Weird Fiction Illustrators Et Al.

Let's let HPL start the discussion, shall we?

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/05/hp-lovecrafts-favorite-artists

I love that Virgil Finlay HPL portrait.

An artist that I love that qualifies in my mind, though I am unsure what others think, is John Bauer.

Images

Sad story with Bauer. Because of a recent train wreck, in his time, in which everyone was burned alive, he and his wife along with their two year old son took a ferry back home to Sweden rather than a train after a vacation. Well, the ferry sunk and everyone on board died.



BTW, great thread idea.

Thanks, Thulean.

The Bauer stuff is very nice. There's an openness (if that's the right word) to his compositions that's very pleasing to the eye. I'm sure I've seen his work before but would never have been able to name who did it.

That's incredibly sad how he died. If the Wikipedia article is accurate, he was quite young at the time, too. Sheesh. :/

My favorite source on the interwebs for all things illustration (weird and otherwise):

http://goldenagecomicbookstories.blogspot.com/

As far as comics illustration goes, I'm a huge fan of P. Craig Russell. His illustrations of magic are as distinctive as Ditko's early Doctor Strange (which also deserves points for weird), but a style all to themselves. Like this piece (done for, if you can believe it, a Superman cover):


Now that I think about it, he really should illustrate some Dunsany!

What's a weird illustration thread without Margaret Brundage?

>5 paradoxosalpha:

"Now that I think about it, he really should illustrate some Dunsany!"

Oh, yeah. That'd be a match made in heaven. 8)

There's a comics version of Ray Bradbury's short story "The Golden Apples of the Sun" that Russell did for a book called The Best of the Ray Bradbury: The Graphic Novel that might be the most beautiful fiction-into-comics adaptation I've ever seen. I actually like it better than the story, and the story is one of my favorites.

>8 artturnerjr:

Woo-hoo! 3 cheers for Ms. Brundage! :)

My favorite illustrator of the weird is Lee Brown Coye. His deformed, strangely elongated bodies bodies graced many a Weird Tales cover:



He also did a number of Arkham House editions. His "sticks" signature artwork inspired Karl Edward Wagner's top-notch short horror story "Sticks", and, I am convinced, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT.



More:

http://library.morrisville.edu/coyecollection.aspx

http://www.centipedepress.com/art/leebrowncoye.html

Another Weird Tales biggie was Hannes Bok. He reminds me a bit of Virgil Finlay, especially in the intricate detail work, but with a style all his own:





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannes_Bok

>9 gwendetenebre: & 10

Cool & cool. Apparently Bok wrote his share of weird fiction, too. That'd be fun to check out.

BTW - how do you post images here, guys?

>11 artturnerjr:

took me a while to figure that out myself, but you need to go to Photobucket or something similar, upload your photos and grab the html code it will generate. Then you can just copy n paste that here for the image to appear.

...unless there is an easier way.....?

>12 gwendetenebre:

Many thanks. That's pretty much what I was via my Blogger blog. :)

There is a "junk drawer" in your LT account so that you don't need to use Photobucket or some other site to host images for posting in Talk. When you upload an image to your member gallery, you can choose to put it in the junk drawer instead. To link to those images, just use a little HTML img tag. For information on the latter, here's a tips page.

I will never be able to picture most of the various Cthulhu Mythos deities & creatures without first thinking of the illustrations of the great Erol Otus.



Mmmmm... slimy! :D

More Otusy goodness can be found here:

http://jrients.tripod.com/otus/otus.html

>14 paradoxosalpha:

Thanks! :)

>15 artturnerjr:

Erol Otis work is fantastic. I love old school D&D too.

<14

I shall now explore the junk drawer- thanks for the info!

< 14

I shall now explore the junk drawer- thanks for the info!

> 14

Sorry- phone problems! Thanks for the junk drawer info.

I'm crossing threads a lot this evening. Posted some illustration stuff in the Sword and Planet thread, but I think that some Richard Corben (already discussed there) needs to be here:

What does it mean that I've added 2 books to my library in the last month with Henry Fuseli (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Fuseli) covers?

