More Art by Oliver Frey

This article adds to my original A-Z review of Oliver Frey's work

Frey - Tennis Victory

 This image was my first glimpse of Oliver Frey's incredible talent for portraying the energetic wrestling of men gripped by lust. The image of bare buttocks pressed against the net still sends a shiver up my spine! In 1970's Britain, visualising gay sex taking place in front of a audience and in a setting of a place like Wimbledon Tennis Club, the epitome of the Establishment, was defiant indeed. 

He also applied his imagery to the equally unlikely sports of Golf and Cricket.

Frey - Bikers in a Dark Alley 1

This image of bikers getting hot in a dark alley was closer to reality but it's frankness also struck a blow for gay freedom of expression. It was gay art of a sort never seen before - high quality and spelling out what gay means without pussy-footing innuendo.  

Frey - Bikers in a Dark Alley 2

Frey revisited the biker subject in many other images of varying degrees of raunchiness which were, astonishingly, published in glossy, top shelf gay magazines without attracting reprisals from the Police, despite the efforts of conservative pressure groups.

Frey - Leather Lube, Biker Oil

The biker persona was perfect for expressing a boisterous, roughly expressed, bursting out of the closet and entering into forbidden places that reflected the spirit of those heady days when gay men felt that even if they weren't completely free exactly, not really able to realise these fantasies in real life, they nevertheless finally had a legitimacy that would enable them to push open doors that had been closed for all those years.

Frey - Biker Elopement

Frey's pictures did not just express excitement, there was an exuberant joy in them.

Imagining the trappings of conventionality and self -restraint being ripped apart.

It was an exciting time to be gay.

Frey - Lover

But he did not just portray excitement and lust

He also showed a vision of gay love as a beautiful thing, 

performed by beautiful people, beautiful men. 

Frey (as Zack) - Splash

His artistic skills here transform the old, tentative, AMG, shower hook-ups into something much more memorable. A loving shared experience of cleansing vitality with fierce, needle-like sprays of water battering and enveloping the two lovers.

Frey - Chains Broken

Frey's character rogue set the scene for a series of gay, comic book heroes whose masculinity was unquestionable and who were assertive and comfortable in their gay sexuality. Rogue's apparent taste for young virgins seems dubious in retrospect, but at the time reflected the common experience of a youth lost to unrequiteable desire. At that time most gay men of all ages probably were virgins or not long out of it and many no doubt saw themselves as his willing victims, given the chance. 

Bill Ward's later creations - Drum and King - were able to be more balanced characters in that respect 

Frey - Hard Wrestle

Frey's depictions of hard, rough sex were about showing the inherent masculinity of gay men, 

a reaction against years of being universally labelled as effeminate and soft.

Frey - Devilry

If homosexuality was the Devil's work, Frey's men boldly embraced that identity 

Frey - Mortal Combat

That vision of gay toughness also pervades his non-gay, fantasy work.

Frey - Tribal 2

Oliver Frey 1948 - 2022

A gay hero

This article adds to my original A-Z review of Oliver Frey's work

see also Night Visitor in the 'targeted' series

More Art by Aizenhower

Read Part 1

Aizenhower - Kristoff Revealed

 I suppose I shouldn't confess to liking 'Frozen' but I was intrigued by the 'male romantic lead' in it, Kristoff. He suffered the laughable fate reserved by movie-makers for male characters - being amiable, strong and dumb but loyal to his mate. It's a negative stereotype that goes strangely unremarked by feminists in the sexism debate. 

Kristoff a la Disney

Disney's official packaging of Kristoff in heavy winter gear is unlikely to stir the senses but Aizenhower extracts and magnifies his sexual presence that simmers, neglected throughout the film. Juxtaposed against his co-stars in the film (top image, above), this first glimpse of him naked is almost as shocking to the viewer as it obviously is to the imaginary heroines. 

The reaction of the coachman at the back is harder to read!

Aizenhower - Kristoff Unveils His Feet

This image stays closer to his film persona - a man inclined to cute boyishness and out of his depth in the sumptuous extravagance of the Palace. This babyish baring of his feet is not in the film. Is it a ploy to alleviate his boredom by attracting the attention of a passing 'footman'? 

Note the hairy legs, this character is a real man.

