Art by Nevermoredesign

Inspection

There's a mysterious, dungeon-like atmosphere in this image. A muscular stud is secured in a pillory device. His rear end is being examined by a much bigger man, wearing a ritualistic mask. 

 

Crated, Trained

Another image of trapped muscularity. This man's collar is a mark of his status. The uncompromisingly strong iron gate that contains him shows respect for his strength but neutralises it.

 

Sub2

This artist looks at the more arcane activities of leathermen at play. This piggybacking harks back to archaic practices of servants transporting their masters around.  

 

Focus

 'Focus' by this artist depicts the notion of service in a more conventional manner, with a chained slave on his knees about to worship his Master's prized possession. 

Link to original image

 

Exposed

In this image, the artist depicts masculine power of a different sort, with the subject's flamboyant hair and lean physique suggesting streetwise wiliness and earthiness. He confidently removes his clothes in a public toilet. Anonymity is the custom here, and that gives power and freedom.

  

Support

This picture of a man loitering, brazenly naked, in a public alleyway is simple but powerful. Presumably it's a place that he knows will only be frequented by other men who will appreciate his seductive display. He offers himself but his boldness will intimidate some. 

 

Windows

This image seems to show a more organised and intense approach to the same transaction. Rent boys gather at an open window, not just showing their beautiful bodies, but projecting lust and sexual challenge. There's a slightly demonic cast to their expressions that suggests danger lurks within, despite the lure of sexual availability.

There are historical precedents to this imagery 

 

Three

You might sense a more clandestine demon lurking in this image. A man whose dark looks and personality seems to have brought him a pair of admirers jockeying for his attention. He encourages them both with a hint of pleasure to come, but they are not the focus of his attention. He is calculating.

 

Surrender 2

This image (possibly by a different artist) combines the two themes of dungeons and demons. It also seems to express two extremes of desire. A young man with a (possibly naive) interest in the black arts of S&M is being overwhelmed by a hardened expert. His bite condemns the young experimenter into a lifetime in his thrall. 

This scenario suggests a more believable interpretation of who seduced whom in the garden of Eden by taking a bite of the juicy offering.

 

Devil's Due

The title of this dramatic, demon piece suggests it is the inevitable price of bartering with the devil, but there is a sense of naive innocence in the young man's carefully trimmed beard. I suspect some of the toughened characters in this artist's work might see this as a romantic seduction, albeit one that lays bare the pecking order, as it were. Even this celebrant seems to be ecstatic rather than chastened.

 

Cave Troll

The same cannot be said of the hero in this image, which seems to celebrate the disillusionment of good intentions. This Knight Adventurer had no doubt set out hoping to do good by slaying some demons and monsters. Instead, he ends up getting stripped of his protective armour by one and getting the rough end of his stick. He doesn't seem too comfortable with this outcome. 

 

Damned

The title and soaring gothic background here seems to express the conventional, religious interpretation of demons being the agents of eternal, unspeakable punishment. Looking at the damned man's face, though, you can't help thinking it's all rather tongue in cheek. He seems to be not so much suffering, as savouring it to the full. His body language suggests willingness, too. 

But it's still unspeakable as it happens.

 

Dark Desires

 The title of this, similar image recognises better the dilemma of pleasure and punishment. The spikes in the background and suggestion of caging widen the options for both. The devil is bigger here, his hands gripping the human and firmly holding him down. It's a particularly explicit expression of the domination which pervades this artist's work. We can't see how the devil's 'victim' feels about this, just that he's braced himself. Damned if you do and damned if you don't, you might say 

 

Home Grown

This murky image also seems rather like a depiction of damnation, but the title suggests a Sci-Fi creation scenario. Despite the foetal position and umbilical connections the fledgling seems remarkably well-developed, tattoos and all, and yet he's still dependent and controlled, so it's not such a different subject after all. 

There's some clever assembly of imagery to create this storyline 

~ 

'Interface', another picture by this artist that I've posted at 'X'  seems to blend Sci-Fi and horror. It shows another, attractive, young man being overpowered by skeletal robots with glowing skull eyes.   

