Tom of Finland - Mr Universe, part 2 (interim version3)

You can read Part 1 of this article first if you wish

 

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 08 (Oiling Up)

 

On the day of the contest, the buddies change into their costumes and oil up. The dark haired one is being assisted here by some very butch-looking young men. The scenario provides an excuse for some fairly intimate contact between them. The bodybuilder has got himself a sexy, dark pouch with a chain for the waistband, and one of the assistants actually seems to be putting him into it. It's a daring ingredient, albeit well-disguised by a confusing arrangement of hands. 

 

The blond changes his clothes, unassisted. There's a sense of his friend getting all the attention, being pampered and hero worshipped. He's playing up to it, too, striking a god-like beefcake pose with modest downcast eyes. His blond buddy does not seem too dismayed or jealous. He is, perhaps, proud of his friend changing from a clumsy, ugly duckling into a swan. Interestingly, his beefcake pose also resembles the ballet dancer's 'petit pose' and this conjures up another swan connection - 'Swan Lake', which is also about transformations. However, the Black Swan in that ballet plays a very dark role.  

 

 There's no doubt about this image being part of the 'Universe' set, it was explicitly labelled as such (with title) in Scan issue 8, circa August 1961. The distinctive chain pouch helps to assign other, later images to this set. Apart from these, I know of only one another image by Tom which features this pouch design, it is included in the mitchmen 'Tailor Group' article (previously referenced in Part 1 of Mr Universe). That other image is not part of this set, the pouch is white and it's being worn in a studio setting, suggesting a porn star being dressed or fluffed up for participation in something very different. Interestingly, it's another connected image dated as 1963 in the Tom of Finland Retrospective Vol 1, but the Universe image above is definitely 1961. 

 

Notice the number 1 written in the bottom left corner. This may offer an explanation of the 1961 v 1963 date confusion. That the later images in Part 1 were post-scripts, prequels if you like, inspired by and elaborating on the run-up to the contest.  That doesn't explain image 3, however, which is indistinguishable in style and provenance from the group presented here.

 

 

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 09

 The boys strut their stuff on the competition stage.

 

Obviously this is only a fragment of the full image and although it didn't appear until later (in 101 Boys Art Quarterly for Summer 1965), it did so alongside other fragments from the Universe series so it's almost certainly part of it. There wasn't much mileage for Tom in drawing beefcake posing when the magazines were awash with photographs of the real thing, so it's not entirely surprising that no copies of the full image have been found. The cropping here might lead you to suppose that Tom spiced it up with some provocative, costume detail deemed too daring. However, this publication seems to have used cropping arbitrarily, perhaps to evade copyright challenges.

 

 

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 10

 

Needless to say, one of the two boys is fated to win the contest. It turns out to be the blond who has appeared to be the more confident and polished one throughout the (my) story. In a flip of image 8, it's now him who is being feted (with exceptional generosity) by his beaten rivals. Tom uses an unconventional viewpoint at the rear of the stage which shows the enormous, equally excited audience almost clamouring to get on the stage with them. This is the era of pop star adulation, remember, with screaming 'Beatlemania' just around the corner.

 

Tom's backstage viewpoint also shows us the backsides of the bodybuilders, who are all, as expected, wearing very skimpy costumes, halfway to being backless thongs. The two-man lift has parted the blond's legs (and butt cheeks) creating an extremely suggestive view (the serial croppers at '101 Boys' printed an unsubtle fragment of this specific area framed only by a glimpse of supporting shoulders). Despite this sexy detail, the image was used to advertise the series in Scan 9 (Nov 1961).

 

However, the version above is not the complete image.....

 

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 10 (version 2)

 This version of the victor's celebration was used to promote the series later, in Man Alive #19 (Mar 1962). It reveals that the blond's dark-haired buddy is watching the proceedings from one side and looking defeated, disappointed and envious. 

 

Notice the lines top and bottom that seem to suggest this version was meant to be cropped as well. However, the extra detail is an important link to what follows. The accompanying blurb talks portentously of 'back-stage struggles'.

 

Notice the Number '3' in the bottom corner of this picture (following the No 1 in image 8). 

