tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816075755902555378.post7442002247704232708..comments2024-03-22T05:09:57.169+00:00Comments on Cloud 109: Book Palace Books Wulf - First ReactionsPeter Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15566601617123798061noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816075755902555378.post-26341508211527340512022-05-30T12:51:30.853+01:002022-05-30T12:51:30.853+01:00WdesbePdispge Leslie Gray Download
claszutconsdoo...WdesbePdispge Leslie Gray <a href="https://wakelet.com/@garbcotiti112" rel="nofollow">Download</a><br /> claszutconsdoorWdesbePdispgehttps://wakelet.com/@aninicra770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816075755902555378.post-79373088693136801352011-04-20T15:45:53.998+01:002011-04-20T15:45:53.998+01:00I'd really love to do more on Ron's comic ...I'd really love to do more on Ron's comic strip work and there is so much to choose from Georges.<br /><br />Don o' the Drums for me is a must and in fact there is a page or two featured on the excellent Flintlock and Tomahawk blog that you mentioned.<br /><br />Phil Rushton sent me page of Gerry Embleton's Strongbow the Mighty, which he took over from Ron and again that was in color, presumably a lot better than the coloring on the version of Ron's strip that you came across. It would be fun to include both Ron and Gery's work on this strip in a possible future collection of Ron's early strip work<br /><br />Battleground and Colonel Pinto and of course Wrath of the Gods would be a super addition to such an ongoing Ron Embleton project in much the same way that Rob Van Bavel has done such a marvelous job with republishing Don Lawrence's work.<br /><br />We'll have to see how Wulf fares but the amazing responses are still coming in and we have had a really ecstatic phone call from someone with long experience in the publishing industry who again thinks that this is the best book of it's kind that has ever been produced in the UK.<br /><br />So reaction is still good and sales are encouraging.<br /><br />We've even had a couple of customers who were so knocked out with the regular version of the book that they decided they need a copy of the slipcased limited leather edition. Apparently so they can pour over the original artworks at the back of the book as well as enjoying the sumptuous production values that this edition offers.<br /><br />Might also prove to be a good investment for when the leather editions become really scarce.Peter Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15566601617123798061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816075755902555378.post-42897848903666505362011-04-20T10:19:46.371+01:002011-04-20T10:19:46.371+01:00I suppose no creator, designer or else, except som...I suppose no creator, designer or else, except some egocentric, <br />liked to see his old works, looking only at his mistaking and faults..<br />Last sunday i go to a "Vide-greniers"..I dont' know the name in <br />english.."vacuum attic" "fair of flees""second hand selling goods" ??<br />I brought for 2 or 3 Euros 2 albums with many issues of<br />"JOURNAL de PIERROT" inside it was the beginning of a story<br />named in french "FLECHE D'OR"..In fact , it is a very bad reproduction<br />of "STRONGBOW the MIGHTY" with horrible coloring.. after some<br />issues the impression is better, only 2 colors or white & black, <br />and we could see it is a "RON" !!! That i have mist some years before<br />now, i know..!!! The poor RON if he saw that very bad printing<br />he get mad, mad ,mad !!!!<br /><br />Oh, yes PETER, i hope you continue to give a second life at<br />others masterpieces of RON...I dream of a book "compilation"<br />of his works about "ROGERS, in MICKEY MOUSE and LOOK &<br />LEARN + DON'O THE DRUMS + many illustrations about the<br />indians Iroquois, Hurons ect...<br />You can see some very funny, hyper realistic attack of<br />iroquese destroying a farm and a voice inside saying<br />"HENRY ! I THINK THERE'S SOMEONE AT THE DOOR"<br />In the beautiful blog "FLINTLOCK AND TOMAHAWK"<br />search "EMBLETON"...<br /><br />I have never understood why during all these past years<br />the British designers who was so strong, had very, very good<br />comics in the fisties , sixties, turn to only illustration<br />and why the treasures they made rest inexploited....<br />All these works of RON, HAMPTON, BELLAMY, LAWRENCE<br />NICOLLE, EYLES...A treasure superior than those of ALI BABA<br />BLACKBEARD and so on..<br /><br />Courage, Peter !! lead on !!!georges RAMAIOLInoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816075755902555378.post-89451379758554398812011-04-19T20:38:39.471+01:002011-04-19T20:38:39.471+01:00Many, many thanks for your kind words Phil. Your c...Many, many thanks for your kind words Phil. Your comment regarding Ron's having never stopped moving forward prompted me to dig out a couple of treasured letters I was privileged to receive from the artist some thirty plus years ago.