Artist Profile: Joe Chiodo

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Arleigh

Joe Chiodo is a name not unknown to comic book aficionados. The youngest of four boys, Chiodo would grow up to be one of the comic book industry’s most sought after cover illustrators and colorists. His popularity rose during the 1990’s as he contributed cover illustrations for the group of artists who would form the indie publishing, creator-owned company of Image Comics (especially the Wildstorm and Cliffhanger brands).

Chiodo’s pin-up style lends well to the so-called “bad girl” style of comic book characters such as Vampirella, Lady Death, Witchblade and a host of others. His pin-up style was reminiscent of classic pin-up and cheesecake artists such as Dave Stevens and Gil Elvgren. He would add a certain Disney cartoon-style to the mix that would become the unique Chiodo-style fans have come to admire and love.

Joe Chiodo continues to do cover illustrations and coloring for comic book artists and companies. He has also released his own series of artbooks that focuses on his cover works and original art and painting throughout the years.

Here Are The Winners of the 2012 Rondo Awards

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are the winners of the 11th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards, honoring the best of 2012. You can find out more about the Rondos by clicking here.

– BEST MOVIE: CABIN IN THE WOODS

— BEST TV: WALKING DEAD

— CLASSIC DVD: A&C MEET FRANKENSTEIN

— CLASSIC COLLECTION: UNIVERSAL MONSTERS ON BLU RAY

— RESTORATION: DRACULA (1931)

— COMMENTARY: David Kalat on Criterion GOJIRA/GODZILLA

— DVD EXTRA: Universal Monsters ORIGINAL HOUSE OF HORRORS booklet

— INDEPENDENT FILM: HOUSE OF GHOSTS

— SHORT FILM: FALL OF HOUSE OF USHER (animated)

— DOCUMENTARY: BEAST WISHES

— BOOK OF YEAR: RAY HARRYHAUSEN’S FANTASY SCRAPBOOK

— BEST MAGAZINE MODERN: RUE MORGUE

— BEST MAGAZINE CLASSIC: SCARY MONSTERS

— BEST ARTICLE: Christopher Lee: A Career retrospective, by Aaron Christensen, HORROR HOUND #34

— BEST INTERVIEW: Michael Culhane talks with original DARK SHADOWS cast, including Jonathan Frid’s last interview, FAMOUS MONSTERS #261

— BEST COLUMN: It Came from Bowen’s Basement (John Bowen), RUE MORGUE

— BEST THEME ISSUE: Tie, MONSTERS FROM THE VAULT #30 (Vincent Price); VIDEO WATCHDOG #169 (Dark Shadows)

— COVER: Jeff Preston’s Phibes cover for LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #29

— WEBSITE: DREAD CENTRAL

— BLOG: COLLINSPORT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

— CONVENTION: MONSTERPALOOZA

— FAN EVENT: Rick Baker gets star on hollywood Walk of Fame

— HORROR HOST: Svengoolie

— HORROR COMIC: WALKING DEAD

— MULTIMEDIA (Audio/video): FRIGHT BYTES

— SOUNDTRACK/HORROR CD: ROSEMARY’S BABY

— TOY, MODEL OR COLLECTIBLE: Jeff Yagher’s BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN scene

— WRITER OF YEAR: Tim Lucas

— REVIEWER OF YEAR: David-Elijah Nahmod

— ARTIST: DANIEL HORNE

— FAN ARTIST: MARK OWEN

— HENRY ALVAREZ AWARD FOR ARTISTIC DESIGN: RAY SANTOLERI

— INTERNATIONAL MONSTER FAN: Rhonda Steerer (operates Boris Karloff ‘More Than a Monster’ site from Germany)

— MONSTER KID OF THE YEAR: SIMON ROWSON (for work in Japan unearthing lost footage in HORROR OF DRACULA)

— HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES:

— J.D. LEES — Editor/publisher who helped popularize kaiju scholarship with G-FAN, now a giant-sized100 issues old.

— COUNT GORE DE VOL: Still going strong in multimedia, 40 years later.

— TED NEWSOM: Opinionated but with good reason — he was there researching and interviewing long before most others.

