My blog postings and website updates have been sparse lately. There’s a good reason behind it. I have been totally focused on wrapping up three books for the printer: Flesk Prime, Mysterious Islands by Gary Gianni and The Art of Craig Elliott. I’ll have full details on these, and the Bruce Timm book for this fall, posted very soon.
For now enjoy the unveiling of the front and back cover of Mysterious Islands designed by Jim Keegan. This 16-page chapbook will be in the same format as Mark Schultz: Blue Book. It will only be available through Flesk and Gary Gianni. Each copy is signed and it is limited to 1000 copies.
Issue number 33 of Illustration magazine is now available. This is one of my favorite magazines. I enjoy it so much that I continue to place Flesk advertisements in most issues to offer my support and to reach out to an audience that I believe might be interested in our books.
Flesk Ad in Illustration #33
Articles include an overview of the lives of Jack Gaughan, Charles Copeland, Edward Shenton and more. At 96-pages on premium paper it’s well worth your $15.00. You can order a copy direct form the Illustration magazine website or through Bud’s Art Books.
The April 2011 issue of SouthwestArt magazine features a book review of our James Bama Sketchbook: A Seventy Year Journey, Traveling From the Far East to the Old West. Unfortunately there are a couple of inaccuracies I would like to correct. First of all, our website (www.fleskpublications.com) is listed incorrectly and points to another publisher.
The second part of the review that is incorrect is the following statement. “For most of his professional life, James Bama has been an illustrator; he didn’t become a painter until his 60s.” This is completely false. I called Bama to confirm his age that he went into fine art, which is 42. His career in fine art was twice as long as his career in illustration. He’s also been painting since his teens.
I always appreciate when people run book reviews. It is too bad though when mistakes happen, since they can and will become fact to someone who may take this wrong information and use it in a future article someday.
Still, SouthwestArt is a good magazine and worth checking out.
The new April 2011 issue of Tripwire is available for a free download at the magazines website! This issue features a look at the upcoming Thor movie, the history of 2000AD, and more articles covering comics, film, TV and more. It’s a terrific magazine well-worth reading and it won’t cost you anything! We also have a full page Flesk ad on the last page.
The Spectrum website has posted the artist names list for those selected by the 2011 jury for inclusion in Spectrum 18. I’m pleased to see Flesk regulars Petar Meseldžija, Mark Schultz, Jim Silke and William Stout all included! There are also many of my favorites in there like Bill Carman (who did the Spectrum 18 Call For Entries poster), Frank Cho, Donato Giancola, Rebecca Guay, Michael Wm Kaluta, Gregory Manchess and Shelly Wan, to name a few.
Brom and James Gurney continue to slug it out as the only two artists to be in every volume of Spectrum!
Flesk Publications will be exhibiting at WonderCon running from April 1-3, 2011 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco—booth #709. This is a great place to see our entire line of books, meet artists, ask questions about future projects and pick up promotional material.
On hand will be certain books that are only available direct through Flesk, such as the signed and limited 16-page sketchbook, Mark Schultz Blue Book. Also, Harvey Dunn: Illustrator and Painter of the Pioneer West by Walt Reed, both the hardbound edition and the deluxe limited edition will be on hand. These two titles cannot be found in the book trade. We will also have deluxe-signed editions for many of our books including Jim Silke’s Jungle Girls, and other low stock items that are out of print. These can also be found on our Flesk online store by clicking here.
Stop by and pick up our free promotional postcard for Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm, the new book coming this fall. We will be hosting a special signing with Timm. A signing schedule will be posted at our booth on the first day of the show.
Additional artist’s appearing at WonderCon that we have published, or are developing books on, are Craig Elliott, William Stout and Jim Silke.
William Stout will be directly next to us at booth #711. He will have original art, books, prints and calendars and be available to sign your items.
Jim Silke will be located in Artists’ Alley at table #AA031. He will have original art, prints and books available, and happy to sign your copies of Jungle Girls!
Craig Elliott, the subject of a forthcoming art collection from Flesk, will be present at his Craig Elliott Gallery, booth #723. He will have prints of his fine art, originals, books, cards, jewelry and other items available.
Our friends at Stuart Ng Books will be near us again at booth #713.
Flesk Publications goal is to continue promoting the arts through quality collections. We produce art books on illustration, comic art, graphic novels, fine art and fantasy, with a strong focus on individual artist collections.
You can keep up to date on the latest Flesk news through publisher John Fleskes’ blog, our Flesk news page, and order all of our books online at the Flesk store. Feel free to contact us with any questions and interview requests.
I have eight book titles in production at the moment. I expect all to be available in 2011. Over the next few months you can expect more information and official release dates posted on the Flesk website and here in my blog.
Both Al Williamson Archives Volume Two and Mark Schultz Various Drawings Volume Five are at the printer. I am delighted to present these new volumes of the two ongoing series. I interviewed Mark about his upcoming collection on a recent blog. (A link can be found at the bottom of this posting.) Full book details and sample pages are on the Flesk website. Randy Dahlk has designed both of these books. I will be reviewing the printer proofs by the end of this week and expect them to go to press very soon. Both will be available in July. I will have them at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
The new printing of Xenozoic is on the press right now. We were delighted to see the first printing sell out within just a few months. The fresh copies should begin showing up on the bookshelves (both real and virtual) in June.