 

 

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 11

  

As the competitors leave the stage, there's an extraordinary confrontation between the two buddies. The darker one attacks his friend, clamping a hand over his mouth as if he's just made some gloating, disparaging remark about him or perhaps disclosed a secret. The cherished trophy is sent flying. This sudden animosity is entirely unexpected*. 

 

But look what is happening at waist level!  He's pulling the blond into a tight embrace, which doesn't suggest their friendship is in any danger. Both their pouches are swollen and nestling together in a remarkably explicit sexual statement for it's time. 

 

The attacker's knee is raised between his friend's thighs, which might be an angry ball-bashing attack, but in reality it seems to be more about contacting his groin and prising his legs open. This detail might just be Tom milking the erotic potential of the scene, but it also seems like an echo of what the loser has just watched other men do to his buddy in image 10. Also, it may be my over-active imagination, but the blond's six-pack seems to have taken on the shape of a giant penis. There's certainly a remarkably strong line tracing down his body to his buddy's groin. 

 

 *Perhaps his annoyance is less surprising if you discount the introductory, character developing images and narrative which I assembled for Part 1. A comment posted here while I was composing this commentary says the set was originally called 'Beating Mr Universe' which implies he's probably just a sore loser. These days we could just blame steroids.

 

There may have been some cropping of his image, but disembodied hands reaching towards the sexy subject of the picture were a popular device at this time. You can see them in Etienne's calendar images and there's a similar 'off-stage' presence in Harry Bush's surfer pictures. Perhaps it's reflecting the cruel plight of men in the 60's who suffered from forbidden desires and were doomed to a life of hiding in perpetual frustration.

 

 

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 12

 The bystanders drag the two combatants apart. While they glare at each other, the darker one gets a gratuitous groping. It's clear he still has plenty of admirers, the two on either side of him match those seen in image 8*. 

 

Darkie is revealed to have a giant bulge in his pouch, but it's not clear whether it's because of his feelings for his buddy or because of the guy cupping his pecs and furtively snuggling up to his uncovered backside.  

 

The blond on the right seems poised to attack, this pose can be seen in other fight images by Tom. It's not particularly interesting, but Tom has cleverly positioned his fist in a suggestive position close to the crotch of one of the supporters. 

 

*Tom's fastidious attention to detailing the supporting cast as individuals and regular guys of ambiguous sexuality is one of the joys of his older work. In later years, they tended to become leather clones or cops, which were more or less the same thing.

 

 

 

ToF Index 

 

This Article is Work in Progress, 

More Commentary and Images Soon 

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe, part 1 (updated Wed 24th)

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 01

Two leather guys (with hunky bubble butts) ponder the possibilities of bodybuilding, having just read that the 'Mr Universe' competition will be coming to a venue near them next year. 

 

As I explain in my introductory article, to the series, this image is dated as 1963 in the Tom of Finland Retrospective Vol 3, not 1961, the date when this series was first advertised. Arguably, it's more sophisticated, stylistically, than some of the images that follow. The boot tops showing through the jeans show amazing attention to detail. Nevertheless, weight-training by a blond and dark-haired couple does figure in the Universe story, so this image makes the perfect starting image.

 

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 02

 

 The buddies embark on a programme of weight training, with their naivety about the subject much in evidence. The blond in the foreground makes a clumsy effort at training with an old-fashioned dumb-bell, which even in 1961* was reserved for comic, circus effect. His dark-haired friend struggles to even lift his more modern, barbell weights. His technique is terrible (bending his back, instead of his legs) but it produces a sight that is sexy as well as amusing. 

 

Neither of them has bothered to change into gym gear for these exertions. So, it's no wonder that the more experienced gym user, watching their efforts, is laughing at them! That's the sort of humiliation that every young man dreads. The on-looker is completely naked and standing suggestively close to the inviting ass, which is screening his nudity from us. It's a juxtaposition which is full of possibilities, but Tom is the soul of discretion. 

