Art

At this time of year it is good to confront our own mortality as shown via drop-butt underwear.

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A 1949 King Features booklet of famous comic strip characters singing Christmas carols with art by Chic Young, Alex Raymond, Frank Godwin, Milton Caniff, Hal Foster and more.

When Joe Simon passed away at the age of 98 last week, he left behind an impressive body of work. Although everyone knows he was the partner of Jack "King" Kirby, Simon and Kirby were partners in the truest sense -- collaborating freely on art and writing, with Simon mostly the editor and Kirby the art director. However, Simon was a prolific artist on his own. While he didn't have Kirby's command of sheer power and imagination, he did have a way with wiry, dynamic heroes. Heritage Auctions recently ran a cover tribute to Simon in their newsletter -- have a look:

Is there a new Lichtenstein roaming the forests? Scott Edelman has brought to our attention thr work of Sharon Moody who paints trompe l'oeil paintings of comics by Jack Kirby, Sal Buscema and others -- but Edelman is bothered by the fact that the source artists are not credited anywhere:

Add another art all-star to the new DHP lineup: Francesco Francavilla is drawing a three part BLACK BEETLE story that will start in issues #11 in April. Black Beetle is Francavilla's own pulp tribute character, previously published online and in a scarce ashcan. ANd as you can see from the art, it's a perfect fit for Franvavilla's retro style.

As they say, if we were in Berlin, we'd go to this. Maybe. We have no idea what it is but the invite was too cool not to post. Erik Mark Sandberg is actually an American artist, based in LA, who has exhibited worldwide. He's best known for his images of hairy children mixed with startling pop culture tableaux.

Following in the footsteps of Sergio Aragones and Darwyn Cooke, Jim Lee will provide the art for next year's commemorative Free Comic Book Day t-shirt, with an homage to the JLA and Jose Luis Garcia Lopez. The shirt will be on sale in comic shops on April 11, in advance of Free Comic Book Day on May 5, but can be preordered via the January Previews.

Here's a peek at the cover to issue #7 of Dynamite's Patricia Briggs adaptation by Jenny Frison.

Like the novels, the comics adaptation of WHEEL OF TIME rolls on and on. Here's a first look at the cover to issue #23 by Andie Tong.

Here's a peek at the first collection of the comics adaptation of GAME OF THRONES, courtesy of Dynamite. The cover is by Tommy Patterson & Sail.

Over at his blog Bermejo posted this two page spread from his best-selling GN BATMAN: NOEL. YOWZAH. Click for larger version or go to the link for full size.