Modern Masters Volume 15: Mark Schultz (Modern Masters (TwoMorrows Publishing)) [Paperback]

Eric Nolen-Weathington (Author), Mark Schultz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Modern Masters (TwoMorrows Publishing) | Publication Date: December 12, 2007

The mid-'80s was the age of independent comics. It was also the age of the dinosaur, thanks to Mark Schultz and Xenozoic Tales! Evocative of the master illustrators of the early 1900s, but with a decidedly modern flair, Schultz's artwork stood out like a beacon from the fare of the day. And it still does Xenozoic Tales even spawned the Cadillacs & Dinosaurs cartoon and toy line. Schultz has also written various Superman, Aliens, and Predator comics, as well as a novel featuring DC's Flash, and is currently writing the Prince Valiant newspaper strip. But his drawing alone including his exquisite Conan book illustrations makes him a true Modern Master! Modern Masters Vol. 15: Mark Schultz takes an exhaustive look into Schultz s career and creative process. This 128-page book features a career-spanning interview with tons of art, including many rare and unpublished pieces, as part of a huge gallery of stunning artwork by this true Modern Master!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

A biography of bluesman Robert Johnson (1911?–38) by a Japanese manga writer-artist may seem a stretch, yet the Japanese are famous for embracing all manner of American musical figures, from the newly famous to the barely remembered, and this fanciful interpretation of Johnson’s life speaks enticingly to the interest in a musician whose influence on popular music endures to this day. Many of the details depicted are true, such as that Johnson was raised in Mississippi, married young, and lost his wife in childbirth. The fanciful part comes in when Johnson receives his gifts from an unseen Lucifer after losing his way at a country crossroads (the deal with the devil has long been part of Johnson’s legend). A run-in with Clyde of Bonnie-and fame, the discovery of five extra fingers on one hand, and a stint in jail lend additional color to Johnson’s “unreal life.” Hiramoto’s exquisite chiaroscuro renderings of the rural South are a beauty to behold, and it’s nice to know this is only half the story, with the rest due in December. --Carl Hays

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: TwoMorrows Publishing (December 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893905853
• ISBN-13: 978-1893905856
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #236,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From an artist's perspective..., January 17, 2008

By 

Richard A. Tucker "Tucker at large" (Pembroke Pines, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Modern Masters Volume 15: Mark Schultz (Modern Masters (TwoMorrows Publishing)) (Paperback)

After picking this up yesterday I was very surprised by the books' choices of art to be displayed. We have early efforts all the way up to recent studies, designs and finished drawings. The interview is enaging and the artist is quite candid. His struggles with the medium, meeting deadlines and the heartbreak of having to set your heart's desire aside to earn a living are all very well presented from the artist's perspective. The heartbreak is not a sob story but an underlying thing, a private thing that is not worn on his sleeve. Economics and art are often at odds with one another and Mark Schultz makes a valiant effort to keep driving himself to projects that are rewarding to his artist's and storyteller's soul, like his current scripting of Hal Foster's Prince Valiant drawn with expert passion by his friend and series creative heir, Gary Gianni (another artist worth seeing to believe). To note the incredible changes in his style over the years as well as his passion for old school illustration and adventure themes is obvious. But there's also a very contemporary man there. He focused on the results of human arrogance long before Global Warming became a headline with his very evocative comic series Xenozoic Tales. He portrayed a world wounded and on a glorious but also dangerous, and very primal, rebound, where human's survived the global cataclysm only to find itself living on a precarious edge and very much smaller in number. This series is my all time favorite and I hope the day comes when he can return to it. How ironic is it that such a timely story has no one willing to publish it regularly?
Another treat is to see some of his full page, color, reproductions of his paintings for the now defunct, Wandering Star's publication of Conan of Cimmeria Vol. 1 (of 3) collecting Robert E. Howards original Conan stories of the northern barbarian who adventures in the jaded south and eventually becomes the king of ithat world's most powerful kingdom, Aquilonia. There are also vignettes as well as full page brush and ink drawings represented from that same volume, in this collection.
This volume of Modern Masters is the diamond of the lot, and that's not taking away from previous volumes. The entire series is a must for all artists, comic fans and readers as well as the casually curious who never, or, no longer read comics.
Of course, my opinion is that you start with Volume 15.
Also, check out the high production books from publisher John Flesk featuring Mark's work in three volumes titled "Various Drawings".

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Overview of Shultz's work and career., May 29, 2008

By 

J. Ferguson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Modern Masters Volume 15: Mark Schultz (Modern Masters (TwoMorrows Publishing)) (Paperback)

I've been a fan of Mark Shultz for many years now. I was first taken with his work when at an art demonstration, I watched him magically wisp his brush of ink across paper and turn a few flicks of the wrist into a beautifully rendered background. Since then, I have collected all of his Xenozoic Tales comics and have bought his "Various Drawings" collections. If you don't have any of his work, this is a great place to start. It covers a huge amount of his work and reproduces not only his black and white work for Conan, Aliens Vs. Predator, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, and many others, as well as several color reproductions reproduced on a thicker glossy paper than the rest of the book. The interviews with Shultz are interesting and some of the work, even after collecting much of his published work, I've never seen.

5.0 out of 5 stars Like walking into artist's sketchbook, January 13, 2010

By 

Thomas E. Stazer "torgotom2008" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Modern Masters Volume 15: Mark Schultz (Modern Masters (TwoMorrows Publishing)) (Paperback)

Having read most of Mark Scultz's work all the way back to Death Rattle, I was delighted to find that this book concentrates on little-seen works by the artist. It's filled to the brim with stunning work from sketchbooks to paintings. It's like flipping through his flat files or wandering his studio, I'd imagine. What wonderful wonderful work, handsomely reproduced and carefully researched.