Saturday, October 31, 2009

The Vault of Fear - "That's All, Folks!"

The Vault of Fear
Hello, Pulp Friends,

That was a fun month, wasn't it? :D
Thank you all for following this blog during the Halloween period. I hope you guys are still there when I will be unlocking the doors to the... Watchers form Outer Space! (starting tomorrow!)

Happy Halloween again, everybody! :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Rondo!

Artwork © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
"Hammerin' Fears" and "The Vault of Fear" © and TM 2009 Francesco Francavilla.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Hammerin' Fears: "The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires" (1974)

Hammerin' Fears
Hello, Pulp Friends,

Last Hammerin' Fears of the month but not last Hammerin' Fears of Pulp SUnday: there are still many great HAMMER movies to tribute, and these were too much fun to work on too :)

Today we have a personal favorite, a movie I was big fan of since I watched it the first time as a kid (and watched it over and over again since then): The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires! Martial arts with fangs! Come'on, you can't beat that fun, can you? :)
It's close to midnight and I need to put this up so I will leave you with the synopsis of the movie and a little trailer (titled 7 Brothers Meet Dracula for the American market I think) and, of course, my little tribute to this classic :)
Can't believe this Halloween month is almost over :(

Buona Visione and have a Pulp Friday evening everyone! :)

Cheers,
Francesco

The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
Synopsis: Professor Van Helsing (Cushing) had been asked to help against the tyranny of skeletal creatures that are responsible for terror and death amongst the peasants in rural China. He is the only person qualified to deal with the cause of these phenomena, for the undead are controlled by the most diabolical force of all.... Count Dracula (Forbes-Robertson). But he is not alone- to aid him comes a mystical brotherhood of seven martial arts warriors.



Artwork © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
"Hammerin' Fears" and "The Vault of Fear" © and TM 2009 Francesco Francavilla.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Shadow of the Skies

Doc Monster: Shadow of the Skies
Hello Pulp friends :)

like we see it happening in each Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror, here's a little "cameo" of UFOs in between old pulpy horrors.

There are two reasons for today's post.
The main is that I wanted to pay tribute to the latest AWESOME creation of the cool and talented Dave Flora, of Ghost Zero fame. His Doc Monster is running this month competition over at Zuda Comics, DC label for webcomics.
If you haven't voted yet for Doc Monster, please do now by clicking here: there is still 48 hours to make Doc Monster win :)

The other reason is that, while October was dedicated to the horror, November will be all about classic sci-fi and aliens, thanks to the premiere, on Nov 3rd, of the new version of "V" on ABC. I did an ALIEN month in December 2008, so, about a year later, it's time to see more "Watchers" invading Pulp Sunday.
Hope you guys will tune in for some extra-terrestrial Pulp :)

Cheers,
Francesco

All images © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

The Twilight Zone "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (1963)

The Twilight Zone: NIghtmare at 20,000 Feet
“click on the image for bigger Gremlin ;)

Hello Pulp friends :)

The Twilight Zone is back! And William Shatner is back too!!
This time he is dealing with what I think is the fattest gremlin I have ever seen. I had some hard time to make this guy look scary, even if I would be indeed helluva scared like Shatner if I was sitting in the airplane and this guy is messing with one of the engines ;)

Fun facts:
1) I like that the overhead lugguge compartments are open (a shelf, practically): airplanes must have been really smooth at that time. :D
2) I like that the signal says to not smoke during take off and landing, instead of the modern "do not use electronic devices during take-off and landing": times have really changed ;)
3) Finally, I like that if you need a gun to shoot a gremlin, the guy behind you just happens to have one on his belt (while taking a nap ;))

Written by Richard Matheson and directed by Richard Donner.

Let's see if I manage to do 50 tributes to The Twilight Zone in the weeks/months ahead: that would be a nice way to celebrate the 50th year anniversary :)

Cheers,
Francesco

All images © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

Sunday, October 25, 2009

The Vault of Fear - "The Witching Hour"

The Vault of Fear
Hello, Pulp Friends,

Luckily I managed to do a new piece even if my PC is still at the shop (and apparently has not been checked yet... grr).

Like for the mummy, it's not really Halloween without some malevolent witch, is it? ;)
Then I hope you guys dig "The Witching Hour!" :)

Have a Pulp Sunday everyone! :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Curse Of The Mummy!

Artwork © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
"Hammerin' Fears" and "The Vault of Fear" © and TM 2009 Francesco Francavilla.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Hammerin' Fears: "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957)

Hammerin' Fears

I usually don't like reposting artwork that has been already shown earlier on this blog, but since my PC crashed and put me behind on my schedule, I didn't have time to draw today's Hammer tribute so... here's a classic from Hammer horrors: Peter Cushing as Doctor Victor Frankenstein (as featuered in the Mad Doctors Week a few months back).