 

This particular image, unusually for Tom, has an 'assembled' look, as if separate images have been married together. This was a style that Luger (Colt) would soon make his own. *Like image 1, this image is actually dated as 1963 in the Tom of Finland Retrospective Vol 3 

 

 

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 03

As if chastened by their taste of gym culture, the boys head for the beach. The blond seems to have made phenomenal progress, so perhaps we're a few months further on here. He is giving advice to his less advanced buddy. Both of them still seem to have dressed more with an eye to the posing opportunity offered by the beach, rather than donning serious training gear. Perhaps for this reason, both seem to be finding their physical endeavours positively arousing. 

 

The presence of weight training equipment on a beach is probably less surprising to US readers than those in other parts of the world, where the muscle beach phenomenon is virtually unknown. There will normally be other users of the equipment around as well, of course, so the pair may not be spared further ridicule.

 

This picture has been assembled by me from two separate fragments that were printed in 101 Boys Art Quarterly in Summer 1965. It's almost certainly not the full picture, Tom didn't usually crop this tightly and I suspect there's another character around, observing the boys' efforts (compare with the images above and below).

 

This picture illustrates the difference in style between the 1961 and 1963 images, but the apparent fuzziness could easily be due to the reproduction process used by the magazine. It may have been pirated.  

 

 

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 04

The blond shows his friend how to do an overhead lift, but his serious mentoring turns into farce as the tiny towel he's tied round his waist becomes dislodged and flutters to the ground. There's a deliciously wry expression on the blond's face, an 'oh-oh' moment. His friend is highly amused and another fine beach specimen, out strutting his stuff, is also there to witness his embarrassment. 

 

This image, like No 3, is almost certainly cropped closer than Tom's original, fairly obviously to the right and left, but also above with only a tiny fragment of the weights visible. It has the effect of drawing attention to the laughing spectator at the water's edge. I don't think any significant elements are missing, however.

 

 

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 05 (extra)

This image of a blond body-builder, turned on by his own physique, is not part of the Universe set, it dates from much later - 1982*. It fits in well, however, as an illustration of the bikers' growing obsession with their new hobby (and the effect on their vanity). 

 

* This image is not at all typical of Tom's other 1982 work, which is all about the leather scene he had immersed himself in. Perhaps it was a nostalgic throwback. In most copies of this image, the wall is washed out and indistinguishable from the mirror, so I have applied AI to bring it out better.

 

 

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 06 (extra)

 The change in the bodybuilders' physiques as their development progresses means that before long their old clothes no longer fit them.

 This is probably not part of the set either, but it is a near contemporary (1960) and again serves to illustrate the progress of the men's quest to achieve muscledom. The original was (I think) a wry observation on the 1960s fad for sitting in the bath in new jeans so they would shrink to fit.

 

 

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 07 (maybe?)

 As the contest draws nearer, the boys go shopping to get their posing outfits. 

They are both visibly more muscular. 

 

 I don't know for sure if this is a Mr Universe image, it's a maybe. However, the subject fits and the two protagonists look like buddies and are blond and dark haired. The image is listed in the Tom of Finland Retrospective, Vol 2, but is undated. However, it is positioned amongst a group of pictures from 1963. That is also the 'official' date of several of those shown above. 

 

Tom had a bit of a thing about tailors around this time. This image also appears in that article and I speculate that the flared trousers look 1970s, but they were also fashionable in the 60s and often turned up on sailors of course. These days no-one get measured for new clothes and the old joke about inside leg measurements has gone the way of the ark.

 

Next time - The Mr Universe Contest.

 

The official source for Tom of Finland work is of course 

The Tom of Finland Foundation 

Tom of Finland - The Mystery of 'Mr Universe'

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 01

If you are a fan of Tom of Finland, you will probably be familiar with this image. It's shows two leather guys pondering the world of bodybuilding and the 'Mr Universe' competition, which seems to be coming to a venue near them 'next year'. This image is often presented as a stand-alone work, presumably because of its aspirational, 'Pride' message, but it's actually part of a 'Mr Universe' series which was widely documented in its time* but seems to have become lost or dispersed since then. This article is an attempt to reconstruct it from contemporary sources. 

 

*The Tom of Finland Retrospective (vol 1) dates this image to 1963, but the 'Mr Universe' series seems to have appeared in late 1961 (see below). It's not impossible that Tom produced this picture later, but it's obviously related, and I have chosen to make it the opening image for my reconstructed series. 

