 Archive - February 2010 |
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| February 28th, 2010 | |
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Time to check out another one of my past
commissioned Classic Cover Redos--what say
this time we visit a galaxy far, far away
from long, long ago (or however the heck
that opening spiel goes...)? Yup, it's STAR WARS #7, back when the folks at Marvel were in charge of Lucas's charges! Y'know, the original took the efforts of two artists to complete--Gil Kane and Tony DeZuniga--but I did MY version by hand, solo!! As always, click the accompanying image to see the full color original, a medium sized redo, and a really, really big redo repro!! Until next time, remember--stop chewin' tobacca! Don'tcha know it's bad for ya?... |
| February 25th, 2010 | |
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| Over at our cinema commentary page, Hey, Did I Tell You About That MOVIE I Saw Recently?... We have quickie film reviews of 16 full-length features and one short subject. Scroll down to an overlooked Billy Wilder gem, "A Foreign Affair", and work your way upwards. You'll find... John Barrymore sporting a crazy looking beard as Svengali... Two Chester Morris' movies (one with Norma Shearer)... Two Norma Shearer movies (one with Chester Morris)... Anne Bancroft's 1964 Oscar nominated turn... A silent classic from King Vidor... Three Humphrey Bogart flicks, including his first two for Warner Brothers... Three non-horror Boris Karloff performances, including two opposite Edward G. Robinson (one with Jimmy Cagney thrown in for good measure)... Marie Dressler playing step-mom to Myrna Loy... Paul Muni on the run "Gladiator"... ..and a short starring John "Perry White" Hamilton!! Mostly obscure, I know, but all the more fun for that very reason! Go take a look if you've a mind to--now, it's me for a look-see at today's taped classic, "General Spanky"!... |
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| February 24th, 2010 | |
| Today, I have five drawings to show you,
but only four are up for sale on Ebay.
The
reason? Well, it's sort of an interesting
story (at least, I think so!...). As per usual, after completing a handful of these illos (I think I had eight that day), I take 'em down to my local Staples to make reduced copies that'd fit on my scanner. There are seven or eight copiers available--though oft times, one or two aren't working properly. Sometimes, there aren't any--or many--other customers, but on this particular day, things were fairly busy. At the next copier over was this young fellow--mid-thirties, I'd guess--and his dad, who was doing the copying. He saw me slipping these pics into the machine, one by one, and turned to ask-- "You draw those?" Yup. Now, I'm usually a little shy when it comes to talking with complete strangers, but I still had about six drawings to go, so I began chatting with the guy--he seemed amiable enough. Turns out he read and collected comics back in the nineties and was currently trying to get his 12 year old son hooked on the habit. He asked if I had a website, so i wrote the name down on a piece of scrap paper for him (no, he DIDN'T recognize the name--and no, I WASN'T crushed). He inquired as to what I intended to DO with the art I had with me, and when I explained my plans, he wanted to know if he could buy a piece, right then and there!! Y'know, I'd been going to that Staples for over ten years without making a single sale, but hey--no Paypal or Ebay fees!! How could I resist? I gave him my starting price, he asked his dad to lend him some cash, and seconds later--ka-ching!! If you're reading this, thanks Todd--hope you're enjoying your purchase!! The drawing featured five primo Marvel Baddies, all Jack Kirby visual creations: The Red Skull, Loki, Magneto, Kang, and of course, Dr. Doom. The thing was, though, I wanted to offer up that pic to the world at large (and mainly, it ain't always so easy to come up with good group combos), so I came home, and a day or so later, I did up a SECOND illo using the same gang! But no, it's not a COPY--that'd be cheating (not that I'm entirely innocent of similar actions in the past, but hey, let's not go into THAT...). Instead, it's the same five arch-villains, only after a rousing round of musical chairs, okay? So, first up, the Staples sale; second up, the alternative take that's up for grabs on Ebay, followed by three more goodies! Please take a peek!! |
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| MARVEL BADDIES, Take One!!! | |
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| MARVEL BADDIES, Take Two!!! | |
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| The INVADERS!!! | |
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| The JSA!!! | |
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| SPIDER-MAN and BLACK BOLT!!! | |
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| They get bigger if you click your mouse on
'em--but you already know that by now, right? And here's the way to our current Ebay auctions if you wanna buy any or all of the above. Of course, you could always try and get me coming out of Staples, but odds are that ain't gonna work very often!... |
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| February 18th, 2010 | |
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We dip way, way back into our files for today's
Classic Cover Redo. HOW far back? Far enough
back that this particular piece was one of
about two dozen drawn the same exact size
as the actual comics cover, before I eventually
wised up and realized that reproducing these
things one and a half times up--10 inches
by 15 inches--was actually a lot easier way