 ~

 

Tight End

What a great backside! The pun in the title of this picture is not new, butt I don't think I've seen it illustrated so precisely or alluringly before. Nor have I seen such a calculating temptation portrayed in a Locker Room context, it's usually the domain of manly posturing, casual nudity and furtive, stolen glimpses. This footballer has a scary look that links with the demons of other pictures and the challenge of the boys at the window. You can't be sure whether it's an inviting dare or a warning.   

 

Traffic Stop

This image suggests common ground between the uncertainty of the locker room and police stop scenarios (with another, mixed pun in the title). The body language is not threatening here, but the sun shades make it hard to be sure. 

Nice body curves

 

~

 

Sorry, I don't have a link for this artist.

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha'

 Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' dates from the nineteen sixties. It appears to be related in concept to, and a precursor to, the better known 'Sailors Beware' story, which came out in its first version shortly after 'Pasha', judging by the Kris Catalogue numbering. 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha', Original Catalogue images
(rearranged from a vertical strip)

The Kris Catalogue entry for 'Pasha' (replicated above) showed 6 images, with all the characters in them respectably 'draped'. Three of them were also published in a larger format in a different catalogue. This article features an uncensored version which I found on the Tim In Vermont website before it was taken down. It didn't give any source information. 

 The three 'big' earlier images are included in the article below in the appropriate places. Unlike the revised version of 'Sailor Beware', the underlying images don't seem to have been significantly altered other than replacing the loin-cloths and pouches with not quite erect organs. No sex is shown.  

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 1

 

The Golden Pasha lounges in luxury while around him a harem of conspicuously naked, young men entertain him with music, grovel and pamper him. Notice the phallic uprights of his throne.

 

Stephen was quite fond of depicting musicians at this time. I suppose there's a certain innuendo in the horn blowing and string plucking of long-necked instruments.

 

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 1 (original version)

This earlier version shows all the characters in exactly the same positions. The three on the right have acquired pouches which seem to be carefully detailed with patterns (and jewels in the Pasha's case). The covering of the guard at the doorway, however, seems to have been painted on rather clumsily by comparison. The Pasha's pantaloons have also been altered, extending all the way up to his waist rather than finishing high up on the thigh, like stockings. 

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 2

 

The Pasha seems to be a hard master to serve. In the dungeon below, those who displease him are chained up, and he personally punishes each of them with his whip. His suspender belt is meticulously detailed and impressively jewelled. It's apparent that the 'Golden' tag relates to his wealth, not his sunny personality.

 

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 3

The Pasha's maltreatment of his slaves means he must watch them with an eagle eye for any signs of rebellion. But one slave at least has had enough. He has somehow procured a sleeping potion and secretly drugs the Pasha's wine. 

This picture almost seems to shift the scene to Japan, as witness the bonsai-like trees. The intricate decoration of the pillar on the left which includes a Fuji-like mountain, a stylised chrysanthemum and more typically Japanese style patterns in-between (plus an incongruous elephant, which is neither Arabian nor Japanese).

Some of Steve Masters' images around this time featured decorative detail like this. 

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 3 (original version)

This earlier version is little different. Again, the Pasha's pants have become thigh-wraps and his dick is covered by a jock-like, ribbed pouch (with a jewel encrusted top hem!). We can see more of the foreground, bottom left, which turns out to be a pool with fish and lilies. A show of his opulence.

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 4

Once the Pasha has fallen into a drugged sleep, his slaves rise up against him. Some have weapons, perhaps taken from the Palace Guards who seem to have deserted their master. Someone, at some point, has removed his pants and boots. As a result, the Pasha lies in a tempting, splayed legs position*. One of the rebels seems to be inviting everyone to have a go. 

*This is a favourite pose of Stephen's, it seems to turn up in many stories, twice in Night Patrol, in image 5 and image 8. The Pasha version is more convincing than some.

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 5

The Pasha awakes to find a knife menacing his chest and his treasure chest being looted. Perhaps more startlingly for him, his legs are in physical contact with the intimate regions of two of his slaves. One is resting between the buns of the looter. The other is raised between the legs of his immediate attacker, almost as if they had just had intercourse. Who knows? The threat of the knife seems to be equated with the threat of his dick. A choice to be made?