 

According to Valentine-Hooven (in "Tom of Finland, His Life and Times" p101) Tom did the series for Rex Pickering at 'Scan' Magazine, and it was indeed first advertised in 'Scan' issue 9. It was also advertised simultaneously in issue 17 of 'Man Alive' (which we can date precisely to Nov 1961). In the latter source, it is actually advertised as a 'Hussar Studio' product. Around this time, Hussar also published Tom's 'Thieving Cowboy' series, about which there is even wilder confusion over publication dates! See the 2023 mitchmen 'Thieving Cowboy' article for more on Tom's relationship with Royale /Hussar.

 

 

Tom of Finland - The Leather Outfit Thief 01 (my title)

 

  We don't know exactly how Tom viewed 'bikers' at this time, in the 'Mr Universe' image (top) they are drawn as cute boys with bubble butts, looking slightly naive in their leather jackets. However, in a contemporary series illustrated above, the leather man is portrayed as a muscular, god-like creature, worshipped from the bushes by an envious youth. It's another series (like the Thieving Cowboy) in which a set of clothes is stolen, and the same thing happens in the second of the 'Kake' series. In 1964, it's the motorbike itself that gets stolen. All these miscreants end up on the receiving end of a severe belting, and Tom's work is littered with handsome leather men treating eager, initiates in the same way. That's a good excuse for including one of my own favourite Tom images....

 

Tom of Finland - Leather Initiation

 In later life, Tom was absorbed into the world of leather that fascinated him so much. Quite which end of the belt he saw himself is not known, but the experience of having his own drawings stolen in 1954 and widely pirated after he became famous may be relevant. In that context, the aspiration of two biker dandies to become more muscular and, by implication, more manly, makes perfect sense. 

 

 

Tom of Finland - Test Your Strength

 

This image, with the same youthful admirer from the Leather Outfit Thief, is also from 1961. It's actually part of the 'Circus Set' but embodies, in a more positive way, the idea of manly role models for gay men to aspire to.

 

The 'Mr Universe' series isn't about joining the Leather Clan, but it is very much about justice and assertiveness. The scarcity of surviving, intact images is probably a reflection of Tom's attempts to control the distribution of his own work. In 1965 '101 Boys Art Quarterly' was able to publish only fragments of some of the individual images. In the same year, AMG published a couple of (complete) images from the set in Physique Pictorial with a typically waspish comment to the effect that they offered many of Tom's series for sale, but this wasn't one of them!

 

Valentine-Hooven says there were 12 to 15 pictures in the series, I have identified a group of 17 images that seem related, of which 2 or 3 are dubious, but interesting. 

 

The story begins in the next post.  

 

Art by Aizenhower

In this article I have gathered together a selection of work attributed to Aizenhower which I just happen to like. He seems to have an amazing range of styles and I don't claim this to be a comprehensive or balanced review. The titles are mine, generally his own simply provide names of the fantasy heroes depicted, rather than the subject matter.

Shower Stud

Shower scenes have always been meat and drink to the soft porn industry and it's usually a private place for reflection and the release of personal tensions, but there's a hint of  'Psycho' about this image. The strong, chunky hunk washing his hero-length hair unexpectedly shows a sexy vulnerability at being disturbed, vulnerability verging on panic .

Behind Bars

A hero's life is not all steamy, but there's plenty of sex. This one faces the double jeopardy of being tied up and locked up in a cell at the mercy of his captors. However, he must surely have consented in some way to this arrangement to be exploited by a guard through the bars of his cage. Possibly it's a ploy to escape, worth the teeth-gritting unpleasantness, but his bushing cheeks reveal that it's still an affront to his self image. It's a great picture.

Double Trouble

It's not clear whether this is a captivity situation but it does look as if the man at the middle of this trio is not very happy about being fought over. His paler skin colour seems to suggest innocence and softness, desirable qualities that are amplified by the vulnerable position they have put him in. One of the two men fighting over him seems to be the muscular hunk from the shower (above) and he has a similarly confused expression here. The third man seems to be a lot keener on sharing (or acquiring) the prize, definitely up for it you might say. He has a curious, old-fashioned moustache that used to be the sign of a foppish cad. 

