Life At the Shallow End - Targeted

One of life's dilemmas:

If you are caught wandering the streets in your swimming costume,

Is it better to be interviewed by Police for the prank?

or to be referred to the medical team for analysis?

The shallow end or the deep end?

~

Produced by Mitchell using the 'Playground' AI engine

click on the labels below for related posts at mitchmen blog

Beautifully Bound

 

Placed in a stressed position,
the swimmer bent submissively towards his captor,
displaying amazing shoulder muscles

from Russcapturedboys

Arrested Athletes

 

Once word began to leak out on social media about sightings of rugby players being tied up in muddy sports fields and abducted, it wasn't too long before a student posted images of himself being tied up in swimwear and marched off by a Policeman in front of his classmates. It went viral and soon everyone was doing it and posting pictures of themselves being arrested in skimpy sportswear.

Then do-gooders started doing it for charity and advertising where the fake abduction would take place. Until there came a strange report that Charity officials who went to such an event expecting to pick up the cash proceeds found that no-one was there waiting for them. The money was sitting on the bench but the fundraiser had disappeared. Police said they'd not been involved and advised Instagrammers to give up the practice.  

That warning had the usual effect, i.e. next to none. Numbers of missing fund-raisers have now topped three figures. However, it's not all bad news, random kidnapping of joggers has declined.

~

 Cybertied is now producing mini- videos of his sexy tie-up imagery, go see!

Experiment with a Swimmer

A visit to the clinic can be a worrying time for butch men!  

~

This astonishing image resulted from one of my explorations at the AI-art site 'Playground' where you can generate pictures by inputting a text description. It's a fairly restrictive site in terms of creating sexy imagery (as it's name suggests it might be) so I requested a swimmer to create a bit of interesting, inoffensive nudity (in briefs otherwise it put shorts on them). I may have asked for a muscular one, I can't remember exactly. Then I simply asked it to juxtapose the swimmer with a medic and a table. 

The two figures on the left create an interesting situation full of erotic potential - as I hope my caption brings out. The blue uniform is nicely ambiguous, it he a medic or someone more in authority like a security man or a cop? The relative mis-sizing of these two figures creates a delicious contrast!

However, I was astonished when the medic on the right popped up with no pants on beneath his white coat, without any prompting from me! This AI engine seems to have a near-mitchmen sense of humour!

Image generated by Mitchell of mitchmen

Punishment Art by 'G'

This remarkable image seems to show an athlete being punished by man who is semi-formally dressed in clothes that have a military cut. The T-shirt suggests he might be his coach or it might simply be a military undershirt. The athlete's hands are tied together and his feet, though not tied, are also close together, as if in obedience to a demand for military neatness. 

He is suspended, stretched out across his mentor's feet and a low table in a beautiful arching pose that accentuates his buttocks and conveys an impression of extreme defencelessness. The instrument of punishment is a ferocious-looking multi-tailed whip which flails in the air above them suggesting extreme anger and pain lies in store for him. In reality, the wielder is standing much too close to use it effectively, but this close positioning suggests intense, personal emotions are in play. 

The style of the image is strikingly artistic and modern with a slightly fuzzy appearance that belies the level of detail where it matters and there's a similarly loose approach to perspective. Compare with the Art of Vern Dufford

This picture is simply signed 'G' but the artist was identified as 'Greg' when it appeared in 'Mandate' magazine in 1985. Tim in Vermont website attributes it to Greg Maskwa (aka 'greg') who was certainly a contemporary. Maskwa (not previously featured here at mitchmen) was a prolific artist in the leather-rich 1980's and is probably best known for his image below called 'The Oasis'.

'greg' - The Oasis

 These two images are quite different in style but they both have been created using very distinctive, professional 'studio'  techniques. Greg did not always use his distinctive logo on his images but I've not found one that does have it with a similar style to 'G' Greg. You can draw your own conclusions about the source of the liquid spilling from the boot.

Greg - The Olympians

I haven't found any other fetish images by 'G' but this shower scene shows a similar mini-drama unfolding in the contrasting halves of a diptych. On the left two (swimmers?) are showering in a perfectly normal way with a nicely muscled, broad back on view. On the right the blond has actually removed his trunks and has attracted the attention of the third man, seemingly drawing him away from that glorious back. He spans both halves of the image with an air that suggests he is not a man to be dallied with. The faces are stylised but rather sexy.

~

for similar posts at mitchmen, click on the labels below

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

The Torments of Channing Travolta

 When a man with a smiling, college jock face calling himself 'Channing Travolta' posts publicity pictures of himself in virgin white trunks, he's creating an image that is an attractive target for all the beastly characters in the world of wrestling who just love to take a self-regarding, pretty boy down a peg or two. 

