I always loved Basil Gogos's cover paintings for Famous Monsters of Filmland, and here's his debut in 1960 (issue 9, Vincent Price), plus another from 1961 (issue 16, Lon Chaney). Trivia: the cover star for the first two issues was publisher James Warren, wearing #horror masks. #artwork #magazine

I've interviewed #sciencefiction and #fantasy #artist David Hardy several times over the 48 years I've known him, but this was the first occasion, for the Solihull News in 1979. Incidentally, one of his superb lunar portraits hangs on the nearest wall as I write this, bought for my wife. #journalism

Below: detail from a 'Sap and Salt' newspaper column by Bert Moses. The series ran from 1918-1947, but the illustrated version only appeared between 1 August 1921 and 28 January 1922. Artist unknown, but possibly Moses. Source: Allan Holtz (comicstriphistory.com) #cartoons #artwork #humour

I was looking through two volumes of The Complete Jack Kirby earlier today, and spotted these entertaining off-duty photos of Jack and #comics partner Joe Simon. Whilst at Crestwood, the duo's output included Boys' Ranch, Black Magic (an early #horror anthology) and Young Romance. #artist #writer

Following on from yesterday's VHS post, here's a copy of the classic #giallo Profundo Rosso (aka Deep Red), signed by director Dario Argento. I also have a VHS of The Stendhal Syndrome, signed by Dario and daughter Asia following a 1996 screening and interview at London's National #Film Theatre.

I've reluctantly shed most of my VHS library, but this copy of Norman J Warren's Prey has significant sentimental value. Norman was a good friend for nearly 30 years, and I interviewed him on several occasions. The sleeve is signed by Norman and by Sally Faulkner (shown far right on the back cover).

One afternoon back in August 2013, I found myself stuck in a traffic jam on the notoriously congestion-prone M6 motorway. At one point, my neighbour in the adjoining lane was a truck with a rather striking paint job based upon Sylvester Stallone's Rocky movies. Luckily, I was able to grab this shot.

Yours Retro #92 hits supermarket shelves tomorrow, with articles on James Dean, Doctor Who, Richard Beckinsale, Ray Milland, Space: 1999, Ursula Andress, the Magnificent Seven and much more -- including my feature on the personal issues David Soul faced whilst filming Salem's Lot. #journalism #films

Back in the 1970s, long before VHS tapes and DVD boxsets allowed easy access to past episodes of such tv shows as Doctor Who and Star Trek, fans had to rely upon literary versions to rekindle their memories: Target's novelisations in the former case, these adaptations by James Blish in the latter.

Harry Turner (1920-2009) was a British artist whose science fiction and fantasy illustrations first appeared in the fledgling fanzines of the 1930s, then pulps. Martin Tudor and I published a gallery of his work in our magazine Critical Wave (1987-96). The #artwork below probably dates to the 1940s.

Rebecca Downes' sixth studio album, A Storm is Coming, gets its official launch at the London 100 Club on 28 October. There will also be a transparent vinyl edition, available mid-November. #music #rock BlueSky: @rebeccadownes.com Pre-sales link: rebeccadownes.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?...

Man-Bat might have only lasted two issues before DC Comics pulled the plug, but its debut in the winter of 1975 featured a rare opportunity to see how Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko handled Batman. There was also a useful biographical essay in the back pages. #comics #superhero #vampire #artwork

#BrewsterRockit by Tim Rickard. #cartoons #humour #timetravel

⬇️ A quick postscript to the Gilbert Shelton notice below. ⬇️

Underground #comics legend Gilbert Shelton will be talking to fellow #artist Hunt Emerson at the Galway #Cartoon Festival on 4 October. Shelton's career spans six decades, and includes such strips as The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and its spin-off Fat Freddy's Cat. Link: galwaycartoonfestival.ie

Currently listening to Different Stages (1998), which comprises two CDs of live recordings from the Canadian rock band Rush's 1994 and 1997 tours, plus a third CD recorded in London in 1978. I caught them in Birmingham during their 1980 world tour, supported by local band Quartz: a great gig. #music

#RedSonja #ConanTheBarbarian #RobertEHoward #RoyThomas #BarryWindsorSmith #MarvelComics #BrigitteNielsen #MelindaLutz #ArnoldSchwarzenegger

Rabbits Against Magic by Jonathan Lemon. @picassolemon.bsky.social #cartoons #humour #AI #writing

Earle Bergey (1901-52) had a reputation for both glamourous images (such as his cover painting for the 1948 paperback of Anita Loos' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and frothy cheesecake, but he also supplied #artwork in other #pulp genres, such as science fiction (pioneering the 'brass bra' look).

Brewster Rockit by Tim Rickard. #cartoons #humour #sciencefiction

Free Range by Bill Whitehead. #cartoons #humour

The Duplex by Scott McCoy. #cartoons #humour #dogs

Just watched the first episode of 1986's animated Rambo series, featuring designs by Gil Kane and Jack Kirby. Doubt they could have cast an actor whose voice was less like Sylvester Stallone than Neil Ross, except maybe Bobcat Goldthwait, but Michael Ansara is huge value as the evil General Warhawk.