Chained up and Open

Almost the same position of vulnerability but the addition of restraining chains and a bare, supporting shelf transforms it into a more intense situation. Tom of Finland almost invented this image back in 1970, giving it a disarmingly whimsical treatment (see below). Aizenhower's captive has a more modern appearance and a more serious expression at the prospect of initiation into the dark mysteries. 

Tom of Finland - Biker chained to a wall

 Tom of Finland's interpretation is surprisingly frank for it's time.

Typically, it's full of ambiguity and improbable body positions. 

But there's a distinct sense of a man getting his comeuppance.

click on the label at the foot of the post for more Tom of Finland imagery

Butt Machine

The initiation of the novice continues. 

The impersonal power of the machine is somehow more daunting than even the most intimidating of men. More exciting perhaps if you've taken the dare, but terrifying if you haven't.

Morning Wood

Beds are like showers, they are normally a place of safety, 

a place for recharging batteries and relieving of tension.

But like Showers and Psycho, there's an exception to every rule.....

Medical groping

An appointment at the clinic turns into something else. 

I can't understand why this man is complaining!

This is the sort of carer we'd all like to have.

Milking Therapy

Alone with the machine, this patient might wish the hunky medic was back. This milking device is clearly designed to extract more than a small sample. I love the bubbling flask of accumulating discharge in the foreground. The pressure gauge emphasises the intensity of the process and, like the butt machine, it's completely impersonal and unresponsive to appeals. Interestingly the patient is not restrained but there comes a point in this process where he's no longer in control anyway.

Big as an Arm

This more-stylised cartoon uses a similar characterisation of inexperience to the trio picture at the top of this post. The humour here has a tang of truth about it and harks back to the 'It's Gonna Hurt!' porn genre that enjoyed a vogue a few years back until realisation dawned that it was mostly clever camera work and the innocent-acting model on screen didn't find it anywhere near as daunting as the viewer. Which is not to say they weren't bring stretched!

Rugby Tackle

The artist uses a completely different style here and has created a remarkable sense of movement and drama. I'm a fan of rugby imagery and this takes all those pulled shorts pictures to the hoped-for next stage where the tackler grabs his opponents tackle. Aizenhower has captured the stereotypical, physical character traits of rugby players but I suspect the horrified expression of the tackled man is wishful thinking!

Big man spanked

The ability of cartoons to express movement makes them a good medium for spanking imagery and it also defuses the violence. That sense of comeuppance is evident again here where a big man has been stripped naked and is receiving a punishment that's turning his backside as red as his hair. If he has a fiery temperament it's not helped him and the man who is taming him has a youthful look and devilish grin that adds insult to his humiliation.

Underfoot

This character, another conspicuously large man, is shown suffering a more subtle and arguably more profound humiliation. He's been forced to kneel completely naked before robed men who might be part of some mystical order, Samurai perhaps. They contemptuously rest their shoes on him, prod him and cruelly expose his sexual enjoyment at being dominated by them.  

The Samurai's Pleasure

Samurai Warriors are a class apart and not renounced for their kindness to defeated enemies. This image is based on a character called Samurai Champloo whose name apparently means 'making it up as you go along'. That has an ominous ring for this prisoner who can expect anything to happen to him.

Sweaty Lovers

A more conventional statement to end on. The cartoon technique is able to add a little extra via the facial expressions and profuse sweating.

~ 

I haven't found a mainstream site for Aizenhower, his Twitter account is suspended.

There are images at Danbboru and Rule34 and many others if you search.

Classic Homoerotic Images 6

 I have taken the liberty of repeating this image from a recent post 
to accord it it's rightful place in my series of homoerotic classics.

Tom Of Finland - Leather Lovers (1963)

Tom's image of two leather men sensuously nuzzling dicks a classic.

Their affectionate embrace is a bold assertion of the true nature of gay sexuality.

It has deservedly become a much-loved expression of Gay Pride.

Arguably the greatest Homoerotic Image of them all.