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 5 (original)

In the original version of image 5, pouches have sprouted once again, to conceal the less offensive weapons of the attackers.  The disappearance of the primary attacker's dick makes his knife seem a lot more menacing, although he's still deliberately angling it out from his groin. 

 The Pasha's modesty is protected by a casually draped cloth, looking a bit like leopard skin. Oddly enough, that device makes his nudity and vulnerability seem more apparent. His hairy legs, glimpsed in earlier pictures, come to the fore.

 All the slaves' faces have been upgraded in the nude version, in line with Stephen's later technique. In the original, we can see more of the architectural detail of the room, which adds greatly to the depth of the image. We can also see some subtle shading in the trees, which is probably washed out in the later version by the reproduction process.

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 6

In the final image, the Pasha himself is chained like a slave and forced to kneel, cringing in submission to his former slaves. He is stripped of his turban, the symbol of his rank, as well as the last vestiges of his clothing (except for one sock). He looks very naked now, and the raised position of his hands, behind his back, suggests he's desperately trying to free himself. Aware perhaps that he will soon make his first acquaintance with the business end of his own, vengeful whip in the dungeon. 

 

This is an interesting study of feet, which are less evident in the earlier pictures, but soon became Stephen's unique trademark. Perhaps the Pasha is being invited to address them with respectful lips. Their exaggerated size here creates a sense of powerful men and menace surrounding the cowed ruler. 

 

The intertwining of the feet with Stephen's signature seems to be deliberate, but it's unclear why, perhaps indicative of his personal fascination with them. I'm afraid it reminds me of sticky carpets in sleazy bars!

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 6 (original)

This cropped version comes from Drummer in 1976. It's interesting that that particular publication should decide to crop out the whip. It makes the Pasha seem cornered, rather than surrounded. Interesting too, that Drummer don't seem to have had the nude version at their disposal (unless, of course, they preferred the contrast and subtle power of nude vs clothed, i.e. CMNM). Either way, it's a tribute to the essence of domination in Stephen's drawing of this scene.

 

~ 

 

The Golden Pasha doesn't quite have the power of other Etienne stories. The draughtmanship is good quality, the sexuality subdued, but bubbling teasingly beneath the surface and between the frames. The Pasha's relationship with his harem/slaves seems to be strictly sadistic. It's they who seem to threaten him with sex as a punishment and humiliation. The simple morality of the story is a far cry from the aggressive sexual subjugations of Night Patrol, Marine Training and Here Comes the Groom to name just a few of Stephen's later creations. 

 

Perhaps that reflects the political changes of the 60s and the greater freedom of expression subsequently afforded to gay men. 

  

 ~

 

There are numerous other posts about Etienne here at mitchmen,

check out my Etienne index for articles mainly about him,

a general search on Etienne will bring up every reference.

 

There's also an 'Exclusively Etienne' Google Group 

that's easy to join.   

Art by Steve Masters 4

Read this series of posts from Part 1 

 

Steve Masters - Greasing The Saddle

This image can't be found in the beefcake publications of the sixties, it's far too suggestive. Master's title seems to imply this is a regular rendezvous for the cowboys, a male brothel perhaps, which would account for the dodgy wallpaper and the rather deprecating title!   

 

'The saddle' doles out lubricant to a cowboy whose intense gaze and thin smile has a pretty scary look about it. Particularly when he's holding his belt like he wants to use it on someone's ass. In fact, you can interpret the image as showing that he just has done so, the rent boy rubbing his bruises rather than lubing himself. Luckily, the other cowboys seem up for fun rather than tormenting their steed. 

 

I've seen this image with the eyes of the two central cowboys blanked out (like the nipple shapes here). I'm inclined to think that could be the original version, because I can't think why anyone would make such an alteration, retrospectively. To modern eyes, it adds a menace that is coldly inhuman rather than lustful. The image above is a more complete version anyway, showing the bed in the foreground. That would have been a controversial ingredient in its day, sex in a bed is intimate and personal, not just a discharge (for which heterosexuals could be excused).

 

The styling of this image has a look of the 50s about it, the chair design being a part of that. The 'hollowed out' drawing style was later the trademark of the British artist, Bill Ward, in his cartoons.