In the original classic trilogy with Karloff (as the creature) and Clive (as the Doctor), the focus of the stories was the monster who gets out of control and overpowers his creator. Things change in the '50s thanks to the famous Hammer Films. Movies like "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957) and "The Revenge of Frankenstein" (1958) - both directed by Terence Fisher - swap the roles between the two main characters. Now the focus is on the mad doctor Victor Frankenstein instead of the creature. He is the real monster, the cold and evil dandy with no scruples. The Creature he created is the victim escaping the lab and the morbose screenings of the so called "science".

The Curse of Frankenstein
Peter Cushing played the mad doctor Frankenstein in these 2 movies and in 3 more movies, 2 directed again by Terence Fisher (1967 and 1969) and one by Freddie Francis (1964), so I thought it would be perfect for this gallery, even more than Colin CLive.
Below is the original trailer for "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957), directed by Trence Fisher and Sarring Peter Cushing as the Doctor, Chistopher Lee as the Creature, and Robert Urquhart.

Hopefully I will manage to get the Vault of Fear piece done for Sunday so I will see you soon (insert maniacal laugh here ;))

Cheers,
Francesco



Artwork © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
"Hammerin' Fears" and "The Vault of Fear" © and TM 2009 Francesco Francavilla.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Scary Tales of Zorro!

Zorro #17 Back Cover

Hello my friends,

I thought this is the perfect month to give you all a sneak peek at the back cover of Zorro #17 (that will be out in a few weeks), anticipating what comes next in Zorro #18.

FUN! :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Vault of Fear - "Curse Of The Mummy"

The Vault of Fear
Hello, Pulp Friends,

It's not truly Pulp Horror if we don't throw a classic Curse Of The Mummy into the mix ;)
Hope you guys are enjoying this series: it's a particularly busy month for me, work wise, but these are too much fun to do that I am doing all I can to squeeze the time in for it :)

Have a Pulp Sunday everyone! :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Curse Of The Mummy!

Artwork © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
"Hammerin' Fears" and "The Vault of Fear" © and TM 2009 Francesco Francavilla.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Hammerin' Fears: "The Quatermass Xperiment" (1955)

Hammerin' Fears
Hello, Pulp Friends,

today's Hammer Classic is "The Quatermass Xperiment", directed by Val Guest and starring Brian Donlevy and Jack Warner.
Here's the synopsis, for those 2 or 3 of you who don't know about this movie ;)

Britain's first rocket has been successfully launched and returns to Earth but communication has been severed. Only one of the three spacemen (Wordsworth) remains on board whose physical and mental health has been severely damaged. He is put under strict observation but his wife smuggles him out of the hospital only to unleash the biggest threat ever to civilisation. For the survivor is being consumed by an alien force, who gains strength from human flesh to multiple and grow, threatening to engulf and kill all living organisms. Professor Quatermass (Donlevy) must find a way to overcome the thing before it becomes impossible.

I decided to portray what happened on the rocket before it returned to Earth.

Buona Visione and have a Pulp Friday everyone! :)

Cheers,
Francesco

The Quatermass Xperiment

Artwork © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
"Hammerin' Fears" and "The Vault of Fear" © and TM 2009 Francesco Francavilla.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

The Vault of Fear - "The Thing From The Sewers!"

The Vault of Fear
Hello, Pulp Friends,

This week cover is truly "pulp" since the artwork is from 1988! I colored it today and "dressed" up a bit to make it a cover for The Vault Of Fear :)
Hope you guys dig this 21 years old illo which I accurately censored ;)

Have a Pulp Sunday everyone! :)

Cheers,
Francesco

The Thing From The Sewers!

Artwork © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
"Hammerin' Fears" and "The Vault of Fear" © and TM 2009 Francesco Francavilla.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

The Twilight Zone "Nick of Time" (1960)

The Twilight Zone: Nick Of Time
“Every answer seems to fit.” - Don (William Shatner)

Hello Pulp friends :)

Here's another little classic, from season 2, penned again by Matheson: "Nick of Time". It is also one of the two episodes featuring a very young William Shatner.
As mentioned elsewhere, these are fun so I am thinking to extend it to next week too.

Stay tuned tomorrow for THE VAULT OF FEAR!!!

Cheers,
Francesco

All images © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

Friday, October 9, 2009

Hammerin' Fears: "Scream of Fear" (1961)

Hammerin' Fears
Hello, Pulp Friends,

we interrupt Twilight Zone for one day (it will be back tomorrow and, maybe, next week too :)) to air our Hammer Friday feature.

