To my readers......

SITE UPDATE NOTICE

Thanks for visiting mitchmen, home of Mitchell's Gay Art

The Caps and Collars/ Flat Cap Gang story at Google Groups has been on a break since January,
I am working on it and hope to resume shortly. (see Group News for link)

Link to the Royale Studio Archive in the right sidebar


Message updated 6th Sept 2024

Saturday, 18 January 2020

Jotto's Mystery of the Red Barn

The Murder in the Red Barn was a notorious case in 1827 in England .
The victim disappeared and the body was only discovered a year later,
 buried in the 'Red Barn', after her mother dreamt about it.  

Jotto's Red Barn series is quite different,
ambiguous but equally mysterious and spooky

Jotto - Scarecrow in the Heat
 There's always a place for a scarecrow in a horror scenario.
 Usually lurking in the distance, emanating mysterious darkness
as though seeing all, but revealing nothing.
Jotto - Best Scarecrow Ever
It all begins with a Nature Lover 
venturing out naked, alone
aiming to get closer to nature.

Jotto - MacDonald Had A Farm
A Farmer with an interest in innovation  - and young men.

Prime Beef or Prime Milker?
There's only one way to find out.

One might wonder about those young men who disappeared.
Surely not hidden in plain view, in sight of the homestead?
The crows and the insects could tell a story.

Jotto - Scarecrow in the Storm
The summer storm drenches the soil and the corn grows higher,
Gradually submerging the scarecrow in a sea of green.
Soon it will be Harvest and the land cleared for Winter.

Jotto - Hi
When Spring returns a young man thoughts
turn to adventure and thrill-seeking.......
Who knows what awaits him?


Read my A-Z article which surveys Jotto's art

Wednesday, 15 January 2020

The Russians Are Coming - 2

Read this series from Part 1
Danila Undresses
 Another hunky bodybuilder arrives at the Russian Guys studio aiming to impress with his physique. 
I'm impressed already with this unconventional back view, showing his attractive body shaping.
He's an aspiring model completely unaware of what is planned for him.

The background used in this picture and the next one give the appearance of a credible photo studio with plain, modern 'industrial' walling and accessories beloved of edgy photographers.
No dungeons or hotel bedrooms here!

Danila Overpowered
No sooner has Danila shed his T-shirt than he's pounced on by a hooded thug who KO's him.
We get a nice preview of the physique that's just been requisitioned for examination.
The bad guys here always wear hoods or sun shades that make them look gangsterish


Danila Hogtied
Unconscious, the bodybuilder is stripped to underwear and tied up with rope.
The hog-tie is an unusual concession to tradition at Russian Guys,
it's a position that makes the most of his muscles.

The floor he's lying on looks dry and clean.
It creates a disturbing sense of clinical purpose.

 

Other new arrivals at the 'studio' loose their clothes more crudely.
Stas is described as a football hooligan, a skinny thug.
That means its quite OK to destroy his vest/singlet before getting started.

Zhenya Undressed
This soldier's clothes get more respect and consideration during removal.
 Zhenya's fine military physique is well worthy of a gradual unveiling,
It really would be a waste to simply rip his gear off.
This approach is only feasible if he's unconscious of course.

Konstantin Debagged

Konstantin is also out for the count unaware as his jeans are undone and tugged off his legs.
He thought he was in for a medical, but the comfort of this couch will be fleeting

Vitaly tamed

By contrast, Vitalys 'Bully Guy' persona earns him an overpowering by force,
attacked by two hooded thugs he remains conscious, able to wonder why
as his T-shirt and jeans are ripped and pulled off his body


 Vitaly's attackers dangle him by his wrists, with ankles tied together, toes just touching the ground.
The yawning door of that container must look an ominous sight to him in this predicament.
 The cheery yellow of his trunks makes an incongruous contrast to the bleak surroundings


When the preliminaries of restraint are done and all is secure, 
there's time for the model to reflect on what might be to come.
I featured this man in Part 1 and previously in a review of Torture Central a few years ago.
I love his orange shorts, not cool but they suggest an individualistic, cheerful personality
Possibly a man who will find the demands of his captors difficult and shocking.