 

 

Steve Masters - Men In a Bed

 

This picture illustrates perfectly the heightened intimacy of getting into a bed with a man. They are not actually having sex, but it's strongly implied. This looks like a hotel room so we can bung in the word 'seedy' as well. 

 

The sailor with his cap still on and sweetheart tattoo epitomises casual, 'rough trade' but this looks pretty affectionate and genuine. The highly stylised, drawing style has produced a picture that is more sensual than might be expected for such sparseness. It cocks a snook at the Peeping Tom in the background, conservatively dressed and looking very disapproving. 

 

 

Steve Masters -Matelot

 

I've censored this image to meet the blog rules, 

but you can see it unspoiled on 'X'

 

This early image in the same style is self-explanatory, a bit of R&R between men of disparate sizes and exceptional physiques. The title of this piece is probably derived from the cockleshell hat, the rear man is wearing. Masters associates it with fishermen in other images. He's also wearing a (just visible) rolled-up singlet with horizontal hoops, a nautical style (a la Gaultier, below). 

 

The background imagery looks like conventional room furnishing, apart from a rope-like construct that disappears through an elaborate hole in the wall like an anchor cable. The subs raised arms give a 'come and get me' tang of the bordello again.

 

Matelot Hoops

  

~ 

 

There's a further, early image in this style at my 'X' account that ceases to have any meaning if it's censored, but it's actually more interesting for its fetish ingredients than its dix. It features a biker with a captive in a baseball cap (subtly roped round his ankles). Masters uses his 'double vision' technique to disguise a sharp object as a book.

 

 Masters' proclivity for S&M is well-documented and his early images as 'Kurt' feature leather dungeon scenes, which unfortunately are too extreme to show here. The examples I have are poor quality reproductions anyway. 

 

~ 

 

Steve Masters - Cop and Biker

This image bridges the gap to Masters' better known style. The biker cum matelot reels back in wonder at the cop's enormous package, which has a pouch hidden in it, like a kid's picture puzzle. The cop's assets are supplemented by a truly 'bent' handlebar, which curls over his hip like a spare part at an orgy. 

 

The biker is wearing a matelot striped top that is sexily cropped. His jeans are already undone, but both men seem half undressed anyway, as their clothes seem to dissolve away below shoulder level, revealing nipples and abs. A bulbous fuel tank beneath the biker, between his thighs, signals the erotic momentum. 

 

 

Steve Masters - 'Lands End'

 This seems like a typical 60s surfer image at first sight, more wall hanging than erotica, with tasteful nudity. In fact, the two protagonists in the foreground are bikers, one a serious enough enthusiast to wear goggles. His discarded clothing, meticulously detailed in the foreground, is erotic in itself. No underpants! 

 

Masters employs a hybrid outline/shaded technique for the clothing that is fascinating technically. There's a slightly unreal quality that contrasts with the wearer's realistic nudity. The towel trailing between his legs looks wet and seems to show an appropriate outline beneath, but it's well disguised. 

 

The middle figure seems to be gazing out to sea as he undresses. His cap is not the conventional biker style, but more that of a seafaring captain, the nautical theme Masters often returned to. However, the jock suggests he's not pondering the mysteries of the Ocean. He's holding his belt stretched tight, suggesting tension (and perhaps a desire to unleash it). The end emerges from his clenched fist upright and looking like a banana, but I don't think it's his lunch. Not literally. His clothes also dissolve into outlines.

 

 The reclining figure in the background probably is a surfer or sunbather. There's a collage-like disconnect between him and the other figures that suggests to me that he, or his (sanitised) tackle, is the true object of the middle biker's attention. As though these are sketches for a larger, wide landscape picture.

 

I must admit I didn't know where Land's End was in the States*, although it turned out I'd actually been there a few years back. It's on the Pacific Coast side of San Francisco, not far from the Golden Gate Bridge. A popular cruising area, I believe.

 

*My efforts to find the answer to this seemingly simple question showed just how much Google has lost the plot as a search engine in recent years. It's much vaunted AI feature insisted there was no such place in the US, but, surprise, surprise, there was a clothing company of that name that I ought to know everything about. 

