UNSUNG HEROES OF ILLUSTRATION PART FIFTEEN

[@Leotagorax]

I love every minute of this one. But Helle is absolutely amazing! He deserves a place in the history of art. Painfully overlooked. Thanks

[@petebeard]

Hi again and thanks as usual. And I agree about Helle.

[@johannsmithe2570]

Hello Pete A little synopsis of the making of "Mars Attacks" cards. Ken Brown and creative director of Topps Company, Inc. Woody Gelman inspired by the "Horrors of War" cards plot out the card set. Brown did the copy narrative on the back of the cards. Wally Wood ( *Mad Magazine* 1952-1964) did a first set that never worked out. He did the Martians prototype figures. Then, Woody Gelman did the rough pencil sketches. Bob Powell did the rough and finished drawings. He also laid out everything. *Norm Saunders* painted over 80-90% of the drawings. Maurice Blumenfeld painted some cards which were touched up by Saunders. Norm's daughter worked on the 1994 re-edition of "Mars Attacks". Ken Brown quote, "There's a great deal of anonymity and it's intentional. The company managers guard the creative staff from the outside world. They don't want competitors knowing who does what". Since Tim Burton's movie "Mars Attacks" only partially followed the orginal cards and wasn't received that well perhaps some distance was a good thing for the orginal creators. Plus, seems like the movie was part of a larger campaign for "Mars Atacks" redux.

[@johannsmithe2570]

P.s. The British screenwriter Jonathan Gems wrote the readaption of "Mars Attacks". His mother Pam also wrote adaptions of events including 'Stanley' relating to the Bloomsbury Group. Is there a game of four degrees of that group in England?

[@petebeard]

Hello again, and thanks as usual for the abundant information. Not sure what you mean by 'Is there a game of four degrees of that group in England?'. Care to elucidate?

[@johannsmithe2570]

@@petebeard "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" (or, the abridged version "Four Degress ...") is a game based on the assumption that any Hollywood actor is six steps away from a film in which Kevin Bacon was in. See Wikipedia "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon". Regarding the Bloomsbury Group, beginning to notice the same tendency. Not necessarily movies but plays and books. So, with too much time on my hands, if Jonathan Gems being British wrote the movie's screenplay then, does four degrees plus six degrees make ten degrees? I know dis bez a series on Unsung Heroes not statistical game analysis. So, extrapolating with absolutely no evidence, would there be some degree of separation between Tim Burton and Topps Cards? Would that explain the apparent lack of credit given to Saunders? Then again, though he painted the card illustrations he was part of a team project on 'Mars Attacks'. Funny, Mad Magazine is somehow tied-in with the cards thru Wally Woods.

[@petebeard]

Thanks for that - now I see the light of understanding.

[@johannsmithe2570]

@@petebeard Btw, Other *MAD* alumni who worked for Topps Cards, Mort Drucker Jack Davis George Woodbridge Will Elder ... others beside MAD John Severin George Evans Basil Wolverton ... last but not least, Art Crumb probably more. Honorable Mention: Bazooka Joe P.s. David Saunders published a highly rated book on his father "Norman Saunders".

[@AM-xo7lr]

An update on Robert O. (Ogden) Reid: I found a short bio by Tom Pierce in issue no. 69 of Illustrator: Reid's son reported that his father had been born out of wedlock in 1890. His mother was left to bring him up alone in Pittsburgh having been abandoned by both her own and the father's families, but she died when he was only 9. He was taken in by an unenthusiastic relative but spent much of his time living in a YMCA. He seems to have overcome this sad start to life and had a cracking career until a heart attack at 41, after which he continued to draw and paint from his bed while cheerfully chain smoking. He died in 1947.

[@petebeard]

Hello and many thanks for supplying that information. It's a great source of personal frustration when great illustrators like this are so unrecorded. I'm very grateful for the knowledge and I'll add his dates in the decription box for the video.

