09 Tam – The Bull
(Trooper Delgado Punished)
There's
a sinister, militaristic flavour in this image of a Latin American
soldier demoted to the ranks and disciplined after failing to
capture a rebel leader. An audience of troopers has gathered to
witness their former Sergeant's fall from grace and gloat over his
previously unsuspected masochism, revealed by the whipping. Tam shows a balding
patch on the disgraced NCO's head indicating his maturity - which
makes his humiliation in front of the younger soldiers all the worse.
There's a sense of depth in this picture and a convincing interaction
between the main protagonists although I think Tam's missed a trick
by not curling the tip of the whip back into the picture somewhere.
This punishment is most severe, judging by the weals on the victim's
back but Tam's depictions are rather less graphic than Tagame's.
10 Tam – Policeman's
Woodland Whipping
There's
something quite poignant about the tattered remnants of clothing and
wincing expression of the Policeman in this simple image which is
focussed entirely on the recipient of the punishment. I have always
found the British Police Uniform pretty un-erotic (unlike their US
counterparts) so I have to admire the way Tam extracts erotic value
here. The woodland setting looks a bit like one of Tom's logger's
camps.
11 Tam – Sex Slaver
(MP Wrenched)
Whilst
standard whippings (above) and fist beatings are a mainstay in Tam's
pictures he invents a particularly nasty torture for the kidnapped MP
in 'Sex Slavers' where two heavy, adjustable wrenches are clamped to
his nipples
- to promote their enlargement(!)
In a
rare moment of humour the kidnapper's discover to their delight that
this process can also be used to force the production of 'bull milk'
for their breakfast cereal. I would imagine early morning must be a
particularly favourable time for extraction! The open space in this
picture suggests another illustration has been removed by the artist.
12 Tam Sex Slavers
(Gold)
As
the 'Sex Slavers' story develops, the focus of the kidnapper's
brutality switches back and forth between the MP and his fellow
captive, the civilian policeman. This device has the effect of constantly
rekindling the reader's anticipation and interest in what will happen
next. It's much harder to sustain interest in a procession of
tortures against the same victim.
This picture shows both captives as the Cop is secured for ringing (see
08, Part 1) the MP being left to deal with his wrenches alone. The
two men in this story, complete strangers before their abductions,
develop a rather manly, comradeship in their shared cell and are
eventually forced into sex together. However, the romance comes to an
abrupt end when they are unceremoniously sedated and packed into
separate crates for onward shipment to their purchasers. Nice.
This
picture is not really integrated as
a single scene in the conventional sense but made with separate
images placed together – it's a bit like cut-aways in a film
brought together on the page. Switching between these two parallel
elements of the picture creates an unexpected sense of space and time
around the scene. The 'tit-ringing' picture (08 in the previous post)
can be read in the same way, showing the tension between the
struggling pair and the disapproving on-looker. It's the absence of a
unifying background that makes this effect possible. Is it
intentional on the artist's part or an interesting accident? See next
picture.
13
Tam – Cop Lesson (Endurance)
'Cop Lesson' features a policeman who hires a body builder offering
lessons in Advanced S&M. The tit-weight test is the highlight of
his session, at the cop's own request and it's clearly a favourite
with Tam too. He paints the policeman in this story as a meek man
completely lacking in the ultra masculine bravado of other Tam
authority figures (that's despite his intimidating physique, but it's by
no means an implausible characterisation). He humbly submits to the
instructions and the brutality of the 'Dom' who for his own part is
pretty disinterested, as is evident in the picture I have chosen, where he's watching TV.
There's a companion picture in which the Policeman's pecs are even
more stretched by the weight but his anguish is ignored by the Dom
who is now casually working his way through the racing results and
several cans of beer.
This is a more recent work and the drawing of the two characters is
nicely done. Tam uses the same technique we discussed before:- two
images (barely connected) plus a blank background (which you can see
he has taken pains to create, if you look closely). The effect is
even more marked in the other picture but it's not as pretty as this
one. However, it's obvious in this example that Tam is deliberately
trying to create a sense of time passing and of the characters
existing separately within their shared story. It brings out the idea of the torture being a personal trial for the Policeman,
proceeding independently of the torturer, but still under his
control.
It's difficult to express this in words but you can see something
similar in the imagery by 'Roped Studs' of the model Cam (below).
Cam is tied
to a table with a row of pegs across his chest which produce a
particularly spectacular effect when he aches his head backwards. In
the clip he simply strains against the ropes or changes position to
ease the discomfort, occasionally grunting or expelling his breath in
frustration and pain. It's quite different to the usual manic
struggling and creates a powerful sense of bondage restraint being a
slow-burning torture with the prisoner left to face it alone.
That, I
think, is what Tam is trying to do.
