viaTurns out Shuster was drawing this stuff to support himself in the 1950s after fighting for the Superman copyright.
Not an uncommon option for some comic artists between gigs.
I wanted to do a graphic novel once about a mediocre comic book artist whose big epiphany at the end of the story was that he could support himself by drawing fetish porn. He went through all this adventure and intrigue and angst, but in the end he simply realized he could go to comic conventions and sell cheesecake pinups and make a fortune. So he becomes world-famous for his comic fetish porn, even getting one of those big Taschen coffee-table books devoted to his work. In the middle of this, of course, the world almost ends and he has to save the day.
...
My plots are starting to sound like Kilgore Trout novels.
The world needs more Kilgore Trout.
ReplyDeleteI LIKE drawing fetish art...
ReplyDeleteI draw it cause it's fun!! I haven't made a penny off it, but drawing regular comics AND fetish art would be kick ass to me.
I would read the hell out of that book.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I saw this-- What I find interesting is the relationship CREATING erotica has with reflecting the artist's psyche.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wonder if sex will be integrated into comics in a way that Wonder Woman's bondage origins can be incorporated into her character without it being gross. I mean-- it is supposed to be high stress alphas who go in for the sub stuff, right?
Isn't that basically Anais Nin's bio, only in prose?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure whether to be saddened or what. I know he needed to support himself and all, but I also know how badly he was treated by DC at the time. It's just such a contrast...
ReplyDeleteIn "The DC Vault" book, there are pictures of Siegel and Schuster celebrating "Superman Day" at the World's Fair in NYC, and they're as happy as clams because they've made it big. Then 10 years later it was all gone.
So now we know what Superman and Wonder Woman were getting up to back in the day...
ReplyDeleteNo one did fetish art like Bill Ward. I would like a book of his stuff.
ReplyDeleteNo, not yet I haven't. No nudie pics, either. The closest I've come is drawing Jean Grey in her Hellfire Club costume as the Black Queen, which I suppose could count, but I think that's stretching it a little. (It's not like I put Cyke on a TK leash in the drawing or anything else that really screamed FETISH).
ReplyDeleteI can believe your plots sound like Kilgore Trout novels. I got a sort of mid Vonnegut vibe off of your "Marmaduke Beef" story/blog/thing.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Kirby ever did any fetish art...man, would THAT be interesting.
ReplyDeleteJMY- there's at least one Bill Ward book from Fantagraphics out there.
ReplyDeleteShameless confession- I love the line of girlie books by artists like Dan DeCarlo from Fantagraphics. Sexist? Absolutely, and disgustingly so. But there's a weird charm about them. Look up Alex Chun on Amazon to see them.
Is there something objectionable about fetish art?
ReplyDeleteSeriously?
I believe there are two Fantagraphics books and Taschen also has collection of Bill Ward art. I believe of the three, only one Fantagraphics book is in Print.
ReplyDelete