IllustrationMagazines

Illustrators #35 (magazine review).

 

All contents copyright The Book Palace Ltd
(c) The Book Palace 2021

 

Alex Raymond
All contents copyright The Book Palace Ltd
(c) The Book Palace 2021

Only three artists are covered in this latest issue of ‘Illustrators’ but definitely big ones. Peter Richardson goes over the life of Alex Raymond (1909-1956), a life cut short by driving a speeding car with Stan Drake, who was lucky to survive. Raymond’s career not only with Flash Gordon, but with other newspaper strips like ‘Prince Valliant’ and ‘Rip Kirby’ showed a rich talent ended far too short, although no one explains why some artists love fast cars.

Raymond could use both brush, pen and wash well, but not necessarily in the strips at the same time. It’s easy to see why he was a major influence on all those who followed after him. I had a wry smile at Rip Kirby and can even see touches of Clark Kent in his style. If you’ve only heard of but never seen the variety of work he’s done then getting this issue is essential.

Bob Eggleton
All contents copyright The Book Palace Ltd
(c) The Book Palace 2021

If you thought Alex Raymond couldn’t be topped, then think again. Bob Eggleton (1960- ) is here in all his glory with bits of interviews and art over 33 pages and a lot I haven’t seen before, hardly surprising as he live in the USA and not all of his work reaches the UK. He also gives a cautionary note about breathing problems when using an airbrush and was taking all the right precautions but had to stop because of serious respiratory problems.

He’s also one of the few SF artists whose done work on films, uncredited on ‘Sphere’ (1997) and then for ‘Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius’ (2001) and ‘The Ant Bully’ (2006), which must make his resume interesting. Considering his taste in dragons and horror, I’m surprised he hasn’t been picked up for other films. Looking at his paintings, he likes working in oils and acrylics and dabbles with digital when needs. Eggleton thinks the traditional way isn’t likely to die out because there will always be a need for original pieces of work.

Jacques Terpant
All contents copyright The Book Palace Ltd
(c) The Book Palace 2021

Then there’s French artist/illustrator Jacques Terpant (1956- ). He worked on ‘Métal Hurlant’s war strip ‘Branle-bas de Combat’ before the mag folded in the mid-1980s. His art is interesting with either a dark or light palate, suggesting he is after an exact contrast or mood. From the samples show, I would think he matches his style to the requirements of the story.

The choice of artists allows for some you are familiar with and introduces ones you might never have of. There might be fewer this time but you’re given plenty of art to make up for that. The Eggleton section will probably ensure this issue high sales so don’t leave it too long before getting a copy.

GF Willmetts

October 2021

(pub: The Book Palace, 2021. 98 page illustrated squarebound magazine. Price: £20.00 (UK), $21.99 (US) via Bud Plant. ISBN: 978-1-913548-03-2. ISSN: 2052-6520)

check out website: www.bookpalace.com and www.illustratorsquarterly.com 

UncleGeoff

Geoff Willmetts has been editor at SFCrowsnest for some 21 plus years now, showing a versatility and knowledge in not only Science Fiction, but also the sciences and arts, all of which has been displayed here through editorials, reviews, articles and stories. With the latter, he has been running a short story series under the title of ‘Psi-Kicks’ If you want to contribute to SFCrowsnest, read the guidelines and show him what you can do. If it isn’t usable, he spends as much time telling you what the problems is as he would with material he accepts. This is largely how he got called an Uncle, as in Dutch Uncle. He’s not actually Dutch but hails from the west country in the UK.

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