The Spectrum Fantastic Art website has announced that Spectrum 18 will be available very soon from your favorite bookseller. Arnie and Cathy Fenner have posted a video flip-through of the book giving us a glimpse of who is included in this latest collection of the best in contemporary fantastic art.
In addition, Spectrum has announced that advance registration for Spectrum Fantastic Art Live is available on their website. Three day passes are only $40.00 and single day passes will be available at the door for $20.00. Spectrum Live will be held in Kansas City, Missouri with special guests Brom, Mike Mignola, Iain McCaig, Phil Hale and Andrew Jones.
I’ll have a Flesk booth at the show. Joining me will be Gary Gianni, Petar Meseldzija, Mark Schultz, William Stout. Craig Elliott will be there as well with his own booth. (That’s the entire Flesk Prime group!) I’m excited about being a part of this inaugural new event that focuses on the artists. As the show nears I will have some surprises to share.
I received the devastating news from Mark Theloson and Paul Renaud yesterday morning that Minck Oosterveer passed away, the result of a motorcycle accident. We are all in shock and numb from the news. Just over a week ago Minck, Gianni, Stout, Schultz Petar Meseldzija and I were sitting in the Apollo Hotel lobby in Breda, The Netherlands having breakfast and enjoying each other’s company as we relaxed before the start of the Strip Festival. That Saturday evening was also a pleasant dinner with Minck in attendance. I consider myself fortunate to have met him and had a brief look into how kind and wonderful this great man was.
You can search the web to learn more about Minck the artist: www.minckoosterveer.com. For the time being, I would like to focus instead on the man–his pleasant demeanor and kind spirit and let it be known there are scores of friends out there that are saddened deeply by Minck’s passing. He will be sorely missed.
Beyond this tragedy, I find a peace knowing he was surrounded by friends, colleagues, peers and fans just a few days before his untimely death where people could celebrate him and his work and spend time with him one last time.
Over the next few weeks I will be posting a series of blogs about my exhibiting at Comic-Con International in San Diego for 2011.
I want to start off by highlighting one of the most exciting moments of the show to me. This was when my friend, Randall Dahlk received the Eisner award for Best Publication Design for the book Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer Artist’s Edition (IDW). I believe his Eisner is well-deserved and I am very happy for him. Randy was up against some steep competition, including 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking (Taschen).
Throughout the day leading to the awards ceremony I was informing people of his nomination which embarrassed him and he countered by downplayed it. Later that evening I spent time with Randy just before he went to the awards ceremony. I took some video commentary of him in his hotel room. (No, it’s not for public consumption—hilarious, but we’ll keep it to ourselves.) He was a little nervous and anxious, yet modest and felt that his chances of winning were slim.
At 11:30PM on Friday night I called Randy to see what was going on, but no one answered. He told me the Best Publication Design category was the final award of the evening and I knew the event ended around 11:00PM. I asked him to call me as soon as he had a chance. Finally, my restless sleep was appeased at 12:43AM when I received a text message from Randy, “win.” I was elated.
A big congratulations goes out to Randy!
You can learn about Randy and view his latest designs at his Retro Randy blog.
Congratulations to Petar Meseldžija for being nominated for a 2011 Chesley Award. His work titled “Unk!” is among the six pieces being considered in the Unpublished Monochrome category. A posting on the Muddy Colors blog shows a list of all nominees and their art being considered.
Wesley St. Clair and Victor Williamson. Photo courtesy The Kubert School.
Congratulations to Wesley St. Claire who is the recipient of the inaugural Al Williamson Memorial Scholarship $1000 Award for a worthy second year student going into the third year at The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon & Graphic Art. The scholarship is sponsored by the family & friends of Al Williamson. The award was presented by Al Williamson’s son, Victor, on Friday May 13th, 2011.
The following press release regarding the Al Williamson Memorial Scholarship was provided by Mike Chen from The Kubert School. You will find full details about the scholarship and information on how you can contribute for next year. Also be sure to read the scholarship winners for all categories further down.
Wesley St. Clair, Joe Kubert and Victor Williamson. Photo courtesy The Kubert School.
Al Williamson Memorial Scholarship Details
Dover, NJ (May 13, 2011) – The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon & Graphic Art, Inc., announces a new art scholarship for its students.
The friends and family of Al Williamson have established the scholarship in the famed illustrator’s name in 2010. They made this decision due to Al’s longstanding friendship with various Kubert School alumni as well with the school’s founder, Joe Kubert.
