Mitchell's Fetish Art - Devil's Work

Mitchell - Staked Out (Devil's Work)

 In the 4th article of my series about WWII comic books, I showed an image of a British soldier staked out in the desert  and speculated about it's considerable homoerotic and fetish potential. In this image I flesh that fantasy out. Literally so, because this unfortunate captive has had his shirt ripped open and his shorts and underwear removed, exposing him to the full power of the desert sun (amongst other hot things).

This may not be the only torture he has suffered, the fifth stake suggests. But he's not an information-bearing officer like the original scenario. He's a mere private, a young man barely past the age of conscription.
Have his colleagues arrived too late to save him?

Is a touching and sexy reunion with his 'special chum' in the unit imminent?

For those of you who are mystified by my interest in ancient Boy's Comics,
I hope this goes some way to explaining it.

~

In my re-imagining I drew heavily on the original image (below) but did not attempt to fully emulate that artist's technique in which deep shadowing is used to create the impression of a setting sun. This might be a metaphor for the ebbing away of the life of the victim following lengthy exposure and torture and also the long search by his unit as they scoured the desert trying to find him.  The shading of the sky rather than the ground adds an ominous note, but seems counter-intuitive until you think about the deep blue tones of dusk in the tropics. The contrast reinforces the impression of a bleak parched landscape

Staked Out (original image from War Picture Library No 1765 'Tough Guy', p36)

My admiration for the original artist grew as I recreated the rescue vehicle, approaching in a cloud of dust. In the original picture, it is created almost entirely by shadowing but still seems to show incredible detail. The mudguards and headlights for example. On the side of the lorry a few patches of white trick the eye into seeing bulk and hidden detail that is amazingly convincing. 

Check out the economy of the victim's facial features as well.

The pattern of shadowing is not entirely consistent, the stakes suggest a different direction for the sun (perhaps indicative of a different source image) but that's a minor quibble. When you consider that this picture is just one out of a total of 130 in the whole book, the attention to quality is astonishing. It's also a superb lesson for any aspiring artist (in which group I include myself) of the importance of creating shape in an image, not just tracing outlines.

Incidentally, the expression 'Good grief' used in the speech bubble was fairly archaic even back in the 1960's and indicative of a 'good upbringing' in which outright swearing was forbidden. As a Sergeant Sam Kingsby (what a terrible surname that is!) would probably have had a more earthy background. The expression has since been devalued somewhat by it's adoption as a comical catch-phrase in the Charlie Brown cartoons.

For other War Comic fantasies click on the label below
View Bizarre Brutality No 2

War Picture Library was published by Fleetway Press (IPC)

Be Careful What You Wish For! (Julius modified)

There's nothing wrong with cross-generational lust as long as it's mutual and the ages are over and not under. I'm a great admirer of Julius Art but not of his captions recounting tales of exploited adolescents,
which I simply won't publish here. 

The young men in this picture from 'School for Sinners' don't even look underage but Julius has captured a sense of blossoming manhood in the central figure that deserves appreciation. Removing the original caption and transporting them to an all-adult, Military context substitutes a legitimate scenario with a disciplinary edge and rehabilitates the handsomely-imagined older man.

I'd love to see a variant in which the 'Sergeant' doing his rounds is still in uniform, disguising his own excitement and thereby putting him in a position to give these two a proper military dressing down (while noting Private Taylor's name for special fatigues sometime in the future)!

Other mitchmen-modified Julius images in this blog: The Pirate, The Hospital Shave 

My A-Z article on Julius

The Humour of Bazz

Bazz - Computer 01

The wicked humour of Bazz is featured regularly at GMBA 

(current link in sidebar, Google zaps it occasionally)

Be aware that some of his work is not for the squeamish
 or those averse to political incorrectness.

See also Dream 06,  The Job

Bazz also has a Google group 'Best of Bazz'

The Looks that say 'Christmas Came Early This Year'

For anyone who is alone, or feels alone this Christmas

Santa seems to occupy a  parallel, elastic, time continuum on Christmas Eve

giving him enough time to deliver presents to all the boys and girls in the world.

But it's still a pretty hectic schedule, so he must feel a bit rushed sometimes.
A bit like an NHS Doctor I suppose.

He likes to give all the deserving, gay boys exactly what they ask for.
(partly to dispell those nasty rumours about him and Rudolph)

But the trouble is they all want the same thing, every year,
so it's understandable if it doesn't always come out quite as intended.
Particularly when the 'wish list' is a tattoo and it's presented like this.

There's a get out clause though.
The recipient is not really supposed to be awake when Santa cums.
So that makes him a bad boy really, not a good boy. 
But at least he got something for staying up.
The last lad on Santa's list may find there's nothing left in the sack.
Well, Santa's only human!

This is 'Look' No 15, for others click on the label below.

It's also an addendum to 'Silly Hat' No 10
Actually, the jaunty angle almost rescues it from being silly.
It's floppy tip is particularly poignant in this sad scene.
(click on 'Hats' label below for more Silly Hats)

Photo credit: Ace Era and Dylan James from Lucas Entertainment

Life imitates Art

 Brenn Wyson (right) is a bit of a 'jobber' for Bound Gods and easily overlooked in porn star terms, but as this picture shows he has an enviable physique. He's seen here trying out his boy scout knots on Adam Port, a luckless hiker who picked the wrong day to go down to the woods.

Should have gone to the tattoo parlour, Adam.

