Category: Book Reviews

Robert Greenberger has written a feature on our upcoming book, Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic. It is located on his Westfield Comics website here.

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

The new issue of Prehistoric Times (#89) features a glowing review on our book, William Stout: Prehistoric Life Murals. This magazine is geared towards dinosaur enthusiasts and collectors of related merchandise. Each full color, 50+ page issue includes reviews of the latest prehistoric animal model kits, toy figures, books and more, plus interviews with artists and scientists, artwork from the finest paleoartists in the world and the latest scientific discoveries in paleontology.

For more information, and to order their magazine, visit their website here.

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

I would like to point out two recent online reviews on our books James Bama: American Realist and William Stout: Prehistoric Life Murals.

The Bama review is written by Jason Ridler. It can be found at the Fearzone.com website. Jason will be following up next month with a review on Mark Schultz’s Various Drawings Volume Three.

The William Stout Murals book review is by Charley Parker on his Lines and Colors website. You can read it by clicking here. I encourage you to view Lines and Colors on a daily basis. I do, and it’s well worth the time. Charley posts a new blog every day. The description from his website reads, “lines and colors is a blog about drawing, sketching, painting, comics, cartoons, webcomics, illustration, digital art, concept art, gallery art, artist tools and techniques, motion graphics, animation, sci-fi and fantasy illustration, paleo art, storyboards, matte painting, 3d graphics and anything else I find visually interesting.”

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

If you like the books we do here at Flesk, I think you would enjoy the books and magazines published by The Illustrated Press. The publisher, Dan Zimmer, has recently released a slew of fine new collections.

I’ll start off with Illustration Magazine #25. It features a great interview with Gloria Stoll Karn by David Saunders. I never heard of her before this issue came out, but even so, her art is nice and the interview covers an interesting time period. Sanford Kossin has a good feature as well. The magazine is 96 pages with a $15.00 cover price. Visit the Illustration Magazine website for more information and ordering options.

Illustration Magazine #2 has just been re-issued. It features a complete redesign with lots of new artwork and no ads. Articles include The Art of Norman Blaine Saunders and Frank Frazetta’s Little Miracles. More information can be found here.

I’m really glad to see Dan Zimmer extend his publishing house to include books. His first collection is Norman Saunders by David Saunders. This thing is packed with art. There are over 880 illustrations covering his whole career from pulps, Men’s Adventure magazines, paperbacks, trading card art such as Mars Attacks and Wacky Packages, and more. My favorite artwork in the book is his pieces done in China and later in life during his travels. The hardbound book is 368 pages, 9” X 12” and only $39.95. Details and ordering information can be found here.

Dan’s second book has just come out. Reynold Brown: A Life in Pictures by Dan Zimmer and David J. Hornung is 224 pages, 9” X 12”, in a hardbound format. This book is a deal at $39.95. If you do not know Reynold Brown’s name then you may recognize one of the 300 plus movie posters he has done. Examples include Creature from the Black Lagoon, Spartacus, and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. Besides his movie work, this book covers his career in comics, paperbacks and magazine illustrations.

There’s also an extremely limited deluxe version of the Reynold Brown book. This edition comes with a slipcase, and DVD with more artwork. Details and ordering information for both editions can be found at The Illustrated Press website, here.

 

Each publication has full thumbnails posted on Dan’s respective websites. I hope you enjoy these books and magazines as much as I do.

 

John

 

John Fleskes

Flesk Publications

I picked up some terrific art books over the last year. Here are just a few of the ones that I truly enjoyed.

Spectrum 15. The book I most look forward to each year. It is always a treat to receive. There’s the usual masters as well as many wonderful artists I was previously unaware of.

Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles. This book received most of the positive buzz from my circle of friend’s this year. And we’re a picky bunch of guy’s. I was delighted when I received mine. It looks like a true labor of love with interesting and easy to read text. There’s plenty about Sickles as well as his lifelong friend Milt Caniff. It features great reproduction with clean design. All of the Scorchy Smith strips are included! A very handsome volume.

The Complete Pirelli Calenders. Gorgeous design and photographs. I love the simplicity of design in this collection. A very classy book. By the way, if you enjoy portrait and model photography like I do, Howard Schatz latest book H2O is worth checking out.

J.C. Leyendecker, published by Abrams. Finally, a serious look at this artist, as the authors made available his first true biography. Lots and lots of artwork to look at. Many are from originals, and the reproduction is top notch. It is obvious that this book was twenty or more years in the making. A much needed book for one of my favorite illustrators.

The Completely Mad Don Martin collection. I’ve been laughing at Don Martin’s Mad magazine cartoons since I was a kid. Having them all in one massive two-volume set is a treat. Nice oversized packaging with the art one per page.