Out 25 September: Yours Retro #92 features my look at David Soul's attempt to reignite his movie career with the two-part adaptation of Stephen King's #horror novel Salem's Lot, and the behind-the-scenes drama of alcohol-fueled domestic violence. #journalism #magazines #movies #acting #actors

Here's a curiosity: the solitary appearance of Rea Irvin's Superwoman, published by the New York Herald Tribune (and at least one other newspaper in the syndicate) on 27 June 1943. As columnist Walter Winchell explained the next day, the publishers of #Superman #comics threatened a lawsuit, so...

A must for all Steve Ditko fans, this new omnibus gathers together all of the strips he produced for DC, including several previously unseen in colour. #comics

This curious insight into the antics of a former #DoctorWho star appeared in the scurrilous newsletter Popbitch in May 2013. (Aside: Ann and I once sat with Ray Harryhausen -- the 'Ray' below -- and Forry Ackerman when a refurbished 1930s cinema in Salford screened a restored print of King Kong.)

If there'd been a Tardis behind Patrick Stewart, it could have been five. #StarTrek #StarWars #HarryPotter #LordOfTheRings #DoctorWho

Final #recipe of the day, which I discovered in August 2008, whilst going through a few of Ann's old notebooks.

Following on from the #recipe I posted earlier, here's a #vodka #cocktail Ann concocted around the same period. Enjoy! FYI, it's named after the medieval village -- now part of a small town, on the edge of a large city -- where we spent 20 of our nearly 25 years together.

As many of our friends will bear witness, my wife Ann was a terrific #cook. Even when she started with a basic #recipe, or just a passing idea, she would continue to tinker until she made it her own. When I posted this on LiveJournal back in July 2007, Ann herself added "This is bloody gorgeous!!!".

Just heard a radio ad for "Wilbur Smith's most thrilling novel yet". Pretty impressive for a guy who died in 2021: Mark Chadbourn must be a dab hand with a ouija board. @chadbourn.bsky.social

This t-shirt design by my friend Chrissie Harper dates back to early 2015 and I was, I confess, responsible for the #Lovecraft pun. #artwork

Lucasfilms certainly dodged a bullet when this scene was deleted from The Empire Strikes Back. Accidentally snogging your twin sister is almost as perverse as a nine year-old believing he's the product of an immaculate conception and fixing his sights on a girl five years his senior. #StarWars

A tornado hit Birmingham in 1931, killing one resident. My great-grandfather Jack headed up a team of lumberjacks back then, and this photo shows his crew in the city's Kings Heath district (although I suspect the chap in the centre is a council official). Jack's second from right in the middle row.

Hannes Bok's stunning (and mildly disturbing) #artwork for the 1948 Shasta edition of John W Campbell's #sciencefiction collection Who Goes There?, which totally captures the metamorphic horror of the lead novella (later the inspiration for The Thing from Another World (1951)).

Quite how legendary producer Irwin Allen and 20th Century Fox greenlit #LostInSpace without noticing Gold Key had launched this comic three years earlier is beyond me, but GK offered not to sue so long as 'Lost In Space' could be added below the title, implying a connection to the tv show.

#RedAndRover by Brian Basset. #cartoons #humour #astronomy

My cartoon for the @theguardian.com books autumn reads special.

Magazine appearances include: Yours Retro, The Dark Side, Critical Wave, SFX, Infinity, Fear, Conflict International, Fantasia. Television / online appearances incl.: Big Centre TV, Made in Birmingham TV, Birmingham Now. Radio appearances incl.: BBC Radio 5, BBC Radio WM. 📧 [email protected]

You can currently pick up the latest edition of Yours Retro in supermarkets, including my investigation of #Hollywood #movie star George Raft's exile from the UK. The next, out 25 September, carries my feature on David Soul's battle with vampires & real-life demons. #freelance #journalism #magazine

#RealityCheck by #DaveWhamond. @davewhamond.bsky.social #cartoons #humour #StarWars

#BrewsterRockit by #TimRickard. #cartoons #humour #sciencefiction

#SpeedBump by #DaveCoverly; #Bliss by #HarryBliss. #cartoons #humour @harrybliss.bsky.social

By #ScottMetzger. @metzgercartoons.bsky.social #cartoons #humour #AI

Micron pen and colored pencils on paper. The frame is about 12x20”. Here is different drawing with the forms in the same scale with a hand for scale

The latest issue of Yours Retro hit supermarket shelves on Thursday, featuring my article on #Hollywood #movie star George Raft's hassles with the British Government. #freelance #journalism #magazine

Here's a fun flashback: #IncrediblrHulk star Bill Bixby trying out his 'white eyes' for the first time, joined by writer-producer Kenneth Johnson. I was a big fan of Kenny's tv spin-off of #AlienNation (1988), but couldn't recall seeing the movie-length pilot. Happy to have nailed that tonight.

To think, not so long ago, you could get a hefty fine for selling copies of this #horror film. Now, people can just tune into Talking Pictures TV on a Friday evening and watch it for free, introduced by the delightful Caroline Munro. @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social #TPTV #DrillerKiller #VideoNasty

#Artwork by Virgil Finlay for the February 1942 edition of Famous Fantastic Mysteries, illustrating Francis Stevens' #fantasy novel The Citadel of Fear. Link: pulpcovers.com