Dallas Fantasy Fair

10/16/2026

We have lost our friend, the great painter Manuel Pérez Clemente AKA Sanjulián; born 24 June 1941. Say hola to Pepe Jose Gonzales, Basil, Bernie and Frank for us.

10/11/2026

"Gravedancer" is just one of so many previously unpublished works to world-premier in Vanguard's (now rare) FRAZETTA SKETCHBOOK (2013).

See more great art books at https://indiepubs.com/collections/vanguard

10/08/2026

JDS ON J. ALLEN ST.JOHN:
Uriiel Kdoshim has been asking me about the 2005 Grand Master of Adventure / Drawings book. I thought it would be good to post some of these thought in its own thread as it spreads over to the 2008 Grand Master of Fantasy/ Paintings book too.

Re Master of Adventure / Drawings contrast/similarities to ERB Library of Illustration vol I (Russ Cochran, 1976): Though we had non-Burroughs material not included in the LoI, regarding the shared ERB material, both books were done with the aid/support of Danton Burroughs & ERB Inc. I expect transparencies we received were likely the same ones used earlier on the ERB Library Vol 1.
Any positive differences might be that we had tech advances (computers) over the older book (which did not) which gave us more ability to make some adjustments. Any negative differences could be that the transparencies had faded a bit over the time gap.

The Drawings and the Paintings books are siblings. We knew we couldn't fit everything into one book so, separated the B&W from the color. While Stephen Korshak started collecting material for the Paintings book, I focused on the Drawings book with plans to release it first while Stephen and I continued work on the Paintings book which, my memory is, took us near 5 years! Grand Master of Adventure isn't actually all DRAWINGS but is all material St.John created for B&W. But for marketing/titling purposes and to help communicate we chose to list one as Drawings and the other as Paintings. So, the first book would run black & white while the more researched and labor-intensive Paintings book would run in color.

re Memories: I LOVE the art!!! Yet, I think the most fun I had in the process of the two books was becoming good friends with Danton Burroughs. While St.John's work is by no means limited to ERB, St.John's most loyal followers are ERB and pulp enthusiasts. I had always loved ERB stories, characters and related art, film and TV. But these St.John books were more intensely ERB-related than other books I did on ERB-related artists like Frazetta, Krenkel, Buscema, Adams, Kubert...

Both books have long acknowledgment lists but on Drawings it was Danton and Robert Zeuschner who helped me the most. I dedicated the book to Danton and, Bob Zeuschner got a well-earned Associate Editor credit.

On the Paintings book Stephen and I dedicated it to Bob Barrett and we had a significant Who's Who list of acknowledgments.

Another key situation that came up was that many of the tonal/pained pieces StJohn did for black & white actually had a bit of color so, sometimes I chose to run something painted for black and white in full color in the Paintings book instead of the B&W "Drawings" book.

My favorite memory about the Paintings book is that we had just sent it to press and I got an URGENT call from Danton! "David, has the book gone to press? You have to pull it back!" They were doing some restoration/maintenance work on some original art and had just made a HUGE DISCOVERY. There was an earlier, unpublished painting under Lost On Venus. YES, WE YELLED, STOP THE PRESSES!!! We were thrilled to include the important St.John-Burroughs discovery as included on pages 74 & 75.

10/01/2026

CLASSIC 1999 photo: TEXAS EIGHT at Last Hurrah Party at PAT BOYETTE's place.

07/21/2026

Miss Marcy, Josh Alan Friedman, J. David Spurlock, Peggy Bennett among the many people who came out to Kettle Art Gallery in the Deep Ellum section of Dallas, 7-18-26, to see Josh Alan play a few of his songs and read from his latest book, “All Roads Lead to Great Neck.” An ab-fab time had by all.

JOSH ALAN FRIEDMAN, the inimitable voice behind BLACK CRACKER, TELL THE TRUTH UNTIL THEY BLEED, and TALES OF TIMES SQUARE, now invites you to tune in, turn on, and drop in on his latest trip: A kaleidoscopic tour of Great Neck, Long Island, at the dawn of a new decade: 1970.