<br /><br />Amongst other things I had asked him about a title spread in The Book Of Heroes, depicting a shackled Christopher Columbus standing in a dimly lit cell, with the jailer about to lock him in for the duration. The figure of Columbus looked to be based on Chuck Connors and I had asked Ron about this.<br /><br />Not only did he have no recollection of the illustration, he couldn't remember the book either. Not surprising I suppose bearing in mind his prodigious output.<br /><br />When in a followup letter I asked him if he would care to see the book this is what he wrote:<br /><br />"Kind of you to offer to let me see the book of Heroes, but I think I'll decline. It doesn't give me much pleasure to see my earlier work. I'm a compulsive destroyer of early work. Every few years I have a large ceremonial bonfire - believing (rightly or wrongly) that the only way to face, workwise is forwards."<br /><br />I'd like to think that Ron would have been in an agony of elation mixed with self flagellation much along the lines you describe Phil. He was really made up with Alastair Crompton's first book on Frank Hampson and did broach the idea of ultimately being the subject of a similar production.<br /><br />Hopefully, such a book may yet happen, but in the meantime I would like to think that Wulf is a worthy first step.Peter Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15566601617123798061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816075755902555378.post-78828655333167300182011-04-19T18:36:22.935+01:002011-04-19T18:36:22.935+01:00Ron Embleton was never the sort of artist who rest...Ron Embleton was never the sort of artist who rested on his laurels. It's notable that when asked to provide an illustration for the Official Souvenir Brochure of the 1980 'Eaglecon' he avoided the temptation to recall past glories with a sketch of Wulf or Johnny Frog but chose instead to send a beautiful b&w drawing of a ragged victorian street vendor, along with a hand-lettered caption which declared it to be a "Portrait of the renowned Eagle artist at the height of his fame - Ron Embleton".<br /><br />Throughout his career he never once stopped moving forward - looking for fresh challenges that would stretch his talent in new directions. It was almost as if he couldn't bear to relax or slow down: as though every time something started to become easy for him he was compelled to work that much harder, adding ever more detail and complexity.<br /><br />Given that degree of perfectionism I suspect that Ron would have been almost embarrassed to have his old work on Wulf the Briton collected in this way - finding fault in every panel and reflecting on how much better he could have drawn it; how much more accurate the historical details could have been made.<br /><br />Yet in spite of his own exacting standards I feel that the laurels now being showered on this wonderful book are all the more deserved. The fact is that for the post-war 'baby boom' generation who grew up in Britain during the 1950s and 1960s every single one of us owes a huge debt to the way in which Ron's creations shaped our imagination at every turn - often without us even realizing it. Whether his artwork first caught our eye on the breakfast table from the back of a Corn Flakes box, on the TV screen with Captain Scarlet, on bubble gum cards, children's books, 'adult' mags, framed prints, historical texts, adverts, fishing tips - or the countless comic strips which catered for every conceivable genre and age-group - he provided the visual backdrop for our lives!<br /><br />What's more I think we owe you a debt of gratitude for reminding us of that fact Peter...!Phil Rushtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11115717268103349676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816075755902555378.post-78480704329430400092011-04-19T12:22:38.024+01:002011-04-19T12:22:38.024+01:00Spammers on the loose again I thought I'd remo...Spammers on the loose again I thought I'd remove the link as;<br /><br />a). It has nothing to do with the discussion<br /><br />and<br /><br />b). just in case anybody was dumb enough (like me) to go and check the link. I can save you the misery of endless solicitations from Noida Software Technology Park located somewhere in Uttarakhand India.Peter Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15566601617123798061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816075755902555378.post-77022867526114272322011-04-19T12:08:14.553+01:002011-04-19T12:08:14.553+01:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.cialishttp://www.medicinaligenerici.