Customer Reviews

Mark Schultz: Various Drawings

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I've recently discovered the "Various Drawings" series of books put out by Mr. Schultz, and I am increasingly impressed by each volume I purchase (unfortunately, I've been unable to find an affordable copy of Vol. 2, which is out of print). With "Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Vol. 4," Mr. Schultz provides an exceptional gallery of his talent.

Within this book, you will find illustrations ranging from natural subjects (dolphins and sea creatures) to Robert E. Howard's Conan, warriors and maidens from Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom novels, damsels from ancient myth and history, and, of course, characters from Schultz's famed "Xenozoic Tales" comic series (largely featuring Hannah Dundee). Additionally impressive are preliminary studies for illustrations to be included in Schultz's upcoming sci-fi/science fantasy novella, "Storms at Sea"; preliminaries were also included in Vol. 3, and I am increasingly excited to see the finished book when it becomes available.

There is little to detract from this book overall - it is handsomely produced, on glossy paper (and some of the illustrations are in color, but only one or two), and sturdy. Schultz's work is reminiscent of both Frazetta and the late Dave Stevens, and he brings a early 20th century sensibility to his drawings (in that they are never overly dark or cynical - there is a real sense of fun and enjoyment to them, an interest in telling a story). The only criticism I have is that I believe some of the illustrations in this book seem to have been printed (in rough/sketch form) in previous volumes, but this is only a minor quibble at most.

I am looking forward to the continuation of this series. This book is highly recommended for the lover of classic illustration, comic art, or sci-fi/fantasy. Enjoy!

The true grace of this new collection is not just the variety of subjects and varying degrees of art from rendered ideas to finished illustrations. No, the real treat lies in the clear sense of purpose for each pencil line and brush stroke. Even where the anatomy is not rigorously applied it is put to the purpose of the design and design allows for this. Sometimes an artist comes along who has such a well wrought mastery of form that it becomes a visual standard. But too often the mastery makes for uninteresting images. Everything may be right but the design is hampered by that need to place everything together perfectly and the artwork falls flat. It's like the way great sculptures only work as sculptures because you can see a variety of perspectives, but the image fails when confined to a photograph. This is the struggle of artists working in two dimensions; getting it right often leads to getting it wrong. Mark, like Berni Wrightson, Gil Kane, Gary Gianni, N.C. Wyeth, even Mike Hoffman's more contemporary work, as well as even Frank Frazetta all know or knew where to leave perfect structure in the hall and instead work towards great designs.

The understanding of structure is incorporated into good design but the pure fidelity to structure has to be compromised and that's where the balancing act comes into play. Mark does a good balancing act and that makes this a book worth visiting and revisiting. It is rare if ever that the visual impact becomes diminished after repeated viewings. More often than not the artwork has more vitality with repeated viewing. That's the mark of not just an effective artist but of powerful and lasting artwork.

Each volume shows his improvement at a time and age when most artists want nothing more than to leave their mark and work in a more economic way. A lot of artists in the illustration and popular arts are happy to deliver some kind of known standard of style. However, today's popular artists are starting to buck that trend. Mark is among them.