This is ALL ROADS LEAD TO GREAT NECK, where you'll witness stoned student freakouts during high school productions of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, t**e from sacred hash pipes, and annoy local cheese-shop proprietors. Navigate the generation gap and the confounding neuroses of high school faculty and administrators who secretly lust after aging beauty queens, marvel at miraculous sturgeon that scream Yiddish curses, and travel through space, time, and Olde New York in a fantastical tricked-out buggy piloted by the angel of sacred prostitution.

Get high among teen Vietnam War protesters and hangers-on at Grace Avenue Park; wait on line at Irving's Delicatessen with boxer Floyd Patterson, then join him on the therapist's couch while the former world champ struggles with post-retirement feelings of inadequacy. Head into the city to catch Leslie West and Mountain at the Fillmore East, with kasha varnishkes and Cel-Rays at Ratner's after, echoing forgotten spectacles and entertainments of times long past.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO GREAT NECK leads you on a hazy tour through the brief, intoxicated life of Bruce Disoto, doomed adolescent hippie trying to survive young adulthood, prone to visions of a 19th century Jewish pimp while tripping.

A literary culmination of the author's lifelong fascinations, ALL ROADS LEAD TO GREAT NECK is an exploration of Jews and Jewish identity, racial and societal confusion, the mysteries of s*x and the extremes some will go to for it, and forgotten characters and lost history of New York.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO GREAT NECK is primo Friedman-bizarre, nostalgic, unique, tragic...and very, very funny.

Is everybody in? The ceremony is about to begin...

07/18/2026

J. David Spurlock & Roy Thomas having fun speaking at Retro Expo, Plano TX July 16, 2024. The subjects veered from expected (Marvel and Conan) to some of JDS's surprises including n**e modeling for National Lampoon, writing for Frazetta and Bakshi's "Fire & Ice" film, as well as Elvis! This was snapped when Spurlock had just gotten Roy to sing a few impromptu lines of Heartbreak Hotel.

07/09/2026

Ever missing & remembering our late, great pal PAT BOYETTE (July 27, 1923 – Jan 14, 2000). A few of his book left, PART OF THE BIG SALE at https://indiepubs.com/collections/vanguard

06/19/2026

Author-historian J. David Spurlock and Hall of Fame comics creator Wallace ("Wally") Wood take 2026 IPPY Award GOLD

2026 is the 30th anniversary of the IPPY, Independent Publisher Book Awards. On June 18 —one day after Hall of Fame comics creator, Wallace "Wally" Wood's 99th birthday— the IPPYs announced their 2026 winning medalists and, author-historian J. David Spurlock took the gold medal in the Pop Culture category for his recent, annotated collection Wally Wood From Witzend - Complete Collection (Vanguard). Wood's friend and collaborator, the late, Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko once said, "Wood may be the top comic book artist... With Witzend he expanded the borders of comic books wider and deeper than Marvel and DC."

Over the years, Spurlock has not only proven to be one of the best-researched historians of illustrators and cartoonists but, he is unique in that he has worked closely and at length, with a Who's Who list of creators including Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Frank Frazetta, Basil Gogos, John Romita, Joe Kubert, John Buscema, Stan Lee, Carmine Infantino and many more. In 2021 Spurlock won Gold for the book, Fantastic Paintings by Frazetta which he produced in concert with The Frazetta Art Museum in East Stroudsburg, PA.

Legendary MAD magazine, Daredevil, Power Girl, Weird Science, Galaxy magazine, Mars Attacks co-creator, Wood passed away in 1981. In 2012, in recognition of Spurlock's decades of work as an educator, author and creator rights advocate, longtime Wood associates Bill Pearson and Jack Robinson of the Wallace Wood Estate appointed Spurlock, Director of the Estate. Spurlock has long worked with Wood's family, friends and associates to preserve and expand the legendary talent's legacy. Wood's brother Glenn and Spurlock founded the Wally Wood Scholarship Fund at The School of Visual Arts in New York and, joined by Steve Starger, attended the 2007 Eisner Awards at Comic-Con in San Diego in celebration of their acclaimed Wally's World biography.

