Here are some of the drawings by Lou Glanzman for the Adventures of the Range Rider, a 1956 kids' book written by Felix Sutton. (I don't believe the cover is Glanzman's work.) This paperback was printed on newsprint and the interior is two-color. The black line drawings, with orange tones, looked pretty unique and the way that Glanzman treated each gatefold like a shot from a big screen Western movie is fun.
"Lew" Glanzman (1922-2013) was an American painter and illustrator. He started out during the Golden Age of Comics drawing for Centaur Comics (Amazing Man, Blue Fire, etc.). And in the 1940s
"... he also served as an illustrator on the Air Force magazine for the US Air Forces.
"Glanzman was additionally an illustrator for Life, Collier's, Seventeen and Time Magazine, standing out for his portraits. From the 1950s through the 1970s, he illustrated for several juvenile books, such as the 'Pippi Longstocking' and 'Tom Corbett' series. He also made illustrations for paperbacks, as well as magazines like Boy's Life, National Geographic and National Lampoon." - Lambiek
His work here is loose and confident, and the drawings show an ease with this world, as if he just sketched it in his sketchbook and handed them to the printer. The layout is cinematic, with grand vistas and sweeping action. Well worth a study.
Here's the first of the three Range Rider stories.
Firstly, dunno about Wonder Books in the 50s. I first got them as a wee one in the 60s by which time the marketing thing was a waterproof covers that could be wiped clean Golden Books did not offer that.
ReplyDeleteAs for Glanzman, he was far and away the most talented of the Glanzman brothers. Sam was an artist and occasional writer first at Charlton. His claim to fame there was a run on a Hercules book that offered some interesting graphics. OTOH, it was the 60s. His real success was his USS Stevens stories and graphic novels. Whether Sam was as talented an artist as Lou is an open question because all we have is the published work, which does not (IMO) compare.
Dave, meanwhile, was an occasional writer and editor (IIRC) at Charlton.