We already saw the bewilderment of the 'swimmer' in Part 1, when he realised where he was.
But 'he doth protest too much' and his reward is a mouthful of the ubiquitous bamboo pole
It's not overly effective as a silencer, but it will render his protestations unintelligible 
and deliver an aching jaw that he will remember before he speaks in future.



'The Stallion' is another bewildered man, he volunteered for something completely different to this.
He's described as a stripper and his artfully edgy hair style indicates someone who likes to be noticed.
Probably in a more flattering pose than this, I imagine.
  But then what sort of man describes himself as a stallion, for heavens sake? 
Admittedly his body warrants attention and puts on a fine display in this position.

I'm not always a fan of ball gags, they tend to distort the face but they've chosen a sensible colour for him and he wears it well. It seems to fit in nicely in with the suggestion of an arrogant man brought down to earth with a bump, his situation exemplified by his being taped to a concrete block. 
Humiliating but also flattering his strength in a weird way!



Occasionally at Russian Guys, captives are delivered into total nudity.
This model is designated simply as the 'New Employee', what an induction!

It's perhaps the harshest way to lose your clothing as a captive, to have the garments cut off you.
It's a more drastic loss than simple undressing, which at least offers the hope of their eventual return.
Cutting is more clinical and calculating than the shock tactic of ripping them away, 
Having to watch them slowly being destroyed on your body, seeing them mutilated and made useless
is a heart-breaking loss and comes with the added scare of blades manoeuvring close to the skin.




For Zhenya, having been stripped totally naked by his captors there is the further humiliation
 of being posed on a precarious, display pedestal in a curtained off, private room, 
there to be inspected by a succession of evil-looking men,

Close by, hang a selection of intimidating instruments of punishment
which he can peruse as he is waiting....... and imagine what they might feel like.


Vasily on his knees

It's even more confusing when they dress you in black latex and oil you up.
Allocating to you a role that is darkly mysterious and sexual even.
Perhaps the time to really start worrying though
 is when they chain you to a concrete block.

 Vasily looks suitably hot under the collar and wondering what's coming next.

There's another image of Vasily in his original, dodgy underwear in my review of Torture Central


more in Part 3
Read this series from Part 1

The Russian Captured Boys site provides a limited free archive of their most recent offerings.
There's a good retrospective collection of Russian Captured Boys highlights at Metalbondnyc

Sunday, 12 January 2020

The Russians are coming - 1

Memorable restraint images from Russian Captured Boys

Andrei in Chains
As an example of restraint this takes some beating. No wonder Andrei looks frustrated. Not only is he restricted by these heavyweight chains, he's weighed down by them, a constant reminder of captivity. 
That's a fate worthy of a superhero.

After this he's forced to do exercises wearing them
(image referenced is in Snakes and Chains post) 


Maxim's bamboo leverage restraint
 I don't know the exact term for this form of restraint, where arms and legs are tied in a flexed position with a stave of some sort trapped in crook of the joint, but it's totally immobilising.
Mischievous-looking Maxim here seems to be just beginning to appreciate that it's not a joke. 

In time he may also discover that the bamboo poles can put uncomfortable pressure on his joints if the ties are tight. They act as levers, particularly thick ones like this. Historically in South East Asia shibari bondage was used not only to restrain prisoners of war but to incapacitate them. The use of bamboo for the poles here together with a futon-style platform and paper screens references those origins.

Petr's arm lift
The bamboo is used differently here to create a reverse arm lift. It forces Petr to balance inelegantly on his toes, in order to alleviate the pressure on his shoulder joints. Foot fans will appreciate his lines. The other three poles are acting purely as decorative encumbrances at this moment
but they can be used to impose leg separation on the captive.

The Swimmer - On the bamboo ladder
As this bewildered soul has just discovered.
I've called him 'the swimmer' on account of the design of his trunks and his lithe muscularity. His confused look makes this picture tingle with possibilities. He's reacting to the unexpected warm-up slaps he's getting, but the bamboo ladder restraint frame is unusual enough to be suggestive of mysterious, exotic and demanding rituals. It is also a compact, more accessible alternative to conventional spread-eagling on a table or between uprights.

