Astounding, Mysterious, Weird and True: The Pulp Art of Comic Book Artists is the first-ever book about the pen and ink artists who worked in both pulps and comics, and what happened to them. This informative and entertaining volume offers an intriguing look at interior pulp illustrations created by artists who eventually gained greater fame in the world of comic books. Beginning in the 1930s and up through the 1970s, these artists contributed to both pulp magazines and comic books. For some, it was a period when their art first saw publication, for others it was a time when they published their works concurrently in both pop mediums. Eventually, as the popularity of pulps waned and comic books ascended, those artists who could deliver what the comic book audience wanted found steady work drawing for comic books while others transitioned to advertising or prestige magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post or disappeared from the publishing scene altogether. This book provides capsule-format information on the artists, their work, art studios and publishers that fueled the publication of comic books and pulp magazines. The artists on display here reads like a who's who of the comic book world. Filled with many illustrations!
Some of the artists included: Dan Adkins • Murphy Anderson • Dick Ayers • Matt Baker • Dan Barry • C.C. Beck • Jack Binder • Peter Costanza • Stan Drake • Bill Draut • Elton Fax • Creig Flessel. • Dick Fletcher • Matt Fox • Kelly Freas • Dick Giordano • John Guinta • Jerry Iger • Jeffrey Jones • Jack Kirby • George Klein • Mort Meskin • Leo Morey • Gray Morrow • Norman Nodel • Irving Novick • Alex Raymond • Paul Reinman • Alex Schomburg • Syd Shores • Joe Simon • Wally Wood and many more...
Jim Simon is the author of fiction/nonfiction books, and has written and published comics, a graphic novel, The Comic Book Makers with Joe Simon - an inside account of the early days of comic books as witnessed by the creator of Captain America and first staff editor of Timely (Marvel) Comics. Jim's writings on comic book history have been published in books by Marvel, DC, Titan Books, and Abrams ComicArts. He was involved in a segment of the Discovery Channel's Marvel Super-Heroes' Guide to NYC. Jim has been interviewed in newspapers, on radio, and appeared in the television movie/documentary, Marvel's Captain America: 75 Heroic Years. He has been a guest at the New York and invited to San Diego Comic Cons.
Steven Brower is an award winning graphic designer, and writer. His work appears regularly in international and national design annuals and books on design, and he writes for several publications. During his tenure as Creative Director, Print garnered two National Magazine Awards for General Excellent and Gold and Silver from SPD. His book Woody Guthrie Artworkswon top prizes both in the Foreword Awards and the New York Book Show. His work has been honored by AIGA, ADC Global, the American Center for Design, the Brno Biennale, the Martin Biennale, The Type Directors Club, among others. In 2006 he designed and coauthored 2D: Visual Basics for Designers with Robin Landa and Rose Gonnella. He has been an art director at the New York Times and The Nation, and his work is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institute. Satchmo: The Wonderful Art and World of Louis Armstrong was published in 2009 by Abrams. In fall 2011 two books he designed and authored were published: From Shadow to Light: The Life and Art of Mort Meskin (Fantagraphics), and Breathless Homicidal Slime Mutants: The Art of the Paperpack (Universe/Rizzoli) to rave reviews. He is the Director of the Marywood University "Get Your Masters With The Masters" low residency MFA in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