I have to second Corben. Not just for his obvious Barsoom reference:



But because of his sometimes bizarre color scheme, which me makes work:



(I tried to pick 'safe for work' images. Not an easy task with Den.)

I'd also like to give a shout-out to Mike Mignola. I first notice him when he adapted some Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories with Howard Chaykin:



He's done plenty of 'weird fiction' squirmy-tentacled monster work with his Hellboy series, but here's a portrait he did of HPL:

#6 - I can never tell if I like Brundage or not. Really, her work leaves a lot to be desired. But it sure does stand out.

24> That portrait of HPL is awesomely creepy!

>25 jseger9000:

I love Brundage, but she did probably the worst Conan that I've ever seen attempted by a professional illustrator:



Gimme a break!

ETA: Actually, that snake looks pretty goddamn goofy, too!

I don't see - no, WAIT! There IS a guy and a snake! You just have to look past the blonde.

NOT Conan. Definitely 1920's/30's matinee-idol standard.

#15 - Thank you for the Erol Otus link. I used to have the D&D basic and expert sets (and The Keep on the Borderland) he illustrated. I always preferred his cartoony style to the more popular photo-realistic fantasy art.

W.H. Pugmire was kind enough to post Clark Ashton Smith's original illustrations for H.P. Lovecraft's "The Lurking Fear" on his blog. I've wanted to see these for years but have never got to before now. You can check them out here:

http://lovecraftianhorror.blogspot.com/2011/10/cas-illos-for-lurking-fear.html

Thanks, Art. I've always liked Smith's artwork, and it's a treat to see it in this context.

Maybe I should post this to its own thread, but does anyone know if illustrated versions of Lovecraft's stories have been published? (were Smith's pictures used in an edition of the story?)

>32 DeusExLibrus:

The Smith illustrations accompanied the original publication of "The Lurking Fear" in the magazine HOME BREW.

From An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia:

"At HPL's request, Clark Ashton Smith was commissioned to illustrate the text. Smith had a bit of fun by drawing trees and vegetation obviously in the shape of genitalia, but he may not have been paid for his work. (The HOME BREW text was reprinted in facsimile by Necronomicon Press in 1977.)"

As to the question of illustrated editions of HPL's work, yes - there are lots and lots and LOTS of these. A good place to start looking for these would be to do an LT tagmash of "Lovecraft, illustrated", the results of which you can see here:

http://www.librarything.com/tag/Lovecraft,+illustrated

NYRB is giving away (today only) a pdf of the M. R. James story Casting the Runes (which is supposed to have been a favorite of Edward Gorey's) here: http://nyrbclassics.tumblr.com/post/12163194288/download-casting-the-runes-by-m-...

>35 slickdpdx:

Wow! Thanks for the heads-up! "Casting of the Runes" was the source for the classic horror film CURSE OF THE DEMON (NIGHT OF THE DEMON in England). This is a nice Hallowe'en treat. Gorey, no less. : )

>35 slickdpdx:

"the M. R. James story Casting the Runes (which is supposed to have been a favorite of Edward Gorey's)"

It was indeed - he included it in a collection of ghost stories he edited called Edward Gorey's Haunted Looking Glass.

ETA: Google Books link:

http://books.google.com/books?id=hB1vnlsCaMQC&printsec=frontcover&source...

Speaking of Gorey, I'm quite fond of his The War of the Worlds cover and illustrations:

>38 artturnerjr:

I love the little people on fire. lol

>39 Thulean:

Yeah, he definitely got the scale right. In Wells' novel, the sight of the monstrous Martian tripods coming over the horizon is supposed to be completely nightmarish; he got that right, too. :)

>38 artturnerjr:

Great cover by Gorey! That 1960 Looking Glass Library edition was reproduced in an inexpensive new edition.

>41 gwendetenebre:

Sweet. Gorey is someone who I'm constantly intending to delve into more deeply but I never quite seem to get around to it. A project for 2012, perhaps.

