Original Art Friday! 12/27/19 Jordi Bernet

Ahh, another Christmas has passed... I hope all reading this had a peaceful day, in whatever fashion you personally define "peaceful." And now, as we careen toward the new year, what better time to offer yet another installment in my never ending series of ORIGINAL ART FRIDAYS, the made-up day of the week I chose to share another piece of (mostly) comic art culled from the recesses of my collected heap o' goodies...

Today is a pin-up by one of my favorite artists, Jordi Bernet, illustrating what is perhaps his signature character, the 1930's gunman known as "Torpedo." The provenance for particular piece informs that it appeared in Playboy in 1991, but I can neither confirm not deny. What I can say is, it's an especially cool rendition of Luca Torelli, the aforementioned Torpedo...

So who, or what, is that? Thanks to our friends at Wikipedia, here's the quick lowdown: "Torpedo, or Torpedo 1936, is a Spanish comics series written by Enrique Sánchez Abulí and drawn by Jordi Bernet, which depicts the adventures of the antagonistic character Luca Torelli, a heartless hitman, and his sidekick Rascal, in context of the violent organized crime culture of New York City during the Great Depression era."

That pretty much nails it. Torelli and Rascal have various violent and sexual adventures in 1930's NY, sometimes with unexpected twists and turns. Torelli doesn't always "win," whatever that means, making the stories more than just cops and robbers in depression times.

Original artist Alex Toth bailed on the series after drawing the first two stories, a situation that does not sound all that unusual given Toth's legendarily mercurial personality. But he set the tone for the Bernet-illustrated series to come, and Bernet really went to town. Gritty, violent, sensual, goofy and often funny, it's a really good strip. The IDW publishing house has released five volumes of English-translated Torpedo books, all of which appear to still be in print.

Now, did Torpedo have a peaceful Christmas? Given the general tenor of the stories, eightball says "no"...

Original Art Friday! 12/20/19 Al Feldstein!

What a week! Christmas MUST be coming! There's a new Star Wars movie, two new Springsteen live shows circa 1978 (visit live.brucespringsteen.net), a new collection of Smithereens demos, some President got impeached, and it's ORIGINAL ART FRIDAY!

Yes, once again, that made-up day of the week when I share a piece of (usually comic book) art pulled from the MV archives.

And now the dilemma! What to share? A check scan shows I have no Christmas-related pages. Nor do I have any Star Wars or Springsteen related artwork. There must be SOMETHING fit for the season...

Feldstein. Why you can just feel the love radiating off the page. Especially in panel 4. Of course, the guy IS a "detective" investigating a series of muggings, and he suspected poor Nina was somehow involved, so that might explain the lack of sparks. I have this story somewhere in reprint form but I can't find it and so I can't tell you if Dan and Nina eventually fall in love. However, I'd put money on it!

So. Al Feldstein. A bit of an acquired taste, but I acquired it, especially after reading his eye-popping work on "Sunny" and "Junior" comics, both Archie-inspired titles from the Fox publishing company. IDW published a fancy hardcover collection of Feldstein's stories from those books and a quick look will explain what enticed readers back in the 1950's and the again in 2014. Basically, Feldstein dedicated an enormous amount of ink to, well, delineating the female form. Archie it ain't...

Feldstein later chucked his illustrative pen to become an editor, most famously running Mad Magazine for decades. And fans of stiff figures wearing clothing two sizes too small were heartbroken everywhere! But we'll always have Modern Love...

Orginal Art Friday! 12/13/19 Ruben Moriera!

Another work week pirouettes into the past as Friday once more arrives, bringing with it ORIGINAL ART FRIDAY... the singular day of the week where I share another piece of original, mostly-comic-book related art with the WORLD!

Today I bring you a lovely page by Ruben Moriera from DC's "The Adventures of Alan Ladd" #5, circia 1950. A quick trip to Wikipedia reveals this Mr. Moriera was a Puerto Rican artist who worked on any number of titles in his career, most notably (AGAIN, per Wikipedia! Don't yell me, Mark Evanier!) co-creating Rip Hunter Time Master with Jack Miller. To my eye, Mr. Moriera was a solid draftsman who told the story without a lot of flash.

But there's more!

It occurs to me that some reading this may not even remember Alan Ladd, one of the more popular actors of the 50's, best known for "Shane." (I was going to say he was one of Hollywood's biggest stars, but apparently he was 5' 6"... not that that's a crime!). He was so popular, in fact, DC Comics decided to publish this unfortunately short-lived title (only 9 issues) "starring" Mr. Ladd.

And these books are really something. The first few issues are literally tales of Alan Ladd, actor, being dragooned into threatening situations. So we're treated to the cartoon Ladd (again, as himself, Hollywood actor) punching out gangsters and pirates and assorted other miscreants. It so tickled my funny bone that I haunted comic conventions for, well, weeks, and managed to get every issue, along this original Moriera page...

But there's more! The Alan Ladd book also inspired my screenplay for 2008's "My Name Is Bruce" (still time to order for Christmas!), starring the inimitable Bruce Campbell. In "Bruce", Bruce Campbell, theoretically playing himself, is kidnapped by a kid who think he can kill a Chinese demon terrorizing in a small Oregon town. However, unlike Alan Ladd, Bruce is a drunken, lecherous goofball who, after reveling in the town's praise -- he believes it's all a birthday prank arranged by his agent -- runs for his life when danger appears. Well, I thought it was funny! And so did Bruce, who shot the entire film in his back yard in Oregon...

And so that's how movie history is made... "ish"...

Original Art Friday! 12/6/19 RUSS HEATH

Well, it is once again the day before the last day of the week... one more day to work and toil, one more day to work-avoid, and the one day of the week when I celebrate ORIGINAL ART FRIDAY, my messianic quest to share some of the comic book art I've accumulated over the decades...

Some of you may be wondering, "gosh, Mark, how do you decide which piece of art to share every week?" Well, I utilize a carefully created logarithm that calculates various factors, all designed to help guide me toward the very deliberate selection of a new artwork. Or, to put it in layman's terms, it's totally by whim.

And my whim today is to share another piece by the amazing RUSS HEATH. Long time OAF readers know I'm an unapologetic fan of the late Mr. Heath, and short time readers will learn that truth soon enough!

Anyhow, here we have a black and white ink-wash cover recreation (I think, I can't identify the original cover) that shows Heath's genius at staging, lighting, figure drawing and drama. I could look at this for hours and indeed, I have, since that's easier than working! Heath's lengthy career spanned the early 1940's into the 2000s, and he drew every conceivable genre, though his greatest work (for me) was his war and Western illustration. That said, he also did superguys, ranging from Batman to Iron Fist, and a few exceptionally funny comic stories for National Lampoon... some of which I'll have to share soon as well!

Meanwhile, lean back and enjoy this monochromatic masterpiece while I unfortunately, and this time for reals, get back to work...