 

Thankfully, Wikipedia came to the rescue further down the page with that priceless commodity Google is no longer interested in - information. I can't wait for someone to launch a proper search engine again that supports research rather than advertising, I'd be willing to pay for it.

 

Steve Masters -Showers

I love the secret bottom-touching in this playful and fairly well-known locker room image. It's the best example I have seen of a coloured Masters picture. Authentic or not, I don't know, but it hasn't come from a magazine, it's an original picture. It looks as if it has been exposed to water damage, but that has fortuitously created a compensating effect of steaminess.

 

Read this series of posts from Part 1 

 

Art by Steve Masters 3

Steve Masters - 'Silky' The Pride of the Pits (1961)

The term 'silky smooth' is sometimes applied to the smooth running of a well-tuned, well-lubricated motor engine, but the title of this piece also seems to mainly refer to the garments the guys are wearing. A great deal of effort has gone into making the driver's top look flimsy and clinging. However, silk is a fabric more associated with horse riding than oily motor sport, and in fact, a tear can be seen in the mechanic's top, allowing his nipple to show. 

The mechanic's posture, bent over and astride a tyre, has an obvious erotic significance, as does the phallic object right under his nose. The driver in the foreground seems to be preparing to engage gear with him. Even the oil cans on the floor (with leaking nipples) are joining in. A range of spanners on the wall, like the 'kill' badges on the cockpit of an air ace, suggest the mechanic has size capabilities exceeding his outward appearance.

The punchy decoration of the men's outfits with bold, but seemingly random symbols is a typical Steve Masters' technique. He commonly uses shoulder flashes, their body enhancing effect, quite likely inspired by his experience with the fashion industry. The red discs are more obscure, but this one draws attention to the driver's backside, whilst simultaneously half-obscuring the 'sucked-in' look which might imply enlargement on the far side. Its shaping also seems to reference the leather inserts of horse riding pants.

 

Steve Masters - 'Polo' The Pride of the Stables (1961)

This picture is an obvious companion piece, picking up the horse riding theme and set in the equivalent of The Pits for that sport. The reference to the Sport of Kings in the title provides an erotic pun for UK viewers (see Polo) questioning who Polo is. 'Stable Boy' is an expression of status not age, but Masters' is flirting with dangerous territory. 

Fortunately, the erotic messaging here is more muted than in 'Silky', with the Stud simply enjoying the hero worship by a fan who kisses his bicep (with some trepidation, it must be said) and his mount, who kisses his fist. Hmm. He's hiding his riding crop from both of them. 

The near-explicit rendering of the Stud's endowment reflects his pleasure at the attention. It is disguised on many surviving versions of this image and may well be toned down on this one too, but the shadow of it on his thigh has escaped 'correction'. 

I don't have the coloured version of this image, but the Stud's knee pads look like they may be more red circles (suggesting another aspect to his sexual character). The fit of his shirt resembles the treatment of the driver's in 'Silky'. 

 

Steve Masters - First Tattoo (1961)

Masters' was also interested in the direct decoration of men's bodies with tattoos, although the iconography he used was less bold than his clothing designs, being more intricate and more plentiful. In the picture above, tattooing is depicted as a rite of passage, but interestingly, it's the two mentors that exhibit sexual excitement. The figure in the foreground is actually pointing his out to us. The eagle taking flight out of his pants provides a graphic illustration of the erotic impact of well-considered tattoos. 

The initiate seems hesitant, the passive recipient of a badge of ownership. Like college hazing, joining 'the club' entails submitting to the control of the existing members. There's a hint that eagle man may be marking the occasion, too, adding a new 'kill badge' to his extensive collection. It's not a romantic gesture, more like a blood-brother ceremony with an intensely erotic subtext.

 

Steve Masters - Tattooed Man (1962)

This image shows a man's body completely covered with tattoos. It reflects an obsession reminiscent of the work of some of the Japanese Masters like Hasegawa and Mishima. However, Masters doesn't depict dense blocks of ink like them, his tattoos are delicate and in black and white they seem to emulate the effect of lace and sheer-patterned fabrics. If you look at the tattooed man's thighs, it's as if he's wearing nylon stockings. This image is an intriguing combination of male and female expressions of allure.