This aerial, outdoor spreadeagled stretch looks most impressive and must feel pretty exposed and scary for the naked Adam Port. Behind him Wyson has given himself unrestricted space for wielding the leather flail that is essential equipment for every lurker-in-the-woods. That cute little ass makes a perfect target but he must be puzzling how to reach higher up when he gets bored with tattoed buns.

This bondage scenario is almost certainly inspired by the Cavelo image of captive cowboys being tortured by 'Native Americans' (btw why is 'native' more OK than 'indian'?)

which in turn was inspired by this pulp fiction illustration

See more on this connection in my A-Z article on Cavelo

Back in the woods....

The Bound Gods scene cleverly utilises a natural tree shape to create a restraining frame that allows the captive to rest his weight on his feet, but his legs are in a fairly stretched position that must have gotten pretty uncomfortable after a while. A longer stay (overnight for example) in a true captivity situation would exhaust the toughest man and if your tormentors returned in the morning equipped with staves, spears or just long, whippy branches cut from nearby trees, well.......look out Adam!

Adam Port's nudity makes him looks majestic from this direction, perfectly in tune with his surroundings but  the prospect of a frontal assault soon wipes out any complacency he may have developed about being out of reach.

A below-the-belt, very ouch! moment seems in prospect if Wyson's strike misses his mark. 

Photos: Bound Gods - Brenn Wyson captures Adam Port (2011)

Mitchell's Fetish Art for December - Feeding Time

Feeding Time

In the 'Long Gallery' of a luxurious, stately home,
a naked man sits, restrained, inside a slowly-filling aquarium tank.
Now that the water has risen above his head, he is reliant on a flimsy tube for air.
or else must make strenuous, awkward movements to lift his head above water.
Meanwhile his fellow occupants circle ominously, watching him tire.

Previously published as part of my 'Neighbourhood Police' Story,

but I thought it made a nice sequel to the October picture of the month .

The two pictures are contemporary with one another
and the formative influences discussed in October apply equally to this picture.
It would also fit in with the story outline presented in that article,
although I didn't plan to use it that way when I drew it.

For those who collect my pictures, this is a new copy  with less obtrusive watermarks

for other mitchmen pictures by Mitchell, click on the 'mitchpix' label below
or visit my Gallery Hub (using the tab at the top of the page) 

The Art of Ivan Bubentcov

 

Ivan Bubentcov is a Russian artist whose work caught my eye because of the stylistic likeness to the work of Tom of Finland. For example in this image you can see it in the faces/torso, the quirky poses, cheeky humour and simple background with winding path and trees. In fact this artist has a distinctive technique (evident in the foreground engine detail) which is retro in feel but quite different to ToF. However Bubentcov's reinvention of Kake-like, playful, highly masculine men is a relatively unusual and profound way to acknowledge the Finnish Master in the modern era.

These images come from a group of Tractor Driver pictures. Bubentcov's use of Farm worker imagery seems to echo Tom's fascination with Lumberjacks rather neatly, but if you look at the styling of this image you can see it's much influenced by 1930's design (e.g. the clouds) and Soviet 'Heroic Worker' art in the subject matter (albeit used subversively). Obviously there are less welcome comparisons between gay oppression in Russia now and in Tom's era which no doubt drives the use of sexual innuendo, but I don't think Tom was ever as obviously oblique as this.

Whilst this sauna scene might suggest more Tom connections it's really the closeness of Scandinavian and Russian culture that's responsible here and you'd never confuse this with a Tom picture. He's even emulated a steamy atmosphere. The faces here are recognisably Russian, which is to be applauded. The use of nettles for stimulating the skin is part of the sauna treatment but once again there's an interesting use of heavy innuendo, linking it to the younger man's bottom.

This sauna is depicted in more comic style and gets quite close to being explicit. The man in the foreground is delightfully drawn, long-legged and craggily handsome. He's not quite succeeding in covering his assets, but you have to look close, click to enlarge if required.

The two men inside the hut, ostensibly getting in some nettle thrashing practice, are obviously simulating a sexual position and the one on the bench seems to be signalling a preference with his dangling hand. But there's a curious twist to both bodies which shows balls resting on buttock if you look closely.

As hidden eroticism goes, this is pretty challenging. 

This image also flouts the existing order with man touching man's bottom in public and also in front of a (nosey) woman who's not outraged it seems but dismayed or even frightened. (Cue more Tom comparisons). I'm not quite sure what to make of the phallic cactus on her windowsill (balls and all, note). Perhaps it's a comment on female perceptions of men and their equipment, .

Presumably these are workmen but it might equally be an elopement scene with the ladder. I've seen a similar image based on the Rapunzel story, except that the rescuing hero is climbing past the window of the long haired maiden to reach the long haired man on the floor above. The political symbolism of ladders as escape devices needs no explanation. (Tom had his fences of course symbolising the opposite, entrapment and secrecy).

 

Bubentcov has a polished, more academic style as well. 

The faces he draws are infused with the same sense of masculinity and relaxed playfulness.

 

In the context of his Russian background, this image is a remarkable affirmation of homosexuality as a normal form of relationship and something beautiful, not just a method of sexual release. The combination of highly masculine stubble with delicate, almost feminine eyelashes and eyebrows goes further, making a provocative challenge to gender stereotyping. 

The style here is remarkably similar to that of RW Richards (below).

RW Richards - Amorous Cowboys

Artists often thrive in difficult circumstances, and it's good to see Bubentcov isn't surrendering to his.

I hope we will see much more art from this exciting new arrival on the scene.

For more visit the Bubentcov spread in 'Advocate'