Potrzebie
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Bernard Krigstein's colorful book jacket painting for Richard Condon's The Manchurian Candidate first edition hardcover (McGraw-Hill, 1959) resurfaced in this advance cover comp for the forthcoming biography by Greg Sadowski. Note these are actually two different paintings, with alterations in color and placement of figures. Curiously, the painting not used for Condon's novel is obviously more vibrant.
The Sadowski book, due in 2013, is a continuation of his earlier B. Krigstein (Fantagraphics, 2002), which was followed by B. Krigstein: Comics (2004). Reviewing the latter, Publishers Weekly noted, "Famed as one of the great innovators in comics history, Krigstein was one of the first cartoonists to consciously experiment with pacing and layout for psychological effect."
Krigstein illustration for Boy's Life (October 1963)
Above is Pepper Young's Family, Krigstein's unsold 1950 comic strip adapted from Elaine Carrington's long-run radio soap opera. I first wrote an essay about Krigstein's work in 1954. Below are the front and back covers of an interview John Benson and I did with Krigstein 48 years ago. Krigstein lived in Jamiaca, Queens, and we recorded the interview there on August 16, 1962. It was mimeographed in 1963 with no interior illustrations. As far as I know, this 27-page interview was the first extended Q&A interview with a comic book artist ever published.
Incredible Science Fiction #30 (1955)
Weird Fantasy #8 (1951)
Labels: condon, john benson, krigstein, piracy, talk
¶ 10:12 AM 0 comments
Monday, May 31, 2010
Click "honolulu" label at bottom to read how Kurtzman had a more direct reference to the real-life Honolulu brothel than James Jones did.
Harvey Kurtzman and Bernard Krigstein: "From Eternity Back to Here!" Mad #12 (June 1954). This was the first of Krigstein's few contributions to Mad. Kurtzman's reaction was not entirely positive: "Bernie was a tremendous talent, but he wasn't a humorist." Even so, he drew remarkable caricatures here of Sinatra, Lancaster, Donna Reed and the others and placed them in panels with distinctive designs. Perhaps Kurtzman didn't like seeing hard edges and ruled lines on his flexible, flowing rough layouts. Notice the pattern vanishes from Majjio's shirt on page three. Is it a mistake or is it because he has changed into Sinatra?
After this story, Kurtzman only used Krigstein for assignments requiring an illustrative approach: "Bringing Back Father" (Mad #17) and "Crash McCool" (Mad #26).
James Ellroy on James Jones and From Here to Eternity.
To my brethren in their sorrow overseas,
Sings a gentleman of England cleanly bred, machinely crammed,
And a trooper of the Empress, if you please.
Yea, a trooper of the forces who has run his own six horses,
And faith he went the pace and went it blind,
And the world was more than kin while he held the ready tin,
But to-day the Sergeant's something less than kind.
We're poor little lambs who've lost our way,
Baa! Baa! Baa!
We're little black sheep who've gone astray,
Baa--aa--aa!
Gentlemen-rankers out on the spree,
Damned from here to Eternity,
God ha' mercy on such as we,
Baa! Yah! Bah!
--Rudyard Kipling (1892)
©2010 EC Publications
Harvey Kurtzman and Bernard Krigstein: "From Eternity Back to Here!" Mad #12 (June 1954). This was the first of Krigstein's few contributions to Mad. Kurtzman's reaction was not entirely positive: "Bernie was a tremendous talent, but he wasn't a humorist." Even so, he drew remarkable caricatures here of Sinatra, Lancaster, Donna Reed and the others and placed them in panels with distinctive designs. Perhaps Kurtzman didn't like seeing hard edges and ruled lines on his flexible, flowing rough layouts. Notice the pattern vanishes from Majjio's shirt on page three. Is it a mistake or is it because he has changed into Sinatra?
After this story, Kurtzman only used Krigstein for assignments requiring an illustrative approach: "Bringing Back Father" (Mad #17) and "Crash McCool" (Mad #26).
Despite James Jones' objections, Scribner's made these deletions in his manuscript when they published From Here to Eternity in 1951. His daughter, Kaylie Jones, says she will restore these passages if there is a new edition. The original ms. is in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
James Ellroy on James Jones and From Here to Eternity.
James Jones struggles with the manuscript of Some Came Running (1957).
To the legion of the lost ones, to the cohort of the damned,To my brethren in their sorrow overseas,
Sings a gentleman of England cleanly bred, machinely crammed,
And a trooper of the Empress, if you please.
Yea, a trooper of the forces who has run his own six horses,
And faith he went the pace and went it blind,
And the world was more than kin while he held the ready tin,
But to-day the Sergeant's something less than kind.
We're poor little lambs who've lost our way,
Baa! Baa! Baa!
We're little black sheep who've gone astray,
Baa--aa--aa!
Gentlemen-rankers out on the spree,
Damned from here to Eternity,
God ha' mercy on such as we,
Baa! Yah! Bah!
--Rudyard Kipling (1892)
Labels: ellroy, from here to eternity, honolulu, james jones, kaylie jones, kipling, krigstein, kurtzman, some came running
¶ 2:47 PM 2 comments
Monday, January 25, 2010
Caricature
Sinatra caricatured by Sam Berman for NBC's 1947 promotional book, NBC Parade of Stars as Seen by Sam Berman: As Heard over Your Favorite NBC Station
Sinatra caricatured by Bernard Krigstein for "From Eternity Back to Here" (Mad #12).
One of 12 Eddie Cantor caricatures by Frederick J. Garner for a 1933 Brown & Bigelow advertising card set. The Cantor cards were purchased in bulk as a direct-mail item by such businesses as auto body shops, funeral directors, dental laboratories and vegetable wholesale dealers. These businesses then mailed a single Cantor card each month for a year to their selected special customers.
Click arrows to read book.
Labels: berman, brown and bigelow, caricature, garner, krigstein, kurtzman, sinatra
¶ 10:44 AM 0 comments
