Customer Reviews

Bustin a Nut

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Colorful, expressive, and erotic, Bustin A Nut is anything but subtle; given the title, this should come as no surprise. A bit more graphically suggestive than most Bruno Gmunder titles, this one is definitely one you'll want to pull from the shelves before mom and dad arrive.

With more than 60 pages of comic-inspired male erotic art, Bustin A Nut leaves little to the imagination, and may even make the more conservative gays blush a bit. Mike pulls no punches when it comes to his drawings, and unlike his Japanese contemporaries he's got no restrictions when it comes to full exposure- and his guys are certainly well exposed. All the bits are on display here, and all in living color.

Slightly smaller in size than most Gmunder titles, what Bustin A Nut lacks in size it more than makes up for in "punch." Although it's not dirty (at least by gay standards and definitions), it's certainly raunchy in its explicitness- which isn't a criticism so much as a gentle caveat for those looking for a more subtle, softer coffee table art book. From the cover (a man with extremely "perky" nipples inserting his hand into tight white briefs... from the rear) to the last page, it's hot and it's hard.

Don't let the explicitness scare you away however; the art of Bustin A Nut is beautiful, and Mike's certainly got the super-stylized muscle hunk down. He also gets major bonus points for diversity. Unlike many erotic male art books (animated or photographic), Bustin A Nut doesn't simply throw in one man of color to satisfy the PC-Patrol; in fact, the book features a handful of men of color- in various shades and sizes. (Although, strangely enough, one thing in particular tends to be uniformly large, across the ethnic line...)

'Mike' is the full nom de plume of the artist whose works fill this entertaining book. In his notes at the end of the book Mike explains how he grew from a graduate from Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in Illustration and spent the early 1990s as a successful magazine illustrator, but unhappy with a 9-5 job that didn't serve his artistic dreams. In the tough times he began illustrating for Playgirl, then Mandate and then Advocate MEN, and it was through this progress that he arrived at his current status as one of the finest practitioners of erotic illustration. This is his first book devoted entirely to his genre and is aptly named BUSTIN A NUT - not only for the fact that all of these images deal with the definition of the title, but also because it stands as a hallmark for attaining his lifelong dream of drawing what he loves to draw.

And draw/paint Mike does with a flourish! Yes, the point of the imagery is most often the successful completion of a physical encounter, but that is only the thread that ties these images together. Considered individually these are paintings that have a startlingly strong sense of human anatomy, finding not only exceptional accuracy as figurative work but also a keen sense of communication through facial expressions and some physical distortions that would challenge an Olympic gymnast! His beefy characters are from all walks of life - sports, military, jungle scenes and sea scenes, executive suites and shadowy alleyways, forest scenes and indoor and outdoor moments during day and night. Though the focused topic is always arousal, Mike has the ingenuity to incorporate all manner of visual and mental subterfuge and social comments that truly enhance his art.

While some may find this book directed to a narrow audience, those readers would be avoiding the issue that much of what Mike is drawing is also comical and fun - celebrations of over the top encounters that are as entertaining to examine as they are sensual. Mike is a fine artist who takes the Tom of Finland look a giant step forward. He i an exceptional artist and gives the impression that all of this art is great good fun for him! Grady Harp, March 10

The Hardcover books is very small. 22.79 for this book! The price for me is a bit steep. if it was 11.99 I would have thought it worth the price. Any writing in the book - is on page 5ish and then at the back of the book like on page 60ish. A self description of the artist. Don't get me wrong. the pictures are fine. The men depicted in the drawing are very very good but a bit old and hairy for what I like. Give me a twenty to twenty five year old with another twenty to twenty five year old and I will be having my own fun. One other thing, I haven't counted them, but 64 pages, that may be a stretch for how many pages are in the book. That is why I am not liking the price.