Vladimir (?) - Suspended on a cross
This is an impressive restraint image owing much to the model's tremendous physique, which is beautifully displayed giving an impression of true strength without excessive bulk. His shaved abdomen looks great. You can see his 'bits' have been 'enhanced' but his male-ness doesn't really need the help.

At first sight it looks like a crucifixion, but the captive is actually suspended by a combination of arm slings and  ankle restraints that won't allow him to put his feet on the ground. It's a double-edged sword of two uncomfortable positions that can be alternated but not escaped.

Ilya Pole Tied
This is potentially an even more fiendish restraint. A hoist levers Ilya's arms backwards but the upright pole limits his ability to change position to mitigate the pressure.  He is forced to adopt an involuntary submissive pose.


The effect of this tension on his body is most striking.
Firstly the muscularity of his arms is highlighted.
Second, his head is forced forward and down,
 which seems to accentuate the shape of his pecs and the washboard ripple of his abdominals.
Meanwhile, the keen cut of his underpants brings out some bulky, sexy, thigh muscularity.

Suspension Bondage 1
For a supple, young man this suspension position isn't problematic unless it's excessively prolonged. It's causes the buttocks to be beautifully displayed and that's further enhanced in this case by the subtle patterning of his underpants. I haven't been able to find out this model's name

Suspension Bondage 2
His long slender leg lines are brought out in this view 
and if you seek out more images from the set there are views of his back muscles


Roman is one of the best looking men in the Russian Captured Boys stable  and this intimate shot captures a sense of acceptance and reflection that enhances his masculine credentials.


Roman suspended
When drawn up by the chain into a suspended position,
 his stressed physique in this image is impressive.
It's a marvellous study of pure restraint 
unencumbered by the mechanics of the display.

'Guy Next Door' suspended and clamped

A similar suspension test is arranged for this model, supplemented by nipple clamps. If we were to go by the profuse sweating that is suggested by the gleaming highlights on his triceps, he would be long past the stage of worrying about the minor nuisance on his pecs. I suspect that the sheen is actually oil but I'm happy with that. The matching of a sober expression with a stretched out body produces another striking image that is about personality and inner emotions as much as outward physical appearance.

I previously featured this model, memorably clad in orange shorts,
 in a review of Torture Central a few years ago.
~
If you appreciate the beauty of the human body and of it's response to tension and pressure, you can understand how shibari came to be thought of as a sort of performance art. Judging from the images in this article, the men behind Russian Captured Boys seem to understand this. But their approach to bondage is much simpler, less sophisticated than shibari and that throws greater emphasis onto the intrinsic qualities of their models. The sparing use of clothing also contributes, avoiding the distraction of  explicit nudity which would otherwise overshadow everything else. It certainly doesn't prevent these images from being erotic. More on this next time.

Saturday, 11 January 2020

Priapus of Milet becomes All Time Most Popular Post in 2019

Priapus of Milet - Antechamber
A scene from 'Antechamber' by Priapus in which a husky, red head explores a post-holocaust labyrinth
 and is taken captive by robot-skeletons with a taste for tormenting human men.
Here they escort him to his next experience.
See the full series at Telemachus12

~

According to my Blogger 'hit stats', out of all the mitchmen articles published to date, 
those registering the most hits since publication were as shown below.


Table 1 mitchmen Articles With Most Hits Since Publication to end 2018

Posn
(last yr)
Title of Post
(& link)
Year of
Pub'n
2018
Hits
2019 Hits
1 (2)
2012
23787
30906
2 (1)
2010
24020
26717
3 (6)
2008
16830
23837
4 (5)
2009
13786
17666
5 (4)
2010
14385
16033
6 (18)
2017
5817
15238
7 (-)
2018
2519
14184
8 (6)
2009
11600
12849
9 (7)
2010
9500
11071
10 (10)
2009
6878
9814
11 (9)
2009
7284
8676
12 (8)
2012
7430
8410
13 (17)
2015
5946
8202
14 (10)
2012
6878
8059
15 (12)
2010
6442
7569
16 (-)
2009
4162
7460
17 (-)
2009
5618
7240
18 (14)
2009
6098
7122
19 (-)
2018
974
6929
20 (13)
2011
6145
6926


A couple of years ago I was gloomily pondering the rather static nature of this annual survey. How different things look now! Several recent articles featuring modern art styles have raced up the rankings and there are now 4 in the top 20 shaking up the order and dislodging old favourites such as (this year), Mahoney and Michael Mitchell (no relation!).