Today's Hammerin Fear is "Scream of Fear" (originally "Taste of Fear"), a Hammer production from 1961 featuring Susan Strasberg and Cristopher Lee. A little thriller with a disappearing (and reappering) corpse and a girl forced in a wheelchair and a bunch of sinister characters who seem to try to get rid of the girl at any cost. Sounds good, doesn't it? :D

Buona Visione and have a Pulp Friday everyone! :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Scream of Fear


Artwork © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
"Hammerin' Fears" and "The Vault of Fear" © and TM 2009 Francesco Francavilla.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

The Twilight Zone "The Invaders" (1961)

The Twilight Zone: The Invaders
These are the invaders, the tiny beings from the tiny place called Earth, who would take the giant step across the sky to the question marks that sparkle and beckon from the vastness of the universe only to be imagined. The invaders, who found out that a one-way ticket to the stars beyond has the ultimate price tag. And we have just seen it entered in a ledger that covers all the transactions of the universe, a bill stamped 'paid in full,' and to be found, on file, in the Twilight Zone

Hello Pulp friends :)

"The Invaders" (from season 2) is definitely a "CLASSIC" of the Twilight Zone for many reasons. First: it didn't have any dialogue at all: all was left to the amazing acting and cinematography of actors and crew. Second: it was penned by master Richard Matheson (who wrote several of the episodes of the first seasons). Third: it has a wonderful ending twist. Finally: it features the wonderful Agnes Moorehead, actress that is very familiar to us SHADOW OTR afecionados.
As I said, a CLASSIC! :)

Cheers,
Francesco

All images © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The Twilight Zone "The Dummy" (1962)

The Twilight Zone: The Dummy
Ventriloquist Jerry Etherson is convinced that his dummy, Willie, is alive and evil. He locks Willie in a trunk and makes plans for a new act with a new dummy. Too bad he didn't clear those plans with Willie first.

Hello Pulp friends :)

Today we feature another all time favorite of mine: "The Dummy"! (from season 3).
And it's a favorite not only because of the story, but also (and mostly) becuase I think these dummies are one of the creepiest things on Earth ;)

Move out of the way, Chucky, let the professionals play! :)

Cheers,
Francesco

All images © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

The Twilight Zone "To Serve Man" (1962)

The Twilight Zone: To Serve Man
An alien race comes to earth, promising peace and sharing technology. A linguist and his team set out to translate the alien's language, using a book whose title they deduce is "To Serve Man".

Hello Pulp friends :)

Today we feature another classic episode of "The Twilight Zone", so classic that it also "inspired" a famous Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror" episode: "To Serve Man"! :)
A related recipe book everyone? ;)

Of course (like for any other post here) click on the image for a bigger size.

Cheers,
Francesco

All images © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

Monday, October 5, 2009

The Twilight Zone "Eye of the Beholder" (1960)

The Twilight Zone: Eye of the Beholder
There is a fifth dimension beyond that
which is known to man.
It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity.
It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science
and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and
the summit of his knowledge.
This is the dimension of imagination.
It is an area which we call
the Twilight Zone.


Hello Pulp friends :)

Exactly 50 years ago, with these words, the first episode of The Twilight Zone was airing on the American TV, with its unmistakable tune, and the TV wasn't the same anymore. To celebrate the 50th anniversary I decided to tribute Rod Serling's genius series with a set of 5 of my favorite episodes this whole week (except for Friday and Sunday that are already booked, as you all know ;)). I am having a pretty busy week so I hope to keep it up in the next days.

First up: Eye of the Beholder! (from season 2, 1960).

Cheers,
Francesco

All images © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

Sunday, October 4, 2009

The Vault of Fear - "Buried Alive!"

The Vault of Fear
Hello, Pulp Friends,

First I got up with "MAD LOVE" airing on TCM and then I worked on this: what I can ask more from this Pulp Sunday? :)

So The Vault of Fear begins! Hope you guys enjoy this.
Have a Pulp Sunday everyone! :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Buried Alive

Artwork © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
"Hammerin' Fears" and "The Vault of Fear" © and TM 2009 Francesco Francavilla.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Hammerin' Fears: "The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas" (1957)

Hammerin' Fears
Hello, Pulp Friends,

due to an unexpected tie between HAMMER OKTOBER and BLOODY PULP, I decided to tackle both topics: hope you guys don't mind me doing so ;)

The title Hammer Oktober has morphed in HAMMERIN' FEARS and will run every Friday in October. Bloody Pulp has morphed into THE VAULT OF FEAR and will run every Sunday (yep, a Bloody Pulp Sunday! :D)

To start, here's a classic from HAMMER Films: "The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas" (1957), directed by Val Guest and starring Forrest Tucker and Peter Cushing.

Buona Visione and have a Pulp Friday everyone! :)

Cheers,
Francesco

The Abominable Snowman of


Artwork © 2009 Francesco Francavilla.
"Hammerin' Fears" and "The Vault of Fear" © and TM 2009 Francesco Francavilla.