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The Masters! Super Villains Inspired by Legendary Artists and Their Art
For some reason all of the pictures added to this thread have disappeared. Yay technology.
You can see them all here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/megowgshcus...46079618776573
About twenty years ago I had an idea for a super villain. He was inspired by 20th Century surrealist painter Salvador Dalí.
He was a master painter, of course, AND a master thief who possessed enchanted paints that, when used, provided him with an escape route. In other words, he could rob a bank or jewelry store, paint a surrealistic world of melting clocks and flaming giraffes on a wall, and escape into it. Who in their right mind would follow?
I named him Sir Réal Ordéal, and then...I forgot about him.
That is, until I started working on The Chairman Of The Boards. While creating those villains, based on the world's favorite family board games, I recalled from the deep, dark recesses of my mind, that I had created Sir Réal Ordéal long before. So inspired was I by my COTB action figures, I decided to resurrect Sir Réal Ordéal.
Sir Réal Ordéal is built on an original Mego Type 2 body; clothes, beret, shoes from Classic TV Toys; paint brush and palette from Neca's Bob Ross figure; head is a reproduction of Bif Bang Pow's First Doctor Who (with mustache added); paints by me.
Now, I envisioned Sir Réal Ordéal as a super villain of Batman, specifically in the Bronze Age of comics. Even more specifically, I saw him doing battle against Batman and a guest super hero as in the 1970s The Brave And The Bold drawn so beautifully by the late, great Jim Aparo. So, here he is with a Figures Toy Company Batman and an original Mego Green Arrow.
But, like with Mr. Monopoly, I didn't want to stop with just one character. I wanted to create a group of artist-inspired super villains like I did with The Chairmen of the Boards.
I made a list of my favorite art and artists and selected four that I thought lent themselves to being transformed into comic book characters that were both visually and mentally stimulating.
The Salvador Dalí inspired character (Sir Réal Ordéal) would be joined by characters inspired by surrealist painter René Magritte (The Clerk), graffiti artist Keith Haring (Graffiti), landscape photographer Ansel Adams (Panorama), and Post-Impressionist painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Monsieur Petit Rénard).
And, as with any new characters, super-powers and skills are needed...so I gave them some. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you, for the first time in public, The Masters!
The Clerk, inspired by the René Magritte self-portrait Son of Man and his painting of raining men Golconde...
… possesses the power to instantly create duplicates of himself and uses this skill to distract and confuse those attempting his capture. Nobody knows how many times he can replicate; ten times has been the highest number reported but nobody knows for sure if he has a limit. He also has the ability to drop objects from the sky at will, most notably giant green apples similar to the one hiding his face.
The Clerk is built on an original Mego Type 2 body; clothing and head from Classic TV Toys.
Continuing The Brave And The Bold theme let's have him pose with FTC's Batman and Hawkman, shall we?
Graffiti, inspired by this Annie Leibovitz photograph of Keith Haring from a 1986 photoshoot...
… can create actual objects by using the living paint that covers his body. These objects, be it a six-armed man, a fire-breathing mermaid, or any other character from his vast imagination, are used to help him commit his crimes.
Graffiti is built on a FTC Type S body; glasses from Classic TV Toys; head is a reproduction of a Frank Gorshin Riddler by FTC; costume designed by my friend Rafa Rodriguez.
Graffiti's Brave And The Bold entry would be against FTC's Batman and my custom Elongated Man.
The story of how the Leibovitz/Haring photo-shoot came to be can be read here: https://www.phaidon.com/agenda/photo...ack-and-white/
Panorama, inspired by the famous landscape photographer Ansel Adams and his incredible black and white photography of the American West...
… is a master photographer with a keen sense of light and shadow. He is a master thief and uses his cursed F-64 camera on anybody who tries to stop him; capturing their body and soul inside. What happens to his victims once inside the cursed camera remains a mystery.
Panorama is built on an LJN swivel-arm body; he sports a Mego Action Jackson safari outfit; his head is a the head of The Duke's of Hazzard Uncle Jesse from FTC; his camera is from a Betty Page action figure set.
Panorama has the pleasure of battling the team-up of FTC's Batman along with my custom Atom.
Monsieur Petit Rénard, or Mr. Little Fox, inspired by Post-Impressionist painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, famous for his posters of The Moulin Rouge...
… is a master assassin. He is never without his cane, his steel-brimmed bowler, nor his “switchblade shoes”, and there is no object he can't turn into a weapon. An expert at martial arts he has learned to use his size and strength to his advantage through amazing balance and his understanding of leverage.
Monsieur Petit Rénard is built on an original Mego Our Gang body; clothes are all from Classic TV Toys; head is from FTC's Blackbeard the pirate.
MPR is seen here posing with Batman along with my custom Red Tornado. Another homage to The Brave And The Bold.
I have created five villains inspired by famous artists and their art with very specific super-powers and skills. What should I do with them?
I'll tell you what I'm going to do with them: I'm going to give them all origin stories; find them a larger than life character to lead them; replace all of the DC heroes with re-imagined and modernized Golden Age public domain super heroes; and write a graphic novel worthy of these custom action figures I've made.
Stay tuned to my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/megowgshcustoms/ over the next few weeks as I unveil more information about this project, including the creation of my own comic book publishing company; story information; character reveals; pin-ups; interior page and cover art; behind the scenes stories; more action figures; and a literal who's who of comic book artists that will be contributing to my graphic novel.
All leading up to a Kickstarter campaign to get this story into the hands of lovers of art, literature, and Bronze Age comic book goodness.
Please feel free to share my project on yours and other Facebook pages and social media with people you think would be interested in supporting this endeavor.
