This article is a complete rework of my original post about this Fishing Storylet by Stephen/Etienne, augmented by the unearthing of several more images and an original Kris brochure with thumbnails of the 6 images belonging to the set.
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| Stephen - Fishing is a Dangerous Sport |
Stephen produced this delightful little vignette to accompany the brochure entry. His characterisations of innocent/naive, young men (usually blond) who seem completely unspoiled by life and ripe for new experiences at the hands of other men are one of the recurring joys of his work.
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| Stephen - Fishing is a Dangerous Sport - 1 |
I salvaged this first image from the thumbnails in the brochure (which is included as a link at the foot of the post). It's poor quality, but suffices to set the scene, showing a scantily clad man, standing by a lake, holding a fishing rod in one hand and reading a very large book with the other. Presumably instructions on how to use his rod (!) It looks as if there's a campfire burning just behind him.
We can see he's quite muscular, with pecs and nipples showing through his tight T-shirt. He has legs are like the proverbial tree trunks and his skimpy shorts, accordingly, are slit open at the sides.
This is the sort of picture that is easily overlooked in isolation. Hopefully there's a copy out there somewhere.
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| Stephen - Fishing is a Dangerous Sport - 2 |
In picture 2, we see the results of the novice's first attempts at casting his line. At least, I assume he is practising because he's facing away from the water and I would hope he hasn't decided it's supposed to be cast back over his shoulder!
He has accidentally hooked another fisherman's pants and torn them wide open. The diminutive buns revealed are fairly typical of Stephen's work. His depiction of the novice is rather indifferent, but fear not, much better is to come!
This image looks as if it has been cropped* and the brochure illustration confirms that it has. Although we can't see the detail clearly, it also seems to show the angler's shirt being ripped off as well as part of his pants.
*This image has probably been scanned from a magazine, hence the cropping and the dark stain at the top, which would take a better technician than I to remove! I can't ID the source.
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| Stephen - Fishing is a Dangerous Sport - 2 (detail) |
Image 2 also circulates in this, more severely cropped form and with shaded details like the fisherman's skin and his hat band. It's primarily intended to draw attention to his exposure, I suppose!
This version is from Fizeek Art Quarterly No 22 (1967), a darker variant also exists (even more cropped), taken from Mars No 12.
Tom of Finland could lay claim to having used the pants-ripping fishing hook before Stephen (see my original post)
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| Stephen - Fishing is a Dangerous Sport - 3 |
Stephen's
dramatic confrontation between the two fishermen is one of his most
forceful and technically convincing images, but it's rarely seen, perhaps because of the lack of other images for context.
There's
a striking contrast between the comprehensively equipped 'pro' fisherman
on the right (complete with hooks in his hat) and the intimidated amateur on the left, whose
incompetence has caused the conflict. The aggressor has quite a military look about him, but the other man is portrayed as a
bumpkin. Admittedly he has stylish hair, but he's dressed in
trainers (see below) and skimpy cut-offs held up by a knotted rope. That rope 'belt' seems ripe for exploitation later on!
The offender has a deliciously sheepish look, quite out of keeping with his relatively mature-looking face. He
seems highly vulnerable as his T-shirt is pulled upwards. It's in danger
of being ripped off altogether. The drooping waders provide a
corresponding hint of advanced undress in the aggressor.
Both men sport
interesting bulges, but any more suggestive erotic flavouring is limited
to a fish's tail* dangling from the basket just above the offender's
crotch and a solitary bulrush amongst the reeds groping up behind his legs. (Those reeds look as though they might have been a late addition to disguise an unsuccessful foot). We
might include the handle of the fisherman's 'rod' as another erotic ingredient, at a stretch.
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| Stephen - Fishing is a Dangerous Sport - 4 |
The hapless novice is upended, and his shorts are unceremoniously removed, revealing his own, peachy bottom. He seems to have sustained a fair amount of collateral damage resisting his attacker, with cuts, bruises and a black eye visible. It's a trifle disproportionate. No wonder the fish in the basket is drooping!
At this point, the attacker actually has his upended victim sandwiched between his thighs, but in order to maintain a decent distance between their 'delicate' areas, Stephen has had to give him an improbably long right thigh. He's signalling what he would like to happen, but daren't draw.
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| Stephen - Fishing is a Dangerous Sport - 5 |
Image 5, taken from the brochure (sorry!) is equally oblique. The novice, facing downwards, is straddled by his opponent, who leans back, ripping his shorts to pieces. The victim's arms draped over the over man's knees are a nice detail, accentuating his utter defeat. Stephen uses it a lot.
The angry angler still has his waders on, so logically he would still have his pants on too, but it doesn't look like he does. There's no sign of the black belt, even in this indistinct image. There's
something on the ground, extreme right, which might be the pro's pants
or his fishing basket. Dare we think that he kicked off the trousers to
hook his prey, then put the waders on again for the kinky hell of it? You might just discern the hint of a lump, or something curved, at his crotch.
To the right, behind him, is one very naked backside and two very open legs (another Etienne trademark). Between the legs lies a fish, which I suppose is supplying one of the 'eyes' in the caption. Its phallic purpose is obvious anyway.
I'm less optimistic about discovering this one,
it seems too edgy to have languished so long, unshared.
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| Stephen - Fishing is a Dangerous Sport - 5a |
This picture does not appear at all in the Kris brochure. It's clearly a draft for an alternative vision of the shorts-ripping episode above. A safer one in one way, with no hint of physical contact between the men, who are not even facing each other.
It was intended to be more explicit, with the battered victim's crotch in plain view and no obvious excuse for a covering. The vengeful aggressor's heel is positioned where he can administer a back heel, as his coup de grâce. We can see that he has indeed stripped down to his waders and is displaying his backside to his victim, apparently with no qualms at all.
You may recognise the victim's 'laid back' pose from other early Stephen/Etienne images. The damage is a bit too graphic for my taste. I probably got this image from the Leather Archives website.
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| Stephen - Fishing is a Dangerous Sport - 6 |
In the final image, the scene moves to the Hospital. The careless novice sits on the bed, nursing his injuries. His arm is in a sling, there's a hefty bandage round one thigh, another round his head. Numerous sticking plasters can also be seen. In a neat symmetry, he's again reading a book, perhaps working out where he went wrong.
Beyond him, the Doctor seems to be amused. It looks like he's carrying something that looks vaguely like a sundae, maybe fish pie!
In the foreground, a temperature chart suggests rising tension.
Like the first image, this one could lie, unrecognised in an Etienne collection somewhere, filed under 'medical' (like another well-known 'orphan').
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| Etienne - Medical Sadism |
This image looks as though it's been adapted from the same composition.
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There are numerous other posts about Etienne here at mitchmen,
a general search on Etienne will bring up every reference.
that's easy to join.
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