The new book, James Bama: Personal Works has arrived. We are starting to ship our pre-orders today. Jim Bama and I are delighted with how the book has turned out. We are eager for this new collection of his rarely seen private works to get into your hands.
All orders direct from Flesk come with an 8.5 x 11 inch print of “Winter on Trout Creek.” This print featuring Bama’s painting of a buffalo walking in a snowstorm comes on 80 lb. cover premium stock matt paper and is suitable from framing. A special thanks goes to Jim Bama for making this suggestion and letting us include the print.
Sample pages and more details can be found at the link below.
Our reformatted version of Bruce Timm’s book, Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm Big Pocket Edition is now available for immediate shipping from the Flesk website. Copies should start hitting the stores on or around November 1. The books will arrive with our distributor to the book trade, SCB Distributors, and with Diamond Comics Distributors any day now.
I love the way the Big Pocket Edition has turned out. My goal with the new trim size and modest price is to make the book more accessible to the Everyman.
Whose big pocket will it fit in too? We haven’t found anyone yet. I’d like to see a picture of the book in a big pocket if you find one.
When Mark Schultz, William Stout, Warren Chang and Craig Elliott came into town for the APE show, each of them was kind enough to sign copies of their respective books. There are just a few on hand for some titles, while others have a few dozen. Here’s a list of signed titles, while supplies last. All are available at the cover price with no extra charge.
Xenozoic signed by Mark Schultz and introduction writer Craig Elliott.
The following Flesk newsletter is going out tomorrow. I’m posting it here for those who are not on our email newsletter mailing list. Here goes…
With just 9 days left to go in The Art of Brom Kickstarter campaign, we wanted to touch base with everybody–to thank those who have checked it out already, and to let those unfamiliar know how much the campaign has changed since we launched last month.
So firstly, thank you to everyone who has gotten involved in The Art of Brom on any level. Whether you pledged a buck or bought a zombie package, ‘liked’ the updates on Facebook or asked us a question on the Kickstarter page, sent Brom a “Good on ya’, mate,” or John a, “Is that really you in that video?”, jumped on board with the fervor of a 13-year-old girl at a Bieber convention or peeked at the page just to humor us: you have made this book launch more fun, successful and inspiring than even we could have hoped. And we hope big.
Secondly, the campaign has changed dramatically since it started, most notably by way of the number–and sheer awesomeness–of the goodies we are now throwing at our Pledgers.
In the beginning, any pledge that got you a book also got you an 8 x 10 inch signed art print exclusive to Kickstarter supporters, as well as your name printed in a special acknowledgement section of the book.
Now, due to overwhelming support of the campaign, all book pledges of $47.00 or more will receive a bonus Brom portfolio holding five individually signed prints. This unique portfolio is exclusive to our Kickstarter supporters, and is still available to those getting involved under the wire.
In addition, to celebrate the campaign breaching our latest stretch goal, we’ll be upgrading the binding on our Publisher and Deluxe Editions of The Art of Brom, furthering the artistic individuality of this collection. (In other words, we will be going nuts with the binding!)
Thanks to all of you, The Art of Brom will be moving forward with much zeal and an abundance of goodies until Friday Oct 5, at 3:00pm EDT.
And we couldn’t be more excited.
Best,
John, The Flesk Crew (and the incomparable Brom, by proxy)
Advance books for new Bruce Timm, Jim Silke and James Bama books. Bulk shipment arriving in mid-October!
I’ve updated my master list showing every book and print I have published, as well as a few other projects I played a role in. This covers everything up until the end of 2012. The total comes to 38 books, 2 prints and 3 specialty produced collections.
2012 Flesk Titles
1. The Art of Craig Elliott, January 2012, 68-pages, HC
2. Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm, January 2012, 304-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 1000 numbered copies) and PB
3. Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings, January 2012, 112-pages, HC
4. Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! 2012 commemorative show book, May 2012, 64-pages, HC
5. Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm 2012 Teaser, July 2012, 16-pages, PB (Signed limited to 1000 numbered copies)
6. James Bama: Personal Works, December 2012, 144-pages, HC
7. Jim Silke Sketchbook Volume One, December 2012, 64-pages, PB
8. Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm Big Pocket Edition, December 2012, 256-pages, PB
Production assistance provided for the following sketchbook for Terry Dodson
1. Bombshells 6 by Terry Dodson, July 2012, 16-pages, PB
Total 2012 page count is 976 pages.