The man is wearing a cape*, which creates the impression that he is a circus performer. In fact, the whole background is circus-y. To the left of him is a poster about a fire-eater. He's breathing his flames over the tattooed body. That's a rare clue to Master's interest in S&M that inspired his choice of artist's name. This detail offers further insight into the ritualistic significance of tattoos for him. For the avoidance of doubt, the snake's head on the opposite side doubles up (oh so subtly!) as a hand manipulating a cock preparing to anoint the tattooed torso.

* The cape also serves as a device to separate him from the complex background. It, too, is faintly patterned, but will have been a different colour in the original picture. 

 

Steve Masters - Trapeze Artists

 Masters' had a special interest in Circuses and there are surviving images by him which show trapeze performers simply posing in their tights, without any additional erotic subtext.

 

Steve Masters - Circus Sneaker (my title)

This image seems to show an acrobat preparing to deal with a young man, caught sneaking around the 'Big Top'. The sack on the ground suggests he might have run away from home to join the circus, he might end up, end up and wishing he hadn't! 

Masters' characteristic 'random' lines create the 'double vision' impression that the youth is bare-topped, and that we can see his lean muscularity. Similarly. the detailing of his jeans around the backside is faint and ambiguous. The acrobat's top blurs the boundaries between clothing and tattoos, with looping lines creating just a sense of his hunky muscles. A 'dimple' on his backside seems to deliberately double up ominously as a flaccid cock. Notice too how the end of his belt is entangled with the youth's feet, suggesting his capture and being drawn into the acrobat's orbit.

 I published this image before in a post about little-known vintage spanking images. 

 I don't know if Masters had a personal connection to the Circus or was just picking up on the popular culture of the 50s, which produced numerous television programmes and films on the subject, (notably 'Trapeze' in 1956 which had a gay subtext). Tom of Finland also produced a Circus series around this time and featured acrobats in tights in some of his best known images.

 

Steve Masters - Circus Sneaker 2 (my title)

 This picture seems to revisit the same subject, except that the young man here seems to be exiting the tent rather than entering it. A thief leaving with his swag, perhaps. This one looks older and more muscular. The picture is obviously cropped, which means that the lines around his bicep and waist, plus the turn-ups of his jeans, are the only indication that he's actually wearing clothes. It's almost as if Masters is imagining the acrobat has X-ray vision. We can only imagine what erotic delights were chopped off by the editing process, but it's still left behind a suggestive image.

The acrobat seems to be waiting to spring his trap. He's drawn with a majestic grandeur, echoed in the eagle rising just behind him. It's a contrast with the bulky build of the previous image, but no less imposing.  

His belt is ready in his hand. The end of it curls as if he's just given it a preparatory snap. Stars on the board behind his backside seem to reflect his thoughts. His hand rests on his thigh as if he's itching to stroke himself - or just has done. Masters' has coloured a panel in his tights to simulate a posing pouch and added crease lines to suggest weight. It heightens the ambiguity between clothing and nakedness elsewhere - and possibly cloaks a more overtly erotic outline. 

 

Steve Masters -Cover Art for 'BIG'

 All Master's clothing designs look like Circus garb, but I've never seen an acrobat as daring as this. If only. It would give audiences the added suspense of him accidentally unstrapping mid-performance.

Masters was the design editor for BIG and all their covers featured 'cubicle' style* images like this 

(*see Part 2).

~

Part 4 of this series features a different style used by Steve Masters.

Read from Part 1 of this article  

Another post about Steve Masters at 'X'

Steam Baths 

Steve Masters Part 3 is coming soon

Steve Masters - Now Hear This! (1962)

This interim image shows Masters' returning to one of his favourite genres, the American Sailor. It seems like the equivalent of a wolf whistle. The elevating guns in the background provide an erotic commentary, but the orientation seems to indicate admirers on the right who we can't see. Likewise, the number '6', missing its usual companion, number 9, doesn't seem an obvious fit with what we actually see. It may be that some of the image is missing, but the positioning of the signature suggests not. 

 Steve Masters Part 3 is coming soon

Read from Part 1 of this article