Aizenhower - Kristoff Bares All

This doesn't actually happen in the film either, 

certainly not with Anna, his romantic counterpart.

It's no surprise to find bulk under his clothing,

though perhaps not as muscular and alluring as this.

Aizenhower - Kristoff's Best Friend

Kristoff's other dumb-male quirk is that his best friend is his reindeer, Sven.

I'm not sure whether this image is an attempt to suggest something more racy

or just a play on the ability of Nordic people to kinkily embrace their climate.

Either way it's a very sexy image.

Aizenhower - Kristoff and a Stabbington Brother

'Frozen' gives Kristoff little in the way of male interest to reciprocate his imagined gay leanings, 

so Aizenhower has transplanted him into the world of 'Tangled' for this fan image.

Here he's paired off with one of The Stabbington Brothers. 

According to Disney fandom, the Stabbingtons are "are twins with muscular bodies, fair skin, red hair, light blue eyes, big eyebrows, big noses, and big jaws". So far so good but they are also described as brutish thieves, the clue is in the name, I guess. That makes this encounter in a weirdly romantic setting very interesting indeed. 

Feet figure again in this picture here. 

I'm puzzled as to why they are dipped in the sparkling stream, but I can see that it is kinda sexy

Perhaps it's something that happens in 'Tangled', but I haven't seen it. (Honest!)

Aizenhower - The Legend of Korra

In Part 1 of this post I featured a number of Aizenhower's images from his 'The Legend of Korra' series and this is another, with the hapless hero, Bolin, playing top for a change. It's quite a complex image which gives the initial impression of him applying a wrestling 'Nelson' hold to persuade a reluctant partner. Closer inspection reveals a very different sort of restraint, a slightly puzzling one. 

Nevertheless, it's a powerful image of two men coming together in high excitement. 

Aizenhower - The Legend of Korra

The tables are turned on Bolin here, it seems, but I don't think he minds. 

A remarkably energetic and affecting image, considering it doesn't really show very much!

Aizenhower - The Legend of Korra

In Aizehower's world all heroes have to succumb to the villains at some point.

Here the Commander takes his medicine in a very steamy scene.

Aizenhower - Open wide!

Invasive medical inspections are another favoured topic for this artist (see Part 1). 

This one, unusually, is taking place on the floor with the medic astride his subject. It creates a marvellous impression of a reluctant patient being firmly treated by a very determined medic. 

The patient's erotic response seems to be the root of the problem and it's clearly an embarrassment.  

The medic can hardly fail to be aware of it, he appears to be enjoying every minute.

These two also featured in a spanking image in Part 1, 

they are protagonists who become friends in an animated film 'Yu Yu Hakusho'.

Aizenhower - Cowboy Bebop

This images features two characters, Jet Black and Spike Spiegel, who are the captain and crew of the spaceship Bebop (from Cowboy Bebop which was a controversial Japanese, TV, animated series about space bounty hunters). 

Aizenhower shows them in what seems to be a seduction, sensitively handled by Jet, the older man. Although there's a striking inter-generational gap, Spike is actually 27 years old in the context of the story - and straight! As a bounty hunter he ought to be well able to stand up for himself,  but the boredom of being cooped up on those long space flights can do things to the toughest of men.

Aizenhower - Rugby Coach

I featured another rugby cartoon by Aizenhower in Part 1. This character is less stylised and captures the sexy credentials of the Rugby sporting stereotype very well. We are presented with physical bulk (great pecs!), square-jawed manliness and a devil-may-care persona for which mooning holds no fears. How these men love to tease us! But who knows what desires lurk inside the brain of this brawny beast?

Aizenhower - Space Dandy

Aizenhower's 'Space Dandy' is a trifle too eccentric for my personal taste, but he does possess one characteristic that I would never ignore - a great ass! What's that saying about the fire and the mantlepiece? In this image it seems like a space alien has also spotted the same attraction via some sort of spying device.

Aizenhower - Space Dandy

      This picture shows the Dandy to have a pretty good physique too, but it's still put in the shade by his backside. It's amazing how the addition of two faint highlights can enhance it's shape and the allure and suggest tight, stretchy fabric at the same time. An interesting demonstration of the power of the humble cartoon (and the gay mind!)

