Zago!

Here's a weird looking comic. Zago #3, January 1949.

Teenage Sleuths

By Rudy Nappi



The Hardy Boys, The Secret of Skull Mountain, 1966.




Nancy Drew, The Ghost of Blackwood Hall, 1967.

He's a Dope Fiend!

Public service announcement by Frank Frazetta, 1950s [?]

The Creature From the Black Lagoon

ACBA Sketchbook, 1975

The ACBA (Academy of Comic Book Artists) is a professional organization founded in 1970. The ACBA functioned as an honorary society, presenting Shazam awards for outstanding comic book work from 1970-1975. The Academy has also worked for increased rights for comic book creators, particularly around the return of original art to the artist. The ACBA published several sketchbooks as fundraising tools. Below are some what I feel are some of the better pieces from the 1975 sketchbook. Read a review of the 1973 edition at Ink Destroyed My Brush.





Cover by Bernie Wrightson.




Frank Brunner




Neal Adams




Michael Whelan




Russ Heath




Bernie Wrightson




Harvey Kurtzman




Michael Kaluta




Gray Morrow




Back Cover by Jeff Jones.

Classic Actresses

For a slight change of pace, here's some nice photos of some famous actresses:



Virginia Mayo




Annette Funicello




Ava Gardner




Hedy Lamarr




Jane Fonda




Mary Tyler Moore




Natalie Wood




Marilyn




Marilyn

Alex Toth Checklists

Pencil Ink has posted an impressive list of comics by Alex Toth the site has reviewed. There is a more complete Toth checklist here. I wish I had some original art or some oddball Toth piece to share right here but I can't come up with anything at the moment. I do have Toth's distinctive signature on his excellent "Bravo for Adventure" story in the book Voyages.

Aurora Models: Prehistoric Scenes

The Prehistoric Scenes series of models were released by Aurora between 1971 and 1974. The kits featured prehistoric environments such as caves, tar pits and swamps. Also dinosaurs, prehistoric mammals, and cavemen and a cavewomen. The bases fit all the models fit together, forming a huge diorama if you were lucky enough to be able to afford or find all the kits. More information on this series of kits here and here.

Below are two scans of the art for box covers for the series:



Jungle Swamp, Aurora Models Prehistoric Scenes, 1972.




Cave-Woman, Aurora Models Prehistoric Scenes, 1971.

The Shell

By Howard Pyle



A superlative illustration by Howard Pyle depicting a scene during the siege of Vicksburg in 1863. This picture was in a National Geographic Civil War book my family had when I was young. It both fascinated and terrified me. I couldn't take my eyes off it.

Science Fiction Art

Here's some cool science fiction art, 1939-1960:


The Tomorrow People by Judith Merrill, 1960. Art by Robert Schulz.



Cover for Marvel Science Stories, April/May 1939. Art by Norm Saunders.



Orbit magazine #1, 1953. Art by Rudolph Belarski.



The Sun Smasher by Edmond Hamilton, 1959. Art by Ed Emshwiller.

Bettie Page: Queen of the Nile

Art by Dave Stevens

Friday Odds and Ends

"Captain Blood Inspecting the Treasure Chest Jewels" by Dean Cornwell. Illustration for Cosmopolitan magazine, July 1930.




"Inside Shelob's Lair" by Charles Vess, 1979.




Prehistoric scene by Lynd Ward.

The Wrighson Completionist: Part 9

The ninth in a series of posts highlighting oddball Bernie Wrightson items in my collection.

Toodlum Tales was a small monthly publication for the people of Saugerties, New York. It contained news and profiles of people and places in the area. The October 1979 issue featured a profile of then-resident Bernie Wrightson and reprinted one of his best Frankenstein illustrations. Below is a reproduction of the article on Bernie. Click on it for a larger view.

Edmund Dulac: F Was a Fanciful Frog

F Was A Fanciful Frog is a book written and illustrated by Edmund Dulac. Each page features a limerick (written by Dulac) and a whimsical illustration. The book was originally published in 1908. Here is a selection of scans from a 1993 reprint.

Space Odyssey (1951)

Here's a cool painting by a guy named Donald Bard...

Batman! Batman!

An autographed photo of Adam West I got at a comic show back in 1980 or so.




Movie poster from the 1966 film.