A TRIBUTE TO STEPHEN FABIAN

After coming across one of his images recently, it occurred to me that I haven't yet posted anything about one of the great illustrators, Stephen Fabian. Now 92 years-old, Mr. Fabian's immediately recognizable style can be compared to Virgil Finley and Hannes Bok, two of his early influences. Self-taught, his meticulous textured drawings and design elements are a hallmark of his work, along with his imaginative paintings and impeccable female nudes. His work spans across the genres of fantasy, science-fiction, horror, sword and sorcery and even role-playing games. Many of his pieces have depicted scenes from the stories of Robert E. Howard, especially Conan. Several thematic portfolios of his art have been published over the years and I am happy to say that I purchased his Queen of the Black Coast collection from House of Fantasy in 1976.

I am pleased to present these examples of Mr. Fabian's work.

SUSPIRIA TURNS 45

This year is the 45th anniversary of Dario Argento's seminal modern horror film, SUSPIRIA. Basically, a study in witchcraft, it goes far beyond the typical trappings of such a theme and immerses the viewer in a dense shroud of visual fear and terror. Argento's films are known for being uneven and riven with outright duds, but SUSPIRIA rises above as one of his best. This article from STARBURST (December, 2018) tracks Argento's career.

A TRIP TO ALPHAVILLE

In a recent post, I named Carlos Claren's AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE HORROR FILM as one of my recommended essential books. Two of the last photos in the book were of recently-deceased French-Swiss director's Jean-Luc Godard's ALPHAVILLE (1965). They perplexed my young mind as I had never heard of it.

Godard (3 December 1930 – 13 September 2022) was one of France's "new wave" filmmakers of the 1960's and ALPHAVILLE was a visual study of pop art and a comic strip plot wrapped up in dystopian and film noir themes. Eddie Constantine as Lemmy Caution plays a secret agent who is sent to the futuristic city to destroy the computer that runs it and embarks on his mission amid the dark streets of Paris.

This article from SIGHT & SOUND (October, 1965) discusses Godard's film just a few months after it was released.