2011 Flesk Titles
1. Mysterious Islands by Gary Gianni, July 2011, 16-pages, PB (Signed limited to 1000 numbered copies)
2. Al Williamson Archives Volume Two, July 2011, 48-pages, PB
3. Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume Five, July 2011, 48-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 800 numbered copies) and PB
4. Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm Teaser, July 2011, 16-pages, PB (Signed limited to 1000 numbered copies)
5. Flesk Prime, August 2011, 64-pages, HC
6. Flesk Prime Print, September 2011, 1-page (Signed by Elliott, Gianni, Meseldzija, Schultz and Stout, limited to 50 numbered prints)
Production assistance provided for the following two sketchbooks for Terry Dodson
1. Reveries by Terry Dodson, July 2011, 16-pages, PB (Signed limited to 500 numbered copies)
2. Bombshells 5 by Terry Dodson, July 2011, 16-pages, PB
Total 2011 page count is 225 pages.
2010 Flesk Titles
1. Blue Book by Mark Schultz, March 2010, 16-pages, PB (Signed limited to 1000 numbered copies)
2. James Bama Sketchbook, May 2010, 144-pages, PB
3. Hallucinations by William Stout, July 2010, 48-pages, HC (Signed limited to 500 numbered copies) and PB
4. Al Williamson Archives, July 2010, 64-pages, PB
5. The Legend of Steel Bashaw by Petar Meseldžija, October 2010, 64-pages, PB
6. Inspirations by William Stout, November 2010, 48-pages, HC (Signed limited to 650 numbered copies) and PB
7. Xenozoic by Mark Schultz, November 2010, 352-pages, PB
8. Harvey Dunn: Illustrator and Painter of the Pioneer West by Walt Reed, November 2010, 304-pages, HC deluxe (Signed limited to 350 numbered copies in special upgrade book binding, with slipcase, and bonus art and photo of Harvey Dunn bound in on special signature double page. Signed by Walt Reed) and HC
9. Jungle Girls by Jim Silke, December 2010, 84-pages, HC (Signed limited to 500 numbered copies) and PB
Total 2010 page count is 1124 pages.
2009 Flesk Titles
January 23, 2009 marked my first full time date running Flesk Publications. Prior to this, I held a full-time position at a tech company for a decade. This explains the growth in the number of titles released from this year forward.
1. Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne adapted by Gary Gianni, January 2009, 64-pages, HC super deluxe with original art, HC deluxe (Limited to 600 signed and numbered copies) and HC
2. Prehistoric Life Murals by William Stout, February 2009 (indicia states January 2009, but it arrived in stores in February), 144-pages, HC super deluxe with original art in slipcase, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 600 numbered copies) and HC
3. Major Thrill’s Adventure Book by Gary Gianni, July 2009, 32-pages, PB
4. Mark Schultz Various Drawings Volume Four, August 2009, 48-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 800 numbered copies) and PB
5. Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic by Mark Schultz, June 2009, 256-pages, HC and PB
6. New Dinosaur Discoveries A-Z by William Stout, December 2009, 64-pages, HC
7. Dinosaur Discoveries by William Stout, December 2009, 144-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 500 numbered copies) and PB
Total 2009 page count is 752 pages.
2008 Flesk Titles
1. The Prince Valiant Page by Gary Gianni, June 2008, 112-pages, HC super-deluxe (40 signed and numbered copies containing a tipped in Prince Valiant strip preliminary in pencil by Gianni), HC (Signed deluxe limited to 1000 numbered copies in slipcase) and HC
2. Xenozoic Tales Print by Mark Schultz, July 2008, 1-page, Deluxe (Limited to 100 signed and numbered prints on special thick archival paper) and regular edtion
Total 2008 page count is 113 pages.
2007 Flesk Titles
1. Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume Three, August 2007, 48-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 1000 numbered copies) and PB
2. Steve Rude: Artist in Motion by Steve Rude and John Fleskes, December 2007, 208-pages, HC super-deluxe (Limited to 13 roman numeral copies with bound in original artwork in a unique clam shell tray case), HC (Signed deluxe limited to 800 numbered copies in slipcase) and HC
Total 2007 page count is 256 pages.
2006 Flesk Titles
1. Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume Two, July 2006, 48-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 1000 numbered copies) and PB
2. James Bama: American Realist by Brian Kane, October 2006, 160-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 1000 numbered copies in slipcase) and HC
Total 2006 page count is 208 pages.
2005 Flesk Titles
1. Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume One, July 2005, 48-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 500 numbered copies) and PB
Total 2005 page count is 48 pages.
