Dinosaurs in Sci-fi and fantasy art – part III

Dinosaurs in Sci-fi and fantasy art – part III

Dinosaurs, prehistoric beasts, cavemen and cavewomen are the subjects for my new series of art posts. There will also be an occasional giant monster.

This post includes work from Joe Jusko, Jamie Chase, and Bernie Wrightson

————————————————–

Joe Jusko
Joe sold his first cover art piece to Heavy Metal Magazine at age 18. He went on to illustrate covers and inside work for most major comic book companies, including Marvel and DC. He’s also known for his Edgar Rice Burroughs, Conan the Barbarian, and Vampirella trading cards. you can check out his work at:  http://www.joejusko.com

–

 –

Jamie Chase
Jamie is an American Artist living in New Mexico known for his abstract work that has been featured in many galleries and exhibitions. He recently turned his creative talents to dinosaurs, illustrating graphic adaptations of The Land That Time Forgot and At The Earth’s Core by Dark Horse Books. The adaptations feature Jamie’s art and story adaptation by Bobby Nash. The books are unique in the aspect that the illustrations are presented in fine art style rather than comic book art style.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/161655746X/

–

–

Bernie Wrightson
Bernie (or early work seen as Berni) co-created The Swamp Thing, worked for DC, Marvel, National Lampoon and Warren. His work for Heavy Metal Magazine led to his character, Captain Sternn being animated for the Heavy Metal Movie. He illustrated the Comic Book adaptation for Stephen King’s Creepshow and illustrated King’s book, Cycle of the Werewolf. More of his work can be seen at: http://www.berniewrightson.com

–

 Naturally all of these artists do more than dinosaur and giant monster art. I hope you will seek out their work and check out their websites, books, publications, and prints.

———————————————-

Dinosaurs in Sci-fi and fantasy art – part II

Dinosaurs in Sci-fi and fantasy art – part II
–

Dinosaurs, prehistoric beasts, cavemen and cavewomen are the subjects for my new series of art posts. There will also be an occasional giant monster.

 –

This post includes work from Boris Vallejo, Bob Eggleton, and Frank Cho

 –

Boris Vallejo – If you have ever read any classic sci-fi, fantasy adventure, or horror magazine fiction, than you have most likely seen the name ‘Boris’ signed on the cover artwork. Boris was one of the most prolific genre artists who has had his work gracing the covers of publications such as, paperbacks of Robert E Howard, Edgar Rice Boroughs, Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella magazines, movie posters (including the first two National Lampoon Vacation posters), Album covers (Ozzy Osborne’s Ultimate Sin cover) and several calendars. He also has many books of his art, the early ones with his art exclusively and later ones with his wife, artist and model, Julie Bell. Here is some of his dinosaur and monster artworks.
–

 –

Bob Eggleton- Bob took home the Hugo Awards best artist award for 8 years and best book award in 2001. He has illustrated numerous Godzilla comics and magazines and was a consultant on the US Godzilla remake. He also illustrated game cards for Magic: The Gathering. He did covers for magazines such as Asimov’s Science Fiction, Amazing Stories (1980’s and 1990’s), and Analog Science Fiction. He also illustrated many science fiction and paperback books. Here’s some of his dinosaur and dragon work.
–

 –

Frank Cho – Is a comic book writer and illustrator known for his comic, Liberty Meadows, and illustrations for Shanna the She-devil, She-Hulk, and Jungle Girl. His work features precise line work and vivid color.
–

–
Dinosaurs in Sci-fi and fantasy art – part III … coming soon

Dinosaurs in Sci-fi and fantasy art – part I

Dinosaurs in Sci-fi and fantasy art – part I

Dinosaurs, prehistoric beasts, cavemen and cave women are the subjects for my new series of art posts. There will also be an occasional giant monster.

Frank Frazetta

Frank Frazetta is a legendary artist who painted art and illustrations for hundreds if not thousands of fantasy items; sci-fi and fantasy book covers, Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella magazine covers, Album covers and movie posters. His work brought to life the imagery of Robert E. Howard, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and more…Here is some of his prehistoric beast and dinosaur art.

J. Allen St. John

St. John was an illustrator and artist who did some wonderful artwork for the pulp magazines of the early 1900’s and work for pulp book cover art. He is one of the early pioneers of sci-fi fantasy art. His work has been featured on the covers of Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, Fantastic Adventures, Famous Fantastic Mysteries and more.

