Rocket to the Rue Morgue: Ads From Famous Monsters of Filmland

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Lots of Yucks: Jack Davis in Yak Yak

What could be better than an entire comic book illustrated by Jack Davis? A gold bathtub full of 100 dollar bills? Armenian spider monkeys trained in the deadly art of Yoga? The entire run of The Mike Douglas Show played on a loop while you are rubbed down with scented oils by Russian supermodels who may or may [...]

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It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad Monster Party

  My version of Francesca from Mad Monster Party (1967) in her green dress, done in brush pen.

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The Monster Art of Jack Davis

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Jack Davis At the Movies, Part Two

Read Part One here…

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Jack Davis At the Movies, Part One

Jack Davis, like the other Mad artists, was a jack of all trades. Not only did he produce a wealth of outstanding comic book material, but he also did quite a bit of other freelance work. Ads, album covers and probably most notable of all, movie posters. During the 60s and 70s, Jack Davis illustrated dozens of movie posters [...]

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Mad Men of Comics

Harvey Kurtzman knew funny. As a cartoonist he keenly deployed slapstick, parody and satire in ways that were not only hilarious, but groundbreaking as well. In addition, he was a gifted ringleader, someone who could harness the best talent from the grindhouse that was the comics industry at the time. With fellow artists, Will Elder, Jack Davis, Al Jaffe, Wally [...]

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Jack Davis in the First Issue of Mad Magazine

It’s genuinely a hard task to pick my favorite cartoonist out of the original Mad Magazine crew. I admire Harvey Kurtzman, Bill Elder, Wally Wood and Jack Davis all greatly, and for different reasons. They were amazing draftsmen and funny as all get out. But I think Jack Davis would win out in the inking category. [...]

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Harvey Kurtzman’s Mad, Mad, Mad World

The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics (Denis Kitchen and Paul Buhle, Abrams ComicArts, $40)  In his introduction to this groundbreaking book, comedian/writer Harry Shearer declares: “Without Harvey Kurtzman, there would have been no Saturday Night Live. What a horrible thing to say about him, but it’s true. . . . OK, this [...]

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Monster Comic Book Covers

Here’s some great examples of monster-themed comic book covers. My criteria was basically covers that had interesting/striking compositions, displayed solid draftsmanship, telegraphed strong atmopshere and theme, and were just plain fun to look at because they are so odd in their presnentation (some of course have all four). The greats are also included in this gallery of covers: Jack Davis, Frank Frazetta and [...]

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