Her Favorite Thing Is Monsters!

By every standard Emil Ferris is a great artist. Her work is moving, provocative, masterful, entertaining, and just fantastically original and down-right good. Now; on to the Monsters. Like the majority of Emil’s fans it was her breakout graphic novel “My favorite Thing is Monsters” that first got my attention. The title alone was a grabber for me. I have personally always loved monsters too; yes, a true love. Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, the Phantom of The Opera; those familiar guys and many other classics dominates my bed room like those of, I imagine, a lot of kids from my generation. They were there as small plastic sculpture/models that I painstakingly assembled like a mad scientist. There were magazines and comic books too. Whenever “The Wolf Man,” “The Thing” or “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” aired I was in front of our television, regardless of time of day. I remember my beloved Grandmother saying; “You like all that weird stuff.” My response was: “Well, Yea…I do.”  It didn’t seem weird to me. In fact it made perfect sense. I associated them with religion, mythology, psychology and society as great works of literature and art. I’m sure Emil Ferris would agree. 

 

The Ferris debut work (MFTIM) is as mentioned before as masterful as it is beautiful and an inspiration. Her opening debut to the world stage is every bit as fantastic as her subject matter. She keeps it equally personal and intimate in turn. She explores her awakening sexuality, cultural norms and coming of age. It is a love letter to the discovery of truth and beauty through the study and observation of art.  She does all this while wrapping her narrative in a murder mystery. This is surly enough to satisfy the most demanding of audiences. She skillfully ties it all together while presenting it in great style that is most assuredly her own and uniquely so. 

Ferris chooses to execute her illustrations on compositional notebook paper which gives the work a personal touch. Every aspiring artist and young person begins drawing with lined paper I’m sure. This is a connection to her own past as well as the masses she is reaching with her efforts. What she is putting down is far indeed from any kiddie stuff. 

Ferris often faithfully recreates works of the great academics such as Toulouse-Lautrec and Winslow Homer. She does an incredible take on Henry Fuseceli’s “The Nightmare” that is truly to marvel.  Her work; rightfully so, has been feature in the most prominent art magazine of the day “Art Forum” a welcome validation and honoring of her achievements and uncanny abilities.

Think of “My Favorite Thing Is Monsters” when you think of “Maus,” “Persepolis,” “Sin City,” “The Arrival,” “God’s Man” or Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman.” It is comfortable among the best of the genre and like the other fore mentioned also rates among other works of “High Art.” Ferris fits nicely on the book shelf with Wells, Shelly, Bradbury and Hugo. 

                                                                                                                          

She presents herself with an elegance of presence and off beat flair; a character unto herself. I will not be surprised to see her cast one future day by Guillermo del Toro for one of his screen plays. What an asset she would be to any production. 

No problem, no fear.

BERNIE WRIGHTSON: The Horror of it All

The work of this artist is as distinctive as that of his signature. They each can be seen as identifications of his purpose.  It is undeniably his own and in a league of rarity. Whether literary classic, graphic story-telling, book cover or poster he has done it all. Few artists cross and include the many boundaries of great illustration in their chosen genre. A standard of a truly great illustrator is the work can stand alone and be admired for it’s mastery of light, draftsmanship, color and craft. Bernie Wrightson passes every criteria as; yes, he is a great teller of story. 

It is in the realm of mystery, suspense, men and monsters that Wrightson thrives. There exist in Wrightson’s world; mayhem, gore, scares and thrills, as it is rightly so. There is horror galore in his art. While along with the horror, brutality and intensity; there is beauty. He is able to convey a sensitivity and understanding in his pieces. That understanding is of the human condition and spirit. 

“People in your life kind of come and go, you have relationships, you get divorced, you move on and things change, but the one constant, never-changing thing in my life has always been monsters.”

                                                                                                                                                                              Bernie Wrightson  

A major housing of his talents is realized in the Dark Horse Edition of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly’s “FRANKENSTEIN.”  It was as a true labor of love in that Wrightson undertook the drawings of the piece without a commission or contract. The Dark Horse Edition of Shelly’s novel is actually the 25^th anniversary publishing of the Wrightson illustrated version. Wrightson began to shop around his art (at that time incomplete) to potential publishers. Marvel Comics would be the first to publish Wrightson’s version but it was limited to direct sale comic shops as was a subsequent printing by Underwood Miller. 

The Frankenstein Portfolio

Strangely enough the majority issued by both publishers were destroyed while they languished in warehouses either by fire or flooding. It seemed that the books (like Dr. Frankenstein) were somehow cursed.  The Dark Horse silver Anniversary printing was sold in major book stores to rave reviews and are coveted by Wrightson fans and lovers of the drama’s glory. It is a phenomenal piece and a much treasured article. Wrightson’s drawings hold their own with the greats of any era or style of comparable works of any illustrated fictional narrative.

