Realms by Paul Kirchner

'Realms' by Paul Kirchner

During the late 70s and early 80s some of the best comics to appear in the magazines Heavy Metal and Epic Illustrated were done by Paul Kirchner, an artist from Connecticut. 

Kirchner, whose regularly appearing comic ‘The Bus’ was a prominent feature in the early years of Heavy Metal, had a knack for putting together stories with both great art and offbeat, wryly humorous themes. Kirchner was adept at working in illustrative styles from non-Western cultures, as attested to in the strips ‘Shaman’ and ‘The Mirror of Dreams’.

‘Realms’ was published by Catalan Communications in 1986 as a softcover, trade paperback of 80 pages. It reprints Kirchner’s non - 'The Bus' works from Heavy Metal and Epic Illustrated. This is a big (8 ½ x 11”), well-produced book with good color reproductions.

Unfortunately, as is the story with many Catalan publications these days, copies in good condition have exorbitant asking prices from online vendors (at amazon, someone wants $56 for their copy). There are sellers on eBay who are asking only $20 for a copy. I was fortunate to score a copy of 'Realms' some years ago for about ten bucks. What can I say: keep an eye out for an affordable copy, and if you see one, don't hesitate, grab it !

[ Kirchner has his own storefront at eBay, titled stayingamused, where you can purchase newly issued reprint volumes, by European publisher Tanabis, of his past and present works, including his 'Dope Rider' comics from High Times magazine. ]

Back to 'Realms', where the entries include ‘Tarot’

‘Shaman’

‘Hive’

and ‘Mirror of Dreams’

There are b & w entries, including the longer comic ‘A Sprig of Thaxin’, as well as the shorter (i.e., 3 - 4 pp.) strips ‘The Temple of Karvul’, ‘Pillars of P—11507’, ‘Critical Mass of Cool’, ‘Survivors’, ‘My Room’, and the one-pagers ‘Judgement Day’ and ‘They Came from Uranus’.

 

All classic stuff, and well worth having in your personal library.