Eric Stanton, Steve Ditko, The Return of Gwendoline, Sweeter Gwen, Special Ed. *

Description

Eric Stanton, The Return of Gwendoline, Sweeter Gwen, Special Editions*
Brand New reconstructions of vintage fetish classics.
The Return of Gwendoline .... FetHistory Blog Description (by
Richard Pérez Seves)
:
Newly released as a stand-alone supplement to the "classic era" collector's hardcover book,
Eric Stanton & the History of the Bizarre Underground
, this is a brand new re-issuing of two Golden Age Eric Stanton classics:
The Return of Gwendoline
and
Deborah
—
both reconstructed from newly discovered archival material. Both contained in one lovingly-curated, elegantly designed softcover book.
The Return of Gwendoline
has been out of print for many decades. Originally commissioned by Times Square underground publisher, Edward Mishkin, in the mid-1960s, it was intended as a follow-up (of sorts) to Stanton's very successful John Willie comic tribute,
Sweeter Gwen
.
The Return of Gwendoline
contains some gorgeous Stanton pencil work and his usual bizarre sense of humor with his flair for illustrating powerful, sexy women (and luscious, sensuous damsels) in full evidence. There's no question that this is the best-ever pencil work that Stanton contributed to Mishkin. Needless to say, there's a theme of female domination (and male/female submission) that runs through the story
—
all of it rendered in a sexy light. Stanton's lifelong muse, Bettie Page, once again appears as the model for the character of secret agent YU-69 (see below). Stanton's artwork is fantastic
—
and this is one you need to own!
Deborah
—
also, included in this volume
—
was originally commissioned by Leonard Burtman in 1957 for his magazine,
Exotique
, where it ran as a serial. This is the rare, complete version not seen in book form since 1963. It's a noir-style, fetish fashion melodrama with an emphasis on 1950s exotic glamour, corsets, leather opera gloves, veiled hats, ultra-high-heeled shoes, femme-fatales, mystery and dramatic lighting. It's stylishly feminine and uniquely beautiful. As visually compelling as any classic noir film
—
with a sexy, vintage fetish twist.
SWEETER GWEN
Book Description:
Eric Stanton's personal favorite comic caper was also a loving (if crackpot) homage to John Willie’s legendary damsel-in-distress creation, Sweet Gwendoline. Stanton delivers a Mad magazine-like sendup of Willie’s original, complete with Will Elder-like funny business. And yet even with all this slapstick, Stanton’s female leads, including the imperious Countess, the pliant Gaga and the innocent Gwen, are as gorgeous as any he’s ever drawn, and the fetish wear, bondage play, and femme-on-femme fights are as rousing as ever. Stanton’s pencils were inked by Steve Ditko, who also contributed some original art, while the two toyed with the creation of Spider-Man in the spring of 1962. This special edition was reconstructed from archival material, correcting earlier printings and designed to display the risqué humor of Stanton's art.
FetHistory Blog Description (by
Richard Pérez Seves)
:
This is not a reprint of the 1963 edition issued by Leonard Burtman, in which the publisher cut up the panels and assembled a few out of sequence. But it is inspired by that version, which runs upwards of .00 on eBay.
Since I have access to archival material and saw that all the printed versions of this comic throughout the years were lacking in some way ... I thought why not mix-and-match and re-assemble the perfect edition of Eric Stanton's classic,
Sweeter Gwen
?
I even reconstructed the cover, using a photo of the original watercolor painting
.
I had to reconstruct the cover because the 1963 published cover image was printed with the colors off-register, creating a blurry effect, which reproduced poorly.
Essentially, this is an
original
presentation of a classic vintage fetish comic (from cover to interior).
It took me a little time to put together. But I did it to highlight and honor a vintage fetish classic.
It's a funny comic
—
and sexy too. With a well-designed narrative. It conveys Eric Stanton's playful sense of humor. This presentation is a new way of looking at it.
For those who don't know about
Sweeter Gwen
, it's Stanton's homage to John Willie and his iconic creation
Sweet Gwendoline
. The full story of its creation is detailed in my hardcover book,
Eric Stanton & the History of The Bizarre Underground
.
The year was 1962, and John Willie was dying. Stanton and Ditko were sharing a studio, and Stanton wanted to create a tribute to his hero. Stanton asked Ditko to be involved and Ditko agreed. This was in the spring of that year just as the two were cooking up costume ideas for Spider-Man. (More about that in the upcoming book.)
Sweeter Gwen
and the original installment of Spider-Man were virtually created at the same time.
For anyone who is interested...
Printed on cream paper. Reproduced beautifully.
Thanks for looking.
Please check out my other vintage fetish listings, featuring
the new illustrated book/biography on Gene Bilbrew (a.k.a. Eneg), "Gene Bilbrew Revealed,"
Irving Klaw,
Charles Guyette
, Eric Stanton, Bettie Page, and other luminaries of vintage fetish history.
***NOTE: I use eBay Global Shipping for all foreign orders ***