Norman Saunders is probably a pretty familiar name to most visitors to this blog. Amongst citizens of Geektown, he is best known for painting the Mars Attacks card set for Topps in the early 60s. My first encounter with his work was the set of Batman cards that my uncle handed down to me. I haven’t a clue what happened to those cards, and I’d give almost anything to see them again.
What people might not know is that Saunders did a lot of painted covers for pulps and comics. Perhaps his comic book work is not discussed much these days because, he never worked for either Marvel or DC. He provided a series of spectacular covers for Ziff-Davis’ short-lived comic book line (I’m still not certain if any covers were used both for pulps and comics – anyone know?) and a few for Gilberton’s Classics Illustrated, as the reprinted titles evolved from line drawn to painted covers.
One of Saunders’ painted covers recently sold at auction. The cover to Classics Illustrated #26 is astonishing. First of all, it grabs your attention because it deals with an oft-forgotten passage from Mary Shelley’s book, as the Monster flees across the Artic ice. Those only familiar with the Universal movies might be wondering what in the name of Boris Karloff is going on. Secondly, the image of the Monster is perfect – looking much more like a 19th century brute rather than the patchwork creation of the movies. This is a beautiful, beautiful example of Norman Saunders’ work and it’s easy to understand why it sold for more than $13,000. Although, when compared to the prices paid for by other covers drawn by the ‘greats’, this was a bargain.
Why or why did I have to buy a new house and procreate???
What people might not know is that Saunders did a lot of painted covers for pulps and comics. Perhaps his comic book work is not discussed much these days because, he never worked for either Marvel or DC. He provided a series of spectacular covers for Ziff-Davis’ short-lived comic book line (I’m still not certain if any covers were used both for pulps and comics – anyone know?) and a few for Gilberton’s Classics Illustrated, as the reprinted titles evolved from line drawn to painted covers.
One of Saunders’ painted covers recently sold at auction. The cover to Classics Illustrated #26 is astonishing. First of all, it grabs your attention because it deals with an oft-forgotten passage from Mary Shelley’s book, as the Monster flees across the Artic ice. Those only familiar with the Universal movies might be wondering what in the name of Boris Karloff is going on. Secondly, the image of the Monster is perfect – looking much more like a 19th century brute rather than the patchwork creation of the movies. This is a beautiful, beautiful example of Norman Saunders’ work and it’s easy to understand why it sold for more than $13,000. Although, when compared to the prices paid for by other covers drawn by the ‘greats’, this was a bargain.Why or why did I have to buy a new house and procreate???
4 comments:
youve heard of the passion of Christ, well this one is the passion of Frankenstein. You hit the nail on the head, Dad wanted to present the soul of Frankenstein, the central experience and so he chose this scene under the Northern Lights, and with the dogs still at his heels... How did he paint it? He put on a too tight jacket from his prop room, messed up his hair with water, went back to the prop room, got out his old army boots, wrapped torn sheets with ropes around the boots, leaned over some boxes, turned on the giant giraffe light that dad had bought at JC Lyendecker's Estate sale, [you can probably google JC's images; he was THE greatest story- telling illustrator, as well as the greatest American painter of my dad's formative youth, all his work is like something that Capra could have made a film from, my dad had collected All Lyendeckers work as it was published on the covers of the Saturday Eve Post when he was a kid] Dad used that lamp in a very different way than Lyendecker had, to get those Dramatic Saunders Shadows he wanted. Then as I watched, dad acted out the role of that moment in Franks life, and he became all the drama and emotion for that moment, [just like bogey could become sam spade or captain queeg] while slowly dads polaroid clicked on time release. He'd take a handful of shots, and then start the painting.
He knew exactly what he wanted, and had already designed the whole picture and sketched it in lightly before he had to shoot. He always used live models during his career in pulps, but by the time he did this he used a polaroid, and worked from his little b/w photos under a magnifying box get-up he designed and built for his reference shots. Im so glad to think that what he wanted to show with that cover still hits home across the decades all these years later, I know Dad would be very touched, and I am too.
thanks Scott.
As for what Norm Saunders was like, just watch Bill Powell in any Thin Man movie, and youve got him in the room with you. Throw in some Bogart, actually just about like the Spade Maltese Falcon role, tough, realistic , idealistic and a little humble. Never taking himself too seriously, but true to his code right down to his core, I kid you not. When I was a teen I started going to Classic films at the New Yorker Theater, in Manhattan where we lived, sitting in the dark with my friends at my first WC Fields film my world exploded before my eyes, God help me, thats ,where dad got his whole schtick as a parent...watch Fields relate to kids, and you'll know Norm Saunders' parenting style. Dr. Spock role over! thanks again Scott. Blaine Saunders
Post a Comment