[@sassytoonsball-ruck58]

On bed rest (post-op) - thank you for posting this series & the ones on cartooning - like a shot of ‘contentment’ equal parts entertaining, interesting & calming; visually lovely & intellectually pleasing.... and if I fall asleep while watching - [good thing in recovery] I just pull from “watch history” & restart!!! Serious gratitude! Really - have made this otherwise painful & frustrating time one of much goodness 👍👍👍

[@petebeard]

Hi again. I hope the opertion was a success - I don't want to lose one of my most enthusiastic viewers. Seriously though get well soon.

[@serynkelley861]

Love this series thanks for all the art inspiration n history!

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot and I hope you'll tell friends about the channel - I need the numbers!

[@cocoyeugenio2787]

Thank you. For your work greetings from the phillipines

[@petebeard]

Hello to you in the Phillipines. Its great to know the channel is being watched and appreciated in so many distant countries. Thanks for the comment.

[@Juan_Rojo]

thank you for this. Greetings from Colombia, South America. :)

[@petebeard]

Hellon and many thanks for your comment. I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope you'll watch others on the channel too.

[@vaughngaminghd]

These videos are such a treasure… in some cases, the work may have been known to me, but the artist wasn't. In others, the work and artist are completely new. Either way, the care and affection for the artists and their work come through in the presentation. Bravo!

[@petebeard]

Hello and many thanks for your apreciaton of the channel. It's good to know viewers are getting something from the videos.

[@tessellatiaartilery8197]

Great series, am enjoying every episode. Thank you very much.

[@petebeard]

Hello again and my thanks as usual.

[@josefschiltz2192]

@@petebeardRobert O Reid's work reminds me very much of the work of Milton Caniff who drew the strips Steve Canyon and also Miss Lace.

[@petebeard]

@@josefschiltz2192 I hope you'll be pleased to know Caniff will feature in the unsung heroes series when I return to it later this year.

[@josefschiltz2192]

@@petebeard What would be nice is if Will Eisner - the Boss - could be included at some point. Most, it seems, haven't heard of him, which is saddening. I suspect that some of his caricatures such as Ebony White may make him fall out of favour to modern audiences.

[@trex19681]

What an incredibly thorough, and concisely produced series. Your channel is a must for illustration fans. Just wanted to state my appreciation for all the work you do.

[@Susie_Floozie]

Excellent choices! Thanks for introducing me to André Helle, John Bauer, and Robert Reid. Seeing Russell Patterson and Norm Sanders' names pop up made me say, "Wow, YEAH!" out loud TWICE. I love their stuff! And I was thinking Norm Saunders did some cards for the DINOSAURS ATTACK! series, but it was fellow men's sweat-mag artist Earl Norem. I always mix those guys up.

[@SatenSheets]

I can watch all your vids. You have passion and it shows in your detailed discussions of artist. I appreciate the hard work you put into these videos and teaching me about artists I've never heard of. Thanks Pete beard.

[@petebeard]

Hello and it's very gratifying to get a comment such as yours. Your appreciation is very welcome.

[@pprehn5268]

Really admire your passion for this subject🌹

[@petebeard]

Hello and I'm glad that shines through. My obsession has been lifelong.

[@lisah336]

Bing watching your wonderful series. Thanks.

[@petebeard]

Hello and thanks a lot. Don't overdo the watching - you'll get sick of my voice.

[@flypiedrahita]

Thank you again Pete. Another facinating video. Looking forward to the next one

[@therealzilch]

I'm so glad that I still have a few of these wonderful videos that I haven't seen yet. And thanks for the origin of "Captain Billy's Whizbang", which I know as a line from the musical "The Music Man|". Another mystery in my life solved. cheers from sunny Vienna, Scott. Lunch invitation still _aufrecht._

[@petebeard]

Hello again and thanks for your comments. If it's any consolation I'll be starting a new series of unsung heroes, probably in the late summer. In the meantime Ive got a stack of solo videos to complete. Who knew this was going to take over my life?

[@therealzilch]

@@petebeard I can only hope it's as rewarding for you as it is for your viewers.

[@Zzz-iz6jk]

I became a big fan of Bauer since the first time I saw one of his troll paintings.

[@petebeard]

Thanks for watching. I'd reached the age of 68 before I'd even heard of him.

[@hcitron]

Wonderful series!