Contrast this image with the superficially similar image of cowboys helping each other to dress by Colt. It was pirated by Vivienne Westwood to adorn T-shirts during the punk era, a supposedly shocking product. Colt's image is 6 years later than Tom's and it's deliberately camp. It's another valid view of gay relationships but one that only embraces sexuality in an amusing, titillating way. Westwood's use of it may have been a public recognition of the gay world, but did little to alter perceptions of homosexuality.

Tom of Finland's 'Thieving Cowboy'

Tom of Finland - The Thieving Cowboy 01

 The villain of the piece spies on his target.

He is a young man dressed in very tight jeans and a leather jacket,

a garment that shows off his dinky bubble butt to perfection.  

He's not obviously a cowboy though, despite the implication of the title.

Tom of Finland - The Thieving Cowboy 02

Seeing there is no-one around, he ventures into the tack room and lifts down a saddle.

He doesn't have the face of a villain, maybe he only wants to sniff it. 

A passing cowboy spots what he is doing and stops to investigate.

But it looks as though it's those juicy buns that have really caught his eye.

We can only imagine his reaction when he sees the impressive shaping at the front,

looming large and unprotected as the young man leans across the box.

The glimpse of  his 'belly button' under the jacket is a delicious detail.

In this sensitively copied image you can see the glorious sensuality of Tom's shading 

which has been largely washed away by the 'enhancement' of image 1. 

(see introductory article )

Tom of Finland - The Thieving Cowboy 03

He is challenged by a muscular, bare topped cowboy,

You can almost hear the poor lad stammering as he tries to explain himself.

With the passage of time, the striped trousers Tom has given the cowboy to wear have become an incongruity that's hard to swallow. I don't think the fashion was that popular even in the 50's, not in the UK anyway. Now they look as though they belong in a circus rather than a ranch. By contrast the young man's classic jacket and jeans have hardly aged at all although young men don't wear them as tight as this any more (worse luck!).

 

Tom of Finland - The Thieving Cowboy 05

It's not obvious here whether the cowboy has tried to apprehend the intruder

 or grabbed his jacket or attempted something even more scary for the young man.

It turns out he's not the pussy he looked, having grown into real beefcake all of a sudden.

He sends his attacker reeling away. I'm not quite sure how he's done it though. 

A slap? A head butt? (or BO perhaps?) 

The collapsing cowboy seems to present his crotch bulge to his dangling hand.

But a second cowboy interrupts them at this dramatic, suggestive moment.

I've left a gap in my numbering before this picture

 to allow for the existence of a more explanatory intermediate image 

(see introductory article re: numbering)

Tom of Finland - The Thieving Cowboy 06

The intervention of cowboy No.2 turns the tables. He puts the hunky intruder into an arm lock, making him bend over, seemingly perched on his thigh. Coincidentally, a degree of lumpiness has resurfaced in those tight jeans. This is one of Tom's great physical domination images, easily ranking alongside the careless motorcyclist and coffee-spilling sailor classics. 

Cowboy No 1 lies dazed on the floor displaying considerable assets of his own in an indecorous, open legged pose. It's similar to another seen here recently in the Colourised Royale Guardsmen post. 

I salvaged this fragment from an old Royale Studio ad with some fairly crude editing but it gives a good idea of the original picture. The struggling pair in the foreground are the essence of the composition, one of the better images in this set. I've also attached an AI-enhanced version that goes to the other extreme but shows what might have been.

Tom of Finland - The Thieving Cowboy 07 

Somehow the captive wriggles free and lunges at his attacker knocking him over. 

He also appears to be taking the chance to grope his opponent's bottom.

In doing so he presents his own backside to the other cowboy 

who returns to the fight with hand outstretched towards the alluring sight.

Tom of Finland - The Thieving Cowboy 08

Cowboy No 2 goes down and the intruder leaps on top of him, fist flailing.

The two men's groins are pressed together but Tom steers clear of the provocative, homoerotic nuzzling of his slightly later, leather lovers (shown below). The slight crotch displacement he uses instead fortuitously produces hint of top and bottom in the alignment. The arched body of the man underneath enhances the impression both of fierce resistance and sexual pleasure.

No 2 seems to be having another go at removing the visitor's leather jacket.

