I rather like Felix D'Eon's eclectic range of artistic styles which encompass various, traditional, 'old-fashioned' techniques, sometimes imitating them for subjects they were never intended for. These two examples of his 'vintage comic' style are good examples in a mode from a bygone era, aimed then at younger people, but here featuring mature subjects and mature men (and he makes such a good job of showing that he understands their attractions you wonder why he bothers so much with fledglings).
The superhero here is El Oso, The Bear. Hence the paw on the front of his suit. I love the way D'Eon has subverted the clean cut (American) view of such men with the very gay iconography of a romantic, chunky 'bear' finding his mate (I nearly said cub but that would be an inappropriate word after what I said above!). He's been whisked away from danger clad, appropriately enough, in just his very traditional, white Y-fronts which are betraying his own inner feelings. It's a splendid recognition that ordinary men are admirable and sexy too.
The drawing here doesn't have to be spot-on but the perspective treatment of the fleeing arsonist down below is pretty natty (and very much in accord with the chosen style). The trail of El Oso's flight however is less impressive, suggesting that the great man is flying sideways. Maybe he is, or maybe it's an imitation of the naivety in 1950's originals, but whichever the case I'm glad I'm not the only artist who draws himself into a corner sometimes!
In the Spanish dialogue here, 'chispas' is an expression of anger, "i mi plan ha sido arruinado por el oso" simply means "and my plan has been ruined by The Bear". The shrine to the virgin on the front lawn is another Spanish feature.
This picture picks up another typical genre paired with this comic style, the western. I don't think men in union suits with plunging necklines ever featured in those original cowboy comics. It's a mode of dress that always seems deliciously seedy and earthy, thanks partly to those realist cowboy films that depict them as underwear that is never taken off or washed. I like that this cowboy has donned his best boots and hat for his morning constitutional on the front porch.
(I confess I'm not exactly sure what a morning 'Joe' is, J/O?).
More Deon at mitchmen blog
6 comments:
Felix d'Eon is wonderfully eclectic. The garden front statue of the Virgin is surely suburban USA ?California? rather then Old Spain.
I think Joe refers to 'a cup of joe ' meaning a cup of coffee ..... "Why is coffee called a cup of Joe?
The iconic nickname, a “cup of Joe,” has several origin stories. One legend concerns Josephus Daniels, the Secretary of the Navy during World War I. In 1914, he banned alcohol consumption on all U.S. Navy ships. Since coffee was the next strongest substitute, sailors sarcastically deemed it “a cup of Josephus,” but as that was a bit of a mouthful, the snarky nickname became shortened to just “a cup of Joe.” Have a coffee lover in your life? Check out the best gifts for coffee lovers.
So that’s why coffee is called a cup of Joe?
Well, not exactly. The Josephus Daniels story probably isn’t true. The term “cup of Joe” only appears in writing for the first time in 1930—long after the Navy’s ban on alcohol. Truthfully, the question “why is coffee called a cup of Joe?” has no clear answer. A much likelier theory is based on linguistics. This theory states that “Joe” is the simplified form of the word “jamoke,” which began as a nickname for coffee in the 19th century, a portmanteau of the coffee beans “Java,” and “mocha.” Therefore, “cup of jamoke” may have become shortened to a “cup of Joe.”
You could be right. I originally intended to use the word Hispanic to embrace the New World but didn't want to stir up unwecome undertones. Representations of the virgin can be seen on frontages in Spain, but I can't say I'm familiar with open plan suburban gardens in that country.
Re: Joe - Thanks for the fascinating explanations
I like the fact that the underwear is just slightly gratuitously smaller than that type of brief normally is. I like to think that, despite whatever attraction he feels for the superhero, the rescued man is also clinging closely to him to hide his public humiliation. Firefighters rescuing naked or nearly naked men from burning buildings, and slowly carrying them down tall ladders to a busy street filled with reporters and cameras is a favorite theme. They’ve been saved from a burning building after all, so they can scarcely complain about the fact that they are nude in front of scores of people. At least not without seeming ungrateful, hypersensitive, and childish when it’s entirely possible that the fireman is secretly savoring putting them in that position, knowing that they will seem ridiculous if they complain.
Very good! I must admit that it's a scenario I've not thought about before, surprisingly!
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