to go! So click the image over to the side to see the Neal Adams original, a medium sized scan of my retake, and even a version that's actually larger than my original!! Ah, the magic of the Internet... |
| February 17th, 2010 | |
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| Got eleven new quickie reviews for you over
at Hey, Did I Tell You About That MOVIE I Saw Recently?... Including Three Thin Man outings Basil's second go as Sherlock Two Bogie pics, separated by eighteen years A pair of 1941 Barbara Stanwyck comedies (including "Ball of Fire", above) A 1928 silent gangster flick The current Streep/Baldwin/Martin comedy and a terrific noir called "Pickup on South Street" Scroll down to the latter for the beginning of this latest batch of cinematic critiques--one of which I enthusiastically declare as my very fave of all the films I've seen during this recent bout of obsessive behavior!! More soon!! |
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| February 16th, 2010 | |
| Time for some new Hembeck art!! Feast yer eyes, friends!... |
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| SPIDER-MAN and The BLACK CAT!!! | |
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| BATMAN versus TWO-FACE!!! | |
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| WOLVERINE, HULK, WENDIGO, #181 Style!!! | |
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| SPIDER-MAN versus The OX!!! | |
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| SPIDERWOMAN and The MARVEL GALS!!! | |
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| AQUAMAN and ASSOCIATES!!! | |
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| JLA!!! | |
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| HUMAN TORCH, CRYSTAL, QUICKSILVER!!! | |
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| Click 'em to see 'em larger!! And go here to visit our current Ebay auctions!! More soon--'bye for now!! |
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| February 15th, 2010 | |
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| Those folks look at all familiar? Yup, it's none other than our iconic Riverdale buddies! Hey, NOBODY wears a hat quite like Jughead Jones!! But, granted--they DO look a little different, don't they? That's cuz the pic's from the fourth volume of the Archie New Look series, "My Father's Betrayal", lavishly illustrated by Rick Burchett and Terry Austin. Yes--lavishly. You doubt me? Well, check THIS out... |
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| Y'see, a few days back, Lynn and I went out
to lunch with our long-time buddy, the aforementioned
Terry Austin. Among the goodies he brought
along as side dishes to our main meal (at
The Olive Garden, where I felt suspiciously
like family--THEY don't listen to me, either!!...)
were five of 112 pages he embellished over
Rick Burchett's pencils for this upcoming
Archie graphic novel (solicited this very
month in Diamond Previews--retailers take
note!!). Justifiably proud of his fine work,
he asked me if I'd be amenable to getting
word out about it here on my blog. Well,
dunno how much good it'll do--Fred Sez ain't
exactly sitting atop the Google comics' news
list--but hey, I'm game! So, besides the above, follow this link to see all five lushly detailed pages Terry handed over to me, all at over twice the size of the above!! If you like really good art, have a soft spot in your heart for the carrot-topped teen, or love never-ending bread sticks (oh, wait--that 's The Olive Garden. Never mind...), reserve your copy of "My Father's Betrayal" NOW!!.. (Wonder where I can get ME one of those Jughead hats?... |
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| February 12th, 2010 | |
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I've cobbled together my fair share of reinterpeted
covers starring Marvel's most popular character,
harkening all the way back to AMAZING FANTASY
#15, but today, how about something a wee
bit more current? Say, 2007's AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #544, featuring the pivotal "One More Day" storyline. One more cover, anyone? Click the image to get a better eyeful, friends! |
| February 10th, 2010 | |
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| Head on over to... Hey, Did I Tell You About That MOVIE I Saw Recently?... ....for ten new brief cinematic commentaries. Including: Three W.C. Fields flicks... Basil Rathbone's first foray as Sherlock Holmes... A recent animated film version of a Roald Dahl book... An awful WW2 comedy starring a pair of comedy legends... A brilliant WW2 thriller by my favorite director... Two 1929 flicks starring the unforgettable, George Arliss, including his Oscar winning turn (pictured above) as a famous British PM... And the "Citizen Kane" of post-military service Elvis vehicles (also pictured above--that's The King on your right...). It's probably best to start in reverse order and work your way upwards (that'd make "Flaming Star" first), but however you prefer is fine. That's all for now--it's back to my TCM tapes for me!! |
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| February 9th, 2010 | |
| Back when this site first started out, we
had an entirely separate section devoted
to our Classic Cover Redos, which featured the expected Hembeck version,
a thumbnail of the original, and a brief
(and sometimes not so brief) write-up about
the comic in question. Well, we still DO
have such a section--it just hasn't been
updated in years. All that writing took up
way too much time, y'know? Anyways, apparently our color-crazed compatriot, the hues-ly talented Brad Parnell, had some time on HIS hands, trawled about that particular area of the site and came upon this... The page devoted to AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #100 ...and generously submitted a technicolor version, as seen below!! Thanks Brad--yet ANOTHER fabulous job!! |
