Al Columbia

Al Columbia Doghead

Doghead is a 48-page comic book by Al Columbia. His first solo publication, it was released by Tundra Publishing in 1992 while Columbia was involved with Alan Moore's Big Numbers. It contains three short stories, two in black and white and one in full color.
A contemporaneous review summed up Doghead dismissively as "some Dave McKean and Bill Sienkiewicz impersonations, some fine colour work and an occasional exchange of witty dialogue between [Columbia's] characters,"[1] while Paul Gravett, in a 2002 essay on Columbia's career, saw in it "hints of his emerging singular identity."[2]
The last page of Doghead includes Columbia's "apologies" to some of his early sources of inspiration: Black Francis, Nick Cave, William S. Burroughs, Dave McKean, David Lynch, Papa Kafka, and J. G. Ballard.

More Al Columbia

Ben Olson

Ben Olson is one of my favorite concept artists these days. His imagery is is very real and disturbing. The stuff of nightmares. His rendering of flesh and bone is gut wrenching. His colors are sublime. Many of his concepts will probably never be seen because for the most part vid game companies don't release this stuff. Anyway--here's a taste.

Al Columbia - AMNESIA

AMNESIA-(c)1999 Al Columbia. originally published in Zero Zero (Fantagraphics) . A masterpiece.

Al Columbia

BEWARE! TERROR TALES

Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel, the alter ego of radio reporter Billy Batson, who transformed into the hero whenever he said the magic word "Shazam!"
Other characters published by Fawcett include Captain Video, Hopalong Cassidy, Ibis the Invincible, Bulletman and Bulletgirl, Spy Smasher, Captain Midnight, Phantom Eagle, Mister Scarlet and Pinky, Minute-Man, Commando Yank and Golden Arrow.
Aside from the better known superhero books, Fawcett also published a short-lived line of horror comics during the early 1950s, a string of titles which included This Magazine Is Haunted, Beware! Terror Tales, Worlds of Fear, Strange Suspense Stories, and Unknown World. Other genres included teenage humor (Otis and Babs), funny animal (Hoppy the Marvel Bunny), romance (Sweethearts), war (Soldier Comics) and Western (Lash LaRue, Six Gun Heroes). Fawcett also produced comics based on contemporary movie stars (Tom Mix, Monte Hale) and matinee serials (Nyoka the Jungle Girl). The entire line was dropped in 1953, when Fawcett closed down their comics publishing wing (though many titles were picked up by Charlton Comics [see below]).