DC Comics would print in it’s EC comics style book “House of Secrets” what would become a major and lasting contribution to the medium in 1971.  The short story written by Len Wein and drawn by Wrightson; “Swamp Thing” is now one of the company’s and the creative team’s crowns. Wein and Wrightson would work on the comic book series for ten issues. These issues are considered landmarks. Swamp Thing in it’s way has become part of the popular culture; TV, movies, magazines and graphic novels. In particularly the “Swamp Thing” stories of writer Alan Moore are acclaimed by critics and legendary among fans. An all new "Swamp Thing" TV series will be appearing in a few weeks at the DC Universe. This looks to be an excellent adaptation for the character.  

#DCUSWAMPTHING

The creations of Wrightson exhibited here

Exalted by critics, extolled by his peers

These samplings of horror, his fans’ delights

All for your pleasure, while possibly frights

Take them each and all as you will

Possibly as thrillers and perhaps for the chills

The End

The Frankenstein Monster

The Frankenstein monster

The lifeless; the dead

Seemed utterly harmless

with probes in his head

 A little of lightning

a bolt and a shock

 delivered the message

it’s time to wake up

The roar of the thunder

the crack of the shock

 he listened and heard them

just like a knock, knock

There’s  business for you

both scary and Grimm

a village to greet you

get going again.

He hurried; he worried

His efforts in vain

He grunted and growled

His brain was insane

He couldn’t remember the joy of a LIFE

The next thing he wanted you know was a wife

So quickly constructed

with bride and with friend

again starting over

his dreams to begin

but they too were shattered

when Bride say his face

this creature of science

could not find his place

He wished to belong

just one in the crowd

he ranted and raved

he shouted out loud

there’s no witches brew

or splendid, warm places

 His bride left him too

her beauty not wasted

The monster moved on

without kit or kin

he’s walking the Earth

resistant to sin

Avoiding each village

each hamlet and den

just can’t get connected

there’s never a  friend

You may see him soon

he’ll visit your town

Just some “thing” much scary

he rambles around

The ocean, the river, the light of the moon

Remarkable, distant, magnanimous goon

Alien

 When director Ridley Scott sought to create something magnificently horrific and challenging for film viewers at the dawning of the “Star Wars” era of film he looked to artists including; Chris Foss, Moebius  and  most strikingly Swiss Surrealist H.R. Giger. The works of Giger were unequaled in terms of their scope; sense of dread, ability to repulse as they equally intrigued and encaptured his viewers. They are with every possibility the purest examples of nightmares ever put to canvas or screen. Giger’s monochromatic creations were very much driven by his own sleep disorder (night terrors) as by his rich imagination. Giger is a technically skilled artist and draftsman with a style almost completely unto himself. There is only one H.R. Giger.

The creations and designs of Giger possess a quality of things emanating from the mind and heart of a madman. His works can be difficult for most viewers. He has referred to the hopelessly insane as being a large portion of his audience. His pieces are as many times representational of eroticism as they are a combination of a repressed violence. They are often composition of the demonic; distantly removed from anything remotely of the saints. What artist could be better suited to contribute to the horror genre films of the late 20^th Century?  

“Bio-Mechanical” is a term Giger often used to describe his own creations. In that too he was singular as I know of no other artist fitting into Giger’s self-titled genre. He was able within his career to expand on many forms of creativity and cross markets. He was first of all a painter (nothing short of a master) and after that he included set design, sculpture and film director. He was very much ingrained in the music field; often as a commissioned artist. Emerson Lake and Palmer, Debbie Harry and many other musicians used Giger’s works for memorable album covers. He inspired video games and calendars while fans are noted for adorning their various body parts with Giger tattoos. His architecturally informed creations decorate interiors for night clubs and restaurants. Giger is many times over a force in the art worlds variously articulated commodities and structures.  

Earlier this week on May 12^th Hans Rudolph Giger passed away from the earth. Giger was 74 years old and still engaged with his art.  His alien is one of the most terrifying creatures ever preserved on film. He will best be remembered for his alien and the sets he designed for the original Ridley Sott film. 

Humanity has looked to the darkness for generations; most often in fear. It is the keeper of mystery and visions of irrational dread. Giger shared with us his own nightmare scenarios and images in the form of stories. In that he is linked to the ages.  By taking us eerily and endearingly into his nightmares he entertained us and helped us understand and live within our own.