2004 Flesk Titles
1. Joseph Clement Coll: A Legacy in Line, July 2004, 208-pages, HC (Deluxe limited to 300 numbered copies and signed by Fleskes, Gianni and Meglin), HC and PB
Total 2004 page count is 208 pages.
2003 Flesk Titles
1. Joseph Clement Coll: The Art of Adventure, July 2003, 168-pages, HC (Limited to 800 copies) and PB
Total 2003 page count is 168 pages.
2002 Flesk Title
1. Franklin Booth: Painter with a Pen by John Fleskes, March 2002, 112-pages, HC (Limited to 500 copies) and PB
Total 2002 page count is 112 pages. My first book!
Scanning assistance: After the release of the Franklin Booth book, Gary Gianni asked me if I could scan his art for use in an upcoming self-published book of his. I scanned the original artwork for the 40 story pages for Corpus Monstrum by Gary Gianni, published by Hieronymus Press in 2002. Jim Keegan designed the book.
“Busy” is a word that is used often around here—especially by me. Any time someone asks me how I’m doing or what’s going on I reply, “Busy…” I know this isn’t a good answer and only solicits more questions that I’ve been too busy to respond to. I promise the word “busy” will not appear any more in this post. Instead you will get answers. This is a small attempt to share some of the news that’s going on around here.
"The Art of Brom" Publisher Edition Fantasy Cover
The Art of Brom Kickstarter Event
If you are unaware of Kickstarter or how it works, in brief, it is a vehicle that allows creative projects to receive funding through the backing of individuals who can pledge support. When Brom approached me about publishing his The Art of Brom book, he was looking for a publisher who was willing to look at some non-traditional approaches to marketing, promoting and creating a book. He brought up the idea of using Kickstarter. The more I researched Kickstarter (KS) and as we discussed our ideas, we found KS to be the perfect opportunity to potentially produce a very special edition with some extra goodies that wouldn’t normally be possible. This approach has also allowed us the opportunity to better connect with the fans. With how well our KS campaign has been received and supported, we are honored, humbled and excited about all of the positive energy. It’s going to be a blast to produce and pass along the multitude of KS exclusive goodies to our supporters. They truly deserve the bonus items and I’m happy to get the extras into their hands.
If you haven’t seen Brom’s KS video yet, you have got to take a look. Besides seeing a master painter at work, there is a funny clip right at the end. My video was put together by our very own Jonathan Leveck. He filmed me during an unscripted discussion, then he set it all to music and pictures. Jonathan is working on an extended version of this session which we will post in a few weeks on the new Flesk website.
New Videos
Speaking of Jonathan and videos; I have hours upon hours of video that I have shot over the last ten years of many of the artists I know and have worked with. I’ve asked Jonathan to start digging through my archives with the idea that he would make five to ten minute clips to share on our website. It will be a slow process at first, but you can expect to start seeing new video posted soon. As an example, I just remembered that I have three separate Steve Rude painting demos that have never been shown. It’s time to share. The footage does no good sitting in a box.
New Website
Woo-hoo! A big thank you to Stan Yeung for his hard work and excellent fresh design on our new Flesk Publications website that is now live! This has been in the works for a long time. Providing Stan with all of the content, images and pictures has been a lot of work—but well worth it. There were many hours spent on photography sessions and inputting book content, but we got it done. Stan did a phenomenal job. Jonathan played a role in taking care of many small details. And an additional thanks goes out to Lazuras Potter for his help with the back-end security to help keep all of your private information safe and secure. A newsletter announcement will be going out in a few days about the new site. We’ll have a special 20% off sale to celebrate. It will last until September 12th using this code to get the deal, “fp20”
New Books
I have approved the proofs for the three new Flesk books that will be available in early November. They are James Bama: Personal Works, Jim Silke Sketchbook Volume 1 and Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm Big Pocket Edition. Jonathan filmed me while I was going over the proofs. I spoke about the process and what I was doing. We’ll share a clip when the book comes out.
Future Books
I have already discussed The Art of Brom. This will come out in summer 2013. But what else am I doing?
This month I am working on packaging an exhibit book for a museum. I will make you all aware of the title, topic and museum once they make the announcement publicly. It’s a fun project.
I’ve also started work on a new Steve Rude book. This collection will be an art book compiling Nexus stories that were penciled and inked by Rude himself—direct from the originals. We will be showing a few stories in the pencil form and there will also be an unpublished Nexus #99 comic reproduced. Steve had completely finished penciling Nexus #99 “The Root of Evil” when Dark Horse cancelled the series. When Steve and Mike Baron later revived Nexus they abandoned “The Root of Evil” storyline and started with a new Nexus #99 epic. The original #99 will be published in this book for the first time. The release date is not set yet, but I expect it should be ready by spring or early summer 2013.