This $1000 scholarship award is offered only to a current 2nd Year student going into his or her 3rd Year at the Kubert School. Funding for the ongoing scholarship is based on contributions from the many admirers of Al’s artwork. Contributions can be sent directly to the Kubert School. Please make out checks to “The Joe Kubert School”, but add the notation that it is intended for the “Al Williamson Scholarship Fund”.
The scholarship joins several others offered at the Kubert School including the DC Comics Scholarship and those set up to honor artists such as Norman Maurer, Dave Simons and Dave Cockrum.
The winner must be in good standing with the Kubert School, show exceptional promise, be committed to a career in illustration and/or comic book art, and prove financial need. It is open to American citizens as well as foreign students. There can only be one winner of this award per school year.
Applicants must submit three (3) pieces of artwork. The choice of subject matter and media are left to the applicant’s discretion.
Originals for submission will not be accepted. Hardcopies or photocopies only are acceptable. They must be 11” x 17” each. CD-ROMs are unacceptable. Artwork will not be returned to the applicants.
Applicants must include their name and contact info on each piece. This information must be legible.
The Williamson family will select the winner. At least one runner-up will also be selected by the Williamson’s in case the 1st place winner is unable to accept the award.
The name of the winner will be announced at a private ceremony for its students and staff held at the Kubert School on May 13. Victor Williamson, Al’s son, will present the award.
Legendary cartoonist Joe Kubert (Hawkman, Sgt. Rock) founded the Kubert School in 1976 with his wife, Muriel. Since then he and his faculty of professional artists have trained hundreds of cartoonists, illustrators, animators and graphic designers. Joe continues to run the school to this day with his sons Adam (Wolverine, Spider-Man) and Andy (Batman, Green Lantern), also respected artists in the comic book industry.
Alfonso “Al” Williamson was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western and science-fiction/fantasy. His most notable works include his science-fiction/heroic fantasy art for EC Comics in the 1950s, on titles including Weird Science and Weird Fantasy.
In the 1960s, he gained recognition for the Flash Gordon comic-book series, based on the original comic strip created and illustrated by his idol Alex Raymond. Al spent most of the 1970s working on Raymond’s Secret Agent X-9 strip. The following decade, he became known for his work adapting Star Wars films to comic books and newspaper strips. From the mid-1980s to 2003, he was primarily active as an inker on such superhero titles such as Superman, Daredevil, and Spider-Man.
Al Williamson was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2000.
For further info, please contact Mike Chen at the Kubert School, 37 Myrtle Avenue, Dover, NJ 07801. The phone number is 973-361-1327 and the e-mail address is mchen@kubertschool.edu. The school’s website is www.kubertschool.edu.
2011 KUBERT SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Axiologix Scholarship for Artistic Excellence
One (1) $500 Award for a worthy 1st Year Student going into the 2nd Year at JKS and…
One (1) $500 Award for a worthy 2nd Year Student going into the 3rd Year at JKS.
Sponsored by Axiologix Education™ of Egg Harbor, NJ.
Presenting the award for Axiologix Education is their CEO/President/Chairman, John Daglas.
And the winners are… Carly Frank for the 1st Year, and Mike Morrocco for the 2nd Year
Dave Cockrum Memorial Scholarship
One (1) $1000 Award for a worthy 2nd Year Student going into the 3rd Year at JKS.
Sponsored by the family & friends of Dave Cockrum.
Presenting the award for the Cockrum family is Clifford Meth, writer and editor.
And the winner is… Brigid Allanson
A Wave Blue World Scholarships
Two (2) $1000 Awards for worthy 1st Year Students going into the 2nd Year at JKS.
Sponsored by A Wave Blue World™ of NYC.
Presenting the awards is Tyler Chin-Tanner, JKS alumnus and publisher of A Wave Blue World.
And the winners are… Kristoffer Sorensen and Max Fuchs
Dave Simons Memorial Scholarship
One (1) $1000 Award for a worthy 2nd Year Student going into the 3rd Year at JKS
Sponsored by the Inkwell Awards.
And the winner is… Angela Fernot
Al Williamson Memorial Scholarship
One (1) $1000 Award for a worthy 2nd Year Student going into the 3rd Year at JKS
Sponsored by the family & friends of Al Williamson.
Presenting the award for the Williamson family is Victor Williamson, Al’s son.
And the winner is… Wesley St. Claire
Dave Monahan Memorial Scholarship
One (1) $2000 Award for a worthy 2nd Year Student going into the 3rd Year at JKS.
Sponsored by the family and friends of Kubert School alumnus, Dave Monahan.
Presenting the award for the Monahan family is Mark Monahan, Dave’s brother.
