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| ARTBOOKS OF FANTASY, ADVENTURE & NOSTALGIA !! |
| art-pack -- ILLUSTRATION -- ADVENTURES -- THRILLS -- MAYHEM -- VIOLENCE
Richard Amsel, SAHARA - While apparently not the studio's final choice, this is said to be the artist's prospective rough for this 1983 film and its star, Brooke Shields.
Paul Bachem, HOLMES LOUNGING IN HIS ARM-CHAIR, (inside THE MYSTERIES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES) - The frontis for this Grossett & Dunlap collection of short stories of Arthur Conan Doyle's detective.
Paul Bachem, THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE, (inside THE MYSTERIES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES) - An illustration of the Arthur Conan Doyle short story found in this Grosset & Dunlap collection.
Paul Bachem, THE BLUE CARBUNCLE, (inside THE MYSTERIES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES) - An illustration of the Arthur Conan Doyle short story found in this Grosset & Dunlap collection.
Jack Sparling (only my own attribution), ADAM-12 - This is a piece of original art associated with Gold Key comics and thought to be an unused cover for for the Adam-12 series (franchised from the television series). - Jack Sparling did all the other artwork chores on the series and indeed the depicted figures match the style of other cover paintings clearly identified as being by him.
SOME MORE UNKNOWNS O.K., we know where these were utilized, but WHO ARE THE ARTISTS ??
[artist unknown], [unknown title] - This painting came to auction with only the suspicion that it was used as a yet unidentified paperback cover.
}}}}} PROJECT UNKNOWN-Not only can't we ID the artist, but we also don't know yet what use it had been put to ...{{{{{
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Robert Abbett, DEATH FOR A PLAYMATE - "Virgil Tibbs--That brilliant black homicide detective is back in a shocking, heartbreaking California murder mystery !" - The Bantam Books paperback release of this sequel from John Ball ("author of In The Heat Of The Night") which was originally published as Johnny Get Your Gun.
Paul Bachem, THE MUSGRAVE RITUAL, (inside THE MYSTERIES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES) - An illustration for the Arthur Conan Doyle story found in this Grosset & Dunlap collection.
Paul Bachem, THE MYSTERIES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES - Grosset & Dunlap released this collection of Arthur Conan Dolyle short-stories about the 'Great Detective'.
Ken Barr, MUZZLE BLAST, (SHARPSHOOTER # 6) - "They couldn't stop the Sharpshooter so they brought back the most brutal killer in the history of the Mafia." - Another Leisure Books release in the action-paperback series by 'Bruno Rossi' (which is a house name, but actual author not yet known here).
Averardo Ciriello, GATOR - Ciriello has reformulated Robert McGinnis's original composition here for this foreign movie-poster.
Richard Clifton-Dey, THE TROUBLE WITH LAZY ETHEL - New English Libary gave their paperback release of Ernest K. Gann's novel a wraparound cover that manages to incorporate a portrait of the author. This art was also seen on the cover of the German paperback series Neue Revue Thriller, vol.17, which was a presentation of The Paper Pistol Conract by Philip Atlee, one of his Joe Gall Drake stories, now with a given title that translates back as 'The Agent Who Came Out Of The Warmth'.
Gil Cohen, STILETTO, (SHARPSHOOTER # 9) - "Like the subtle thrust of a stiletto, Johnny Rock penetrates the Mafia to blast one of their biggest heists." - This was another release in this action-paperback series by "Bruno Rossi" (this one actually by Paul Hofrichter).
Rafael DeSoto, DEATH WAS 30 FEET LONG, (MAN 1956-July) - "Craziest Ambush Of The Korean War // The Reluctant Headhunter (A Savage Jungle Adventure) // Girls On Parole - special book bonus: for the first time -- their shocking story" - We are pulling our title from the re-use of this art on VALOR 1958-Dec ("Death Was 30 Feet Long // 165 Million Dollars--Yours For The Taking // In this issue: Glamour Gallery --Gorgeous Gals Galore // Book length bonus--Heaven Has Claws by Adrian Conan Doyle--High adventure on the Indian Ocean and the seas of Zanzibar).
