Flesk Publications will be exhibiting at APE this October 16-17 at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco. Our booth number is 212.
Flesk Publications is an art book company focusing on comic, fantasy, fine and illustration art, and graphic novels. Our goal is to continue promoting the arts through quality collections. Our publications showcase the talents of James Bama, Gary Gianni, Petar Meseldžija, Steve Rude, Mark Schultz, Jim Silke, William Stout, Al Williamson, and more.
Buy any two books from us at APE and get one free Flesk “bumped” book. Occasionally books get slight dings, minor bumps, or small tears to the jackets. We want to give these books away to those who support us at the show. Limited quantities of Prehistoric Life Murals by William Stout, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea adapted by Gary Gianni, James Bama: American Realist, and a few others will be available to select from. Stop by early to get the best pick and before they all disappear.
Publisher, John Fleskes, will be on hand to offer insight into our upcoming titles and what is in store for 2011.
Celebrate the art and career of Al Williamson at a special exhibit at Marywood University’s Mahady Gallery in Scranton, Pennsylvania from October 8-11, 2010. “Al Williamson: A Tribute” will showcase over 60 original works spanning five decades. More than ten pieces will represent each decade from 1950 to 2000.
Featured will be original art done for comics, posters, trading cards, preliminary sketches, family birthday and Christmas cards, as well as drawings he did for his own pleasure. Comic pieces include finished pages for Flash Gordon, Star Wars pages and covers, Secret Agent Corrigan strips, and comic pages for Eerie magazine (“The Jungle”). Examples of Al’s pages from Weird Science (“Captivity”), Classics Illustrated (The World Around Us: Prehistoric Animals), Blade Runner, Dark Horse Presents (“One Last Job”), his Sub-Mariner story, as well as inked pages completed for Marvel Comics, and more, will be on display.
Al Williamson’s wife, Cori, shares more about the show. “This exhibit is a tribute and celebration of Al Williamson’s life through his art. Al fell in love with comics and drawing at an early age. By the time he was 12 years old he knew he wanted to be a cartoonist. He had the talent and perseverance to achieve that goal. Al loved working in ‘the field’ as he called it but he also enjoyed sharing with others his knowledge of illustrators and cartoonists that influenced and inspired him. His studio and home were always open for friends, young artists and fellow collectors. He liked to pull out originals he had and spend time looking at them with others. All are welcome to join friends and family at the opening reception.”
A set of five different postcards adorned with Al’s art has been produced to coincide with this show. They will be given away free to all those who attend.
Flesk Publications has donated copies of Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic and Al Williamson Archives, Vol. 1 for the reception. All proceeds from the sales of these titles will go towards the Al Williamson Scholarship Fund at the The Joe Kubert School. Those unable to make the show and would like to make a donation can send a check to:
The Joe Kubert School
37 Myrtle Avenue
Dover, NJ 07801
Attn: Al Williamson Scholarship Fund
Al Williamson was born in New York City in 1931. Williamson, who first and foremost considered himself a cartoonist, excelled at illustrative science fiction, adventure and western stories, pulling inspiration from both classic comic strips and motion pictures.
Williamson began his professional career in 1948 and achieved popular recognition in the early 1950s as the youngest and one of the most talented contributors to the legendary EC line of comics. Beyond EC, Williamson drew superior work for many comic publishers, including American Comics Group, Atlas/Marvel, Charlton, Classics Illustrated, Dark Horse, Dell, Harvey, King, Prize, Toby and Warren. From 1967 until 1980 he produced the art for the King Features Syndicate’s daily Secret Agent Corrigan newspaper strip, and from 1981 to 1984 drew the daily and Sunday Star Wars newspaper strip.
Beginning in the 1980s Williamson reintroduced himself to a new generation of comics readers as an inker for DC and then Marvel Comics, enjoying memorable stints finishing the work of other artists on Superman, Daredevil and Spidergirl.
Al produced a much beloved series of stories for King Comics’ Flash Gordon comic book in the 1960s. He returned to the character in 1980, drawing a comic’s adaptation of the contemporary Flash Gordon motion picture. In the 1990s, he produced a Flash Gordon mini-series for Marvel Comics and later contributing to the original Sunday strip
Over his career he received numerous professional awards, including multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards and the National Cartoonists Society’s 1967 Award for Best Comic Book Cartoonist, and most recently the 2010 Spectrum Grand Master Award.
