The Studio
                                             (1979 - Dragon's Dream)  

     Meet the Fab Four - Jeffrey Jones, Michael Kaluta, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Berni Wrightson - four lads that had each made their own striking marks in the strictly commercial comics industry, but in the mid-1970s had turned their backs on it, having gained followings that allowed them to do so without penury.  They decided that wonderful things could happen if they each brought their individual muses to one huge studio they operated collectively, and a Legend began to grow.  (Surprisingly, the book quickly glides past the revelation that, for the most part, they were each somewhat uncomfortable working 'in a crowd' and scheduled their presences to mainly not bump into the others.)  After the publication of this book, which celebrates the drawing & painting work then produced, or continued, at The Studio, they each shifted to other individual spaces of their own.  This volume was produced at the same 12-by-12-inch size as other Dragon's Dream/Paper Tiger books of the time - a bit unwiedly at 157 pages.  It carries 24 pages that have multiple images collected together and another 105 pages with featured large reproductions.  All the pages are of black or pastel color background, which is attractive enough, but additionally a healthy number of the paintings are exhibited full-bleed.  Ten of the good pages are utilized to present five double page spreads, all of which remain passable negotiating the central gutter.  Be aware that a not-insignificant number of the pages are given over to strong study compositions for, and/or preliminary versions of, the displayed final paintings.  The book is divided into sections devoted to each of the four, so within, the works only have to be captioned with title and creation-year (there is a two-page index to the work in the back).  Their 'well-presented' pieces break out like this:  Jeffrey Catherine Jones (21)***, Michael Kaluta (25), Barry Windsor-Smith (22), and Bernie Wrightson (19).

*** - Note that in regards to the 'well-presented' pieces here by Jones, some, but not all, can additionally be found so in her own collections on The List.


other Fantasy Art collections

  Fantastic People

  Terror ! / A Pictorial History Of Horror Stories / The Art Of Horror Stories

  Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) artwork collections

  Collectors Press's Fantasy & Horror art collections

  The Fantasy Book



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