Kiskaloo by Chris Sanders. Wow, this guys art is amazing! Sanders was the designer for Disney’s Lilo & Stitch. You can visit his website here and get Kiskaloo and his sketchbooks from  Bud’s Art Books or Stuart Ng Books.

MÉLANGE by Dean Yeagle. This is the best collection on Yeagle’s work so far. Full of art and nice reproduction. He has worked for Disney and has been a longtime contributor to Playboy Magazine through his one-page cartoons.

Fables Covers by James Jean. Stunning design and beautiful art.

Most of these books can be purchased through Bud’s Art Books or Stuart Ng Books.

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

Anticipation, excitement, and anxiousness–I don’t think I was alone in feeling this way as I awaited my copy of The Life and Art of Dave Stevens: A Brush with Passion. The book is edited by Arnie and Cathy Fenner and published by Underwood Books. I had high expectations for this book, all of which were delivered.

As a passionate Stevens fan I collected any and all of his art that I could find beginning with his Pacific Comics work. So how much new art could there be for a hardcore fan that thinks he’s seen it all, like me? Plenty. And the art contained that I have seen is reproduced beautifully from the original art. This book is over 300 pages and stuffed with art. It also has clean and elegant design work by the Fenner’s. Simply put, it is stunning.

Here’s what really set this collection apart as one of my favorite books in the last few years. Dave Stevens is notorious for his guarded privacy. Due to this, I was not aware of the circumstances and history behind much of his art and lifestyle. Besides all of the great art, this book has meaty text. Dave opens up about his life, meeting and befriending Bettie Page, his self-doubts and depression, the circumstances towards the creation of The Rocketeer, his focus on oil painting later in life, his not wanting to be typecast as a pin-up artist–all told in a open and inviting manner. In areas where Dave did not get a chance to finish his writing, the editors of the book, Arnie and Cathy Fenner, would fill in the blanks. Based on the tributes sprinkled throughout the book, it is obvious how much Dave meant to his friends and how sorely he is missed.

The combination of Dave Stevens’ gorgeous art, and the story of the man himself, makes this book a significant addition to anyone’s library. More information can be found at the Spectrum website. To purchase this book, visit Bud’s Art Books or Stuart Ng Books. They have the limited signed edition available.

The new issue (December 2008) of Soutwest Art Magazine features an interview with James Bama in their “Legends of Fine Art” article. This is a rare opportunity to read Bama’s own words, as he usually turns down interview requests.

You will notice James mentions a new book coming out on his “realist paintings in other countries” in 2010. Flesk Publications will publish this collection of mostly unpublished works, ranging from his travels to China, Mexico, and Turkey, among others. These pieces are my personal favorite paintings of Bama’s. Brian M. Kane, James Bama, and myself started working on this collection just recently. Full details and a street date will be announced by fall 2009. Until then, you can pick up a copy of our retrospective art book on Bama’s illustration career, James Bama: American Realist.

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

John Morrow, of TwoMorrows Publishing, sent me a copy of the new Jack Kirby Collector #51. The cover looked familiar, but I wasn’t quite sure why, until I looked inside and saw my name included with the cover credit.

Back in 2004, while attending the San Diego Comic Con, I was walking by the TwoMorrows booth. John Morrow was talking with a gentleman while admiring the original art, now used for the cover of TJKC #51. Turns out, John had never seen this artwork before, and was talking to the owner of the artwork about getting it photographed for a future cover. I happened to have a Hasselblad camera with me that a friend let me borrow for the show. I was on my way back to my Flesk booth after shooting a few portraits. I’m a huge Jack Kirby fan, and love what John Morrow is doing with his magazines. John asked if I was willing to photograph the art. I was more than happy to help. I shot the art using natural light in the back area of the convention center, and then sent him the negative after the show. I’m glad to see he was able to use it, and to have had the opportunity to contribute.

On another note, I happened to see Mike Mignola and Guillermo del Toro together later on. I just happened to still have the camera with me and was able to shoot some pictures of them together. This was right after the first Hellboy film came out, and a very exciting time, I would imagine, for the both of them.

I lug a camera around just about everywhere with me. Sometimes I never use it, but other times it proves invaluable to have around, especially at shows.

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications

It’s no secret we love The Prince Valiant Page. I was curious how other people felt about the book, so I searched the web. For some unbiased articles, these websites have much to offer. “State of the Art” by Arnie Fenner on Tor.com, Dave Astor’s article at the Editor & Publisher website, “Books about Comics: President to Prince” by Peter Sanderson at the Publisher’s Weekly website, Charley Parker’s blog on his incredible Lines and Colors website, Todd Klein’s blog on his website, and Allan Holtz’s blog, all provide positive feedback worth reading.

John Fleskes