— STEVE BISSETTE — Writer’s love of the genre has spread across all genres, from comic books to deep research.

— JESSIE LILLEY: From Scarlet Street to Famous Monsters and Mondo Cult, she has expanded the outlook of fandom.

— And the late GARY DORST: One of fandom’s founding forces, gone far too soon.

Artist Profile: Boris Vallejo (1941– )

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Dazzling Erin

Born in Peru, Boris Vallejo started painting when he was 13 and got his first professional illustration job at the age of 16. He emigrated to the United States in 1964. Vallejo is best known for his fantasy-themed artwork, which often features characters based on both himself and his wife, artist Julie Bell.

A few examples of his work can be found below.

Artist Profile: Gene Colan (1926 — 2011)

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Dazzling Erin

Gene Colan was born in New York and studied art at the Art Students League of New York. Colan joined the Army Air Corps in 1944 and served in the Philippines where he drew for the Manila Times. Upon returning to civilian life in 1946, Colan began to work for Timely Comics, which eventually became Marvel Comics. Over the course of his long career, Colan illustrated everything from super hero to young romance comics. He might be best known for his work in the 70s, when he illustrated two cult comics — Tomb of Dracula and Howard the Duck. In 2005, Colan was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.

Artist Profile: Mort Kunstler (1931– )

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Dazzling Erin

Mort Kunstler studied art at Brooklyn College, UCLA, and the Pratt Institute. After graduating in 1953, he worked as a freelance artist in New York City. Along with drawing covers and illustrations for several “men’s adventures” magazines, Kunstler also painted posters for The Poseidon Adventure and the original The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3. Since the 1980s, Kunstler has specialized in painting dramatic interpretations of key American historical events with an emphasis on the Civil War. He has been called “the foremost Civil War artist of our time.”

Happy Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Dazzling Erin

Happy Valentine’s Day from Doc and everyone at the Shattered Lens!

Artist Profile: Gloria Stoll (1928– )

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Dazzling Erin

One day in 1941, 17 year-old Gloria Stoll threw away all of her student artwork. Her building’s janitor rescued her portfolio and showed it to one of her neighbors, a pulp artist named Rafael DeSoto. With DeSoto’s help, Stoll pursued a successful career as a commercial artist. From 1941 to 1948, she sold cover art to magazines like All-Story Love, Dime Mystery, and New Love. She retired from commercial art when she got married in 1948 but she continued to paint. Her work can be found in the permanent collection of Yale University and the Carnegie Museum of Art.

Artist Profile: Norman Saunders (1907–1989)

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Dazzling Erin

A native of Minnesota, Norman Saunders trained in art by correspondence courses with the Federal Schools, Inc. of Minneapolis. After receiving his diploma in 1927, Saunders received a scholarship to the Chicago Art Institute and worked as a staff artist for Fawcett Publications. After moving to New York in 1934, Saunders started his long and prolific career as an independent pulp artist. By the time he painted his last pulp cover in 1960, he had painted a record 867 pulp covers. After 1960, Saunders illustrated comic books, men’s adventures magazines, and trading cards.

A small sample of his work can be found below:

Artist Profile: Jeff Wall (1946– )

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Dazzling Erin

“It’s a pitfall to have a definition of photography.” — Jeff Wall

Born in Vancouver, Canada, Jeff Wall received his Masters of the Arts from the University of British Columbia in 1970 and gone on to become one of the most influential and important photographic artists of all time. Like Gregory Crewdson, Wall is best known for large, elaborately staged cinematographic pictures. Wall is often credited with being one of the first artists to prove that photography could be a true art form.

Artist Profile: Charles DeFeo (1891 — 1978)

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Dazzling Erin

Charles DeFeo was born in New Castle, Delaware and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Art. He moved to New York in 1912 and worked at ad agency while taking night classes at the Art Students League. DeFeo’s first freelance assignments were providing interior illustrations for magazines and he eventually branched out to doing freelance pulp cover art. He also taught at the Grand Central School of Art in the 1930s. After retiring in 1960, DeFeo devoted himself to making ornate hand-tied flies for fishermen. DeFeo’s flies were widely praised for their artistry and are now highly prized by collectors.