Jack Faragasso, THE TURQUOISE/YELLOW CASE 'A', (KILLINGER 1) - "More exciting than James Bond, Mike Hammer, Travis McGee, and then some. He's ruggedly virile, he's karate-quick, he's ,,, Killinger! No.1 in the new action series by P.K. Palmer" - This is one-half of the cover of the Pinnacle paperback release. This particular volume was released later, with different single painting, entitled just Killinger.
Jack Faragasso, THE TURQUOISE/YELLOW CASE 'B', (KILLINGER 1) - "More exciting than James Bond, Mike Hammer, Travis McGee, and then some. He's ruggedly virile, he's karate-quick, he's ,,, Killinger! No.1 in the new action series by P.K. Palmer" - This is one-half of the cover of the Pinnacle paperback release. This particular volume was released later, with different single painting, entitled just Killinger.
Robert Geissmann, NAKED IS THE BEST DISGUISE - "The Death And Ressurection of Sherlock Holmes " - The Penguin Books paperback release of Samuel Rosenberg's Sherlockian psychoanalytical treatise (written with tongue firmly in cheek). Geissmann's credit appears on the back cover.
Michael Herring, DAWNKILL, (THE EXECUTIONER # 261) - "The Pacific becomes a sea of flames . . ." - Golden Eagle's paperback release in this Mack Bolan/Executioner series by 'Don Pendelton' (this time, by Alan Philipson).
Robert Hilbert, NIGHTMARE AT NOON - "Murder goes up in smoke" - The Dell paperback release of this tale by Stewart Sterling.
Mitchell Hooks, HIJACKING MANHATTAN, (THE PENETRATOR # 4) - "Black militants get unexpected action when Mark Hardin lands in 'Fun City' !" - A Pinnacle release in this action-paperback series by 'Lionel Derrick' (this one actually by Chet Cunningham). The Hooks signature is clear.
Henry Kiefer, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, (CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED # 100) - A comic adaptation of this novel by Charles Nordhoff & James Norman Hall.
Henry Kiefer, MEN AGAINST THE SEA, (CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED # 103) - A comic adaptation of this first sequel to Mutiny On The Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. Kiefer's name is the only name I've seen associated with this, though he was not credited when the painting came to auction. Indeed, there may be some confusion, as he clearly executed the different cover for the first edition of this that Gilberton published.
Henry Kiefer, KING SOLOMON'S MINES, (CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED # 97) - A comic adaptation of this first Allan Quartermain adventure by H. Rider Haggard.
Mort Künstler, PITCAIRN'S ISLAND, (CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED # 109) - A comic adaptation of this second sequel to Mutiny On The Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall.
Mort Künstler, A STUDY IN SCARLET, (CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED # 110) - A comic adaptation of this first appearance of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Bob Larkin, CHIEFS - "They were the law in a town that harbored the secret of an unspeakable crime -- Chiefs -- The award winning novel by Stuart Woods -- Now a stunning CBS-TV Mini-Series !" - The cover of the Bantam Books paperback release of Woods' original multi-generational novel depicts the central cast of the TV adaptation, Billie Dee Williams, Victoria Tennant, Brad Davis, Wayne Rogers, and Charlton Heston.
Ron Lesser, VITAL PARTS - This was the Ballantine Books paperback release of this installment of the Reinhardt Trilogy (each of them declared "Brawling! Brilliant! Elegant! He's a solid gold nugget in the motherlode of American fiction !") by Thomas Berger ("the author of Who Is Teddy Villanova!"). The art was later re-used as the cover of Droghandlarna [The Drug Dealers], a Swedish novel that was part of a James Bond series there.
Gerald McCann, THE ILLUSTRATED STORY OF THE GREAT EXPLORERS, (THE WORLD AROUND US # 23) - Another release in this educational series from Gilberton, the same folks behind Classics Illustrated.
