Work In Progress is the name of the local production services company in Belgrade who have been wonderfully hosting our stay and wrangling the shooting of our film "Therese" here.
It is also an apt description of the comic book I have been scribbling in my few rare moments of rest and relaxation away from the set. I thought I'd share this work-in-progress with you here.
Enjoy!
william
In any new place I travel, I enjoy seeking out not only the differences that make it cuturally unique and authentic, but also the things that we have in common as children of the 20th century.
Often I will track down the local flea market, and rummage around in the detritus of the pop culture of a place; I especially enjoy finding old comic books and paperbacks and pulp magazines.
Here are a few choice samples culled from the street vendors of Belgrade:
My handy translator Nadezda decoded this one as Final For Two Revolvers, but said in meaning it could also be called "The Last Gunfight" or "The Final Shoot Out."
Dej Kin seems like a pretty cool name for a crime fiction writer. I couldn't find out anything about him or his work on line, but I will investigate further.
The building in the cover painting looks a bit like Marina City towers in Chicago, which is perhaps why I was attracted to it.
The publisher Duga (rainbow) apparantly put out different editions and this one is the Green Edition (zeleni dodatak).
"The Girls of the Wharf # 13" is quite a handsome cover painting of quite a handsome trio of girls. Wharves were always such great settings for crime fiction stories.
I love the title of this one: The Stars Have Gone Dark.
Spijunski roman means "spy novel". Pretty apocalyptic. I wish I could read it.
Enjoy!
william
More adventures from that wacky comic duo that we love!
Enjoy!
william
I was thinking about the kids the other day, missing them from so far away over here, and yet with the benefit of distance, amazed by each of them, and by the special relationship they have invented with each other.
The result was this:
Those guys really know how to have fun, each according to their interests.
Maybe it will be the first in a series?
Enjoy!
william
Original paintings made for the covers of pulp magazines from the 1930's were treated as disposable commercial art-for-hire in their time, and therefore are quite rare today.
One of the masters of the medium was Norman Saunders, so it was quite a treat to stumble upon a small exhibit of the original vintage paintings of some of his now famous work at an out-of-the-way gallery run by Syracuse University on a recent trip to New York.
One of Saunders many employers was Hugo Gernsback, the editor of Amazing Stories, Wonder Stories, Science-Wonder Stories and many of the other seminal pulp fiction publications that introduced writers like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells to the world. In fact, he is often known as the Father of Science Fiction, and the annual award for the best in science fiction writing, The Hugo, is named after him. I had never seen a picture of him at work, but they had a cool one in the exhibit.
Although not painted by Saunders, I liked this poster from one of the most successful pulp characters, spawning radio shows, comics, movies, and books for generations:
Norman Saunders knew what evil lurked in the hearts of men, and women, and he painted them luridly, and beautifully.
Enjoy!
william
Here's a belated post that I wanted to share with you last Monday for President's Day.
Better late than never, especially when it comes to Alfred E. Newman.
Hey - is that next year's Oscar nominee Daniel Day Lewis peeking out from behind the fence?
Enjoy!
william
Lunch today in the wonderful Gerloczy cafe in Budapest.
Inspired by their collection of old local advertisements on the walls, and tried to grab a few snaps of same to share with you here, in between spoonfuls of the Goulash soup and bites of their streudel!
Enjoy!
william
Hehe - looks like this Santa must be one of the 1% with his uncanny ability to take from the public trough for his own personal benefit!
Happy holidays to all my blog followers and far flung friends!
See you in 2012 for some more eclectic posts and ephemeral gags.
Enjoy!
william
One of the most beautiful songbooks in American music history is the body of work composed by George Gershwin, and there is no edition of his work I enjoy more than the one illustrated by a much less heralded 20th century artist - Constantin Alajalov!
Here is a wonderful self-portrait of the Russian-born Alajalov painting a portrait of Gershwin at work in his studio.
Can you guess which Gershwin song this illistration pertains to?
Or this one?
If I said, "Oh, Lady Be Good" and "S'Wonderful" respectively, doesn't it put a smile on your face? What a sly sense of humor and innuendo we developed in that more restrained era?
This is my favorite - look at that Big Galoot it needs no title or explanation to know that the song here is "The Man I Love".
Here is Ella singing a live version of this Gershwin classic with a little bit of Alajalov-style in her improvisations!
Enjoy!
william
:)
Hanging out at the cabin over the Thanksgiving break with the family and some (rare) time on my hands, I got inspired to draw this one panel gag by reading an old comic book by my favorite illustrator Ernie Bushmiller; I imagine if he were around today he might have had some interesting things to say about the times we live in.
Enjoy!
william