~

Link information for this artist is in Part 1

for more posts on these subjects click on the labels below

Crime and Punishment by Roger Dusky

We all like incompetent burglars!

mitchmen presents

Extracts from Roger Dusky's comic book 'Crime and Punishment'

In the dead of night, a man comes calling.

Looks like he's picked the wrong place to burgle

Yep, he has.

At least he hasn't been shot - yet.

Sorting the men from the boys.

He's definitely a man

In the downstairs department, anyway.

The taste of humiliation

This is the size of it

I like a man with spunk

Maybe not the best moment for it, though

I don't think this is a strip search

Nor having his collar felt

The long arm of the law will prevail

And later.....

Time to digest it all

He's got even more spunk than before now

I guess that's a 'NO' then.

~

 Read the full Crime and Punishment strip

It's easy to find Roger Dusky's work with search engines, 

just specify gay porn or similar

Use the labels below to find similar posts at mitchmen.

Domination Art by Russ 3 Cops and Leathermen

Read this series from Part 1

Russ - Cop Search

This scene is a perennial, favourite opening for a porn story, a cop searching a motorist whom he has just pulled over for some violation or another. His fingers go looking for incriminating evidence (or something) up between the suspect's legs. Cops in this era are Tom in Finland country, but for me this image has a sniff of Etienne about it, blended into Russ's eclectic but unique style. 

There's a classic video that opens like this with the subject dressed in sexy, khaki shorts which somehow make his search all the more invasive. Having established the suspect's suitability, the two men adjourn to a barn where the cop administers a fierce belting before... well, you know! I know it as The Barn but I don't know what the correct title is or who made it. Anyone know?

Russ - Cop Probe

When a cop's got you on the rack in a remote lay-by, things can happen that aren't supposed to happen - whether you like it or not. There's a trade-off in this story, just as there is in  Night Patrol by Etienne - sex in exchange for tearing up a ticket. In Night Patrol it's an act of appreciation (or a cruel joke) after the cops have had what they wanted, here it's an up-front deal, but the cop's clenched fist is a tell-tale sign that the suspect doesn't really have much choice. 

It's tempting to see the influence of Tom of Finland here, in the content and composition if not the style. His 'Highway Patrol' (Kake 22) was also published in 1980, and has a similar scene to this in it, except that it's the cop that gets some cum-uppance in Tom's story. 

It's also interesting to compare this scene with the climax of Night Patrol by Etienne. In that story the shafting of the suspect over the bonnet (hood) of the Police Car is spectacular but doesn't look quite 'right'. Russ adopts a less ambitious approach to depicting what is essentially the same scenario and while it doesn't capture the same sense of excitement, it's more convincing anatomically and sexually it's more intense. Penetration imagery in this era didn't usually show significant shaft length between the two men like this picture does. 

Russ - Cop Probe

After reneging on the ticket deal, the cop discovers his two victims are leather guys and have got teeth. Here he suffers the humiliation of being taken captive himself and having his uniform ripped open. More painful retribution will follow, but that's not all. It seems he has a evil, murderous reputation and the leather community decide to exact their own justice by taking him out of circulation. The eagle badge in this image represents their adoption of him and is a prelude to his new life of indefinite captivity and painful servitude.

Cops differ from other gay sex-icons like the Sailor, the Cowboy and the Superhero, in that they are not just figures of lust in their uniforms but threatening, all-powerful and unpredictable men to be feared. Gay porn usually provides a psychological palliative to that fear with the fantasy that they are (only) out for sex, but there's a greater satisfaction to be had in turning the tables on the truly nasty ones.

There's another of Russ's mouth-stuffing gags in this image. The moments he has chosen to illustrate for this story do not have the same energy as the earlier images in this series of mitchmen posts, but there is greater erotic intensity. He understandably uses solid black shading for the cop's uniform in these pictures and it produces marvellous effects in the cop's leather pants and boots, but is less successful elsewhere where it replaces subtle line shading and disturbs the visual balance.

Russ - Jones Beach 1

In 'Jones Beach' a young surfer becomes besotted by a vision in cut-offs and shades. This very 80's object of desire reacts aggressively to his attention, pouring homophobic abuse on the young man. However, that doesn't stop him from lingering with his admirer and coercing him into a sequence of humiliating and subservient acts that suggest a very different agenda.