This year Priapus of Milet – 1 which arguably started the 'new wave' revolution way back(!) in 2012 finally dislodged A-Z of Fetish Artists – Mike Carcel from the No 1 position and has already established a commanding lead. With this artist regularly producing stunning new work over at Telemachus12 (see header picture) it's hard to see anyone catching him soon.

Mike Carcel on the other hand seems to have stopped publishing. Nowadays it's getting harder to find appropriate hosts for his rather demanding subject matter and his position in this survey is in danger of being taken over by A-Z of Fetish Artists – Cavelo next year. 
But both these artists are themselves under threat from behind.

Beyond these three leaders, the main action is the arrival of 'posts of the year', The Milking Factory and IFNB – A Fantasy World of Bodybuilder Morphs at 6 & 7 respectively both having risen dramatically this year (64 places for IFNB!). A second Milking Factories – 3 article also sneaked into 19th place in an equally astonishing rise from nowhere last year, others seem to share my view that the lead image in this article (by Cupcakes666) is magnificent. These posts have yet to prove their longevity but it seems likely that one of them will be challenging the top 3 next time despite the huge gap of over 8,000 hits to be bridged. It's an exciting change to the established order.

The two arrivals at 6 & 7 have split a gaggle of A-Z artists who have juggled positions this year (as usual) but continued to maintain significant hit rates, even after 10 years on the blog. Most of them have been pushed down a place or two by the upstarts but A-Z of Fetish Artists – Jotto (up 1) and A-Z of Fetish Artists – The Hun (no change) managed to resist the tide of change better than the others with Jotto recording a significantly increased hit rate, up by a third. Not to be dismissed just yet!

In these circumstances I am delighted (as you might expect) that my own 'A Christmas Criminal' story rose a creditable 4 places to 13. Admittedly, I do advertise it continuously in the blog sidebar but it is a piece I'm proud of. If 8,000 men have read it and enjoyed it, I am highly delighted.

Further down, two more 10 year old articles, A-Z of Fetish Artists – Julius and A-Z of Fetish Artists – Kalabro entered the top 20 for the first time. Julius' cause has probably been helped by my comprehensive revision of his original A-Z article and my occasional posts of 'doctored' frames from his stories, although I haven't done one for a while to give him more impetus. Kalabro has been hovering just outside the top 20 for a while and I have no doubt that the runaway success of the Milking Factory has given him added impetus. That first article was based on a group of pictures by him and it was they which inspired the whole series. So take a bow Kalabro!

For comparison, my 'Index of Artists' page reached 40807 hits at the end of 2019 (up from 26846) which would have earned top spot in this ranking if I counted it as a post. It shows the tremendous interest in artists who work in our field.


Years not presently represented in the survey

Average hit rates

The total cumulative hits method of assessing popularity is obviously biased towards older articles so it's interesting to compare average hits per year since publication - see table below. In this list, multi-part articles are represented by the highest scoring individual post only and I have left out 2019 posts which don't even have a full year yet and are covered by a separate table. (If I had included them they would have bagged many of the top 10 spots!) I've included 5 extra articles as well, to counterbalance the preponderance of 2017-18 articles

Table 2 Articles with the Highest Average Hits per year Since Publication
Article
Published
Hits per year
Position
(& last year)
'Total Hits' position
2018
7820
1 (-)
7
2017
5317
2 (2)
6
2012
4010
3 (1)
1
2018
3871
4 (-)
35
2010
2810
5 (3)
2
2008
2507
6 (4)
3
2017
2103
7 (7)
43
2015
2038
8 (5)
13
2017
1954
9 (6)
14
2009
1858
10 (9)
4





2018
1776
11 (-)
88
2010
1686
12 (8)
5
2009
1352
13 (10)
8
2018
1223
14 (-)
111
2014
1189
15 (12)
22

Last year the usual suspects still bagged most of the top spots, but this year the challenge from the newcomers, two of whom are already in the top echelons, is clear.

