Category: Art

Al Hirschfeld, Sly Stallone and the Stars!

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Earlier this week I watched The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story, a documentary on arguably the great world’s greatest caricaturist.  I wondered if Mr. Hirschfeld had ever drawn Sly Stallone.  As it turns out, Hirschfeld did at least twice.  Below are the images I found with Sylvester Stallone.  If you’d like to see more art, signed books, lithographs and more, click over to the Al Hirschfeld Foundation Shop.

Marlon Brando, Cybill Shepherd, Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Dolly Parton, Dustin Hoffman, Sally Field, Richard Pryor, Sean Connery and Gene Wilder.

Christie Brinkley, Billy Joel, Cher, Claus von Bülow, Don Johnson, John Irving, Hulk Hogan, Princess Diana, Sly Stallone,  Grace Jones, Ronald Reagan and Madonna. 1985

“The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story” (1996) / Z-View

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The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story (1996) Director:  Susan Warms Dryfoos Screenplay: Susan Warms Dryfoos The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Al Hirschfeld lived a long and interesting life.  His career spanned over 80 years and Mr. Hirschfeld continued to create art until his death from natural causes at the age of 99.

At 17, Al Hirschfeld was named the Art Director of Selznick Pictures where he created or oversaw the making of all the company’s movie posters.  In his 20s he traveled the world to study and refine his art style. When he returned to the US a chance conversation led to his art appearing in the New York Times.  After that there was no looking back.

Hirschfeld went on to become one of the world’s most popular and influential artists.  His art appeared regularly in the New York Times (for 70 years), and could be seen in The New Yorker, Colliers, TV Guide, Playbill and Rolling Stone (just to name a few).  This documentary does an excellent job of presenting Al Hirschfeld’s life and art — both of which are extraordinary.  I really liked The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story and it rates 4 of 5 stars.

The video below isn’t a trailer for The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story because I couldn’t find one.  Instead this is a profile from CBS Sunday Morning of a Hirschfeld Art Exhibit.

Kali by Daniel Freedman and Robert Sammelin is Coming!

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Kali by Daniel Freedman (writer) and Robert Sammelin (artist) sounds like something I’d like…

From Daniel Freedman (Raiders) and Mondo and DICE artist Robert Sammelin comes an original graphic novel that’s a nonstop, high-octane existential action spectacle, perfect for Mad Max: Fury Road fans!

Stabbed in the back, poisoned, and left for dead by her own biker gang, Kali sets off on a one-way road of vengeance across a war-torn desert battlefield. With impending death coursing through her veins and a fascist army hot on her tail, Kali will stop at nothing to get her revenge, even if it’s the last thing she ever does. A nonstop high-octane existential action spectacle from writer Daniel Freedman and artist Robert Sammelin!

I’ll keep my eye out for preview art but if you’ve seen enough, pre-orders for Kali are available now.

Lady Mayhem by Jenna Lyn Wright and Karl Slominski!

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Lady Mayhem by Jenna Lyn Wright and Karl Slominski looks and sounds like my kind of fun.  Here’s the synopsis…

After her father passes away under suspicious circumstances, a mysterious woman returns to the crime-ridden city she fled decades before, only to discover that he was the bookkeeper for a nefarious enterprise that’s risen to power while she was away. The government, the police, the city is theirs. But now she knows their strengths, their weaknesses, and their secrets, and bloody vengeance will be hers.

LADY MAYHEM is a bombastic, over-the-top, thrill ride for the reader that demands more gonzo-ridiculous action in their comics. This is a no-holds-barred love letter to VHS revenge thrillers of the 80’s, big gun bravado of 90’s comics, and that hyperactive buzz you used to get while playing SNES and housing super-caffeinated sodas all night long as a kid. This is the comic book you’d have to hide from your parents (y’know, the dangerous days, before cinematic universes & vinyl figurines).

Lady Mayhem is on Kickstarter now through February 2nd.  If you’re interested jump on board for a copy of your own. I did.

Neal Adams’ Vintage Conan Art!

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Neal Adams.  When you think of Adams, you probably think of Batman, or Green Lantern & Green Arrow or any number of other characters because Adams drew them so well.  When I think of Neal Adams, I think of his Conan.