Stuart Ng Books has had a business profile shown on MSNBC. The segment covers how a small business can compete against bigger chains. Stuart explains how he not only competes, but succeeds with sustained growth. Congratulations to Stuart for being featured! The clip can be seen online by clicking here. You can also find the clip on the “Your Business Video Archive” found beneath the most recent show. You can search using the title “American Business: Super Niche” or date, Aug 27, 2010.
Stuart Ng Books carries a wide assortment of animation, illustration and comic related titles, including our books. You can see their inventory by visiting their website here.
William Stout will be signing his latest book Hallucinations at Stuart Ng Books on Saturday August 28, 2010 from 2:00-4:00 PM! Meet and talk to William Stout, illustrator, underground cartoonist, movie poster and album cover artist, visual development artist, production designer, muralist, paleo-artist, wildlife painter, and Antarctic explorer!
Flesk will be exhibiting at Comic-Con International in San Diego this July 21-25. We will be located at booth #5019.
This show will represent the debut of Al Williamson Archives Vol. 1! This collection features this beloved illustrator’s private work, revealed for the first time. It is packed with over 100 drawings. This book will be available to the general public in early August. All pre-orders through Flesk by August 1 get free media mail shipping in the U.S. Details on the book can be found here.
We will have copies of all of our titles including the recently released fantasy art collection Hallucinations by William Stout, James Bama Sketchbook, and the Flesk exclusive Blue Book by Mark Schultz featuring an assortment of Schultz’s preliminary drawings in blue pencil form for Storms at Sea and miscellaneous pieces culled from his personal sketchbook. Blue Book is signed and limited to 1000 copies and only $10.00.
Five artists we have books on will be at the show. Mark Schultz will be signing at our booth each day as well as his own booth at 4901/4904, along with Gary Gianni. William Stout is just a few isles from us at booth # 4803/4805. Jim Silke is also nearby at booth # 4901/5000. Each of these fine gentlemen will be available to sign books and they will have original artwork for sale. Steve Rude is a guest this year. He will be doing a painting demonstration on Thursday from 1:00-3:00 in Room 18.
On Friday from 12:30-1:30 there will be a special panel celebrating the lives of Frank Frazetta and Al Williamson held in Room 3. “Remembering Frank Frazetta and Al Williamson” will be conducted by Arnie Fenner. He will be joined by Mark Schultz and William Stout.
We look forward to seeing you at the show! Please note the Flesk offices will be closed from July 20-26. All emails and messages will be replied to promptly as soon as we return.
Full details on all of our books and the most recent news can be found on our website, and my blog. Thank you for your support. Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Brad Reuben Kunkle will be having his first one man show at Arcadia Fine Arts in New York City from April 22 through May 7, 2010. The opening reception, where you can meet Brad, will be on April 22 from 6-8 PM. Brad has created new paintings especially for this event. The painting above, titled “Mistral,” is one new work that will be available. The following text is taken from the Arcadia website promoting the show:
“Arcadia is thrilled to present the world premiere of paintings by this brilliant, new discovery. Utilizing oil, gold and silver leaf, Kunkle’s hyper-romantic-yet-modern homage’s to beauty are unlike any works we have ever seen before. This will be an Arcadia Gallery introduction unlike any other before.”
For more information about the exhibit and to view more paintings of Brad’s you can visit the Arcadia website here.
Furthermore, Brad has a cover feature and article in the April, 2010 issue of American Art Collector. Included within is an interview, a step-by-step process of how he paints, as well as a gallery of his paintings. You can find a copy at your local bookstore, or go to the American Art Collector website for more information here.
To learn more about Brad Reuben Kunkle, you can view a wide range of his paintings and discover more about his process at his personal website by clicking here. You can find enlargements for each painting and be sure to click on the “alter light” button to see how his paintings appearance changes with the simulated increase or decrease of the light projected on the painting. Go on and visit his website for a sensual and beautiful experience.
Left to right: Mark Schultz, John Fleskes, James Walker and Manuel Auad.