 

Against Elite Eliot he confident turns up wearing brash red trunks with matching arm bands plus a bleach blond hair-do that projects more edge than his squared-jawed, well cushioned appearance actually delivers.

Nevertheless his chunky physique alone suggests he will be a formidable opponent and more than able to look after himself. So it proves. He gains an early ascendancy over the highly experienced Eliot and pauses to showboat as if to assure us 'you ain't seen nothing yet'.

His undisguised glee while inflicting a painful claw hold on Eliot's face reveals a typically jock-like, cruel streak and contempt for his opponent. Travolta's arrogance is likely to backfire badly at some point, especially against an old trooper like Eliot, who's more wrestler than bully, but no stranger to inflicting unpleasantness on his opponents.

 

Eliot can turn to a dirty trick or two of his own. if he's riled.

And what better way to do it than by grabbing Channing's showy hair?

In very short order, Channing finds himself down on his knees, 

being levered into back-breaking agony.

His pretty-boy face is engulfed by the sweaty hairiness of Eliot's armpit.

But, inexplicably, his manhood pushes out against the restraint of his trunks.

Channing has suddenly lost control of this contest,

His superior weight and strength are neutralised by his opponent with humiliating ease

It's used against him as he is dropped, crashing down onto the canvass.

 

 

His foray into the ring suddenly ends in humiliation and failure. 

see video trailer of Channing v Eliot at Wrestler4Hire

~

A second match quickly follows.

Max Quivers' mask and business suit don't fit the template of a serious wrestler,

 but he's a lot bigger than Channing and that the spooky outfit belies a wealth of fight experience. 

Channing quickly discovers that truth as Max's friendly handshake

 suddenly pulls him into a backwards arm lever and torso twist.

He forces Channing to bend, exposing his fleshy waist to a vicious claw hold.

It's as if those red trunks have angered Max, like the proverbial bull shown a red rag.

Throwing Channing down onto the canvas, the black depths of Max's psyche emerge 

as he wraps his hands round Channing's neck and squeezes the choke hold.

Max releases his hold before Channing passes out, allowing him to roll away 

But then he follows and traps him, pinning his neck beneath the sole of his shoe.

Giving us a nice view of Channing's buns!

As Channing struggles to his knees. Max takes off his tie. 

He wraps it round Channing's neck, pulling it chokingly tight.

Within seconds Channing collapses, gasping for breath again.

Max releases him before passes into unconsciousness.

But Channing's torment has barely begun.

Max removes his jacket, showing he means business.

He traps Channing's arms in torso stretch that has the new boy squirming,

like a turkey who's just found out about Christmas.

That turkey comparison seems to have occurred to Max as well.

With Channing down on his knees before him 

Max seems intent on wringing his neck. 

It's a short step to a repeat of Eliot's humiliation, 

as Channing's face is smothered by Max's arm pit.

I'd wager that Max's shirt is a lot sweatier and smellier 

than Elite Eliot's underarm hair.

Channing's too busy to appreciate such nuances,

because Max's knee is grinding into his back.

The back-breaking attack gathers pace as Max flips him over

and folds his legs into the dreaded Boston Crab.

Channing's chunky physique is marvellously displayed.

exerting every ounce of strength in his body

to stop Max squatting on him and thus capping the move.

His face graphically shows the effort and pain involved.

Max does enough damage to leave Channing helpless on the mat.

Like Eliot before him, he can't resist pulling the Golden Boy up by his bleached hair.

Channing seems to have lost the will to fight

even with his hair being twisted out by the roots.

He's spotted the discarded tie lying on the canvas nearby, 

like a snake poised to strike again. 

Rolling Channing over, Max levers his arms behind his back 

The big college jock is completely overpowered and hurting.

That tie now seems to like a threat of bondage.

Channing bleats something about the rules, as if he's an angel himself.

In another uncanny echo of Channing's debut against Eliot

Max shows just what he thinks of 'The Rules' by grabbing Channing's mouth, 

prising it open and paying him back, it seems, for using a similar move against Eliot.

Channing grabs the tie as if fearing it will now become a gag.

A great shot of Channing's ass with Quiver's crotch hovering over it,

Channing's bent leg blocks any exploitation, fortunately (or unfortunately)

but with Quiver's weight bearing down on it that's scant compensation.

 

Max finishes his chastisement of the pretty boy by trapping Channing in the ropes.

he rubs in the defeat, applying the sole of his shoe to his neck again.