At the moment I am working on wrapping up three books to have in time for Comic-Con in San Diego. This is the first mention of them. They are all exciting projects, which I am anxious to share.
First up is The Art of Craig Elliott. A few highlights from the book description explain the contents: Perhaps best known for his contributions to such hit films as Bee Movie, Treasure Planet, and The Princess and the Frog, Craig Elliott is truly a multi-faceted craftsman. This volume showcases Craig’s uncanny ability to capture the human body—and particularly the female form—in highly original and evocative compositions that possess a palpable atmosphere and a strong sense of place. This will be a full color 9 x 12” 64-page collection that Craig is designing himself. The spreads I’ve seen so far are gorgeous.
Next we have Gary Gianni’s Mysterious Islands. This small chapbook collection will mimic the Mark Schultz Blue Book format, and showcase the monster and horror art of Gianni. At 16-pages and signed for only $10.00, this will only be available direct from Flesk. This collection furthers my desire to always having something fun and unique for an affordable price at the shows.
I am finalizing Flesk Prime, a primer showcasing the talents of a select group of artists whose books I publish. This is a 64-page hardbound collection featuring 12-pages each on Craig Elliott, Gary Gianni, Petar Meseldžija, Mark Schultz and William Stout. There are many new and unpublished works in this book. It is a perfect introduction to any of these artists you are unfamiliar with. This will only be available direct from Flesk. All but Petar will be at the San Diego show, where you can get it signed by four artists! Then, we will have the collection for our September 2011 trip to the Stripbeurs Breda show in the Netherlands where Petar will join Gianni, Schultz and Stout for the two-day event.
I’ve just recently shared the news of our forthcoming collection on Bruce Timm titled, Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm. This oversized collection will feature over 250 women, from nudes to adventure and fantasy scenes, super-heroines, and horror and hardboiled detective situations, plus more. It’s a thrill to have the opportunity to work with Timm and publish this book. I have the book on our fall 2011 schedule. Randy Dahlk is designing this book.
I’m teaming up with James Bama again to bring you James Bama: Personal Works. This collection includes over 50 unpublished paintings Bama created solely for himself. They are unbelievably moving. It was during one of my visits with Jim that I learned of these works. I asked him if he would mind if I published a book on them. “Sure!” he said. This collection will extend the diversity of subject matter he is currently known for. The book is designed and waiting for my final attention to wrap it up. I expect this out in the fall sometime.
Lastly, I have an Edwin Austin Abbey book in the works. This career retrospective of his pen and ink drawings will collect a few hundred pieces to demonstrate his range and growth during his lifetime. This book is a labor of love for me. I have the design roughly done. It is waiting for my time to finalize. I plan on having it ready for late fall.
There you have it. A whirlwind preview of what I will be publishing in 2011. I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported us. Anyone who has purchased one of our books can pat his or her back for contributing to our cause in bringing you these art books.
This fall 2011 I will be publishing a collection showcasing the women of Bruce Timm. I am thrilled to reveal the cover for the first time. Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art Of Bruce Timm will be a in a large 9 x 12 in. format with both a softbound and hardbound edition. We’re still working on the page count and details and should have the full specifications and description up on the Flesk website in a month or two.
It has been a pleasure to work with Bruce in finalizing this cover. He wanted a sixties retro paperback feel to the cover, and we went through a number of fun designs before arriving at this winner. It’s always a joy to work with an artist to find a look and feel that satisfies them. I want each book I publish to serve as an extension of the artist. The cover is an integral part of this and allows for a theme for the book. Therefore it is important for me to glean as much feedback as possible from an artist to learn how they envision their art to be shown. Fortunately, Bruce was more than willing to express his opinions in a clear and constructive manner to get not only his art, but also his aesthetics into the book cover and interior designs as well.
I’ll have a free 5 x 7 in. promotional postcard for the Bruce Timm book available at WonderCon this April 1-3, 2011. We’ll be at booth #709, right next to William Stout and Stuart Ng Books. Check out the back of the card below!
Bruce Timm “Naughty and Nice” book postcard available at the Flesk Publications booth #709 at WonderCon.
Gary Gianni is a special guest at this years Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, running from March 18-20, 2011 at the West Building at McCormick Place.
Gianni will have original art for sale, as well as copies of his latest books from Flesk Publications, Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The Prince Valiant Page and Major Thrill’s Adventure Book. In addition, he will have Into the Land of Shadows, a privately printed collection of two years worth of Prince Valiant strips that is only available direct from Gianni.
Gary Gianni has adapted and illustrated a wide variety of books, including John Henry, Kidnapped, Moby Dick, The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane, The Complete Conan of Cimmeria, and Michael Chabon’s Gentlemen of the Road. His comic’s work includes Classics Illustrated, The Shadow, and The MonsterMen. He won an Eisner Award for his illustration of “Heroes,” a tale included in Batman: Black and White. Gianni currently serves as the illustrator of the Prince Valiant Sunday comic strip.
You can also find Gary’s brother, artist Thomas Gianni, in Artist Alley.
The Spectrum 18 judging was held on Saturday, March 12, 2011. Pictures and news of the day has been posted on the Spectrum Fantastic Art website. They even have a few video interviews with the judges during the selection process and a video showing the recipients of the silver and gold awards for each category.
