Of Heros, Illustrators and Sundry Other Doings

Firstly, I must apologize for the overlong absence of a new posting on this dear old blog of mine. But work, work, work - much of which, in a somewhat ironic fashion, emanates from this blog. Insofar as my blogging activities have led me (at the behest of the Svengali - like Geoff West and his assemblage of Elven executives - aka the good people at the Book Palace) to commit my enthusiasms to the printed page.




This is a very circuitous way of saying that the blog has been in a state of inactivity, whilst yours truly races to meet publishing deadlines for illustrators issue 3 and Heros the Spartan. The former is now print ready and with the aid of my talented team, including my associate editor Bryn Havord, who has brought a lifetime's experience of working as an award winning Fleet Street art director and designer to the mix. Before Bryn acquiesced to come on board, I was only hazily aware of the devices and disciplines essential to ensure that readers absorb information in as pleasurable a manner as possible. I thought "widders and orphans" populated the streets of Dickensian London and Midge's dicks were impossible to detect without the aid of an electron microscope - not to mention the dynamics of the running turn - essential to maintaining readership momentum and not just something for the cinder track. Bryn has not only put me straight on these essentials but as art director and associate editor of Woman's Mirror in the 1960s he was also a prime mover and shaker when it came to commissioning many of the artists who were creating a real revival of illustration in the pages of UK and US magazines. Not only does he know a lot of these artists but he is a truly engaging writer, which was one of the things that really hooked me when I discovered some of his postings on Leif Peng's fabulous blog; Today's Inspiration.

Meanwhile as Steve Holland has already flagged up on the Book Palace Blog, issue 2 of illustrators is now out and is regarded by everyone that has got back to us, as even stronger than issue 1, not that we are in any way ashamed of issue 1, as in all these exercises, we are on a steep learning curve and there is always room for improvement, particularly in the early stages of a project such as this.

Heros, I am pleased to say, is now very close to completion, we are just finalizing some of the additional images to be included in the leather edition (second of the two cover images) and adding a few captions to the introductory section of the book - all other work is now complete - phew!!!

Lastly, but by no means leastly, Book Place Books are taking a stand at the Science Museum hosted Works on Paper Art Show, which is running from this Wednesday 31st January from 2.00 pm - 9.00 pm and then from Thursday 11.00 am - 9.00 pm and then Friday 11.00 am - 8.00 pm, Saturday 11.00 am - 6.00 pm and finally Sunday 11.00 am - 6.00 pm. Tickets for two can be obtained free by visiting the Book Palace Website. This show is a real delight and is an essential visit for all collectors and enthusiasts of illustration and artwork for books, comic strips, newspaper strips and all aspects of illustration in it's widest sense.

Heros' Galley Sails Closer...

I've got to the stage where it's no longer worth apologizing for the erratic nature of recent blog postings. Work, work, work... it is a constant imperative, but the good news is much of it is aimed at the very constituency that this blog addresses itself to.

We are busily working on illustrators 3 and 4 and when that isn't taking up my time, there is Book Palace Books forthcoming ultimate Frank Bellamy Heros the Spartan collection, which is starting to take shape.

As we have previously revealed, we took the decision to reproduce the Heros pages the same size as they first appeared in the Eagle comic some fifty years ago. This means that each spread will run over two pages, the binding on this book is such that each spread will open out without information getting lost in the gutter. So to maintain this feel and emphasize the panoramic feel of the book I have designed the whole book to reinforce this cinematic feel.

Here's some spreads to show you what I  mean and also give you a feel for how the book will look. Please note that there are some captions missing and some spreads might well change–but only in a minor way:

Upcoming in illustrators

Having been fully occupied with helping launch our very first issue of illustrators, I thought it might be opportune, whilst gathering breath to show you a bit more of what is heading your way over the next twelve months.