This method tends to benefit popular, newer articles in the short term and there are some other interesting beneficiaries this year just outside the top 10 - The Art of Sparkieshock and Tentacles in action. Historically these articles disappear just as quickly as they appeared if they do not keep up their high initial hit rates (remember Woodunart?). However there are signs of 2 'middle aged' posts consolidating a more permanent position in the top group as their average gradually becomes 'less dilutable' by the passing years, namely A Christmas Criminal at 8 and Bound & Gagged Magazine – 4 at 15. I suspect Chirenon's A New Life For Our Air Force Boys which has remained in 7th place despite the influx above it may also fall into this category.


I'm gradually revising and extending my oldest A-Z entries, the main beneficiaries this year were (with latest and previous positions) Brick 71 (83), RJ Blake 121 (-), Turquine 59 (59), Hasegawa 195 (-), plus late in the year I did Kaarlo who is presently not qualified for the table (887 hits). Also in December, the articles on Manflesh 27 (22) and Facchini 79 (89) were augmented by the transfer of galleries from the old Yahoo! Group but too late to affect this years figures.

The articles I post to this blog are very much based on my own interests and fancies but the results of this survey do help me plan future offerings. My readers preferences doesn't always match my own (where are Les, JoeT and Link?). Nevertheless it's gratifying to see such interest in the great artists who often have a fairly low visibility on the web.

Remember, this comparison is only made for entertainment, since I don't really know how accurate Google's stats are, I suspect they don't even count people who just browse through the blog roll.

Thanks to all of you for your continuing interest and support.

Wednesday, 8 January 2020

IFNB is the Most Popular 'All Comers' Post in 2019

 A recent post at IFNB showing a Mr Alpha contestant and his support assistant
 celebrating victory with a cup of juice.

According to my Blogger 'hit stats', out of all the mitchmen articles published to date,
those registering the most hits during 2019 were as shown below.

Table 1 – mitchmen Articles with Most Hits in 2019

Position
(& last year)
Article
Published
Hits in
2019
Hits in 2018
1 (6)
2018
11665
2516
2 (3)
2017
9421
4406
3 (2)
2012
7119
5722
4 (1)
2008
7007
6574
5 (-)
2018
5955
974
6 (-)
2018
4593
699
7 (5)
2009
3880
2836
8 (10)
2009
3298
2208
9 (7)
2009
2936
2507
10 (-)
2019
2820
-
11 (4)
2010
2697
2894
12 (-)
2018
2592
1110
13 (-)
2017
2536
1686
14 (-)
2018
2328
867
15 (11)
2015
2256
2169
16 (-)
2019
2238
50 (est)
17 (8)
2017
1954
2489
18 (-)
2018
1933
1045
19 (-)
2014
1778
799
20 (-)
2018
1741
861





21 (12)
2010
1686
1691
22 (18 )
2009
1622
1311
23 (13)
2010
1571
1550
24 (9)
2014
1567
2217
25 (-)
2017
1524
888
26 (16)
2014
1459
1342
27= (19 =)
2009
1392
1202
27= (-)
2018
1392
864
29 (-)
2019
1302
-
30
2018
1284
477

This table only shows hits registered during 2019 but for all articles, not just those first published in 2019. The titles in all the tables link to the original posts. Please tell me if you have difficulty with any links. Stats collected 31/12/19

These tables are usually dominated by the older articles on classic artists, but this year relative newcomers have overturned that. IFNB A Fantasy World of BodyBuilders, in it's first full year captured the top spot overtaking the original Milking Factory article which was already poised for success last year at No3. IFNB finished ahead by a substantial margin. There was an equally large gap down to Priapus of Milet-1 at No 3 (down 1 place). The phenomenal popularity of the IFNB and Milking Factory posts was very obvious to me during the year and the winning total was 75% higher than last year's winner A-Z of Fetish Artists – Cavelo (down to 4). Cavelo recorded just under 10% more hits but that wasn't anywhere near enough to hold back the new wave, or to prevent Priapus of Milet - 1 regaining the upper hand in their 3 year tussle. Priapus showed a 25% rise in hits which was the same as the overall increase in visits to the blog.