This new Wood Witzend book has likewise been celebrated with an Eisner Award nomination and now, this 2026 IPPY Award Gold Medal win. Spurlock said, "We are always so pleased to present new and classic work along with revealing, novel behind-the-scenes revelations about Woody and other creators, to devotees and new generations alike." Mr. Spurlock also confirmed he has been conducting video interviews with Wood's friends and associates toward a future documentary.

While the IPPYs are traditionally presented coinciding with Book Expo America in New York, this year's Celebration will be held virtually on July 16, 2026.

06/17/2026

CELEBRATING THE BRILLIANCE, CHARM, WIT & TALENTS of artist, writer, mentor, WALLACE WOOD on the 99th anniversary of his birth (6-17-27) and EVERYDAY. If it's Wood, it is GOOD!
Jack KIRBY called Wood "The Best."
Bill GAINES, founder of EC Comics & MAD Magazine said "Wally Wood would come in with a story and three artists would crowd around him and faint, just poring over every brushstroke and every panel, and of course Wally who’s getting this adulation sits there and loves it."
Will EISNER, "Wally [Wood] was a GENIUS. 30 years ahead of his time!"
Joe ORLANDO, VP DC Comics/Assoc Publisher of MAD: "What Star Wars was for sci-fi films, Wood was for sci-fi comics."
Steve DITKO, "Wood may be the top comic book artist...[and he] expanded the borders of comic books wider and deeper than Marvel and DC."
Frank FRAZETTA: "Wally was a man's man. No bu****it in him at all. Compared to Wally, everyone else is a hypocrite."
Howard CHAYKIN: "Everybody who actually met him, liked him. He had his problems, but he was a stand-up guy."
Jerry DeFUCCIO (MAD & EC writer-editor): "Wood was so good in so many areas -- science fiction, suspense, crime, and even in MAD. He worked very hard. ...never watched the clock. He was so intent on what he was putting into the panels. He gave them more artwork for the dollar than anybody."

06/01/2026

Summer 2026 Vanguard ad includes the work-in-progress, The Steranko Effect (exact release date yet to be announced).
A lot of EC talent here: Wood, Williamson, Frazetta, Krenkel, Kubert, plus Warren/Marvel/DC & pulp-related greats including Steranko, Neal Adams, Carmine Infantino, John Romita, Gene Colan, Mark Texeira, John Buscema, Paul Gulacy, Frank Brunner, Gogos, Jeffrey Jones, J. David Spurlock, Suydam, Alex Horley, Kaluta, Simon & Kirby, J. Allen St.John, Alex Schomburg, Steve Ditko, Margaret Brundage, Michael Golden, Roger Hane, Dave McKean, Barron Storey, Marshall Arisman and Bill Sienkiewicz.

Summer 2026 Vanguard ad includes the work-in-progress, The Steranko Effect (exact release date yet to be announced).

A lot of EC talent here: Wood, Williamson, Frazetta, Krenkel, Kubert, plus Warren/Marvel/DC & pulp-related greats including Steranko, Neal Adams, Carmine Infantino, John Romita, Gene Colan, Mark Texeira, John Buscema, Paul Gulacy, Frank Brunner, Gogos, Jeffrey Jones, Suydam, J. David Spurlock, Alex Horley, Kaluta, Simon & Kirby, J. Allen St.John, Alex Schomburg, Steve Ditko, Margaret Brundage, Michael Golden, Roger Hane, Dave McKean, Barron Storey, Marshall Arisman and Bill Sienkiewicz.

FOR GREAT ART BOOKS CHECK OUT
https://indiepubs.com/collections/vanguard