Product Description: This oversized art book presents a huge dose of Al's exceptional illustrations for stories authored by Harlan Ellison, Bruce Jones, Mark Schultz, Archie Goodwin, and Mark Wheatley. It includes new and never before seen art and stories in addition to the highest art quality reproduction of the very best comic art Al Williamson has created. Look for a dramatic new cover illustration of Al's favorite comics strip character, Flash Gordon.
Al Williamson Adventures -Solid collectiom I bought this book recently(it's been out about a year or two),because I love Al Williamson's artwork. This is a nice collection of Al's 1980's and 1990's work(I should say pencil work because Al's been inking for Marvel for about 20 years). Alot of this stuff is still available but it's nice to see it collected in a good package(bigger than the typical comic size, and on really great paper). In my opinion, this dosen't really compare to "The Art Of Al Williamson" or the recently released "Hidden Lands"(why hasn't that been released in hardcover?),however this is a really good compliment to both.
Well Worth the Money I became an Al Williamson fan because of his 1950's work for EC Comics. All of the work here is post-EC, but is superlative. Production values are excellent, as is the material. Williamson is one of the greatest SF illustrators still at work today. This is not to be missed.
For Hardcore Williamson Fans Only This is a so-so (storywise!!!) collection of some of Al Williamson's later ('70's era?) work. The 7 stories included are:
"Along the Scenic Route" (Story - Harlan Ellison) "Cliff Hanger" (Story - Bruce Jones) "Relic" (Story - Archie Goodwin) "The Few and the Far" (Story - Bruce Jones) "One Last Job" (Story - Mark Schultz) "Out of Phase" (Story - Archie Goodwin) "Tracker" (Story - Mark Wheatley)
The Ellison reprint is by far the best of the lot. "Cliff Hanger" is a weak "Indiana Jones" knockoff. "Relic" and "One Last Job" are somewhat odd homages to Roy Krenkel and Wally Wood, respectively. "The Few..." is a somewhat unconvincing 'ironic twist' tale, while "Out of Phase" might be a kind of ironic comment from Goodwin on the artist's persistent Flash Gordon fascination... "Tracker" feels like part one of a series that couldn't quite get off the ground (note that pages 80 and 81 are switched).
As always Williamson's art is the best feature. However "The Art of Al Williamson (James Van Hise)" is by far the better book for anyone interested in this artist.
One of the Greats I first saw Al Williamson's art in the old Creepy magazine published by Warren, and he was a standout, with his classic illustration style figures, deft brush and ink lines, and dynamic compositions. Totally slick yet loose and energetic, the inheritor of all that is best in 20th century advertizing/comic strip technique, ornate and slightly old-fashioned looking. His only rival might be Frazetta. The reproductions in this book are primo. The black and white stuff is like finding unread copies of Creepy to enjoy, and there is even a really nice color story- the color added not by the old color separation method, but what looks like watercolor (or maybe dye) over the inks, superbly handled. Such a classy style, such solid knowledge, such debonair craft, and no so-so early stuff, only mature, full-flavored work. If you like Williamson, this is the best collection I've seen.
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