[@wynnschaible]

This series really brings home to me how different our time is even from some of these that I personally remember. It is a world far less centered around print, and all our images seem to be either photos or photorealist -- even the fantasy ones. Perhaps we still allow a world of fill-in-the-blanks-to-your-taste-and-imagination only to our children!

[@petebeard]

Hello and the dominance of photography across the media is a particularly sore point for the likes of me. In the 80s and even ibto the 90s I was producing at least 3 magazine illustrations a week. Then they got lazy...

[@wynnschaible]

@@petebeard I'd like to see some of YOUR stuff, you most unsung of unsung heroes!

[@petebeard]

Unsung - definitely. Hero - sadly not. Mine was rather a walk-on part. For reasons best known to my agent, they have kept me on their books despite my decision to retire 6 years ago, so if you google theillustratorsagency.com pete beard you should get to see some of my work.

[@wynnschaible]

@@petebeard Love the big hulk with the sick chihuahua! And I can see clearly your debt to MAD magazine!

[@n3bie]

Thank you! Happy New Year Mr. Beard!

[@craigdixon7138]

Peter this group of forgotten illustrators is a criminal offence it makes me think that ( as i know ) art editors and their ilk are a fickle bunch at the best of times ...keep up the sterling work love this episode xx

[@petebeard]

Hi and thanks as ever for your positive comment. The simple annoying truth is that illustration in general is considered by most critics and historians to be somehow of lesser importance than fine art. This has always caused my blood pressure to rise to dangerous levels, so I started the channel in an optimistic attempt to address this imbalance. And I won't stop until I run out of illustrators or I fall off my perch, whichever is the sooner.

[@craigdixon7138]

@@petebeard after such genius artists in illustration i am still suprised by what is classified as art Most of the time its installation art not even drawing .... my flabber is gasted xxx

[@majeddraws5104]

another successful video!! thanks pete... it shows how harsh the world of illustration was...

[@petebeard]

Thanks for the thumbs up. And as far as I can tell it' every bit as harsh (if not more so ) these days.

[@AnekdotTheImmortal]

That part with Tim Burton really passed me off, getting credit for others work is cheating yourself at the end of the day and will never truly feel like an accomplishment.

[@petebeard]

I totally agree. Would it have been that hard to at least give him a namecheck?

[@alexandrebeaudoin-laporte5325]

11:46 Robert O. Reid

[@louiscypher7090]

Each one of these profiles should be an article/column in an art magazine or newspaper.

[@petebeard]

Thanks again for your favourable comments. Actually I'm happier being on screen than in print because I can use more pictures and fewer words but it's still a very flattering comment.

[@louiscypher7090]

@@petebeard you're very welcome.

[@sidilicious11]

Heroes indeed.

[@petebeard]

Hello again and thanks once more for your recent batch of comments. Its great to know you continue to find illustrators that appeal to you.

[@alexandrebeaudoin-laporte5325]

5:55 Russell Patterson

[@pdbowman]

Something to be explored: the place of practitioners like André Hellé, less well known or in any case less likely to be thought of in connection to comics, in ‘ligne claire’ lineage (pardon pun!).

[@petebeard]

Hello and thanks for the comment and suggestion. I did wonder whether to do an evolutionary piece on la ligne claire but decided instead to feature as many of the illustrators who were responsible for its development in europe as possible. So they are dotted around among the others in the unsung series, and more important figures are on the way...

[@pdbowman]

Yes, don’t mean to suggest you’ve left something out there! I wasn’t aware of Hellé at all before viewing this video. The thought that in all probability he’d have been an influence on e.g. Hergé, directly or indirectly, followed straightforwardly enough - and a little looking around online seems to confirm that there’s something to this. Just thought it worth mentioning.

[@petebeard]

Hello again and I just wanted to clarify that I really welcome all suggestions for new avenues to explore, and yours in particular was just the kind of thing. I was just explaining why I'd decided to approach the same subject in less concentrated form. If I sounded grouchy or ungrateful it was not intended. I sometimes/frequently think the written word is a very inferior form of communication.

[@pdbowman]

I didn’t take you that way, but I agree of course that it’s hard to avoid some misunderstanding in these little exchanges. Thank you for the extra care!