A Neal Adams’ Conan had a distinctive look that separated him from other Conan artists.  An Adams’ Conan was muscular but in a more athletic way than some other artists drew him.  I also think that a Neal Adams’ Conan looked more intelligent than when drawn by some other artists.

I say these things not to slight John Buscema, Barry Smith or any other “Conan artist” (because I love their versions as well).  It just surprises me a bit that more folks don’t think of Neal Adams sooner when talking about Conan.

“Happy New Year” from Santa with a Gun!

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I meant to share the caricature of me as Santa by Rob Smith, Jr. on Christmas.   Sadly, I forgot.

As I was looking for an image to go along with my Happy New Years post, I thought what better way to say, Have a Happy New Year, than to post Santa with a Gun along with the message.  Think about it: Not many people will argue with Santa and even fewer would not listen to Santa with a gun. So…

Have a Happy New Year!

Concept Art for “Rebel Moon” from Zack Snyder!

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Zack Snyder posted this concept art for Rebel Moon, the next feature that is on the fast-track for Snyder to direct.  Sofia (Hotel Artemis, Atomic Blonde) Boutella is set to star in the feature co-written by Snyder, Shay (Army of the Dead) Hatten and Kurt (300) Johnstad.  In Rebel Moon, which some have dubbed “Seven Samurai in Outer Space” Boutella plays a woman…

…who seeks out warriors from nearby planets to protect her peaceful home colony from an army of vicious invaders…

Deal me in.

For more information check out Rebel Moon Concept Art Revealed By Director Zack Snyder by Sandy Schaefer at /Film.

Deathcathlon by Kyle Baker is Available Now!

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Deathcathlon is already available for purchase and I just found out about it.  How did that happen?  I’m a Kyle Baker fan and am surprised I’m late to the party.  Here’s the synopsis…

So what if nobody likes her and everyone wants her to fail? Detective Shakuntala Mahoney, the Last Honest Cop in the Most Corrupt Precinct is poised for a career-defining bust that will demolish the sports-rigging mafia in the city of Los Serafines. So what if her own team is sabotaging her and helping the bad guys? She’d rather be right than liked. Rules are rules and cheaters are cheaters. Only her obsession matters: Destroying the mafia.

She never counted on the brooding sinewy stranger with a haunted past who shatters the detective’s brilliant plans in an instant. An intriguing broad-muscled rogue who slaughters all of Mahoney’s suspects using sports equipment then vanishes into the night like a chiseled rugged ghost with a secret torment locked away in a hardened heart.

Someone’s wiping out the mafia, and it isn’t Mahoney. She’s finally found the only other person in this crooked town who shares her obsession, and he’s a damned serial killer. A damned hot serial killer doing the job she dreams the broken system would allow her to do. It definitely shouldn’t matter that he’s a world-famous athlete worth a fortune. The Last Honest cop will not tolerate vigilantism, especially if it screws up her promotion.

Rules are rules. Cheating is cheating. But the heart wants what the heart wants.

If Deathcathlon sounds like something you’d like, why deny yourself a little pleasure?

Reckless: The Ghost in You by Brubaker & Phillips is Coming!

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It’s been announced that the next Reckless graphic novel by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips has been announced.  It is titled Reckless: The Ghost in You.  That’s the cover above.  Here’s the synopsis…

The fourth book in the best-selling Reckless series is here!

Bestselling crime noir masters Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips bring us yet another original graphic novel starring troublemaker-for-hire Ethan Reckless.

Except this time it’s the winter of 1989 and Ethan is out of town, so Anna must tackle this job on her own. When a movie scream queen asks her to prove the mansion she’s renovating isn’t haunted, Anna will stumble into the decades-long mystery of one of Hollywood’s most-infamous murder houses… a place with many dark secrets, some of which might just kill her.

Another hit from the award-winning creators of RECKLESS, PULP, MY HEROES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN JUNKIES, CRIMINAL, and KILL OR BE KILLED — and a must-have for all Brubaker and Phillips fans!

Reckless: The Ghost in You will be released on April 26, 2022.  Preorders are available now.