The Classic Pin-Up Art of Jack Cole [Hardcover]

Jack Cole (Author), Alex Chun (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 2004

A collection of the rare '50s pinups that led to the artist's final gig, as Playboy's first star cartoonist.

In the rarefied realm of classic cartoon pin-up art, nobody did it better than Jack Cole. With his quirky line drawings and sensual watercolors, Cole, under Hugh Hefner's guiding hand, catapulted to stardom in the 1950s as Playboy's marquee cartoonist, a position he held until his untimely death at the age of 43.

Jack Cole, most recently the subject of a book profile by Art Spiegelman and Chip Kidd (Jack Cole and Plastic Man: Forms Stretched To Their Limits) has been justly celebrated as the creator of Plastic Man and an innovative comic book artist of the 1940s. Cole had sold a handful of cartoons to magazines such as Boy's Life, Colliers and Judge in the '30s and '40s, but after finishing his 14-year run on Plastic Man, he found himself back at square one in an idiom that didn't come naturally to him: the gag cartoon. According to Cole, his savior was the Humorama line of down-market digest magazines. This girls and gags magazine circuit proved to be the perfect training ground to regain his footing and develop his craft at single panel cartoons. While Cole may have been honing his skills as a gag writer, his ability to render the female form was already without peer. Though he signed his cartoons "Jake," Cole's exquisite line drawings and masterful use of ink-washa skill he carried over Playboy betrayed his pseudonym. In comparison to his contemporaries, however, Cole was probably Humorama's least prolific artist. Though his images were frequently used for covers, Cole's cartoons were few and far between, with scarcely a single drawing appearing every five issues.

Along with a foreword by Warner Brothers Animation designer Shane Glines, this volume collects the best of these hidden gems, including several shot from Cole's stunning original art. Most of these drawings have not seen print in more than 50 years; taken together, they provide a rare glimpse into the singular artistry of Jack Cole.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The top pin-up cartoonist of his generation. (Forum )

The 100 pages’ worth of cartoons of comely, curvy cuties come culled from low-rent men’s digest magazines of the 1940s and 1950s — now-forgotten rags with happy-go-lucky names like Romp, Joker and Laugh Riot. But Cole’s contributions are visually indelible. (Rod Lott - Bookgasm )

A saucy joy. (The List )

Cole was a leading figure of mid-20th-century popular culture. (Terry England )

Cole's goddesses were estrogen souffles who mesmerized the ineffectual saps who lusted after them. (Art Spiegelman )

This is the best sort of cheesecake. The historical text piece puts these works and the career of Mr. Cole into context, and creates a fascinating, entertaining, and timeless volume. ...I'm betting you'll read it again and again. Rating: 9/10. (Jeremy Nisen - Under the Radar )

Classic pin-ups from a giant of the comics field.... Jack Cole was a masterful comic book artist who helped define the golden age of his art form. (The Village Voice ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Jack Cole was born in 1914 and died in 1958.

Alex Chun is a longtime journalist living in Los Angeles. A former staff writer for the Los Angeles Daily Journal, he is currently a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times where he covers pop-culture. He also edits a series of art books for Fantagraphics. In his spare time, he collects original cartoon pin-up art and maintains the website www.pinupcartoongallery.com. His books include The Pin-Up Art of Dan DeCarlo (two volumes), The Pin-Up Art of Bill Wenzel, The Pin-up Art of Bill Ward, The Glamor Girls of Don Flowers, The Glamour Girls of Bill Ward, Classic Pin-Up Art of Jack Cole, and The Pin-Up Art of Humorama.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 104 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books; 1St Edition edition (July 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560975598
• ISBN-13: 978-1560975595
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,763,950 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cole's Art is Simply Remarkable, August 19, 2006

By 

Tate Hemlock "invisibledj" (Tempe, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Classic Pin-Up Art of Jack Cole (Hardcover)

Fans of Jack Cole's Plastic Man should do themselves a favor and seek this book out. These one-panel gags foreshadow the work Cole would do for Playboy in the 1950's. The line art, is of course, extraordinary but his experiments with ink wash really leap off the page. Cole's gals are breathtaking. As Art Speigelman noted, "Cole's goddesses were estrogen souffles who mesmerized the ineffectual saps who lusted after them." I admit that I too was mesmerized flipping through the pages of this book. The gags are sometimes weak but Cole himself admitted that after having drawn comic books for so long he had to re-learn the art of the one-panel gag. Fortunately, this period drawing gags for the Humorama line helped him develop the talent needed to become Playboy's pre-eminent cartoonist in the early days. Alex Chun did a good job in condensing Cole's life down to a few pages. Which means more room for Cole's art!

A few things to note. The book says Quality Comics later became DC Comics, however, when Quality folded they were actually purchased by DC and absorbed into their line-up. The editorial review above states that Playboy was Cole's last professional gig before his untimely death but in actuality he created the syndicated newspaper strip Betsy and Me in the final year of his life. It was being published in nearly 50 papers at the time of his death.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cole Fan, August 26, 2007

By 

Roberto Briceno - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Classic Pin-Up Art of Jack Cole (Hardcover)

I personally loved this book. I am a huge Jack Cole fan and enjoyed all of the gags in the book.

If you are a fan if gag cartoons, don't pass this up.

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice but..., October 14, 2011

By 

Audran Guerard (Annecy, France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Classic Pin-Up Art of Jack Cole (Paperback)

I wish it was in colors. Only 2 pages are printed in colors. It's sad because his color arrangement is powerful and missing in this book. Still nice to own.