Coming Soon...

Flesk Publications has a new Kickstarter campaign with three books and four prints from Mark Schultz and Al Williamson. There's Carbon 4 in the series of sketchbooks by Mark Schultz. Many of these are fully finished drawings done as commissions and also sketches for different projects. If you're a fan of Schultz, this book will really be a must have.

They are also offering a new collected edition of Mark's Xenozoic Tales work. This one is in a smaller format, making it more portable. It would be terrible to get stuck in a lift or waiting for a bus without some Mark Schultz handy.

As much as I love Mark Schultz's artwork, the third book is the one I'm really looking forward to: Strange World Adventures showcasing the art of Al Williamson. This one is a career overview and promises unpublished and published art shot directly from the original art. If sales on this warrant it, there may be more volumes focusing on specific parts of Williamson's career. 

Flesk is also offering three S&N Schultz prints and one numbered Williamson print. They've already announced at least one cool stretch goal. Flesk always produces high quality books at a very reasonable price, and they've always come through with their Kickstarter projects. Visit the project website and reserve your copy(s) today! The books are slated for release early next year.

And...

If you're a fan of Mark Schultz and Al Williamson, you're more than likely a fan of E.C. Comics. Taschen just released a massive volume The History of E.C. Comics. If you know anything about the publisher Taschen, this book is big, it is expensive, but it will be worth it.

The author, Grant Geissman, has authored numerous books about the legendary E.C. line of comic books. With this book, the Gaines family opened their archives to him and it promises to have a lot of never before seen art and photos. Of course this book will cover the classic E.C. New Trend comics like Tales From the Crypt and Weird Science but will also cover Max Gaines' role in the founding of the modern American comic book and the Pre-Trend comics of the 1940's and early 1950's.

Like I said, it's expensive ($180 to $200) but it's massive, 592 pages and over 13 pounds. It will have a gallery of every E.C. comic cover, and lots of new information too.

Amazon says it is not coming out until October, but people who ordered it directly from Taschen are reporting it as being already shipped. You can order it here from the publisher. I ordered mine from Bud Plant since I trust their packing and that the book will arrive safely but they appear to have it on back order now. Amazon has it, but do you really want to trust a $200 book to their packaging?

Mark Schultz: Portfolio

Portfolio: The Complete Various Drawings by Mark Schultz. Flesk Publications, 2015. Measuring over 11" x 12", with the hardcover weighing in at over five pounds and the limited, slip cased hardcover over six, this book is sure to fix your thirst for Mark Schultz's exquisite artwork.

The slip-cased limited hardcover is beautifully designed and bound. Even though I don't have the regular hardcover, I'm sure it is up to Flesk's usual production standards. The book starts out with introductions by Zander Cannon and Schultz and goes on to collect all five books in the artist's Various Drawings series of sketchbooks (the first four volumes are which are sold out from the publisher).

I called these "sketchbooks" and that's probably wrong. While many of them can be classified as sketches and many of them are preliminaries for later finished works, the art in here offers completely fleshed out concepts and impeccable line work and shading even in the preliminary stages. There are also may finished and inked works, many of them private commissions.

For fans of Schultz's Xenzoic Tales, there's lots of cover preliminaries of Hannah and Jack, plus lots of character studies, sketches, and finished art for Xenozoic projects both completed and unrealized.

There's also plenty of work illustrating or inspired by the works of Robert E. Howard and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Schultz began his comic book career wearing his influences on his sleeve, most notably Wally Wood and Al Williamson's work for EC Comics' science-fiction novels, later on you could tell he'd been studying Franklin Booth and Alex Raymond. While there are still shadows of these artists and others in Schultz, he has gone to forge his style in the heroic and illustrative manner of his predecessors. The real revelation here is the artists' skill with the pencil. The subtle shadings and tones and tones which layers of depth to a fog shrouded swamp highlight his mastery of the medium.

If anyone was a fan of Xenozoic Tales and wonders what Schultz has been up to lately, this book will more than answer the question. If you're fan of bravura illustration in the classic masters and pulp styles, this book will appeal to you also.

Both the limited slip cased hardcover and the regular hardcover are available direct from the publisher. The first two volumes in his new "sketchbook" series are also available, Carbon and Carbon 2. Below are some more pictures of the limited hardcover.

Xenozoic Tales #10

Mark Schultz's cover for Xenozoic Tales #10 (April 1990) and a nice drawing of Hannah Dundee from the inside front cover.

Mark Schultz's Carbon

I received my copy of Mark Schultz's new book Carbon in the mail today. This handsome 56 page book is described as "Volume 1" and says it is the first in a series to pickup where Schultz's Drawings of... series left off.

