one to keep an eye on. Here’s the lowdown…
In Brynmore, the recently divorced and newly sober Mark Turner returns to his hometown of Turner Island hoping to rebuild his shattered life and rekindle a relationship with his estranged daughter, Sophie. Planning to renovate the town’s dilapidated church into a home for himself, Mark’s dreams of a second chance soon begin to crumble as he encounters hostility from the locals and finds himself enmeshed in a dark and sinister legacy of intrigue dating back to when the island was first named after his ancestors. Locked in battle with malefic forces beyond his control, Mark must work to uncover the island’s dark history while keeping himself and Sophie safe from harm—and staying away from the bottle in the process.
Source: Flickering Myth.
THE PHANTOM – The Man Who Cannot Die!
Bottleneck Gallery posted The Phantom print above as well as another (with variants of both) by Henrik Sahlstrom. Seeing these posters took me back to my childhood. For a brief time I was a fan of The Phantom. He appeared in a comic strip in my local newspaper (Terre Haute Tribune-Star).
The Phantom was created by Lee Falk. The first Phantom newspaper strip appeared on February 17, 1936. The Phantom wore the purple costume you see in the art by Sahlstrom. In the series, set in the fictional country of Bangalla, Africa, Christopher Walker was the first Phantom who took on the hero identity when his father was killed by pirates. Walker passed the identity down to his son and so it went with each new generation. The Phantom became known as “The Ghost Who Walks” and “The Man Who Cannot Die”. Although he has no super powers, the Phantom is smart and strong. He lives in a cave that looks like a skull with his pet wolf, Devil.
Over the years, The Phantom has been adapted from the newspaper strips to comic books, movie serials, animated series, a live-action series and a feature film! At it’s peak The Phantom newspaper strip reportedly had an audience of over 100 million readers daily. Even more amazing is the fact that the strip is still being published today! The Phantom is truly the man who cannot die!
Max Fleischer’s Superman is Coming on Blu-Ray!
If you’ve never seen thes Fleischer Superman cartoons, you’re in for a treat. If you have seen them, then you may want to upgrade to Blu-ray. You can pre-order here!
Take flight with the original 1941–1943 animated Superman cartoons! With the initial nine shorts produced by Max Fleischer (and directed by his brother Dave) and the remainder produced by Famous Studios, these 17 animated theatrical shorts were the first to launch Superman from comic books to the screen. The pioneering animated adventures feature the Man of Steel battling mad scientists and giant robots, thwarting the Nazis and saving headstrong reporter Lois Lane. Newly mastered in high definition, these icons of animation look and sound better than ever.
Rarely Seen Barry Windsor-Smith Concept Art for “Conan II”
Barry Windsor-Smith created this unused and rarely seen poster concept for Conan II. It’s worth clicking over to The Bristol Board to see a biggie-sized version.