We had a good group of guys at the Flesk booth at WonderCon 2010. Mark Schultz flew in for the event. Manuel Auad was promoting his line of books as well as keeping us company. James Walker was also on hand to help throughout the show. (Thanks James!) Next to us was William Stout who had a beautiful display of originals. Then, Stuart Ng books provided the endcap to our row.
I am grateful to say that with each year I feel we are getting busier and busier. Friday and Saturday were non-stop for all of us, with Sunday coming in waves between slow and busy.
Mark Schultz kidding around with Manuel Auad.
The big hits at the show for us was Mark Schultz Blue Book along with all three of William Stout’s dinosaur books from Flesk, Prehistoric Life Murals, Dinosaur Discoveries and New Dinosaur Discoveries A-Z. It helped that Bill was right there doing dinosaur drawings in his books! There was plenty of good vibes and lots of positive reactions to the books and from those who were able to meet Schultz and Stout. Thanks to everyone who came by.
William Stout at his booth next to us. Notice the original for “Hallucinations” and the zombie painting for his 2011 zombie calendar from Andrews-McMeel.The legendary Joe Kubert stopping by to talk with William Stout.
Sunday provided us some rotational time for one of us to break away and walk around for a little while. It’s always nice to see a little of the show to actually feel like you were there. Once outside of our booth my first stop was artist alley. There I had a chance to see Frank Cho, Jim Silke, Thomas Yeates, Geof Darrow, Rick Becker, Arthur Adams, and Sergio Aragones. Also, Craig Elliott had an impressive booth showcasing his latest paintings and drawings. Each of these individuals is a master at their profession.
Thanks to everyone for another terrific year at WonderCon! We’ll see you next year!
Flesk Publications will be exhibiting at WonderCon in San Francisco on April 2-4 at booth #1019. Mark Schultz will be at our booth all three days. William Stout will be right next to us at booth #1021. We will have our current line of books available, samples for upcoming titles, plus each artist will be signing and have original artwork for sale.
Flesk Publications has produced a special sketchbook Mark Schultz Blue Book. Contained within is an assortment of Schultz’s preliminary drawings in blue pencil form for Storms at Sea and miscellaneous pieces culled from his personal sketchbook. WonderCon is the U.S. debut of this item. These will be available for direct order from Flesk after the show for $10.00. Orders in the U.S receive free shipping until April 15. This paperbound collection is 16-pages at 5.5 x 8.5″ in full color. Blue Book is limited to 1000 numbered copies, each signed by Schultz. This item is only available through Flesk.
Another special for WonderCon is James Bama Sketchbook. I have received twenty advance copies of the book, which I will make available to those who attend WonderCon. This is the premier for this exciting new book. The bulk shipment does not arrive until early May from the printer. This is your opportunity to get the book long before anyone else. If you can’t make the show, pre-order from Flesk by May 15th for free shipping in the U.S. Full details on James Bama Sketchbook can be found on our website here.
Furthermore, we are pleased to have samples on the work of Petar Meseldžija. Flesk is pleased to announce we will be publishing his book, The Legend of Steel Bashaw, this fall. We will have a copy of the Serbian edition of this book as well as a sample copy of his Dutch sketchbook on hand to familiarize you with his beautiful work. Details on The Legend of Steel Bashaw can be found on our website here.
Also, Jim Silke will be in artists’ alley at table #AA031. We will have previews and promotional material for our summer and fall titles, including news of our upcoming book Jungle Girls by Jim Silke!
We will also have our friend Manuel Auad of Auad Publishing at our Flesk booth, He will have an assortment of his titles, including the new Frank Brangwyn portfolio. For full details and directions you can visit the WonderCon website here: http://www.comic-con.org/wc/
We convened in Kansas City, MO on February 26 to view nearly 6000 works! The morning started at 8:15AM when we met with Arnie and Cathy Fenner in the hotel lobby. We were escorted to Pershing Hall, which encompasses 15,000 square feet. I recall walking into the room, looking to the left, then to the right, and being astonished at how much material was laid out for viewing. Arnie then told us they would have to lay out the room again once or maybe two more times. (It turned out the room was filled almost a third time). There’s some pictures and video of the room at the Spectrum website here.