I recovered this image from the same ad as No 6 above and it suffers from the same shortcomings in quality, but there's no mistaking the impressive sense of desperate struggle Tom has managed to capture. He used a similar fight composition in other stories of the this period.

Tom Of Finland - Leather Lovers (1963)

Tom's image of two leather men sensuously nuzzling dicks is a classic.

Their affectionate embrace is a bold assertion of the true nature of gay sexuality.

It has deservedly become a much-loved expression of Gay Pride.

Tom of Finland - The Thieving Cowboy 09

The two cowboys eventually get the upper hand.

They begin to  mete out punishment to the impertinent intruder.

No 2 ties a rope to his ankle to quell his resistance 

while No 1 distracts him with  an open hand spank.

The sequencing of the fight images 5-9 is not completely obvious and there's a temptation to place this image 9 adjacent to No 7 but the initiation of the roping sequence anchors it at the end. The cowboy's hat plays a merry dance of it's own throughout these pictures and is no guide to continuity.

Tom of Finland - The Thieving Cowboy 10

The young man's ankle is tied to a convenient post. The opposing pull of the rope and his restrainer's gagging action produces a flash of curvaceous buttock, a delicious arching of his torso and a look of utter display as he sees his chance of escaping from these men going up in smoke. 

It looks like his jacket is finally coming off.

   

Tom of Finland - The Thieving Cowboy 12

A few minutes later his other ankle is also tied, spread-eagling his feet wide.

One of his wrists has also been tethered and is being pulled out taut.

His jacket is gently eased off his last untethered limb.

A hand clasps his pec and his arousal shows no sign of abating.

Tom of Finland - The Thieving Cowboy 13

For me this is a most exciting moment.

Having secured their captive in an uncomfortable X-stretch,

one of the cowboys starts to extract his belt from the loops in his jeans

The other starts to undo the flies of his jeans.

The captive recoils, but his his indrawn abs are a futile act 

that only adds another sexy detail to the alluring display of his body

He can only watch what they are doing and wonder where it will go. 

Tom of Finland - The Thieving Cowboy 14

With the captive now stretched out helpless, 

cowboy No 1 begins to spank him with his own belt.

His colleague watches the captive's response to the punishment with a faint smile

his jeans are showing signs of strain just below his own belt.

Tom of Finland - The Thieving Cowboy 15

With the spanking in full flow, the recipient bows his head.

Tom brings out the dense muscularity of the spanker's back

which serves to underline the intensity of the punishment.

The on-looker extends his forefinger as though furtively pleasuring himself. 

Tom of Finland - The Thieving Cowboy 16

Finally they release the captive and he sinks to the ground massaging his bottom.

The spectator seems to be showing his approval at the performance,

or is that upraised thumb symbolic of something else?

Notice how their feet are entwined.

Tom of Finland - The Thieving Cowboy 17

No 17 is another nicely drawn, sexy picture which benefits enormously from not having been 'enhanced'.

The thief flees, holding up his jeans but minus his expensive leather jacket.

The blond cowboy could be shouting that he's forgotten his jacket,

but both of them have seemed to be trying to get it off him throughout.

So at this point you might wonder who exactly is the thief ?

You can see that in this picture the offender's ass is completely uncovered. Although we saw the top of his jeans being undone in picture 13, they seemed to remain firmly in place in the images that followed. However the drawing of the waistband in 16 looks as if it may have been an afterthought, a sanitisation of nude buttocks (although this might be a misleading effect of the imperfect picture quality). His X-spread restraint would have prevented complete removal of his jeans anyway, but could it be that between pictures 15 and 17 he was spanked on his bare butt?  

Of course that rueful massage of his buttock could be the aftermath of a more invasive come-uppance. We know from the early biker set discovered in 2015 that Tom was drawing sexually explicit endings to some of his series at least and there are hints throughout this piece that the cowboy's interest in him has a sexual dimension (naturally!). Whatever happened to him was sufficient at any rate to persuade him to abandon his coat and would potentially furnish enough additional material to boost the number of images in the set towards Anderson's claimed total of 26. (See Introductory article)

More Tom of Finland articles at mitchmen

More about Tom at Tom of Finland Foundation