The good news is that the response has been even better than our most optimistic projections, although as a team we have all been pretty cautious in our expectations. Launching a new publication is fraught with difficulty and even keeping our origination costs as low as possible, the financial gamble involved is still considerable. So, caution has been our watchword.

However, I am pleased to say that issue 1 has been selling very well and recent publicity on Leif Peng's excellent Today's Inspiration website has garnered a lot of response as well as a distribution deal for the US and Canada with Bud Plant.

So as issue 2 is currently being PDF'd ready to send to our printer, let's have a look at some of the spreads and features from issue 2, which has a major feature on Carol Day artist David Wright as well as a fascinating look at the life and work of historical illustrator Cecil Doughty written by David Ashford and an equally revealing look at the exquisite wild-life artistry of Raymond Sheppard written by Norman Boyd. The issue is rounded up with a look over the shoulder of John Watkiss as he works up a typically virtuosic concept painting for the US hit TV show The Walking Dead as well as some mouthwatering examples of the work of the Italian illustrator Renato Fratini with an accompanying text penned for us with characteristic passion and insight by David Roach.

As a final flourish the Gallery section presents two truly stunning Giorgio De Gaspari original covers from the early years of War Picture Library.

More to follow:

They're Here (As in Illustrators and The Art of Denis McLoughlin)!!!

That's right, having braved Typhoons, Somali Pirates, Giant Squid, Krakens and Moby Dick himself, the container vessel carrying several palettes worth of The Art of Denis McLoughlin and illustrators Quarterly has finally docked at Felixstowe. Which means that copies of both these lovely items will be at Book Palace Books HQ this week. Whereupon the trusty Book Palace Elves fortified with tea and seed cake will be scurrying around for hour upon hour breaking open the palettes and cradling the treasured contents to their sweaty breasts (don't worry folks each and every copy of book and journal is sealed in mylar) as they run from delivery bay to warehouse, emitting occasional shrieks of delight as they go about their task.

I have already talked a little bit about The Art of Denis McLoughlin which is a lovely book to behold and was for all involved a real joy to work on, but there is an ongoing publishing project in the shape of illustrators which is something so exciting that we will be sharing little snippets of information as we continue with what is shaping up to be a really rewarding enterprise.

illustrators is in many ways more of a book than a journal, each copy is 96 pages of beautiful artwork by the greatest European and UK illustrators accompanied by well researched and lively text. Our overall remit with each feature is that the writing should connect the reader with the artist and the world that he/she inhabited so that by the end of the piece the reader will gain a far greater insight into the work they are looking at.

Our associate editor Bryn Havord, who in addition to teaching yours truly the finer points concerning midge's dicks, widows and orphans and running turns has the most impressive CV imaginable for a project of the magnitude of illustrators. Bryn was working as a leading Fleet Street art editor throughout the 60s. It was Bryn who gave Renato Fratini his first commission for Woman's Mirror, who was regularly commissioning artists such as Michael Johnson, Walter Wyles and Brian Sanders. Bryn's passion for illustration is second to none and his passion is backed up by years of experience as well as a deep insight and knowledge of many of the most influential of European illustrators, whose work you will be seeing in greater detail over the coming months and years.

So that's our core team, but in addition we will be featuring an expanding cast of writers including  crime fiction writer and Hardboiled editor; Gary Lovisi,  children's illustration enthusiast; Norman Wright, Pan Horror chronicler; Johnny Mains, writer and broadcaster Brian Sibley, writer and blogger Jeremy Briggs, Luci Gosling from The Mary Evans Picture Library, Frank Bellamy devotee Norman Boyd and many more writers who we are currently talking to.

As will be apparent from our first issue we are keen to source as much work as feasible from original artwork and where that is not possible, printer's proofs or high grade printed sources, so that there is we can get the reader as close to experiencing the full import of an artist's work as is possible.

I'll be talking a little more about some of our forthcoming issues shortly but in the meantime here's some images of illustrators number one just as an appetizer.