And the winner is… Nathan Chaffin
Norman Maurer Memorial Scholarship
One (1) $2000 Award for a worthy 1st Year Student going into the 2nd Year at JKS.
Sponsored by the family & friends of Norman Maurer.
And the winner is… Fred Lupus
DC Comics Scholarship
One (1) $5000 Award for a worthy 2nd Year Student going into the 3rd Year at JKS; sponsored by DC Entertainment
And the winner is… Henrik Jonsson
Congratulations to all of the scholarship winners! These scholarships go a long way to helping these students. I encourage you to donate to one of them.
There’s a new interview with Petar Meseldžija on the Drawn Today podcast. Aaron Miller and Mark Harchar speak with Petar in a conversational manner regarding a range of subjects. Follow the link below to listen.
On another topic, I’ve had a number of people ask me if I know how to get a copy of Petar’s 364-page Dutch sketchbook titled Source of Imagination. Stuart Ng books was recently able to acquire some from the Dutch publisher. You can order it direct from the Stuart Ng Books website.
The Three Fates by Nate Furman. Selected for Inclusion Into Spectrum 18.
I read a comment on a recent blog post of mine by artist Nate Furman. He praised the likes of Gary Gianni, Franklin Booth and Joseph Clement Coll as inspirations. This was followed by an email to me from Nate. He shared his art, technique and idols with me as well as told me a little about himself. I was impressed by both his creativity and passion, especially after reading his guest blog on the Muddy Colors site. I had not been familiar with Nate before, but I was moved by his energy and glad he introduced himself. (And it helped that he stroked my ego by praising our books.)
I invited Nate to share some samples of his art and some insight about himself for my blog. Without further ado, I turn this over to Nate Furman:
As a tiny child I discovered Al Williamson’s Star Wars strip. I could not put into words the genius of his gestural drawing, weight placement, masterful line work or his black spotting but… I knew he was good! It made me pick up a ball point pen and start making my own creations.
Much later I found Wrightson’s Frankenstein, a worn and road weary copy in a small comics shop, the white cover glowed amongst a sea of four-color covers. That book burned into my brain and I understood the word ‘Illustrator’ for what it should and could be.
When I began my career working on Conan the rpg I met artist Chris Quillams, I told him what a big fan I was of Bernie’s work, how much I Ioved doing pen-and-ink, he mentioned two names to me, Joseph Clement Coll and Franklin Booth. Those particular artists changed the way I saw line work forever. And then I discovered Flesk Publications, This fellow John was bringing all my heroes (and introducing me to new ones) to life in high quality installments! Life comes full circle sometimes.
I wanted (and hope I am) part of this illustrative legacy. After years of studying the artists of “Flesk” I was sitting around one day and all the info in my brain became something… An idea. No one I knew of in the digital field was following the complexity of line work that was the trademark of these artists (proudly carried down from the distant Demi-gods Dore and Durer), what if someone decided to tackle this style in a digital format? Would it work? And how much effort would be needed to pull it off? And if you upped the resolution and dropped your brush size to almost nothing, how many lines could you work with and cause to interact with each other? Could this be a new thing created from the old techniques that I so love?
All these questions went through my mind. So far the reaction from other artists has been amazing and the reaction from the public has been slow but positive.
Please view some samples and judge for yourself if I am on the right track.
To view my process just goto www.muddycolors.blogspot.com and do a search for “Nate Furman tutorial.” To see a bunch more of my works please check out my blog (updated several times a week) www.furmanportfolio.blogspot.com.
A big thanks to John Flesk.
Cheers all,
Nate Furman
Thanks, Nate! See below for a direct link to Nate’s blog and his posting on Muddy Colors. You can see much larger versions of his art to better see the details on his blog.
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 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.
It is with great pleasure that I share the news of Al Williamson Archives Volume Two coming from Flesk Publications in July 2011. This second volume of an ongoing series features sketches and personal works by this master artist whose career spanned over fifty years through all aspects of the comic field.
This series of books wouldn’t happen without the generosity and support of Al Williamson’s wife, Cori, and his son, Victor. Their devotion to Al is truly inspiring. This pushes me to be even more adamant in making sure these books are as good as they can be and respectful to Al’s legacy.
Victor wrote the introduction for this second Archives volume. This is among the best introduction I have ever read. It is powerful, emotional and personal. It is the heartfelt and genuine feelings of a son regarding his father. All of us here at Flesk who have read it have been exceptionally moved.
Archives Volume Two will be available in July 2011. Visit the links below for full details and interior sample art.