Gerald McCann, THE ILLUSTRATED STORY OF THE JUNGLE, (THE WORLD AROUND US # 19) - "The Impossible Canal // Island Of Mystery // Insect Giants // Age Of Iron"
Gerald McCann, THE CONSPIRATORS, (CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED # 158) - A comic adaptation of this novel by Alexandre Dumas(pčre) & Auguste Marquet,
Robert McGinnis, GATOR - "Gator. Come and get him. // Burt Reynolds is 'Gator'" - A 1976 United Artist film, a sequel to the earlier White Lightning, with this depiction of the stars, Burt Reynolds, Lauren Hutton, and Jerry Reed.
Robert William Meyers, ON STAGE, (FOUR COLOR # 1336) - "The actors of a suspense play are confronted by conflict and danger." - A tryout for an adaptation of a dramatic newspaper comic strip.
Norman Nodel, DR. NO, (CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED # 158A) - A comic adaptation of the popular *film* that was based on Ian Fleming's novel (strangely, I've seen reporting that this was originally intended as part of Dell's Movie Classic series). The American company Gilberton ceased their Classics Illustrated publications just before this, with still a handful of coming issues in process, and this was one of them. As operations shifted to the organization's foreign arm, Thorpe & Porter of Britain, this project was finalized & released, within that division's own re-printing numbering scheme.
Paul Norris, THE TRAPPED MAN, (JUNGLE JIM # 7) - Heritage Auctions wanted to tentatively attribute this to Paul Norris, and the Grand Comics Database listed it as such (they may have just been taking their cue from the auction house), but more recently another auction-house selling the original art seem pretty definite in identifying it as painted by George Wilson. When placed alongside Wilson's works collected together, it seems to stand out like a sore thumb. I've decided here to continue with Heritage's evaluation.
Paul Norris, VALLEY OF THE TABOO, (JUNGLE JIM # 9)
Paul Norris, PRISONER ON LOST RIVER, (JUNGLE JIM # 10) - When this canvas came to auction, it was then identified as having been created by Norris.
John Parker, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, (CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED # 21) - A comic adaptation of the novel by Alexandre Dumas (pčre).
John Parker, ROBINSON CRUSOE, (CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED # 10) - A comic adaptation of Daniel Defoe's novel. This painting was featured in THE ART OF PAINTED COMICS
Fred Pfeiffer, BURIED FOR PLEASURE - "Ghosts, guilt and blackmail--a cool sleuth tackles red hot murder" - The Pyramid paperback-release in the Gervase Fen mystery series by 'Edmund Crispin' (Bruce Montgomery).
Hiram Richardson, THE DRAGON SLAYINGS, (THE PROTECTOR # 6) - "A psychic death dealer has declared war !" - This was another release in the Protector action-paperback series by Rich Rainey. The 'Richardson' signature is clear and I'm assuming it is the illustrator that worked for so many publishers at this time.
Doug Rosa, THE WOMAN IN WHITE, (CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED # 61) - The comic adaptation of this mystery-thriller by Wilkie Collins. Note that the artist signed the work with "R."
Jack Sparling, DESERT FLOOD, (MOD WHEELS # 18) - "Only one desperate chance for escape !" - Heritage Auctions identified this painting as Sparling's.
Jack Sparling (only my own attribution), EXIT CUBE, (MOD WHEELS # 14) - "A man's leap to freedom may become The Thrill Set's final act !" - A number of the Mod Wheels cover paintings came onto the market recently and the auction house wanted to attribute them all to George Wilson. I was closest to agreeing with this one, but just couldn't close that cognitive gap. I'm feeling that Jack Sparling did most of these (Heritage Auction agreed with the couple that made it to them) - I think if the composition here allowed the antagonist's face to be rendered, that would have cinched it as not being Wilson's
Jack Sparling (only my own attribution), CHASING THE ACT, (MOD WHEELS # 17) - "A love-sick Romeo takes a daredevil drive to his lady's heart !" - This original painting came on the market recently and the auction-house wanted to attribute it to George Wilson, but I can't agree and would instead identify it as Jack Sparling's (look at the spare figures and compare to his other comic cover work).
