Ancient Magic . . . Weird Dream Worlds

Case in point, about Kelly Freas — what a fun cover for a fun book.

Frank Kelly Freas

As a teen, I just couldn't get enough of Freas and Jones and Frazetta and Krenkel and many others as some of you have pointed out. This is getting to be an old tune I sing out of key, but going into the drugstore in the 60s and browsing all those books on the spinner with all those great covers by the great illustrators of that time was mind boggling. I'm glad I had enough sense to pay attention back then. As I've said before, that was MY little golden age . . . and of course, for some of you as well!

I guess any teen can have a golden age in any era, if they just pay attention.

Immortalized

Imagine being immortalized in a portrait by the great golden age illustrator Edmund Dulac!

Dulac was commissioned by Her Serene Highness, Princess Alice of Monaco to paint her five-year-old goddaughter, Vivian St George in 1917. Who knows whatever happened to Vivian (who would be 99 if she were still alive today), but she is forever five in a near fantasy setting appropriate to Dulac.

But not such fantasy, as those are Vivian's pet rabbits. Dulac sketched the rabbits from life in a series of spontaneous brush and ink drawings, some shown below.

Heresy

I know this is heresy, but Maxfield Parrish is NOT one of my favorite golden age illustrators. Maybe it 's over-exposure that limits my appreciation, and don't get me wrong—his work has many high water marks, yet in general I like a lot of other illustrators' work more. But this illustration by Parrish is intriguing for its technique and its wealth of content in such a small space.

This is the original art for one of the illustrations from Kenneth Grahame's 'The Golden Age', an 1899 book. The art is black and gray wash, with white gouache touches, over graphite on beige wove paper. The inscription, by the artist, says:

"Alarums and Excursions." — Once again were damsels rescued, dragons disembowelled, and giants . . . etc.

Tales from the Mahabharata

Some golden age illustrators dwell in the moon-lit shadows of appreciation rather than the rosy sunshine bask of others. Frank Papé (pronounced pawPAY) is one such. Much of his work is intriguing and satisfying, but he's on the teetering edge of obscurity.

I have several more of his books, but let's start with this little number, Tales from the Mahabharata, a 1924 edition.

To read a short but interesting bio about Papé, click here.

From the Ah, If Only Dept.

These 2 pages, drawn by Curt Swan, helped usher the Silver Age of DC into the Bronze Age. There's a lot of nostalgia for Gold and Silver Ages, but a lot of that stuff was pretty lame and silly. The Bronze Age of the super heroes was pretty good stuff, still a little silly, but not so obviously.

Ah, if only I could go back to '71, the things I'd do differently. For one thing I would appreciate that time more than I did the first time around. Also I'd spend a little more dough, collecting stuff—and hanging on to it!

Lordly Giant of Planets

I pulled these two pages together from my slush pile of Golden Age pages, sliced decades ago from Planet Comics, drawn by a young Murphy Anderson. It's a sweet piece of eye candy.

Nocturne

The Belle Époque, French for Beautiful Era—the turning of the 19th century to the 20th—was a graceful time, graphically. So many examples abound from this time.

If I could go back anywhere in time, it would be from that era up to the early 30s, assuming I could avoid the war. . . and the depression . . . and the influenza . . . well, okay, I'd be real careful, armed with a detailed history book and lots of local currency. I would want to visit with Einstein and then peruse all the book stalls and newsstands, and then, and then . . . I dunno, shoot Hitler or something.

H. Granville Fell — Nocturne — 1897

When and where would you go? What would you do?

Across the Ages

I have a love/hate attitude toward the Silver Age of comix. Much of it has little appeal for me, but some of it still feels good—none more so than Joe Kubert's take on Hawkman.

Here is an across-the-ages special panel that Kubert drew, during the bronze age, of the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman battling the Golden Age Gentleman Ghost.

Jungles of the Dawn World

As I've indicated before, I have a 'slush pile' of olden pages that have been sliced out of comics long ago during the golden & silver ages, long before anyone had an inkling that they'd be worth something someday. Some of the pages have been so damaged over the years that scanning entire stories are out of the question. But there are still individual panels worth rescuing. Here are a few by Bob Powell of Cave Girl from various issues, and one panel (riding the birds) that I believe is from a Thund'a story, I'm thinking from issue #5.

Grand Adventure

What a grand adventure style Bob Lubbers brought to Fiction House comix back in the golden age—full of DANGER, MYSTERY, ACTION, & ROMANCE (and I'm not kidding).

The golden age was so much more than just superheroes. I love the sense of believability and the depth of space and perspective on covers like this:

Spy

Superman existed for years before he was finally published in 1938. But his creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, those boys from Cleveland, had lots of other material published prior to Superman's debut, all non super hero of course. Yet, their earlier characters were but alter egos, it seemed, to Clark and Lois and Luthor.

Looking at the Spy feature from Detective Comics #14, Lois and Clark are acting out in the characters of Sally and Bart—secret service agents, published months before Action Comics #1. This had to be a daydream for Clark that he didn't have to be meek and mild, and the girl was his to have.

A MidSummer-Night's Dream—part 4

Full from my fav'rite book, this folio but contain the gem of my eye.

Sorry, when I start reading Shakespeare, I start talking like him. What I'm trying to say is that these particular illustrations contain perhaps my favorite of the favorite, though still with more to come.

Puck. She never had so sweet a changeling.

Titania. But with thy brawls thou hast disturb'd our sport.

A MidSummer-Night's Dream—part 3

Some more William Heath Robinson ink illustrations from probably my favorite book ever, A MidSummer Night's Dream.

Hermia. Emptying our bosoms of their counsel sweet.