Weird illustrations from the brilliant Lynd Ward:

http://xaxor.com/oil-paintings/1292-lynd-ward.html

New Bernie Wrightson Frankenstein comic due out this year:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=33445

For paradoxosalpha:

http://frombeyonddepraved.blogspot.com/2011/02/of-inhuman-brundage-art-of-margar...

>44 artturnerjr:

That is GREAT news! Glad it's coming from IDW, too. I hope there will also be a signed hardcover at some point.

>45 artturnerjr:

Sure, Brundage couldn't draw Conan worth a damn, but I love the dames! That's a really nice collection of covers.

> 45

You know, it's a funny thing about Brundage, I almost always prefer her covers that depict stories I haven't read. It's not just her Conan that looks dopey. Her Jirel of Joiry leaves something to be desired as well.

>46 gwendetenebre:

As much as I enjoy Wrightson's work with other charaters & creatures, he was born to illustrate Frankenstein's monster and his milieu.

Glad you enjoyed the blog post, Kenton. I thought the commentary was fairly amusing as well. :)

>47 paradoxosalpha:

Agreed. She is too fully clothed. Now this, THIS, is a Jirel of Joiry cover:

http://www.elbakin.net/fantasy/modules/public/images/livres/livres-jirel-de-joir...

:D

Super awesome coolness:

http://www.munchkinpress.com/cpg149/thumbnails.php?album=20&page=1

http://www.librarything.com/pic/274245
Hannes Bok - The Fox Woman by Merritt

>50 tros:

Coming soon:

http://www.centipedepress.com/art/hannesbok.html

It'll be expensive, but worth it.

>50 tros:

Nice one, tros. Welcome to The Weird Tradition, btw. :)

>50 tros: & 51

For some reason, Bok is never the first illustrator that comes to mind when I think of Weird Tales, but I think he's just as amazing as Finlay or Brundage. What a talent magnet that magazine was!

Comics legend and EC Comics great John Severin has died:

http://www.comicsbeat.com/2012/02/14/rip-john-severin/

Thought I'd post this here because of his memorable interpretation of Robert E. Howard's King Kull:

http://capnscomics.blogspot.com/2011/07/john-severin-doing-more-kull.html

I really like this one, which Severin did with assistance from his sister (and another comics great) Marie:

52. Thanks, art.

51. Looks like it's going to be over my budget. ;-(

53. Really nice!

>53 gwendetenebre:

Fuck. I grew up reading Severin's stuff in CRACKED magazine. He also had a pretty amazing run on THE INCREDIBLE HULK back in the day. Another childhood hero bites the dust. :'(

>55 artturnerjr:

Ah yes, CRACKED! And now that you mention it, I really liked his HULK, too - especially when he was inking Herb Trimpe's pencils..

How about some classic Frazetta?

http://www.librarything.com/pic/274286

Anyone else dying to see John Carter of Mars? I hope Disney doesn't disappoint.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carter_(film)

>57 tros:

Anyone else dying to see John Carter of Mars?

*raises hand*

3 weeks from tomorrow, my friend. 8)

Too bad we can't make it a group outing.

>59 paradoxosalpha:

No kidding. How much fun would that be? :)

You might want to put A Princess of Mars on the top of your tbr pile.
And the rest at hand. Once you start... ;-)

And now for something completely different.



:D

Whoa: Harry Clarke illustrates Poe. I couldn't get the page at the 50watts.com site to load, though. :-(

Just last week Dover/Calla announced the titles for next Fall—among them is another Clarke gem
http://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Tales-Charles-Perrault-Editions/dp/1606600273/ref=sr...

His Poe line art is among his very best.

>63 paradoxosalpha:

You can find some of these Clark illustrations in In the Shadow of the Master, a Poe anthology.

This one's for PA:



;)

No altar, but okay!