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816075755902555378.post-87027141534568817882011-04-19T11:43:25.950+01:002011-04-19T11:43:25.950+01:00I really did appreciate your comments Georges and ...I really did appreciate your comments Georges and I was very grateful as it did give me an opportunity to talk a bit more about what went into the production of this book. <br /><br />Just like you as an artist as well as collector, I am very picky about repro, so it's something that I find a really fascinating area to discuss.<br /><br />There was a lot of Photoshop work we had to do to achieve the level of fidelity that we did with this book and really the bulk of the plaudits as well as any criticisms must rest with this part of the procedure.<br /><br />Overall we are really pleased with the work that Prolong Press did. They are a very helpful and professional team to work with and importantly we know how they work and we are always confident of great results from these guys, minor glicks as in the example I cited notwithstanding.<br /><br />It's worth checking out their website to see some of the other projects they are working on and their client list some of whom might well be familiar to many of the people who check out this blog.<br /><br />Once again many thanks for your feedback Georges and I hope that WULF brings you many hours of pleasure.Peter Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15566601617123798061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816075755902555378.post-54863393273173346232011-04-19T11:15:18.390+01:002011-04-19T11:15:18.390+01:00Impassioned defense PETER ! But i'm not "...Impassioned defense PETER ! But i'm not "attacking"..<br />I know very well how difficult it is to restitute real colors<br />of an original...I'm very sure you 've done your best<br />for the splendor of this incomparable book...<br />Certainly the cost of fabrication of that énormous book<br />makes your choice for China..But is there in European<br />Community very precise and competitive printers...<br />I used to work with one in Barcelona..Not too expensive<br />who (in 8 books) had never loose one..<br />Nethertheless, Thanks again PETER...I enjoy your "WULF".georges RAMAIOLInoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816075755902555378.post-16813010665576741172011-04-19T09:13:45.852+01:002011-04-19T09:13:45.852+01:00Secondly we wanted to maintain a chromatic consist...Secondly we wanted to maintain a chromatic consistency throughout the whole book, which would be undermined if pages sourced from original artwork were dropped in next to pages sourced from the printed comics.<br /><br />The page (242) of Vikings that you refer to again illustrates some of the worst problems we had with this aspect of this epic project. Even before we saw the original artwork I knew we had a problem with this page as it just looked too dark and to make matters worse it was also slightly off register (by this stage of Wulf Bemrose quality control seemed to be slipping as this appears to have happened more frequently). I did the best I could without intrusively reworking it (a big no-no as far as I am concerned) and overall I feel we achieved the best result possible.<br /><br />We didn't get to see the original artwork for this page until the book had gone to press, but as everyone that pre-ordered this book now has a copy you can immediately compare and see the differences.<br /><br />What is immediately apparent is how much more subtle (even allowing for a degree of fade) the original artwork is in comparison to the Bemrose page. As you say you can see far more of the chain mail links on the sleeve of the Viking in panel 6 and far more of the subtle brush work on the helmets of the vikings.<br /><br />However where this scan which unlike the other artworks was not my creation, does slightly stumble for me is that the levels have been boosted to clean up the image resulting in a loss of background tone in panel 9 and too much red entering the color balance - look at Wulf's hair on panel 8 and then go back to page 242 in the book to see what I am referring to.<br /><br />To see a better scan of this art try this link:<br /><br />http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=717113&gsub=20064<br /><br />On top of all this one then has to contend with slight variations from the proofs your printer supplies you with and the way the book eventually turns out. For example on page 172 there is a very slight and subtle color shift on Wulf's eye on panel 5, it wasn't there on the proofs but it turned up in the finished books.<br /><br />What do you do???