Jack Sparling, WILD RIDE-TOP SECRET, (MOD WHEELS # 11) - "Prying eyes follow Wheels as he test a far-out top-secret cycle !" - Heritage Auction wanted to attribute this painting to Sparling and I have to agree, seeing that many feel he did most of the covers for this series.
Jack Sparling (only my own attribution), THE SHOW-OFF, (MOD WHEELS # 15) - "That's one arrogant dude giving The Thrill Set a hard time !" - This original painting came on the market recently and the auction-house wanted to attribute it to George Wilson, but I can't agree and would instead identify it as Jack Sparling's (look at the spare figure & face and compare to his other comic cover work).
Jack Sparling (only my own attribution), PRIZE CATCH, (MOD WHEELS # 16) - "One way or another Tee Tee Power will leap to a flaming finish !" - Heritage Auction didn't wanted to attribute this painting to Sparling when it recently came up for auction (leaving it as 'unknown'), but I feel you can discern some of the same features in the ones they did (and many feel that the artist did most of the covers for this series).
Dan Spiegle, HERE THERE BE DRAGONS, (JONNY QUEST # 21) - Comico series.
[artist unknown], THE BOOMERANG CHARM, (MOD WHEELS # 10) - "His girl's good-luck charm is driving Wheels into bad-luck trouble !" - This original painting came on the market recently and the auction-house wanted to attribute it to George Wilson, but I can't agree.
[artist unknown], HEAD ON, (MOD WHEELS # 13) - "The Thrill Set drives head-on into a stunt they never rehearsed !" - This original painting came on the market recently and the auction-house wanted to attribute it to George Wilson, but I can't agree.
[artist unknown], DANGER MAN, (FOUR COLOR # 1231) - "A killer stalks the midway. The assignment of 'danger man' is to stop him. The chase is on, as the hunter becomes the hunted !" - Danger Man was the British spy television series that is considered by many the 'precurser' to the separately produced show The Prisoner. In the United States, almost all episodes of this T.V. show were broadcast under the title Secret Agent. 
[artist unknown], UNDERWATER SECRET, (FOUR COLOR # 1258) - "Two teen-age skin-divers help their fathers solve an underwater mystery, in this first exciting case for Frogmen, Inc." - The first in an apparent news series called The Frogmen, seemingly inspired by the film of that name.
[artist unknown], THE ADVENTURE OF CREIGHTON HOLMES - "An even greater kick than The Seven-Per-Cent-Solution !" - The Popular Library paperback release of Ned Hubbell's tales concerning the great fictional detective's even more fictional grandson.
[artist uknown], NORTHWEST CONTRACT, (THE PENETRATOR # 8) - "Seattle is sinking in Syndicate crime until Mark Hardin breaks the back of the Mob !" A Pinnacle release in this action-paperback series by 'Lionel Derrick' (Mark Roberts).
[artist uknown], MANKILL SPORT, (THE PENETRATOR # 14) - "A death hunt between Mark Hardin and the kingpin of Detroit's narc trade !" A Pinnacle release in this action-paperback series by 'Lionel Derrick' (Mark Roberts).
[artist unknown], SHERLOCK HOLMES OF BAKER STREET - "'Like Watson's stories, it has all the sharpness of Holmes and the villainy of Professor Moriarty...fascinating reading.'" - The Popular Libary paperback release of W.S. Baring-Gould's narrative-encapsulation of the life of Arthur Conan Doyle's creation (the universe of Holmes pastiches had not burst forth yet, so the creative speculation within, for the most part, hews very closely to just the insights found in the 'canon'). Years later, the publisher would re-use the art on the cover of their paperback edition of Arthur Conan Doyle's first story-collection about the detective, The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes ("One of the world's greatest classics !"). I've seen more than one commentator state their belief that the art was created by William Teason.
