First off, its great to be back. The reason I haven’t posted all that much of late is because for the past two weeks I’ve been on vacation in lovely California. It’s the first time in a VERY long time I’ve had that much free time in a row and I feel rested and refreshed … Continue reading Sketchin’ 86
Released in 1954, the movie Them! (with or without the exclamation point) was a very effective giant-monsters-on-the-loose feature of the type that was all the rage in the 1950’s. This one, of course, involved giant ants and was played remarkably straight and, despite some by today’s standards not all that great effects, it built up … Continue reading Sketchin’ 85
Second Metropolis (1927) piece. It’s based on one of the many posters created for the movie way back when!
Seems like forever since I last posted a new piece. Blame it on my latest Corrosive Knights novel, Book #7. As it nears completion, its been taking up most of my free time (and sanity). But I needed to get away and my subject is the wonderful Talos scene from the also very wonderful 1963 … Continue reading Sketchin’ 83
I consider three films my all time favorites and one of those three, quite possible THE #1 in the group, is the subject of this piece, the 1927 sci-fi classic Metropolis. Directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea Von Harbou, the movie was a flop when originally released and the German studio that financed … Continue reading Sketchin’ 82
Humphrey Bogart made many, many films. Several of them are stone cold classics while others… not so much. Arguably the most bizarre film he made is likely the subject of this piece, 1939’s The Return of Doctor X. Bogart said of this film: “This is one of the pictures that made me march in to [Warner … Continue reading Sketchin’ 81
Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, though best known for playing Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula respectively, appeared together in several films from 1934 to 1945, the first of which is the subject of my latest piece, 1934’s The Black Cat. Ostensibly based on the Edgar Allan Poe story, the movie involved satanic worship and… a chess … Continue reading Sketchin’ 80
Here’s something very different from the stuff I’ve been presenting: A piece penciled by comic book legend John Byrne (the original piece was posted by Mr. Byrne here: www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/fo…) and inked by yours truly. I think my piece looks fine… though I also feel my inks have somehow buried the typical “look” of Mr. Byrne’s art. … Continue reading Sketchin’ 79
Released in 1958, The Colossus of New York isn’t one of the better known horror/monster films of yesteryear, yet its one that, despite my having seen it one time when I was a kid, has stuck with me. Basically the film was a 60/40 mix of Frankenstein and King Kong, with a man’s brain placed … Continue reading Sketchin’ 78
There have been many films that, unfortunately, were lost over time. Perhaps the most famous of these is the horror/mystery film London After Midnight (1927). Directed by Todd Browning (Dracula, Freaks), the film starred Lon Chaney (the “man of a thousand faces” is probably best known today for his starring roles in the original 1923 The … Continue reading Sketchin’ 77