<br /><br />In the end (it it was possible) I could go back and rework pages here and there but I am not sure that we would have a significantly better product. Some pages might end up better and some worse but overall and allowing for a degree of compromise I think we really do have something which all devotees of Wulf and Ron Embleton's artistry can treasure.Peter Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15566601617123798061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816075755902555378.post-38591191865687207512011-04-19T09:13:36.818+01:002011-04-19T09:13:36.818+01:00Many thanks for your comments Georges. As regards ...Many thanks for your comments Georges. As regards your caveats, they have been considerations that I have wrestled with all the way though this project, which is why the restoration took as long as it did and was a significant contributory factor to the delay of the book - for which once again I apologize.<br /><br />The problems of reds becoming a little too heavy along with blacks are a constant source of concern on a project like this as well as subtle shades of blue being lost. It's a consequence of the restoration process and something which I was constantly striving to avoid but there are a few instances where this has happened on flesh tones in particular. But in general I was happy with the balance that we achieved particularly in instances where we were able to reveal more of Ron's subtle flesh tone cross hatching than was immediately evident in the copies of Express Weekly that I was reproducing from. I would cite pages 210-221 as an example of what I am referring to here.<br /><br />My source for the repro for the pages of the Wulf saga was a set of Express Weeklys that had been painstakingly assembled over many years to provide the best source of printed Wulfs attainable.<br /><br />The reasons for this were twofold;<br /><br />Firstly, unlike Dan Dare there is precious little Wulf artwork that is locatable, one can only speculate where it might be but this did mean that our only recourse was to source from the Bemrose printed comics. Using the comics did provide us with a potentially less degraded source in terms of color fade which affects a lot of Embleton's artwork which was created using Pelikan inks. However the downside was that it exposed us to printing artifacts as well as the knowledge that we were stuck with whatever loss of detail had occurred between transferring the original artwork to print all those years ago when printing techniques were a lot less sophisticated than they are now.<br /><br />That being said if you compare page 174 with page 359 (in the limited leather edition) you can actually see the the line work on the central panel of Garak is sharper in the Bemrose sourced reproduction than the repro from the original artwork. This because the whole area of tone is lighter in repro than it was on he original artwork.Peter Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15566601617123798061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3816075755902555378.post-3412870570335280132011-04-19T07:45:24.660+01:002011-04-19T07:45:24.660+01:00GLORY ALLELUJAH !!!! I lived enought to have "...GLORY ALLELUJAH !!!! I lived enought to have "the adventures of<br />WULF" (ROCK) in is entirety...I'd known all the weekly's in french<br />but never saw the annuals..During this half century of my quest about<br />RON's works and specialy "WULF"I ve found some issues of "EXPRESS<br />WEEKLY" and it is a wonderful job to reproduce "à l'identique" the plates<br />in this book...I can now see the beauties of the cloudy skies , the reflections of light on the waters, the armors the faces, the bodies..<br />Only a little "bémol"...Sometimes the impression of Red and Black inks<br />are too "loud" too "thick" some details very thin not are seeing..<br />Like the superb page in ex-libris about the vikings so different<br />in color, without doubt faithfull too "EXPRESS W"'s work but we don't<br />see all the subtilities of the drawing..Like the mesh of the armors<br />for example...<br />curiously, in the bad french reproduction, we can see all the details<br />and the thinner designs of RON..I don't know what is the process<br />the plates photographed in black, white and grey and poorely<br />re-colored approximatively like the original..Some images are<br />wildely cut,others re-designed by a poor O.Di MARCO, who do<br />much better elsewhere..But in that approximatively reproduction<br />we caould see what a designer is behind !!!!<br />I place everyfrench page inside MY(now) WULF BOOK et i'll<br />tart to read again that story...The french translation is not too bad<br />and help me really..<br />Thanks PETER for that joy who his for me a "foutain of jouvence"<br />A wonderfull book !!!!georges RAMAIOLInoreply@blogger.com