A Man About Town...

Once again, my thanks to the Library of Congress for scanning and posting many photos from one of my favorite time periods...look-wise.

Sepia...Puts Things in a Past Perspective...

Since the rise of sweat pants in public, there are oft times when I've wished we'd returned to an age of suits and hats...you know, class the joint up a bit. Then I've strolled outside into a 100 degree blast furnace...and reconsidered my position on the issue.

"You may have the Falcon, but we certainly have you."

How much more can I say other than the fact that today's offering was a stylistic quickie based off the very distinct features of Mr. Peter Lorre.

Eros and Amor...

This is all I have to offer for this most Hallmark of holidays.

...Pray for Your Death."

Another drawing derived from the first Sartana film, If You Meet Sartant, Pray for Your Death (1968. d. Gianfranco Parolini). This time it's of one of my favorite Euro character actors, William Berger. If you've ever seen a photo of Berger back in his prime, he would've had, in my mind, the perfect look for Jonah Hex. Oddly enough, the original Weird Western Tales of Hex had a far more spaghetti feel to them compared to the other western comics of the time. Anyhow, this was the result of having too much time on my hand over a vacation day...

Thank Jolly Old St. Nick...

For X-mas, I attempted to do a series of pin-ups for friends. For whatever reason, I've always preferred the cute and playful images of a Gil Elvgren over the super-polished works of an Alberto Vargas. Not that I don't like Vargas. I still recall my grandfather jokingly showing me some Vargas girls in an ancient issue of Playboy with a grin, and telling me that maybe I could do some work like that one day. Well, if I could pull together a decent studio space, granddad, I might just yet...haha...

"Ok, but why a duck?"

Granted, this is a quick ink portrait of Harpo Marx, not Chico, as the above quote might imply. However, seeing as Harpo didn't talk, he's a bit harder to quote (and I'm not bored enough to figure out a keyboard vehicle for depicting a fish with a sword in its mouth). Anyhow, I stumbled across this ludicrously melodramatic portrait of the great silent comedian, and felt compelled to translate it to another medium. It's in my Sanity Clause.

The Mystery Press...

I recently located and read a copy of John Franklin Barden's mystery novel, The Deadly Percheron. Barden was an advertising exec who turned out ten or so novels and is considered one of the forerunners of the modern psychological thriller. In the book, the killer leaves one of these great beasts tied outside the abode of his victim. I find the Percheron, a French breed of horse used primarily to pull carts and carriages, to be both majestic and a wee bit creepy...