Russ uses his softer, more realistic style here, capturing the open space of the beach with it's constant, lurking danger of discovery, not least by Police patrols. That threat makes the victim's predicament seem both frightening and exciting at the same time.

Russ - Jones Beach 2

Eventually, the surfer/swimmer is taken into the trees for an even more painful test of his admiration, out of sight of passers-by. It's already clear that his hero's homophobia is a front and having punished the hapless beach boy, he demonstrates that the gay ways he professes to despise are not entirely alien territory to him.

After he's taken his pleasure he leaves the surfer in the bushes, still tied up and bent over a bough. There he's visited and taken advantage of by those who haunt such places, including a cop. Eventually though, his new-found master does return to claim him in a happy ending with a twist.

Some of the detailing in this picture is quite remarkable - for example the bully's boots and the bough over which the victim is bent are graphic art of the highest quality. Notice the return also of the dangling gag.

Russ - White Water Run 1

These illustrations were provided for a story about a leather clubs motorcycle 'run' and they are focussed on the induction processes of that world. In this image a young, blonde acolyte is being trained in submission with some boot-licking practice. This is a similar scenario to the surfer training in Etienne's Road Kings. This trainee's "Gates of Hell" cock strap was a much advertised accessory in the 80's but they don't turn up in art very often, probably because they require a raging erection, but at least this cock is pointing downwards! 

The artist's depiction of the muscular, leather man here is a striking success, creating the impression of a firm, but benevolent master. There's some similarity to Tom of Finland's creations but this is a totally original and very perceptive image. The on-looker in the doorway is an existing slave in the story but you can imagine other scenarios, e.g. a buddy awaiting his turn to be trained (willingly or otherwise).

Russ - White Water Run 2

This domination image owes a lot to Macbeth with a more forceful boot worshiping scenario being enhanced by a variety of exaggerations of scale and drama. The big boots that typified Macbeth's work are given an extra cruel twist by Russ who adds pointed studs to the soles but he doesn't use the same crazy perspectives. His more conventional viewpoint produces a result that is less wild, less energetically aggressive but more intense. The heightened sexual flavouring (including the giant cock) is all his own work.

Russ - White Water Run 3

In this spit-roasting image Russ pays homage to another great artist of the 80's, the Hun. He's extracted one of that artist's typical scenarios and replicated the facial expression of the victim too, but the resemblance ends there. Russ has translated the scenario to the world of leather clubs rather than the Hun's preferred hunting ground of prisons and sleazy truckstops. Russ makes the man in the middle here more mature than the Hun's innocents too. He has used his own, more realistic figures and drawing style to recreate the erotic essence of The Hun's imagination.

Russ - Leather Man (cover for 'The Leather Journal')

This striking cover illustration is a decade on from the imagery Russ did for Larry Townsend and it's a more mature, accomplished style. I'm not 100% sure it's the same man but if it is, it shows considerable artistic growth. 

The spiky cartouche framing the subject is a modernistic, vaguely satanic expression of the fiery, hard passion (bordering on anger) that lurks within the Leather Man's soul. It's scarcely subtle but expressed  much less directly than the flailing belts and harsh domination that mark out the action pictures in this collection. There's an interesting construct where you might expect a motto to be that brackets, almost nudges, the sexual centre of gravity, depicted as a latent source of great erotic power, but temporarily restrained. This slightly mystical interpretation of the leather religion is contrasted with a meticulous depiction of his elaborate leather outfit and carefully trimmed hair, showing the more worldly, conforming, sometimes vulnerable dandy that is also part of this tribe's character. 

~

Russ has a unique style that draws heavily on the inspiration of the artists of his day, but the drama and passion that infuses his best images is probably better executed than any of them. There are glimpses of extremely accomplished draughtsmanship alongside more mundane imagery, but it's not easy to identify a recognisable, unifying style in an era which was rich in artists with unique signatures - The Hun, Macbeth, Sean, Cavelo, Etienne and Tom of Finland. This is perhaps why Russ has received less recognition than he deserves over the years since then.

There's no site for him as far as I know.

Read this series from Part 1