Carbon is a delightful start to this new series, and sets a high bar for future volumes. But then again, Schultz has always seemed to top himself. The book consists of drawings completed mostly over the last two years, with the majority of them being unpublished. It starts with an interesting short essay by the artist about recreating from just a few fossil bones the newly discovered dinosaur Xenoceratops foremostensis A series of drawings, along with Schultz's self-deprecating comments, show the process he went through with a paleontologist to achieve an accurate rendering of the saurian.

There's also four foldout pages. Almost all of the pieces displayed show at least one preliminary and the finished piece, giving a peek into into the artist's process. There's some Xenozoic pieces in there you may recognize and some drawings from Schultz's upcoming illustrated novella Storms at Sea. The other drawings are fully rendered depictions of Burroughs-esque princesses and heroes, plus other heroines, tough guys, jungle girls and otherworldly creatures.

I'm not sure what some of the drawings are for, if they are intended for publication as book covers someday, or illustrations from the Storms at Sea project, which I don't know much about. The only possible negative criticism I could offer about this book has to do with that, a little bit of context and explanation about the art would have been nice, but hey, less text means more room for pictures, right?

I last was paying attention to Schultz during the waning days of Xenozoic Tales. At that point, he really had the Alex Raymond thing going on, and it was a blast. And always with the other wonderful EC and classic illustrator influences shining through. I always enjoyed Schultz's work, it was fun seeing the different influences being distilled and made new again. Looking at his art almost 20 years later, I can really see a unique and individual style that is only Mark Schultz. There's a much more solid and surer line, while at the same time remaining loose,and the compositions are exacting. Looking at Schultz's current output, it's obvious the work is informed by classic illustrators and artists like Williamson, Wood, and Krenkel, but the influences aren't worn as much on the artist's sleeve as his earlier work. I hope I'm getting across how much I loved his 1980's and 1990's work, but it's just a wonderful breath of fresh air to see Schultz continuing to grow and become more individual without straying to far from his roots.

The softcover edition of Carbon is available from Flesk Publications. I got the limited hardcover (appears to be sold out) through their Kickstarter campaign and also received a nice signed print. Here's an interview by John Flesk with Mark Schultz about this book and Mark's recent work.

This is the biggest batch of new Mark Schultz art dumped in my lap in years, and I'm thrilled. If you're a fan of Schultz already and don't have this book, hopefully you're returning to this page after you clicked the link to buy it. If you don't know about Mark Schultz, you're in for a treat. Any fan of pulp heroes, dinosaurs, science-fiction and fantasy art will find something in this book to love. All thumbs up, four stars, and highly recommended!

Babewatch by Mark Schultz

Originally published as cover for Penthouse Men's Adventure Comics #2, June 1995.

How Do You Say "Xenozoic" in French?

This is a french language hardcover volume that reprints a couple of Mark Schultz's Xenozoic Tales stories. The cover is a reprint of issue #4 and contains the story "History Lesson" from that issue. Also reprinted is "Excursion" from Xenozoic Tales #5. It was published in 1989 by Comics USA. Here's scans of the front and back covers, plus an ad in the back for the previous volume.

Xenozoic, Flesk Publications, 2010. This volume collects all 14 issues of Xenozoic Tales. Their website said it is sold out or close to it, they are planning a new edition with a new cover.

These three volumes published by Kitchen Sink collected the first 12 issues.

The Comics Journal

Here's some Comics Journal covers by a few of my favorite artists.






The Comics Journal #81, May 1983. Cover by Bill Stout.




The Comics Journal #90, May 1984. Cover by Al Williamson.




The Comics Journal #117, September 1987. Cover art by Dave Stevens.






The Comics Journal #150, May 1992. Cover art by Mark Schultz.

Robert E. Howard Art

A couple of illustrations from Robert E. Howard's Mythmaker, published by Cross Plains Comics in 1999.


Mark Schultz



Michael Kaluta.

Xenozoic Tales: the Cigar Box

Mark Schultz' Xenozoic Tales series began as an 8-page story in Kitchen Sink's Death Rattle #8, published in December 1986. In February 1987 Xenozoic Tales #1 was published. The title lasted for 14 issues between then and October 1996. Along the way there were paperback collections, toys, computer games and a short-lived animated series. Among the merchandise were some candy bars and this cigar-box sized box to keep them in. The artwork below is from the box. It was released in 1990.

Some Cheesecake

Vooda, Jungle Princess by Matt Baker.



The Black Canary, by Bill Black.



WWII Gal, by Rudy Palais.



Hannah Dundee, by Mark Schultz.