Happy New Year and thank you all for your continued support.
You can see them all here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/megowgshcus...46079618776573
About twenty years ago I had an idea for a super villain. He was inspired by 20th Century surrealist painter Salvador Dalí.
He was a master painter, of course, AND a master thief who possessed enchanted paints that, when used, provided him with an escape route. In other words, he could rob a bank or jewelry store, paint a surrealistic world of melting clocks and flaming giraffes on a wall, and escape into it. Who in their right mind would follow?
I named him Sir Réal Ordéal, and then...I forgot about him.
That is, until I started working on The Chairman Of The Boards. While creating those villains, based on the world's favorite family board games, I recalled from the deep, dark recesses of my mind, that I had created Sir Réal Ordéal long before. So inspired was I by my COTB action figures, I decided to resurrect Sir Réal Ordéal.
Sir Réal Ordéal is built on an original Mego Type 2 body; clothes, beret, shoes from Classic TV Toys; paint brush and palette from Neca's Bob Ross figure; head is a reproduction of Bif Bang Pow's First Doctor Who (with mustache added); paints by me.
Now, I envisioned Sir Réal Ordéal as a super villain of Batman, specifically in the Bronze Age of comics. Even more specifically, I saw him doing battle against Batman and a guest super hero as in the 1970s The Brave And The Bold drawn so beautifully by the late, great Jim Aparo. So, here he is with a Figures Toy Company Batman and an original Mego Green Arrow.
But, like with Mr. Monopoly, I didn't want to stop with just one character. I wanted to create a group of artist-inspired super villains like I did with The Chairmen of the Boards.
I made a list of my favorite art and artists and selected four that I thought lent themselves to being transformed into comic book characters that were both visually and mentally stimulating.
The Salvador Dalí inspired character (Sir Réal Ordéal) would be joined by characters inspired by surrealist painter René Magritte (The Clerk), graffiti artist Keith Haring (Graffiti), landscape photographer Ansel Adams (Panorama), and Post-Impressionist painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Monsieur Petit Rénard).
And, as with any new characters, super-powers and skills are needed...so I gave them some. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you, for the first time in public, The Masters!
The Clerk, inspired by the René Magritte self-portrait Son of Man and his painting of raining men Golconde...
… possesses the power to instantly create duplicates of himself and uses this skill to distract and confuse those attempting his capture. Nobody knows how many times he can replicate; ten times has been the highest number reported but nobody knows for sure if he has a limit. He also has the ability to drop objects from the sky at will, most notably giant green apples similar to the one hiding his face.
The Clerk is built on an original Mego Type 2 body; clothing and head from Classic TV Toys.
Continuing The Brave And The Bold theme let's have him pose with FTC's Batman and Hawkman, shall we?
Graffiti, inspired by this Annie Leibovitz photograph of Keith Haring from a 1986 photoshoot...
… can create actual objects by using the living paint that covers his body. These objects, be it a six-armed man, a fire-breathing mermaid, or any other character from his vast imagination, are used to help him commit his crimes.
Graffiti is built on a FTC Type S body; glasses from Classic TV Toys; head is a reproduction of a Frank Gorshin Riddler by FTC; costume designed by my friend Rafa Rodriguez.
Graffiti's Brave And The Bold entry would be against FTC's Batman and my custom Elongated Man.
The story of how the Leibovitz/Haring photo-shoot came to be can be read here: https://www.phaidon.com/agenda/photo...ack-and-white/
Panorama, inspired by the famous landscape photographer Ansel Adams and his incredible black and white photography of the American West...
… is a master photographer with a keen sense of light and shadow. He is a master thief and uses his cursed F-64 camera on anybody who tries to stop him; capturing their body and soul inside. What happens to his victims once inside the cursed camera remains a mystery.
Panorama is built on an LJN swivel-arm body; he sports a Mego Action Jackson safari outfit; his head is a the head of The Duke's of Hazzard Uncle Jesse from FTC; his camera is from a Betty Page action figure set.
Panorama has the pleasure of battling the team-up of FTC's Batman along with my custom Atom.
Monsieur Petit Rénard, or Mr. Little Fox, inspired by Post-Impressionist painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, famous for his posters of The Moulin Rouge...
… is a master assassin. He is never without his cane, his steel-brimmed bowler, nor his “switchblade shoes”, and there is no object he can't turn into a weapon. An expert at martial arts he has learned to use his size and strength to his advantage through amazing balance and his understanding of leverage.
Monsieur Petit Rénard is built on an original Mego Our Gang body; clothes are all from Classic TV Toys; head is from FTC's Blackbeard the pirate.
MPR is seen here posing with Batman along with my custom Red Tornado. Another homage to The Brave And The Bold.
I have created five villains inspired by famous artists and their art with very specific super-powers and skills. What should I do with them?
I'll tell you what I'm going to do with them: I'm going to give them all origin stories; find them a larger than life character to lead them; replace all of the DC heroes with re-imagined and modernized Golden Age public domain super heroes; and write a graphic novel worthy of these custom action figures I've made.
Stay tuned to my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/megowgshcustoms/ over the next few weeks as I unveil more information about this project, including the creation of my own comic book publishing company; story information; character reveals; pin-ups; interior page and cover art; behind the scenes stories; more action figures; and a literal who's who of comic book artists that will be contributing to my graphic novel.
All leading up to a Kickstarter campaign to get this story into the hands of lovers of art, literature, and Bronze Age comic book goodness.
Please feel free to share my project on yours and other Facebook pages and social media with people you think would be interested in supporting this endeavor.
Happy New Year and thank you all for your continued support.
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