More Old School treasures

 More Old School Treasures

Poking around in the boxes in the back of the store continues to yield some nice Vintage Treasures, at affordable prices. Recent acquisitions include:

Conan the Barbarian: The Skull of Set: A Marvel Graphic Novel from 1989. Some great artwork by Paul Gulacy.

Hard-Boiled Defective Stories: an oversize compilation of Burns's 'El Borbah' comics from 1983 - 1988. 

Turbo Jones: Pathfinder : a 1991 compilation of the black-and-white sci-fi comic that first appeared in the UK magazine Wildcat (1988 - 1989).

And then we have..........

Daddy Cool: this 1984 graphic novel is a real rarity. It was issued by 'Melrose Square', an imprint of L.A. - based paperback publisher Holloway House. It didn't do well despite the fact that Holloway simultaneously released the book in paperback format (below). Which is a shame, because Daddy Cool features outstanding artwork by the talented Filipino artist Alfredo Alcala.

So, let the fanboys gather around the front of the store holding their 30 Pulls for the month, I'll head to the back........... where the good stuff resides.

Spies, Vixens, and Masters of Kung Fu: The Art of Paul Gulacy

Spies, Vixens, and Masters of Kung Fu

The Art of Paul Gulacy

Vanguard, 2005

Paul Gulacy (b. 1953) is an accomplished comic book and graphic artist who came to prominence in 1970s with his work in Marvel's popular title Master of Kung Fu. This book cover's Gulacy's work from the that era, as well as the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. 

While his meticulous style meant that his output was comparatively limited compared to other artists of the era, when his art did appear in print, it was memorable then and remains so today.

'Spies, Vixens, and Masters of King Fu: The Art of Paul Gulacy' (128 pp.), featuring editing and commentary by Michael Kronenberg and J. David Spurlock, was issued in hardback and trade paperback editions in 2005 by Vanguard. 

Some of the reviewers at amazon have complained that the trade paperback edition has an easily loosened binding and this is true of the copy in my possession.......even when using a dedicated PlusTek book scanner, I had to take care in spreading the book for these scans.

The majority of the art presented in 'Spies, Vixens, and Masters of Kung Fu' is in black and white, with a color insert showcasing selected comic books contents and covers.

The book is arranged in roughly chronological order, with the opening chapters devoted to Gulacy's work on Marvel's comic Master of Kung Fu, followed by coverage of his art for the Warren's Eerie magazine, Marvel's Bizarre Adventures, and the indie comic The Grackle.

Reproducing these pieces on glassy finish, large size paper lets the reader see how well-composed these comics truly are.

Additional chapters cover Gulacy's work through the 1990s and into the 200s for DC titles like Batman. There also is coverage of the art he produced for the 1992 Dark Horse James Bond series Serpent's Tooth; according to the text commentary in 'Spies, Vixens, and Masters of King Fu', the series was instrumental in bringing about the renaissance in the James Bond franchise in the early 1990s, when the franchise was adrift following the failure of 1989's License to Kill. 

The book's closing chapters profile more recent material Gulacy has produced for a variety of publishers and collectors.

Summing up, while its binding is suffering a bit from the 16-year aging process, 'Spies, Vixens, and Masters of Kung Fu' offers a very nice showcase of Gulacy's art and undoubtedly will send fans of comic book and graphic art out searching for overlooked treasures. 

Here is where things can get rather frustrating, since not all of Gulacy's work in the 1980s and 1990s is still in print, and prospects for the reissue of titles (like Serpent's Tooth) do not look promising.......never mind the exorbitant prices the Bookjackers are requesting for used copies of these older comics and graphic novels. 

However, I'm certainly going to keep an eye out for the appearance of Gulacy's Old School publications on the shelves of used bookstores.............

Loner from Wildcat

Loner

Eagle / Wildcat, 1988 - 1990

The British boy's paper Wildcat was introduced in October, 1988, by UK publisher Fleetway. 

Wildcat was a sci-fi paper and featured four individual comics, all centered on the premise of the starship 'Wildcat' and its search of the galaxy for a new home for mankind. The captain of the Wildcat was a man named Turbo Jones, and its crew included the feminist Kitten Magee ('ex-leader of World Campaign Against Male Domination'), an alien named.....Joe Alien.........and Loner, a 'former mercenary'. 

Wildcat only lasted for 12 issues, until March 1989, when it was merged with the fellow Fleetway boy's paper Eagle. The four comics featuring Turbo Jones, Joe Alien, Kitten Magee, and Loner rotated through issues of Eagle until April 1990.

According to the Down the Tubes website, the artists for the 'Wildcat' strips consisted of  David Pugh, José Ortiz, Ron Smith and Vanyo working on all or most issues, with additional contributions from Massimo Belardinelli, Joan Boix, Ian Kennedy, Horacio Lalia, Carlos Pino, Jesus Redondo and Mike White.

'Loner' (and the other three Wildcat titles) didn't stray too far from the formatting that worked so well for Fleetway's premiere science fiction comic, 2000 AD. The black-and-white strips, usually about six pages in length per installment, emphasized action, and in the case of Loner, a remarkably inventive population of bug-eyed monsters (!). 

The casting of Loner as a black man with a Jimi Hendrix-style afro and headband is worth noting, as to my eye he seems very much a cousin to the character 'Sabre', created by the U.S. team of Don McGregor and Paul Gulacy in 1978 and later released in 1982 as an Eclipse comic book.

Below are two installments of Loner from Eagle from early 1989. Some great artwork here, well deserving of being reprinted for a modern audience.

The Trespasser Part Three: Ruins

The Trespasser
Part Three: 'Ruins'
by Don McGregor (script) and Paul Gulacy (art)
from Eerie No. 105 (October 1979)

The Trespasser Part Two: Dusk

The Trespasser
Part Two: 'Dusk'
by Don McGregor (script) and Paul Gulacy (art)
from Eerie No. 104 (September 1979)