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Illustration


This category covers my illustrations of pulp heroes and villains, and "film noir" style situations. Many are fittingly enough, painted in black and white.


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This is the cover art to Moonstone Books, comic, "The Domino Lady,"  a masked pulp heroine who first appeared in the May 1936 issue of Saucy Romantic Adventures. The Domino Lady, a Berkeley-educated socialite is armed with a .45 automatic and a syringe full of knockout serum. She wears a domino mask and a diaphanous white dress to fight evildoers. While most illustrations emphasize her ability to pose provocatively, I wanted to show her actually doing something proactive for a change... even as she posed provocatively as per the art director's instructions. As with all my work, I like to make sure all the details of the setting are true to the period being illustrated.
The Domino Lady
From Moonstone Books, series, "The Spider," the 1930s crime fighter, this story, "The Chaos Maker,"  has a scene with some goons machine-gunning their way into a luncheon for New York City's Mayor and the Governor.
Dinner is Served
From Moonstone Books, series, "Partners in Crime," Pat Novak, an older private eye for hire, finds himself facing off with a ninja.
Ninja Nuisance
From Moonstone Books, series, "The Spider," the 1930s crime fighter, Nita, the Spider's female associate is threatened by a shadowy menace in the dark New York City' streets.
Shadowy Menace
From Moonstone Books, series, "The Spider," the 1930s crime fighter, the title character engages in a NYC subway shootout.
Subway Shootout
From Moonstone Books, series, "The Spider," the 1930s crime fighter. This is a detail of the full illustration showing Nita, the Spider's female associate as she relaxes in his penthouse apartment. I had fun making this the visual apotheosis of '30s New York City existence... deco design, an airship wafting over the skyline, a lovely women in a slinky gown...
Nita Lounges
From Moonstone Books, series, "The Spider," the 1930s crime fighter, our hero enters an empty theater as a crazed "Mr. Hyde" villain looks on.
Night at the Opera
From Moonstone Books, series, "The Spider," the 1930s crime fighter, in this story, "Judgment Knight," the villain, a Jekyll-Hyde sort of guy, recoils from the potion that transforms him.
Bad Brew
From Moonstone Books, series, "The Spider," the 1930s crime fighter, Ram Singh, the trusted associate of The Spider, regards the armaments kept within a secret compartment in a bookcase.
Hidden Gats
From Moonstone Books, series, "Partners in Crime," Private eyes Pat Novak, and Jack Hagee find themselves confronting a crowd of mind-controlled policemen.
Police Zombies
From Moonstone Books, series, "The Spider," the 1930s crime fighter, this story, "The Chaos Maker,"  has a number of shootouts in some of  New York City's abandoned subway stations. In this one, Nita, the Spider's female associate, gives as good as she gets from a group of armed thugs.
Subway Stop

Dangerous Soup
From Moonstone Books, series, "The Spider," the 1930s crime fighter, this is a detail from the full painting, showing Nita, the Spider's female associate, as she reflects on her injured arm and surviving an attack from "The Chaos Maker."
Nita
From Moonstone Books, series, "The Spider," the 1930s crime fighter, our hero skulks down a New York City alleyway toward his quarry.
The Spider