Howard Pyle's "Pepper and Salt"

Howard Pyle's Pepper and Salt: or, Season For Young Folk was first published in 1885. The book contained eight stories written and illustrated by Pyle. It also contained 24 illustrated poems. All of the illustrated poems are featured below. Please click on them for a larger view. These drawings are wonderfully detailed and whimsical, showing a different side of Pyle from his more action and costume oriented painting of pirates and historical scenes.

Sgt. Rock: Showcase #45

I think this is one of the best war comic covers in the whole world. DC Showcase #45, August 1963. Art by Russ Heath.

Charles Vess and Spiderman

Some images of Spiderman by Charles Vess. Two prints from First Team Press (1988) and the cover to Web of Spiderman #1 (April 1985). I never cared much for Spiderman's black costume, but it looked good when Vess drew it.

Monsters & Heroes: Bernie Wrightson Profile

Larry Ivie's Monsters and Heroes was a magazine devoted to monster movies, old movie and radio serials, and comics. It ran for seven issues from 1967 to 1970.

Issue #3 (March 1968) featured a write-up on Bernie Wrightson. This is probably one of the earliest things written about Bernie in the fan or professional press. There was an interview and a short article published on Wrightson in early issues of Infinity and I'll Be Damned, but those did not appear until 1970. This issue also featured two early drawings by Bernie that to my knowledge have not been printed anywhere else.

Maxfield Parrish: Puss in Boots

Below is a painting by Maxfield Parrish illustrating a scene from the fairy tale "Puss in Boots." Most illustrators of this story anthropomorphize the cat. What I love about this piece is the cat is realistic looking, he just happens to be standing in a pair of boots.

Robert E. Howard Art

A couple of illustrations from Robert E. Howard's Mythmaker, published by Cross Plains Comics in 1999.


Mark Schultz



Michael Kaluta.

Bernie Wrightson and The Shining

Bernie Wrightson has long been associated with the works of horror author Stephen King. Wrightson's first collaboration with Stephen King was the comic book adaptation of the 1982 film Creepshow. Bernie went on to illustrate Cycle of the Werewolf in 1984 and the restored version of The Stand in 1990. Wrightson also illustrated the limited edition of From a Buick 8, The Wolves of Calla, and King produced an introduction to Bernie's edition of Frankenstein.

One more place where Wrightson has illuminated the words of Stephen King was in one of the most widely circulated magazines in the United States: TV Guide. In conjunction with the premier of the television mini-series of The Shining, TV Guide published King's prologue to the novel titled "Before the Play." The prologue had been cut out of the 1977 novel. It had eventually been printed in a 1982 issue of a small press horror magazine called Whispers. The prologue's appearance in the April 26 - May 2, 1997 edition of TV Guide marked its first publication for a mass audience. Wrightson contributed the cover, one color illustration and two small B&W illustrations. To be honest, there is a lot Bernie's work I like better than these drawings. But I've always had a soft spot for these because this was probably the most widespread distribution of Wrightson's work to a mass audience. For a couple weeks in the Spring of 1997, a Bernie Wrightson painting of a maniac with a roque mallet was in every grocery checkout lane in America.

Roy Krenkel & Creepy

Cover rough by Roy Krenkel for the Warren magazine Creepy. Krenkel drew a bunch of concept sketches for Warren's new line of horror magazines in 1964, but never completed any paintings that were used for the covers. Originally published in Squa Tront #7, 1977.

House of Mystery #212

Here is a scan of the original cover art by Michael Kaluta for House of Mystery #212 (March 1973) and a scan of the published comic book.

Fang Mail

Illustration by Bernie Wrightson for the letters page of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. This is from issue #109, dated August 1974. I don't know which issue the drawing first ran or the last issue it appeared in.

Bad Girls of the Wild West

Western Bandit Trails #1, January 1949. Cover art by Matt Baker.




Western Bandit Trails #2, April 1949. Cover art by Matt Baker.




Western Bandit Trails #3, 1949. Cover art by Matt Baker.

Monsters!

Bernie Wrightson & Michael Kaluta, 1975.

Zombie!

By William Stout.

3 Cool Comics

Assorted comic book covers:




Planet Comics #53, March 1948. A classic bondage cover, there's really not much to say about it that isn't painfully obvious.




Strange Tales #78, November 1960. Cover by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. This cover of one of my favorites from era of Strange Tales. It's a little more subtle than most of Kirby's covers for this title. Well, it is subtle compared to Taboo!.




Adventure Comics #425, January 1973. Cover art by Michael Kaluta. I've always like this one. A lot of wonderful covers came off Kaluta's drawing board during this period. I mean A LOT. He has consistently produced a lot of really nice covers throughout his career.