Detectives, undercover aliens, femme fatales, spies, bootleggers, killer animals, secret agents – if you love these things as much as we do, you're in for a treat as we celebrate the Art of Pulp. In that era, comics, paperbacks, and magazines from this era all dove headfirst into the seedy and exploitive, resulting in some of the most incredible art that we’ve ever seen, and these five fascinating and gorgeous books are all must-haves for both novices and aficionados.
Each book is on sale right now.
The Art of Robert E. McGinnis. By Robert E. McGinnis and Art Scott and published by Random House. Ships in 3-5 business days. Ships worldwide. $34.95.
You know his iconic painted movie posters for BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S, LIVE AND LET DIE, and BARBARELLA, but master illustrator Robert E. McGinnis' legendary work in magazines, galleries, and as a cover artist for works by Ian Fleming, Lawrence Block, John D. MacDonald, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Stephen King cemented his place among the great American painters.
Delving into private collections and personal archives, with many of the works shot from original paintings, The Art of Robert E. McGinnis opens the door to an unparalleled and illustrious career that continues to this day.
Creeping Death From Neptune: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton. By Basil Wolverton and Greg Sadowski and published by Fantagraphics Books. Ships in 3-5 business days. Ships worldwide. $39.99.
The first of two volumes reprinting copious amounts of comics stories and recounting the career of Mad Magazine cartoonist Basil Wolverton. Based on his correspondence and journals, the biographical portion of the books follows Wolverton from childhood to his adulthood in the Pacific Northwest, when he acted as a freelance cartoonist, itinerant handyman, persistent contest enterer, and local pastor of the Radio Church of God.
In the precious period before the industry calcified into a commercial institution, Wolverton was free to work under the radar to explore in detail his weird tales of the future. All of Wolverton's non-humorous comic book stories will be presented in full, along with prime examples of his humorous comics and dozens of pages of unpublished art, including editorial drawings, advertisements, caricatures, pulp illustrations, rejected comic book covers, and unsold features.
Brain Bats of Venus: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton. By Basil Wolverton and Greg Sadowski and published by Fantagraphics Books. Ships in 3-5 business days. Ships worldwide. $44.99.
This volume continues Sadowski’s biography of the famed Mad cartoonist, including scores of letters between Wolverton and his editors and publishers, and excerpts from his personal diaries that provide documentary insight not only into Wolverton’s day-to-day life and career, but also the inner workings of the early comic book industry. It's also chock full of Wolverton’s comics stories from this period, including 17 science-fiction and horror tales fully restored and never before collected in a single volume, with full-color illustrations throughout.
Cannon. By Wallace Wood and published by Fantagraphics Books. Ships in 3-5 business days. Ships worldwide. $35.
Cannon, created by legendary Marvel and DC Comics artist Wally Wood, appeared every week for two and a half years in Overseas Weekly, a newspaper distributed exclusively to U.S. Military bases around the world. Uncensored by commercial editorial restrictions, Wood pulled out all the stops, producing a thrilling and salacious Cold War spy serial run amok with brutal violence and titillating sex all in an effort to boost morale and support our troops.
Cannon stars, naturally, John Cannon – the perfect agent and America's exploitative answer to James Bond. Initially brainwashed by the terrifying, voluptuous, and always half-naked Madame Toy to be "the perfect assassin" for the Red forces, Cannon was eventually rescued and brainwashed (again) by the CIA until he had no emotions whatsoever.
Under the employ of our government's Central Intelligence Agency, Cannon experiences action like no other agent – nude torture by beautiful women, explosive gunplay, naked catfights, bone-crunching plastic surgery, nudity, Hitler, nihilistic lovemaking, Weasel the spy, naked women, death from above, and more naked women. Take that, 007!
Mexican Pulp Art. Published by Feral House. Ships in 3-5 business days. Ships worldwide. $16.
Discovering the lurid cover art of Mexican pulp novels is a pop culture revelation. Never before seen in an English or even Spanish-language collection, this collection features the often surreal and psychedelic images of extraterrestrials, robots, dinosaurs, dastardly killers, Zorro, Santo, and many other icons from stories involving suspense, mystery, romance, and the supernatural.
Collected by Minneapolis’ Bobbette Axelrod (owner of the Sister Fun toy shop) and Baltimore’s Ted Frankel (proprietor of the American Visionary Art Museum’s store, Sideshow), Mexican Pulp Art presents the most striking examples of this sensational art form of the 1960s and 1970s.