I’m talking with three artists, all of whom I’ve been discussing a book project with for the past couple of years, and all who I have not published prior. I know by not saying their names it’s a bit of a tease, but my point is I want to let you know there are many new titles in the works that excite me, and I hope will be welcoming to you as well. Furthermore, new Gary Gianni and William Stout books are in development.
Mark Schultz
When is Storms at Sea coming out? It will be released when Mark is done with the drawings. I know that is not a good answer. All I can say is it will be well worth the wait.
When will the next Various Drawings come out? I spoke with Mark a few weeks ago about this. We’ve decided to start a new series that will collect his work. The title, look and feel will be revealed next year and the collection will have a July 2013 release date.
The Next Event
APE! I have three tables this year at the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco. This is one of my favorite shows. I always look forward to going. Craig Elliott, Mark Schultz and William Stout will join me at the Flesk booth. This will be our first and only Bay Area appearance this year. We’re looking forward to seeing you there. The show runs the October 13th & 14th weekend.
Warren Chang Lecture in Monterey, CA
Warren will be giving a lecture on September 12 at 10:30 at the Monterey Museum of Art. There will be a book signing following his talk. Stop on by if you get the chance. I’ll be there, too.
Magazine Features
Imagine FX #86 has a Mark Schultz article and gallery and a Craig Elliott sketchbook feature. Plus the new International Artist magazine (#86) has a process article by Petar Meseldzija. Then issue #80 of American Art Collector has a piece on Craig Elliott and our friend Brad Kunkle regarding their show at the Arcadia Gallery in New York City. I believe you can still find these at your local magazine rack.
I’ll have some more updates on current and future books soon. Until then, thanks for reading and for your support.
The September 2012 Previews is now available from your local comic book store. There are three new Flesk books listed within, along with a Flesk ad (above).
Here’s a list along with the DCD item ordering codes:
1. Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm Big Pocket Edition – page 304 in Previews
DCD order #: SEP12 1111
2. James Bama: Personal Works – page 356 in Previews
DCD order #: SEP12 1310
3. Jim Silke Sketchbook Volume 1 – page 358 in Previews
DCD order #: SEP12 1313
And our three Flesk backlist titles:
1. Jim Silke Jungle Girls — page 358 in Previews
DCD order #: SEP12 1314
2. James Bama Sketchbook — page 356 in Previews
DCD order #: SEP12 1311
3. James Bama American Realist — page 356 in Previews
DCD order #: SEP12 1312
The new ordering cart is functioning and usable. Anyone who places an order using the new site between now and September 1st will get 20% off on their purchase by using the following coupon code: fp20
There are three new Flesk titles coming out in November 2012. The Jim Silke Sketchbook, James Bama: Personal Works and Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm Big Pocket Edition. I’m doing a three-part blog today to share the details.
Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm Big Pocket Edition is a 256 page, 7.5 x 10 inch, paperback book. The cover price is $29.95.
In a nutshell this is a more compact version of the big Naughty and Nice book at a modest price. The latest printing of the Naughty and Nice book has sold out (I have some left for direct sales that you can get from our website. My book distributor and Diamond has been out of them for a while). I decided that instead of going back to press on the big book that I would repackage the book into a version that would be more affordable to a larger audience. I shrunk the size down from 9 x 12 inches to 7.5 x 10 inches, and cut the page count from 304 pages to 256 pages. The 48 pages removed are of the superhero section (pages 228-271) and the two spreads pages 84/ and 294/295. By trimming the page count, reducing the size and not having to pay the superhero permissions fee I could drastically reduce the cover price. My hope is that this new Big Pocket Edition will be able to get into the hands of a whole new audience. Those who purchased the first edition, with the larger dimensions and page count, will be stoked on having been able to get the large version when they had the chance and should not feel cheated.
I’m very excited about this new format. I like the feel and size of it. It’s easy to hold and enjoy. I used the exact same paper for the printing as the first edition, so you still get the same high grade paper quality. It will still be a hefty collection, but again, at a killer price.
Bruce was kind enough to provide a new cover and Jim Steranko has continued to allow us to use his most enjoyable introduction.