14 Stokes Punishment
(Slapped in the Face)
'Stoke's
Punishment' is one of Tam's longest stories and in the course of 200
odd pictures the Navy Officer is pretty much continuously beaten
by a disaffected member of his crew and his henchmen. Having first
been softened up with fists and kicking, he is stripped down to his
underwear (augmented with sexy uniform bits in Tam's usual fashion)
before being confronted with this viciously wielded strap. Targeting
the face when the rest of the body is so invitingly available is very
unexpected. This is a highly original image, a sort of masculine
equivalent of the bitch slap and invokes much the same reaction of
surprised shock - in both the character on the page
- and the viewer too,
if you are anything like me.
15 Stokes Punishment
(Topped and Tailed)
Stoke's
torment continues on a Tagame-esque course with a concrete block
strung between his nipples and a large dildo simultaneously inserted
into his ass. The dildo is held in place by straps embellished with
evil spikes that pierce the buttocks when drawn tight. Stoke's manly
fortitude in the face of this barrage of pain is conveyed by a
stiffly erect posture and Tam's succinct and earthy dialogue. His
tell-tale, dripping cock, however, goes unremarked. Tam doesn't usually
indulge in multiple simultaneous tortures and I must say I normally
prefer the simple approach, but it makes for a spectacular image.
Stoke's
character – and his tenderised buttocks - are about to be tested
further by the appearance on the scene of his fuck-buddy from the
ship, a junior rating who will cane his spiked ass in an attempt to
convince the kidnapper that he too has a grudge against Stoke. The
Lieutenant's angry dismay at this apparent betrayal is a nice twist
to the story.
16 Stokes Punishment
(The Climax)
Sadly
(or happily for us perhaps!), the would-be rescuer's deception is
spotted by the kidnappers, Stoke's cane pain is all in vain and the
boyfriend himself ends up gagged with Stoke's dildo, presumably
spikes and all – uumm. He looks on in amazement as Stokes's
flogging continues to a spectacular, spouting climax. Much to my
chagrin, Tam shows the crucial vinegar lash (above) in a separate
picture to the resulting fountain, but nevertheless this marriage of
sex and pain is memorable and I'm sure you can imagine it!
Tam
is a great reviser of his own work. I have several versions of this
story collected over the years and not all of them include this
picture or it's spurting companion. Collecting Tam's work is not
without it's challenges! Variants are proliferated by his practice of
cleaning up pictures and splitting up multi-sketch pages (which also
affects numbering of course). He also revises pictures with patches
of electronic shading sometimes and the dialogue, which is
handwritten in originals, appears typed in other versions, sometimes
with altered wording to clarify or enhance the story.
For nerds like
me it's a fascinating world to explore.
17
Got Yah! (Kneed in the Groin)
It's
back to basics for my last two examples. I don't know which story
this comes from, it seems to show a routine Driving Licence check
going slightly awry. It seems to sum up much of Tam's work, a violent
revolt against authority and power, which I'm sure many if not all of
my readers will totally 'get'. (Interestingly my word processor
suggested completing this sentence as “get-em-off” – but I leave that up
to you!) In his uniform, the moustached policeman does seem to have
acquired an air of pomposity and arrogance while the assailant
manages to be both tough looking and cute, although he's not so cute that
he doesn't know the basics of street fighting.
While
clothing usually plays a key part in Tam's story-telling, he
sometimes seems undecided about whether his characters are dressed or
not and this is quite a nice example. Fabric becomes ethereal,
clinging to the body and necklines fade away (and trouser waistbands
in other pictures, like 09 above).
Is this a representation of
multiple points in time? I jest!
18 Stoke's Punishment
(On your feet lieutenant!)
My
final image is another expression of contempt for authority. It's
from Stoke's Punishment but could equally have come from almost any
one of Tam's stories. Unlike modern day porn stars, Lt Stoke doesn't
eagerly gobble up the urine but turns his head away in distaste. The
beauty of Tam's work is that victims show realistic reactions to
their abuse, they wince when struck (14), they concentrate and tense
when enduring pain (13), they become tearful when it all gets too
much and too unfair (10). It often is unfair, but as we
all know only too well, life is unfair. And it's nice to dump it back
on someone else sometimes. And as the characters themselves come to
realise, there's always an orgasm to compensate.
I
would happily have produced several more articles on Tam, I haven't
even mentioned his Fantasy/Sci-Fi themes which notably feature a
transparent 'milking globe' enclosing the male organs and impaling
the tip with a delivery tube. I should also have praised his
championing of the erotic attractions of the older man, his ability
to make age-lined faces and receding hairlines look good. Perhaps
another time.
I
suppose Tam's work primarily appeals to men of a certain age and with
British backgrounds, but his underlying messages, often speaking the
unspeakable, are universal and bravely delivered (somewhat
un-Britishly) in uncompromising and direct terms – much like his
men fight – but without resorting to shockingly repulsive extremes.
His technique is not seductive but quirky and interesting and if it
doesn't totally scale the artistic heights it certainly reaches
erotic regions that other artists can only dream of. In any case, like
Tagame, it's designed to tell a story, not hang on a wall to be
admired, but nevertheless I find plenty to admire in his work.
Several
Tam sites have come and gone over the years, both on Yahoo and Google
Groups and his latest base seems to be at Tams
Art blog
For other articles in this series click on the A-Z label below
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