Jeff Jones

Jeff was a much sought after artist and illustrator in the 1960’s and 70’s painting cover art for Heavy Metal Magazine, National Lampoon and Dean Koontz novels among others. He has several books of his artwork collections to purchase for fans of his work.

More in Dinosaurs in Sci-fi and fantasy art – part II (coming soon)

The Lost World (1960) – Movie review

The Lost World (1960)

Directed by Irwin Allen
Screenplay by Irwin Allen and Charles Bennett
Based on the novel of the same name by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Starring
Michael Rennie
Jill St. John
David Hedison
Claude Rains
Fernando Lamas
Richard Haydn
Ray Stricklyn
Jay Novello
Vitina Marcus

.
A brash scientist, Dr. George Challenge (Claude Rains), convinces the London Zoological Society to sponsor an expedition into the Amazon. There, he claims, is an uncharted plateau, cut off from evolution for millions of years and home to giant prehistoric creatures. We are introduced to a host of characters during the build up to this expedition, each with their own eccentricities and quirks, a hunter (Michael Rennie), a reporter (David Hedison), a woman adventurer (Jill St. John), a Latino helicopter pilot who plays guitar (Fernando Lamas) and another jungle guide, Costa (Jay Novello), to name a few. Each have their own motivations for attending this trip. The dialogue is dated to the time and script reveals a comical edge, especially concerning Dr. Challenge and the Latino guide.

The dinosaurs: This is a film that would forgo the success of stop-motion animation of the preceding decade and regress to using live reptiles with matting techniques upon scaled jungle sets. One of the dinosaurs is a Monitor Lizard with a Cerotopian frill behind its head and Stegosaurus-like plates along its back. Another is an iguana with horns obviously glued to his head. Considering what they are the film does a good job at portraying them as giant creatures and the sound design helps to sell it as we hear roaring and trees snapping in their paths. However, they look nothing at all like real dinosaurs. They call the Iguana thing a Brontosaurus and it was laughable to think that they would even use a real dinosaur name for their Frankenstein creature design.

There’s a mega battle between the Monitor frill-head/Stegasaur lizard and an alligator with spikes on his head and a sail- fin back like a Dimetrodon. They seemed to have thrown these two reptiles onto the set and let them battle it out. They snap at each other, bite and claw each other in bloody battle. The gator finally grabs the lizards arm in its teeth and attempts the ‘death roll’ causing them to both tumble off the set…I mean, off a cliff. This battle is so wrong by animal rights standards, it would never be attempted today.

In the finale of the film, the crew is chased by a native tribe through volcanic caverns to the base of the mountain. Everyone falls in love with their suitors and Dr. Challenge gets his scientific proof of prehistoric creatures with an egg he had saved from the volcanic eruption. No one seems to consider that the plateau stood for millions of years, but a few days of modern man caused its demise, lol.

One of the big problems with the film, dinosaurs not-withstanding, was that the huge cast was hard to manage. You never really connect with any of the characters because so little time was available for their individual stories. I’d say that Irwin Allen got better at this aspect in future films such as, The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno, but in this film the viewer becomes a pedestrian outsider watching a bunch of strangers.

It’s a journey of adventure, but different than the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle book. It’s intentionally comical at points, at points unintentionally comical. Despite the drawbacks, I tend to overlook the many faults of the film and enjoy it on some level. It’s appropriate for the dinosaur adventure fan and fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

 

Fun Facts:

Irwin Allen used stock footage from the film for his various TV shows, including episodes of Land of the Giants, Lost in Space, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

Jay Novello, the comical Latino guide, had played several small roles in I Love Lucy.

Jill St. John would go on to play one of my fave Bond girls in Diamonds Are Forever.

Michael Rennie was of course in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951).

Stock Footage of the frilled dino also used in Rod Serling’s The Night Gallery episode, The Painted Mirror (1971)

Some good sets and scenery

what was that?

I’m all frilly

hmmm, lunch!

some one’s gonna pay for gluing these horns on me

please I don’t want to be eaten…

Why is Jill St. John dressed like Pinky Tuscadero?

I’m not a damn Brontosaurus!

make up time for JSJ

Diamonds are Forever

In the future I’ll be selling Car Insurance