[artist unknown], THE IRON CAVALIER - "Adventurer, sailor, strongarmed lover, he scoured the world to serve the woman known as 'the bosom viper'" - Avon's paperback release of Donald Barr Chisley's historical novel (which had been previously named 'Reluctant Cavalier').
[artist unknown], THE SPY, (CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED # 51) - A comic adaptation of this American Revolution tale by James Fenimore Cooper.
[artist unknown], THE DARK FRIGATE, (CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED # 132) - A comic adaptation of this young-adult pirate adventure by Charles Boardman Hawes.
[artist unknown], THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK, (CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED # 54) - A comic adaptation of this historical-novel by Alexandre Dumas (pčre).
[artist unknown], SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE, (CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED # 119) - A comic adaptation of this tale by Richard Harding Davis.
[artist uknown], THE HELLBOMB FLIGHT, (THE PENETRATOR # 10) - "The Nevada desert explodes when Mark Hardin intercepts a mad scientist in his desperate maneuver to control world atomic power !" A Pinnacle release in this action-paperback series by 'Lionel Derrick' (Mark Roberts).
[artist uknown], DIXIE DEATH SQUAD, (THE PENETRATOR # 13) - "A 727 Jet and 5 million in cash . . . or a TVA dam will be blown! Mark Hardin, in Atlanta, vs. the dangerous and beautiful Colonel Linda King !" A Pinnacle release in this action-paperback series by 'Lionel Derrick' (Mark Roberts).
[artist uknown], MARDI GRAS MASSACRE, (THE PENETRATOR # 5) - "The Penetrator is in New Orleans, exploding the Mob during Mardi Gras . . ." A Pinnacle release in this action-paperback series by 'Lionel Derrick' (Mark Roberts).
[artist uknown], INTO THE MAZE, (ABLE TEAM # 14) - "Downtown Mexico City tilts into terror !" - A Golden Eagle release in this action-paperback series (spun-off from the Executioner series) by Dick Stivers.
[artist uknown], HEAD CRUSHER, (SHARPSHOOTER # 7) - This was a release in Leisure's action-paperback series by "Bruno Rossi" (this one actually by Len Levinson).
[artist unknown], JOHNNY GOES DANCING, (FOUR COLOR # 1302) - "A daring teenage reporter uncovers a menacing plot against Wilton High School." - This tryout would result in one issue of the dedicated comic-series, Johnny Jason-Teen Reporter. With nothing but a feeling to back it up, my suggestion would be perhaps Robert William Meyers for this.
[artist unknown], DEATH FOR A PLAYMATE - "Tibbs hits the sizzling, racial-torn streets of California to investigate an unusual cas of murder." - Another Paperjacks paperback release in the Virgil Tibbs detective series by John Ball ("author of In The Heat Of The Night and Singapore"). Note that Ball's novel was originally released as Johnny Get Your Gun. George Wilson executed a similar cover for another book in this series, but there's just not enough here to hook that identification on.
[artist uknown], BAJA BANDIDOS, (THE PENETRATOR # 7) - "Mark Hardin punches into Mexican territory to smash a vicious international kidnal plot !" A Pinnacle release in this action-paperback series by 'Lionel Derrick' (Mark Roberts).
[artist unknown], SKINWALKER, (ABLE TEAM # 51) - "Bad dudes get baked in Alaska !" - a Golden Eagle release in this action-paperback series (spun-off from the Executioner series) by Dick Stivers.
[artist unknown], KILL ORBIT, (ABLE TEAM # 43) - "The space race becomes a death race" - a Golden Eagle release in this action-paperback series (spun-off from the Executioner series) by Dick Stivers.
[artist unknown], [unknown title] - This art does appear on the cover of an issue of an apparent foreign periodical "Super Detective", but I cannot find a clearer cover image for the needed info.