The Art of Al Williamson

>The Art of Al Williamson is a wonderful little collection of interviews and artwork that was put together by James Van Hise back in 1983. Thought I would post just some of the great stuff that you can find in this book as a way of generating interest in this great artist and this fantastic publication. If you ever see it available don't hesitate, buy it! I'll start with some of the beautiful sketches and drawings found inside. As always, just click the image to enlarge...

The following images are pictures of Al Williamson and his circle of friends (including the great painter Frank Frazetta) dressed in various outfits while posing for the illustrations that they created for E.C. Comics.

The following are samples of some of the interviews, first up, the legendary Bill Gaines. As always, click the images to enlarge...

Another interview below with the painter Frank Frazetta...

George Lucas insisted on Al Williamson for the Newspaper Strip version of Star Wars...

I think the coolest thing about this wonderful little book is the interview with Roy Krenkel. For anyone unfamiliar with this guy (and sadly, he is obscure...) I encourage you to learn more about him. He was a great artist and a passionate teacher/advocate for the field of comics and illustration. The first page below kicks off with Fred Fredericks talking about Al Williamson's love of the old Republic Serials and the influence that legendary stuntman Dave Sharpe had on his work. Simply click on these pages to embiggin.

I'll finish out this post with the extraordinary splash page from Incredible Science Fiction #32. The page was a collaboration between Krenkel And Williamson and even though it was drawn over half a century ago it still stands as one of the finest things ever published in the history of comics. Click the image to enlarge and take your time enjoying it...

The following are links related to this post...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Williamson

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/arts/design/21williamson.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Krenkel

http://www.bpib.com/illustra2/krenkel.htm

http://www.kaluta.com/pages/text/krenkel.html