While The Milking Factory was pipped for top spot there was compensation of sorts from 3 other posts in the series which came in at 5, 10 and 14. With 2 further articles in the series appearing in the 2019 new articles list, this is definitely 'The Year of the Milking Factory'.

The other tsunami to sweep the chart this year was of course Homoeros who snatched 4 places (6, 12, 16, 20) including the surprise success of the Homoeros Gallery article which I talked about in the new articles list. His crucifixion images (The Art of Homoeros – 6) seem to attract most interest, more than double that of the first article in the series (The Art of Homoeros -1) which is a good indicator of the interest in his wider work.

Given the dominance of these multi-part series I'm also showing, this year, the next 10 articles in the table who might otherwise have made the higher positions. Most of these are ejectees from the 2018 top 20 but there are some interesting new entrants towards the bottom.
The notable (and gratifying) increase in visits to the blog recently (they've doubled in the last 3years) has helped to drive up the hit rates for new articles. The top 20 cut-off figure this year was 1741, compared with last years 1202, and this puts the historic performance of older articles under pressure. It will be interesting to see what the cumulative hit chart looks like this year. The visits picture this year went a bit crazy with extreme fluctuations from month to month which I can't explain. It doesn't seem to relate to the new posts I am making, because most visitors still go to the older stuff, as you will see if you look at the top 10 gadget which I added this year. The modest presence of two 2019 articles in the top 20 also reflects this preference.

One casualty of this turmoil was former perennial chart-topper Mike Carcel which dropped to No 11 with a small decline in new hits for the second consecutive year. I have lost track of where he is posting now (if anywhere) which may account for this dip. However Cavelo, Jotto, Julius and The Hun made a good fist of defending the 'old school' presence with decent increases in views. That was supplemented by the unexpected appearance of Teddy of Paris at No19. It's the first time he has registered in any of these charts and I'm absolutely delighted that his superb art is still garnering admirers. The continuing high levels of interest in traditional, fetish art sets the bar for new arrivals who have yet to show their own durability.

Two other distinctive representatives of the new wave made also welcome entries this year Chirenon 'A New Life For Our Airforce Boys' and The Art of Sparkieshock are representatives of fetish-inspired art that's very much of the 21st century

On a personal note it's nice to see A Christmas Criminal (ep 1-5) hanging on to a top 20 spot at 15. This article also effectively carried the flag for spanking this year. I don't regard myself as a spanking artist, but it features prominently in this particular story. There was also spanking support from Hunk Hunt – Mitch Colby 5 (which contains a spanking GIF). Mitch Colby (no relation!) is also the sole wrestling representative in the list and his is the only photography article. Of the rest, 3 articles are photo-manips, 11 are computer based art and 5 traditional art. It adds up to a resounding vote for imaginative, creative art.

That conclusion is reinforced by the 'Index of Artists' Page which recorded 13951 hits in 2019 (up 30%). This feature of the blog (introduced in 2015) is probably mainly responsible for the increase in visits overall, total blog visits this year were 696K, up 24% from 2018. The growth also coincides to some extent with a switch of focus at the blog from traditional, historic fetish art to more modern exponents as the A-Z series came to a close. Either way I'm glad visitors are finding the index useful and hope it will lead many more newcomers to a fantastic heritage of gay art they never saw before.


Total mitchmen blog visits for all years are now 3.57 million (2.88)

Next time I will reveal the all time table of cumulative hits
did Mike Carcel keep his spot at the top?


Thanks to all of you for your continuing interest and support.

Sunday, 5 January 2020

The Twelfth Day of Christmas (Bareass Blogs Special No 40)


Bareass Bottoms-Up Band Beating the Retreat

"We've made sure those 12 bloody drummers 
won't be coming down our street on a Sunday morning next year!"

(and by a happy chance 12th night falls on a Sunday this year! 😉)

Originally published in greyscale as part of my
"This Christmas will be .....different" series
(which is available in full at mitchmen club at Adonis Male)