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| February 8th, 2010 | |
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This is one of my most recent commissioned
Classic Cover Redos--CAPTAIN AMERICA #2,
from way, way back in 1941!! Click that image over there to the side to view 1.) the original, 2.) a medium sized version of my take, 3.) and an altogether gigantic sized pic of same!! Why? All the better to see Hitler's moustache, gang!! |
| February 7th, 2010 | |
| Yup--time for some more purchasable pics! Such as... |
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| SPIDER-MAN versus The SCORPION!!! | |
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| DAREDEVIL and The BLACK WIDOW!!! | |
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| X-MEN!!! | |
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| DOOM PATROL!!! | |
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| ALPHA FLIGHT!!! | |
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| DEFENDERS!!! | |
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| AVENGERS and The JLA!!! | |
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| SPIDER-MAN versus The GREEN GOBLIN!!! | |
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| To see 'em larger, graze your mouse across
any or all of the above images. ! And to bid on any or all of the above illos, here's the link to our current Ebay auctions! More stuff soon!! C'mon back, won'tcha? |
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| February 6th, 2010 | |
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Sometimes, when commissioned to produce a
Classic Cover Redo, I'm asked to stray
from
my sixties era comfort zone of Kirby, Ditko, Infantino, and Swan et al, and venture into more...contemporary territory. So, if this piece based on a 19 year old cover by Whilce Portacio and Art Thibert still qualifies as "contemporary", click the accompanying image of X-FACTOR #64 to see the original, a medium sized version, and a really, really big one!! (And y'know, maybe someday, I'll even figure out just WHO that guy squaring off with Iceman actually IS!!...) |
| February 5th, 2010 | |
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| A few days back, I posted my version of ADVENTURE
COMICS#352 here on site. Shortly thereafter,
Brad Parnell, who so marvelously added hues
to my AVENGERS#181 redo a week or so earlier,
turned up unsolicited with the above coloring
job (which can be seen even larger at the bottom
of this page). However, Brad did send along a gentle warning of sorts with his fine work... I don't want you to get the idea that I am making a habit out of this coloring thing (because I'm not). But you had to post a Legion cover and I couldn't help myself. I am a big Legion fan and have participated in Interlac and had articles posted in online fanzines about the reboot and Dave Cockrum's redesign, etc. I love the Legion more than all the other comics I've read put together which is really saying something. So you can see why I might have gotten a little excited to see the Adventure cover. Thanks again for sharing it with us. No, thank YOU Brad--and trust me, I had absolutely NO idea of your LSH fixation when I chose to post, almost at random, this particular cover! Just lucky, I guess!... A few words about the gent who commissioned the above cover, Arthur Chertowsky. Arthur likely has the largest collection of Hembeck originals anywhere, save for those downstairs. As he commented over on Facebook upon seeing this pic posted... Fred - It's great to see you posting more of your Fredtastic (I really like that word) cover redos. I think the world should know that you did the Adventure #352 cover for me, as well as 45 other DC covers and 2 splashes which comprise the contents of an entire 48-page Itoya portfolio. The other Adventure covers you did for me were #300, #342 (that aforementioned Star Boy thrown out of Legion cover, and -- Great Rao, I've forgotten the 4th cover! Well, they're all great!) - Arthur You might just say this is part of the AC/DC collection!... (Arthur has nearly as many of my Marvel redos, as well as oddities like THE ADVENTURES OF THE JAGUAR, THE PEACEMAKER, and FATMAN THE HUMAN FLYING SAUCER--thanks for you continuing patronage, sir!! We'll try and post as many as possible here in the days to come. But we'll hold off on any Legion material for a bit--gotta give Brad a change to catch his breath, y'know?...) |
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| February 4th, 2010 | |
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| Just thought I'd let you know that I've posted
brief comments on ten newly viewed films
since I first alerted you this site's newest
page, Hey, Did I Tell You About That MOVIE I Saw Recently?... The pick of the litter this time around has to be "Rasputin and the Empress" featuring three Barrymores (with Lionel's aggressive scene-chewing the distinct highlight), "Five Came Back", starring my current favorite actor, Chester Morris, and a stunning 27 year-old Lucille Ball, and "Girls On The Loose". That's right--"Girls On The Loose". Go see for yourself. I leave you with a clue as to why I too loved Lucy!! |
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| February 2nd, 2010 | |
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As per my recent pledge to dig through my
piles of copies of the various cover commissions
I've done over the years, here's another
one, chosen especially for all you Silver
Age Legion of Super-Heroes fans (and I know
you're out there)! Click on the thumbnail image and you'll be transported over to a page featuring the original cover, a medium sized version of the redo, and a really, really, REALLY big take on my retake!! Have fun, Fatal Five fans!! |