I hope it's clean!

Max goes off, leaving Channing humiliatingly displayed. 

see video trailer of Channing v Max Quivers at Wrestler4Hire

Thanks to Wrestler4Hire for the pictures

~

More of Channing's attempts to break into the wrestling big time in the next post!

For other wrestling humiliations click on wrestlers or humiliations below

The Genie of the Lump

Pantomimes were never like this in my day!

Chet Chastain and Alvin James find ways to cement their tag team partnership

at Wrestler 4 Hire. Or is this another of Chet's dastardly ploys?

See the results Chet & Alvin vs Maverick & Guido Genatto

 

Lottery Luck

Every man who entered the swimming gala at the Tuffluk County Fair this year

was given a free pair of swim trunks with a lottery number on the front.

The Star Prize was to be a new home and income for life.

The draw was made about 5pm and it was No 7 that came up

The prize turned out to be a place in the National Labour Programme.

5 years guaranteed work, board and lodging all included.

Brace Yourselves Boys!

Afterwards, sitting in the transport to the Labour Aggregation Center, the shackled boys compared notes and found that they all had had flings in the past with Susie Jones, the girl who had been handing out the 'free lottery trunks' at the County Fair. Flings that had all ended in acrimony after she found out about them two-timing her. It looked like they all had 5 years to think about that mistake.

~

For other mitchmen captions click on the mitchmods label below

 

Etienne's Fishermen - 3

Etienne - Fisherman's Prize Catch

In this image by Etienne, the clumsy amateur angler of Part 1 and the admiring bystander in Part 2 are replaced by a man in a (wet?) pouch explicitly portrayed as 'The Catch'. He's hung up to await his fate, like the fishes in the background. Except that they are tiddlers and he certainly isn't!  The hooks that caught them lie on the ground.

It's normally angling practice to weigh prize specimens, to make a photographic record of  them and then throw them back into the water. That seems to be the procedure being followed here, but one can't help thinking that this big fish is in danger of being stuffed and mounted or even being eaten before the day is out, figuratively speaking of course.

 This comic image is one of Etienne's great might-have-beens in technical terms. The faces and physiques of the two men are beautifully drawn (particularly the catch) and the subject matter makes a fascinating bridge between the predatory nature of angling with it's dangerous impedimenta of hooks and knives and the world of captivity and domination that is S&M. Unfortunately all the beautiful detailing of this idea has been undermined by miscalculations, crazy perspectives and imbalances. These flaws which suggest to me that the artist got too involved with the eroticism of his subject and was distracted from the basics until it was too late.

Felix Falkon - Fisherman's Scuba Diver Catch

Felix Falkon was a contemporary of Etienne and once criticised him (in a friendly way) as 'lazy' but he imitated his style and recast a number of his compositions in a 'corrected' form. This may be an example of that. The two figures here do indeed look more 'correct' and yet it's not as sexy, despite the explicit details. 

The line drawing technique itself is intrinsically less sensual. There may be a colourised version of this image but Falkon lacked Etienne's mastery of shading technique, which was the equal of Tom of Finland's style. In Falkon's composition, the direct physical connection between the two figures has been sacrificed in favour of a more realistic suspension arrangement and there's less sense of lurking lust between them. Indeed the added scuba detail obscures some of the attractions of the catch. Etienne, the master of feet depiction, would probably mock Falkon's flippers as a cover-up job. Replacing the waders with boots makes a stronger S&M connection but loses an important element of the fishing theme. 

Etienne - Suspended in Jock

Compare Falkon's effort with Etienne's original suspension image and you understand the gulf in talent between them. It encompasses not only shading technique but more subtle elements like the cast of the two men's faces which successfully connects them in this version to establish a genuine sense of domination and mentoring even. Etienne's men both have a masculinity that is pretty much erased in Falkon's copied version.

Interestingly the sub's face here bears a resemblance to the that of the amateur angler pinned to a tree in Part 1 of this series, although his mentor is not the same. Etienne 'recycled' elements of his imagery sometimes and it's possible that an angling variant of this picture formed part of that set and led more directly to Falkon's imitation.

Read this series from Part 1

See the list of works by Etienne posted at mitchmen

Etienne's Fishermen - 2

Etienne - Lobster Fishing

This image by Etienne seems innocuous at first sight, almost a pastoral study of a working fisherman. That's partly because the two men in it seem posed and not interacting in any way. There's certainly not the passion seen in the first of this fishing series. 