Here’s the new book publicity description:
For those who prefer a more compact format, Flesk is pleased to introduce the Naughty and Nice Big Pocket Edition. This stylish new presentation preserves the aspect ratio of the original Naughty and Nice in a volume made even more conducive to curling up with a good book. The new format also affords the Big Pocket Edition the luxury of a modest price, that it may find its way more readily into the hands of the discerning Everyman.
In a radical departure from his previous work on animated films and comics featuring superheroes, Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm showcases hundreds of full-color, line and pencil images of partially clothed and nude women of almost every conceivable description and temperament.
Be it a sophisticated city gal or a savage jungle queen, a hard-boiled dame or a quietly smoldering sorceress, Timm explores the female form with absolute creative freedom, and pure personal expression is the result. The artist has granted Flesk Publications unprecedented access to his archives to provide the best representation of his private works. These rarely seen images span the last 15 years and are showcased in a single collection for the first time.
I’ll post some previews and have the book available for pre-order on our website very soon.
There are three new Flesk titles coming out in November 2012. The Jim Silke Sketchbook, James Bama: Personal Works and Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm Big Pocket Edition. I’m doing a three-part blog today to share the details.
James Bama: Personal Works is a 144-page, 9 x 12 inch, hardcover book with jacket. The cover price is $45.00.
Originally this was going to be a 112 page book, and then I bumped it up to 128 pages. During the final week of production it finished at 144 pages. Two things happened that made this book expand by 32 pages.
The first reason was my essay–which was originally planned on being around one or two thousand words–finishing at just over 7600 words. I’m generally not a wordy guy and have never written something of this length before. But what I came to realize is that due to my close friendship with Jim Bama and from how often we talk, that I have heard quite a number of stories from him that I felt needed to be shared. As I talked with Jim more about this book and the paintings included, I discovered there was a good story worth telling. With Jim’s permission to share, I began writing. Over the course of a month of writing and talking to Jim I sent him what I came up with. He clarified a couple of factual details, expanded on another topic, and with a few slight adjustments I had a finished piece approved by Jim. It’s great to have Jim’s involvement to make sure the piece is accurate and truly represents him. I’ve included many quotes direct from Jim and tried to keep the tone in a natural style that retains my voice, is informative, yet tells a good story. Thankfully I had Marty Timins, Jonathan Leveck and Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. all read it over and give me valuable feedback. I enjoyed the challenge of what I consider to be my first in-depth piece of writing. I learned a lot about writing with this piece, but I still have much to learn.
So, not only will this be the first time that these paintings will be published, but it will have this new essay covering areas of Jim’s life and paintings that have never been shared before.
The second reason for the book being expanded came a little late in the game. I asked Jim if he could send me some of his pictures that he has taken over the years to complement some of my text, his paintings and give a better overall picture of how Jim works and sees people. When I received the photographs I realize how stunning they are in their own right. Jim is an amazing photographer and could easily have gone into that professional had he not become a painter. The new 16 pages feature a gallery of his photographs. And you get these extra 32 pages without the cover price being increased!
The best part of this book is that I am able to publish it on a friend. The book is important to us both and we hope others will enjoy seeing these personal paintings. The only people who have seen them before are those who happened to see them at the gallery where they hung prior to being sold. Almost all are in private collections.
Here’s some details about the book:
A living legend’s most personal and cherished images … revealed for the first time!
An acknowledged master of his craft, James Bama began his legendary career with atmospheric, dynamic and dramatic paperback book covers that fired the imaginations of generations of readers, even as they inspired countless youths to become illustrators themselves. His later body of work, which distilled the spirit of the rapidly disappearing American West by focusing on the rugged individuals who still inhabit those vast and empty plains, has similarly enthralled another generation of fans and artists.
Created entirely for personal pleasure over the course of five decades, these portraits capture the lives of the people Bama encountered during his trips to Tibet, Mexico, Japan, China and elsewhere. Most of these images have never been published and have only been seen by the artist’s immediate circle of family and friends. All are lush, staggeringly beautiful evocations of a moment and place, and they are accompanied by Bama’s commentary and an essay by Flesk publisher, John Fleskes.
I’ll post some previews and have the book available for pre-order on our website very soon.
The new book, James Bama: Personal Works has arrived. We are starting to ship our pre-orders today. Jim Bama and I are delighted with how the book has turned out. We are eager for this new collection of his rarely seen private works to get into your hands.
All orders direct from Flesk come with an 8.5 x 11 inch print of “Winter on Trout Creek.” This print featuring Bama’s painting of a buffalo walking in a snowstorm comes on 80 lb. cover premium stock matt paper and is suitable from framing. A special thanks goes to Jim Bama for making this suggestion and letting us include the print.