[@brucealanwilson4121]

Have you done Charlie Harper? I'm related to him. (He had a grandmother Wilson; his mother was a Rexroad; I had a great-grandmother Rexroad & a grrat-grandmother Harper. He & my father were the same age & 'boon companions' as kids & teens.

[@petebeard]

I haven't featured Charley harper (yet) even though I admire his work. He was born too late to appear in the unsung heroes seies (1910 is the cut-off). And so far I haven't found enough information and high resolution images to make a decent solo video. But he will certainly feature in my wildlife illustration - when I finally finish it.

[@brucealanwilson4121]

@@petebeard I used to have most of Edie's Bible prints. When I downsized, I gave them to my church. My father had a huge collection of Charlie's, but I gave most of them to the West Virginia State Museum after he died.

[@LoveRachelXOXOXO]

We have a copy of Swedish Folk and Fairy Tales and have to say, enjoy looking at Bauer’s illustrations more than reading the stories themselves.

[@petebeard]

Hi Rachel and thanks a lot for your comments. It's a pity the aren't more people interested in illustration - I think it has easily as much to offer as 'proper' art. And at the risk of shamelessly plugging my videos maybe you haven't seen the one devoted to the children's book illustration. If not try this link-kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqulpoh7edVlhs0

[@benzhang7236]

Too good

[@petebeard]

Hello and thanks for saying so. Much appreciated.

[@alexandrebeaudoin-laporte5325]

9:01 Norman Saunders

[@JohnPrepuce]

In which Dakota was Norman Saunders born? North or South?

[@petebeard]

North apparently. And if there's anything else you'd like me to google for you just let me know.

[@JohnPrepuce]

Haha, thanks, I wasn't trying to waste your time or anything. Sorry if I came off that way. I tried looking him up and it says Minnesota in my search. I was just curious. Thanks again.

[@petebeard]

My apologies.. I do get a lot of questions that viewers could easily answer for themselves so I do fulfil my role as grumpy old man from time to time. Sorry that in your case it was misplaced. To find out pretty much all there is to know about him and many others who created pulp images at pulpartists.com which is run by his son David. I hope that makes up for my sarcasm.

[@brushonfire8800]

Definitely not unsung: but I hope you will cover victor Ambrus and Julek heller at some point. Both great illustrators still living with amazing works in book illustration.

[@petebeard]

`actually a bit unsung....I knew about Ambrus but wasn't aware of Heller so thanks for that. I'll probably get them in somewhere down the line although they were born too late to fit the 'unsung' criteria (-born before 1910).

[@johannsmithe2570]

4:56 Good for Bauer claiming for what was his. The AIGA* handbook further advises to contact out the number of prints that can be used at a time ... in a fair ideal world. 8:48 Sad. Is arthritis or teaching worse? ... just kidding Found out the best teachers are those who previously worked in the field as this channel illustrates. (pun intended) *Thanks* for the presentation *American Institute of Graphics Arts

[@petebeard]

And again you are more than welcome. And don't get me started about copyright...I can't begin to list the problems I had over the years being ripped off - mostly (but not exclusively) by ad agencies.

[@johannsmithe2570]

@@petebeard Could be a new tread. Anonymous comments or, a series on getting burned in the business. (my very very small bit: while taking a computer graphics class was 'volunteered' to come up with a concept for an organization for their book, read free design, and do the cover and chapter pages. They liked the cover so much they used it for their logo, brochures, posters, coffee cups, etc. without my knowledge. Now, when going to thrift stores occasionally come across one of these items. To boot, when the book had been reprinted credit for my illustrations, photos and layout was listed to another graphic designer. (🎻 yea, 👈 world's smallest violin 😁) Emphasize with Jeff Beck's* story of Peter Frampton's use of his voice-box that when flushing the tiolet/loo the sound would remind him of Frampton. Lesson: Limited Usage) * Great muscian

[@alexandrebeaudoin-laporte5325]

0:27 André Hellé

[@alexandrebeaudoin-laporte5325]

3:20 John Bauer

[@TexRenner]

Maurice Sendak must've been a fan of John Albert Bauer.