The five of us were armed with a cup of beans, with each jury member having a different color. Every piece of art had its own upside down cup with a small hole. Our instructions were simple. If you like the art, drop in a bean. Every piece of art that gets a majority vote (three or more beans) goes in the book. The different colored beans for each judge makes sure no double votes are cast by mistake by the same person. We also had the option of dropping in a paperclip to mark those pieces we felt were exceptional for consideration for a Gold or Silver Award. We were discouraged from talking to one another and started from different areas of the room to make our personal and anonymous choices.
Throughout the day I was really impressed by many things. I’d like to point out two of them. One was how fair the voting process is. Having the opportunity to vote on a pure anonymous level, and not knowing the names of the artists works I was viewing was a no pressure, comfortable experience allowing me to vote based on the merits of the individual art. The second thing was how great the Spectrum staff was. The kept us fed, provided plenty of breaks, and had everything taken care of. I felt relaxed, so viewing the nearly 6000 pieces of art didn’t seem overwhelming. I felt I could give the proper amount of time to each piece. It was a very smooth good day.
I admit I was disappointed to see the Comics category so sparse. Comics are my first love and I was especially looking forward to see the submissions. I hope to see this section grow in the coming years, so if you are a comic artist, I encourage you to submit your work. And, some sequential pages would be good, too! I only saw a few comic pages, with most of the entries being covers or splashes.
One (of the many) things that I liked was being able to view all of the art in a hard copy form, and not on a computer or in digital form. It was easy to go back and forth, and compare pieces to one another, go back to a certain area or table, and give each piece a good viewing.
Arnie and Cathy gave us a time limit for viewing the three separate layouts of the room, since they wanted to make sure we had enough time for award considerations at the end. They explained this final process has gone long into the evening in previous years.
Well, it turns out we had a like-minded jury, as we made the award selections fairly quickly. It was pretty amazing how unified we were. Arnie and Cathy seemed happy with how quickly we made group decisions. I was surprised by how many pieces had multiple paperclips. It’s just staggering to think that out of 6000 pieces, that we were so close in aesthetics to have picked the same types of pieces. For instance, for the Unpublished section, we all picked multiple Eric Fortune pieces for award consideration. I was completely unfamiliar with his work at the time. I was impressed and dropped a few paperclips for his art. I think we had five or six Fortune pieces to choose from. The only other artist who came close to having as many pieces marked for awards was Sam Weber, who received two awards, one in the Advertising category and another in Editorial. We were all in the same groove. We whittled the ten or fifteen or so selections from each category down to a handful of pieces, then debated the merits of each piece until a majority decision could be made. Each jury member was great about listening and expressing his or her reasons why a piece of art should receive an award. It also helped that Arnie let us choose two pieces for a silver award for the Dimensional and Unpublished categories. In those two cases, we felt each of the four pieces were really deserving of a Silver award. You can view all of the award winners by clicking here.
It was a terrific weekend. Again, the Spectrum staff and the Fenner’s made the whole process so smooth and enjoyable, it left me relaxed and focused all day. It was an honor to be among this delightful group and have this opportunity.
Congratulations to everyone who makes it into Spectrum 17! The list of artist names selected for the book has been posted on the Spectrum website. You can view the results here.
Gary Gianni providing a sketch inside his Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea adaptation while Mark Schultz looks on at the 2009 WonderCon.Happy fans posing with their new Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea book including a fresh sketch from Gianni at the 2009 WonderCon.
WonderCon 2010 is coming!
Flesk Publications will be exhibiting at WonderCon in San Francisco on April 2-4 at booth #1019. Mark Schultz will be at our booth all three days. William Stout will be right next to us at booth #1021. Also, Jim Silke will be in artists’ alley at table #AA031. We will have books available, plus each artist will be signing and have original artwork for sale. We will also have our friend Manuel Auad of Auad Publishing at our Flesk booth with an assortment of his titles, including the new Frank Brangwyn portfolio. We will have previews and promotional material for our summer and fall titles, including news of our upcoming book Jungle Girls by Jim Silke! We look forward to seeing you at the show. For full details and directions you can visit the WonderCon website here.