One's eye is naturally drawn to the bare top of the hunky, lobster fisherman. Some perhaps are attracted to the strikingly dressed, young bystander. Then the erotic details click in - the fisherman is totally naked (bar his cap and waders) and the on-looker is sporting an impressive bulge in his pants (understandably).

That bulge seems to have caught the fisherman's eye too, he stops his work and leans back on one elbow, but it's almost as if he's irritated by this young sprog staring at him. He still holds the lobster over his crotch in a grip that reflects it's phallic shape. I suppose the word lobster itself has a certain innuendo value too, but it's  hard, cold shell isn't a natural choice for frottage. 

I'm no expert but I assume he's taking the tails off the lobsters, rather than selling them whole. I imagine it's not usual for a lobster fisherman to carry out this task naked at the waist, so he must get a steady flow of gawpers. If the creatures are still alive he's risking quite a lot! 

The knife in his other hand seems menacing, particularly with the youngster's bulge in his direct line of sight. The upward curve of the blade might also simply be an indicator of sexual interest but there's an unmistakeable edge to this picture. As Etienne says in Part 1, fishing (of any sort) is a dangerous sport.

Tom of Finland - Fish Surprise (1959)

Tom of Finland drew on the more obvious eroticism of a cold, wriggling fish in the lap for this playful image. It's a natural match to the drooping fish tail Etienne used in the first angling image of Part 1. 

The depiction of the scuba diver's swimming trunks in this picture has always seemed extraordinarily sexy to me, how could any man fall asleep in it's presence? The slightly phallic bottle underneath the hammock (complete with it's straw for sucking) lies in reach of the dangling hand and may be indicative of an erotic dream that is about to be abruptly ended, or perhaps one about to take place!

This modern Yaoi artist is less subtle about the phallic qualities of fish 

and leaves no doubt it's still alive. Strictly for fantasy chaps!

Correctness aside, there's some nice bondage detail in this image

More Etienne in Part 3

Etienne's Fishermen - 1

Etienne - Fishing Is A Dangerous Sport - 2

 

Etienne's dramatic confrontation between two fishermen is one of his most forceful and technically convincing images, but it's rarely seen. 

There's a subtle contrast between the comprehensively equipped 'pro' fisherman on the right  and the intimidated amateur angler on the left whose incompetence has caused the conflict (see next picture below). The first has quite a military look about him but the other is portrayed as a bumpkin, admittedly with stylish hair, but inappropriately dressed in trainers and skimpy cut-offs held up by a knotted rope. 

He seems highly vulnerable as his T-shirt is pulled upwards and in danger of being ripped off altogether. The drooping waders provide a corresponding hint of undress in the aggressor party. Both men sport interesting bulges, but any more suggestive erotic flavouring is limited to a fish tail* dangling from the basket just above the offender's crotch and a solitary bulrush amongst the reeds groping up his legs. We might add perhaps the handle of the fisherman's 'rod' at a stretch. 

(Those reeds look as though they might have been a late addition to disguise an unsuccessful foot).

*Tom of Finland also employed the niche eroticism of fish in a less serious encounter (see Part 2).

Etienne - Fishing Is A Dangerous Sport - 1

This picture is from the same series and shows the cause of the fisherman's anger,
the bumpkin's wild line-casting has hooked his pants and torn them wide open. 

Both these images were published in Mars magazine No 12 (1965),
apparently there are 4 more in the storyette but I don't think I've ever seen them.
The rope 'belt' in the first picture seems ripe for exploitation later on!

One month on, I stumbled across the full version of the picture above including a nice view of the clumsy young fisherman, even this version still looks cropped!

Etienne tended to portray men with cute, diminutive bottoms but the cautious portrayal here probably also owes something to the uncertainty around censorship of sexual imagery in this period when controls were being challenged.

Tom of Finland - Two Fishes (1956)

Tom of Finland can lay claim to having spotted the erotic potential of flying fish-hooks first in this 1956 image. The back-to-back, over-the-shoulder looks here don't exactly reek of sexual excitement but the fish lying on the ground do seem to allude to a hoped-for conjunction of men's parts (big and little!). The picture does look oddly cropped, so a more indicative bulge may lie just out of sight! 

1956 was not a good time for provocative gay pictures.

MacLane - Surfer Hooked

This picture by Bill MacLane must date from around the same time as Tom's. It dodges round the eroticism of the ripped swimming trunks by introducing a melodramatic menace. There's an interesting thought process going on, here relating sexuality to danger. and threat. It's similar to the moment when Freddie Kruger decides to chop up a pair of teenagers steaming up a car. 

~

There's also a mitchmen version of this scenario by Mitchell (next post)

More Etienne and Tom in Part 2