In 1976 "Plop!", DC's oddly titled "New Magazine of Weird Humour" published a #LOTR parody by comic hero Wally Wood entitled "The King of the Ring". It was short, sweet with excellent retro art and jokes which verge from great to awful. Sit back and enjoy (kind of) (1) #Tolkien
Page 1 kicks off with Gondeaf the wizard arriving at the Georgian-styled home of Froydo the "Habbit". Notice how 1960s hippy favourite Wood is still down with the kids with his anachronistic use of "Gee whizz!" and "Wow!". The pizza joke is still pretty good though (2) #Tolkien
Page 2 introduces the Ring in excellent style ("if you became evil...it wouldn't matter!") and gives us an added poke at Disney in the shape of a Hobbit/Fellowship mash-up version of the Seven Dwarfs. There's also Snyder, an incognito Strider lookalike in shades (3) #Tolkien
Page 3 and the quality of the humour takes a plummet downwards as the journey takes in ex-Ringbearer Glum and an ill-advised kissing episode. Wood salvages something at the end however, revealing a Nork and the truth behind the breaking of Andúril (4) #Tolkien
Page 4 kicks off with my favourite bad joke as Froydo blasts the Nork with his magnum. Gondeaf then attempts to palantír-call "evil wizard" Souron with fairly amusing results. Not sure about the Nazighouls, but good to see the sinister Daffy Duck at the back...(5) #Tolkien
Page 5 is my favourite visually as Wood brings in Shelob's cousin Schlob, kills her with a well-aimed pizza then flies everyone to a volcano in Mirdere. Note the smoke-belching factories sporting the names of German steel and chemical companies. Allegory? Don't tell #Tolkien (6)
Page 6 and its the final showdown as Froydo happily pushes Glum and Ring into the flames. After a Castle Bravo style explosion Wood finishes up with one of his best #Tolkien jokes - evil Gondeaf gets the Ring, zaps Snyder and vanishes. Overall, for me, its a 7/10 Wally Wood (7)
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Ever had that feeling where a picture reminds you of a favourite #Tolkien character? Well, I have, and I cordially invite you to hitch a ride on the MEGA-THREAD that is Pictures that Should Have Been Tolkienian. Btw, is that Gandalf? No, sorry it's Georg von Rosen's Odin (1886)
Lobelia Sackville-Baggins prepares a letter of complaint to Sharkey, whilst the late Otho looks on... No, sorry, this is Portrait of Lady Dacre (c 1555-1558) by Tudor-gentry-loving Flemish allegorical painter Hans Eworth #Tolkien
The Black Riders kick back post-Weathertop. No, sorry, this is the Dance of Death by Michael Wolgemut (c. 1493) Featured in Hartman Schedel's Nuremburg Chronicle, this charming little woodcut conjures the horrors of the Black Death. complete with Satanic snakes #Tolkien
So, on this day in 1937 The #Hobbit (see #Tolkien cover below👇) was published. To mark this auspicious occasion, I present an old thread newly entitled 'My Top 10 (Not Quite Definitive) Favourite (Mostly Published) Illustrations of Hobbits (And Not Just Bilbo) Ever (Almost)'...
First up and holding fast at No.10 is the #Hobbit that inspired my first ever oil painting - Michael Hague's Bilbo from Riddles in the Dark (1984). My own version featured the same red waistcoat, the same green cloak, but, sadly, not the same artistic skill #Tolkien (1/10)
And jumping two places to No.9 we have not one #Hobbit but a whole Shire-full of them in Lidia Postma's subtle exploration of light and mood - No Admittance Except on Party Business (1997). A bonus point for spotting Bilbo's guest Dwarves in their white party hats #Tolkien (2/10)
#Tolkien & Art MEGA THREAD alert!
Ever get that feeling where a picture reminds you of a fave #LOTR character? Well, if you've follow me you'll know its a little obsession of mine. So tonight, hitch a ride on the eagle that is Pictures that Should Have Been Tolkienian (Gandalf?)
A Silent Watcher guards the entrance to Cirith Ungol.
No sorry, that single head is a no-no. Actually this is Resistance, or The Black Idol (1903) by Orphic cubist and symbolist František Kupka. Based on the Colossi of Memnon, but with a Bram Stoker vibe #Dracula#Tolkien
The Black Riders kick back post-Weathertop. No, sorry, this is the Dance of Death by Michael Wolgemut (c. 1493) Featured in Hartman Schedel's Nuremburg Chronicle, this charming little #woodcut conjures the horrors of the Black Death. complete with Satanic snakes #art#Tolkien
#Tolkien illustration MEGA-THREAD Alert!
Lately I've been on a visual odyssey, happily tweeting key #LotR moments as depicted by two different illustrators. I'm not finished yet (haven't even reached Mordor) but have a look at the journey so far...
(Image: Roger Garland c.1987)
As a little thank you to all the kind souls who have borne my ramblings to the verge of 1000 followers I present a whistle stop visual tour of #LotR
Same scene/two artists - first up Gandalf arrives in Hobbiton by Michael Kaluta (c. 1993) and Sergei Iukhimov (1991) #Tolkien
Part 2 of our whistle-stop visual tour through #LotR taking in key scenes by different illustrators. Tonight we happen upon Bilbo's Long-expected Party, first as a Breughel-esque character study by Inger Edelfeldt (1983) then a painterly mood piece by Lidia Postma (1997) #Tolkien