Anybody here ever heard of Frank C. Papé (I'll bet PA has - he apparently illustrated a lot of Cabell's stuff)? Here's an image of his (entitled Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil (Psalm 23)) that adorns the cover of the Wordsworth Editions paperback of Lovecraft's The Loved Dead & Other Stories:



Suits the mood of the material inside rather nicely, I think. 8)

Yes, all we Cabell fans know Papé. I didn't know that the Wordsworth series was using his work for covers, though!



His original fame is from illustrating the (Various Color) Fairy Book(s). He could have done some great work with Dunsany material, but I don't see any trace that he actually did.

The wikipedia article says that he did jacket art for several Dennis Wheatley novels, which I would love to see!

Whoa! Wheatley commissioned a bookplate from Papé:

>70 paradoxosalpha:

Whoa, indeed. Pretty cool. Not sure which I like better - that Lucifer/Pan/whoever is smoking a cigarette or the little champagne bucket/pipe/saxophone still life in the lower left-hand corner. 8)

Artist: Michael Bukowski

Blog: http://yog-blogsoth.blogspot.com/

Artist's Description of Blog: "This blog will be an attempt to draw all the creatures Lovecraft ever wrote about or mentioned. In some cases his descriptions are very detailed and precise (Elder Things in At the Mountains Of Madness), and in other cases he simply names creatures (Voonith in Dream Quest Of Unknown Of Kadath) but all require a level of interpretation and imagination."

Do I Need To Check This Out?: Yes, you do. 8)

The great H.R. Giger passed away yesterday. May he rest in peace.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/05/13/312160459/artist-h-r-giger-creato...

ETA: Author touchstone

>73 artturnerjr:



NYC II

R.I.P.

Having recently read The House on the Borderland, I just followed it up with the Corben/Revelstoke graphic novel William Hope Hodgson's House on the Borderland. It was pretty perfectly Corben, if not Hodgson.

Giger's New York Times obituary:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/arts/h-r-giger-swiss-artist-dies-at-74-his-vis...

It's funny to think about it now, but years ago I was channel surfing and ran across Giger's Alien being sold on the Home Shopping Network. It included a signed plate which was affixed into the book. First and only thing I ever bought from HSN. :-D

I also remember an early 1990's video game called Dark Seed. It featured Giger's artwork and was eerily atmospheric, as I recall. I used to play it on a tiny Mac computer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Seed_%28video_game%29

>70 paradoxosalpha:
>71 artturnerjr:

The Lucifer/Pan/Whatever is Gordon Eric Gordon-Tombe:

http://www.denniswheatley.info/museum/room.asp?id=3

>78 housefulofpaper:

Yeah, I read all the museum's info on Gordon-Tombe when I posted that bookplate. Interesting.

Phil Baker's Wheatley biography The Devil is a Gentleman goes into a lot of detail about the influence of Gordon-Tombe on the young Wheatley. The whole thing is a very interesting and entertaining read.

>77 gwendetenebre:

Lol! I honestly can't think of an odder place to encounter Giger's work than on HSN. :)

>78 housefulofpaper:

Thanks!

I just posted my review of The Art of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.

A photorealistic sculpture of HPL. This gave me a start!

http://www.tskuebler.com/gallery/classics_legends/lovecraft/index.htm

>83 artturnerjr:

Amazing! The Poe is also really excellent. Actually, everything in the gallery section is.

>84 gwendetenebre:

Uncanny both in subject matter and the amount of skill on display. I first came across the HPL sculpture in the form of a head shot of it on the net and didn't know what it was. A Photoshopped B&W photo of Lovecraft? A color photo of HPL I hadn't seen before? Fortunately, Google Image Search gave me an answer in a few minutes.

Doctor Strange by Bernie Wrightson:

And now for something completely different.

Not always a good thing...

Not literally a Weird illustrator, but Étienne Léopold Trouvelot's 19c. astronomical pastels (predating astrophotography) are pretty astounding. I especially liked the premonition of tentacles in his illustration of Mare Humorum.

>89 elenchus:

There's a weirdly organic feel to many of the illustrations.

>89 elenchus:

Cool!

>89 elenchus:

Interesting! Mars looks as if Hannes Bok painted it.