tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post6290715879793570945..comments2024-03-18T14:05:31.316-04:00Comments on Today's Inspiration: Remembering Jack Kamenleifpenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-52559173659532124282009-08-14T07:42:39.330-04:002009-08-14T07:42:39.330-04:00Terri: He was a great artist. I am a fan of EC Com...Terri: He was a great artist. I am a fan of EC Comics and have a DVD of interviews with all the crew, and he seemed like a very sweet and warm man into the bargain. He was one of my favorites. -- MykalMykal Bantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12148489896145024134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-39580585526362511962009-08-14T06:05:23.225-04:002009-08-14T06:05:23.225-04:00What a treat to read about so many people remember...What a treat to read about so many people remembering my dad in such an admirable and loving way. He's with me in my heart every day and I miss him terribly.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10209466210120626428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-12823350561421539102009-06-02T17:36:17.387-04:002009-06-02T17:36:17.387-04:00That's a great little quote from the master of dra...That's a great little quote from the master of drapery - thanks RC! :^)leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-79202797713555911112009-06-02T16:09:11.307-04:002009-06-02T16:09:11.307-04:00Thanks so much for the Kamen rememberances. I just...Thanks so much for the Kamen rememberances. I just loved his EC work. The way he drew clothes always impressed me. I heard him say once in an interview something like, <I>I don't draw clothes. I draw the bodies under the clothes.</I> That was such an "ah-ha" moment for me in my meager drawing attempts. -- MykalMykal Bantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12148489896145024134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-69833197693149518492009-06-01T12:02:55.958-04:002009-06-01T12:02:55.958-04:00Love that illustration of the orange cab MACK unde...Love that illustration of the orange cab MACK under the evening sky. Lots to study just in that one image there.<br /><br />Kamen was one of those artists, who, at least for me, I only come to really appreciate as the years went by.<br /><br />Leif, you continue to do the history and craft a great service with your blogs. Thanks.<br /><br />Oscar SolisOscar Solishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15518332272143381683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-28361702940415099622009-05-30T07:50:11.470-04:002009-05-30T07:50:11.470-04:00Interesting and somewhat eerie irony here: Mark Tw...Interesting and somewhat eerie irony here: Mark Twain, shown in the Smith Corona ad, owned a typewriter (though a Remington) that he swore at more than swore by. <br /><br />He is thought to have dictated the narrative of his novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to a professional typist, although for many years, he was credited as having typed the manuscript himself. This novel was touted as the first to be typed, as opposed to handwritten.<br /><br />Jack Kamen's choice of Mark Twain as the typewriter/author model is a fascinating coincidence.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16052081819882002321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-79566547353836624702009-05-29T15:20:17.558-04:002009-05-29T15:20:17.558-04:00Thanks for your comment, Huw;
I suspect you are r...Thanks for your comment, Huw;<br /><br />I suspect you are right that Jack Kamen might have been less appreciated by some 'EC Fan-addicts'.<br /><br />personally, he was always one of my favourite EC artist, as John Romita was always one of my favourite Marvel artists... <br /><br />Both share the ability to render that mid-century commercial art idealized realism in an absolutely flawless manner. Both could easily have taken a seat at a drawing board at Johnstone and Cushing and produced the sort of advertising comic strips as Stan Drake, Leonard Starr and of course our friend Tom Sawyer (then Scheuer) did.<br /><br />Something about that kind of art style really appeals to me. Of course I love the Jack Davises and Wally Woods of that period as well, but its Kamen, Romita, the J&C artists I mentioned and a few others that I look to for inspiration when I do my own work.<br /><br />Is that odd? I dunno...leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-70999864479671071562009-05-29T14:30:56.971-04:002009-05-29T14:30:56.971-04:00Hi Leif,
Hey, thanks for sneaking an old EC artis...Hi Leif,<br /><br />Hey, thanks for sneaking an old EC artist in here for us "lowbrow" types. Kamen was a really solid illustrator and probably underappreciated as a comic artist due to the stellar company he kept in that discipline (Wood, Davis, Crandall, Craig, Evans, . . . I mean, who WOULDN'T be overshadowed?!)<br /><br />He really showed what he was made of with excellent contributions to the sadly short-lived "Picto Fiction" line at EC. This was an area where some people felt the "better" artists like Wood, et al, put in somewhat disappointing appearances but Kamen's stuff was some of his best ever. He drew an entire edition himself!<br /><br />His ability to draw sexy gals was, of course, legendary. He will be missed.<br /><br />An interesting sidebar about which some may not be aware is the fact that his son, Dean Kamen, is a world-class inventor with dozens of patents to his name, including the famous "Segue" vehicle. Jack's foresight in investing in Dean's work even when the latter was only a teenager has made the Kamen family very wealthy, I believe. And deservedly so. All of us artists need a kid who can make us some real money!<br /><br />Anyhow, thanks for another great installment of your blog, Leif.<br /><br />Huw Evans<br />EYECATCHER Graphics & Design<br /><br />http://www.eyecat.com/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com