012 Voltes V - ボルテスＶ (Pure Foods)

This was probably my very first poster, ever. This really captures the spirit of the t.v. show. It was a promotional poster for Pure Foods hot dogs (the old school Filipino - which I've always thought was Philippino - version of Oscar Mayer), but I don't know where or how I came to possess it.

This poster is extremely worn, with tape all over the back, and big chunks barely holding on. A collector in the Philippines bought it from me with the other posters listed here (minus the Grendaizer) for $40 due its deteriorated condition. He'd originally offered more, but I sent detailed photos to make sure it was worth anything to him, because I wouldn't have felt right otherwise.

This buyer also informed me that the "posters are rendered by amateur local artists for Philippine distribution only." So that explains a lot about the artwork...though I always thought this was one of the better ones. 

013 - Portrait of Evgeny Rukhin by Galina Popova (1977?)

Not technically "my old shit", this painting belongs to my mother, who purchased it in 1976 or 1977 from an "underground" gallery in Moscow of the then Soviet Union. It is most likely a portrait of Evgeny (Eugene?) Rukhin done by his wife, Galina Popova, though Mom always thought it was a sly way of doing an image of Christ in an anti-religious communist country. Evgeny died in a fire in 1976 under mysterious circumstances, after several repressive run ins with Soviet authorities.

Unknown Title - Portrait of Eugene Rukhin by Galina Popova (1977?)

Though there are many articles about the paintings on her husband, there's no mention that I can find about Galina's work (other than jewelery and crafts done after her immigration to the U.S.). I've been searching for information about this piece for a few years, and have contacted her son, though no further information has yet been forthcoming. This painting was always prominently displayed in our home during my growing years, though I don't know if it had any influence on my own work.

It is a heavily textured painting over fabric (that red and white is actual fabric, not paint), and makes use of something like a wood block stamp (see detail of upper left corner, below) of what appears to be some Christian iconography. I never cared to learn the lingo for properly waxing bullshit over art, so there's not much more I can say about this. It's always struck me as a very powerful piece.


Her husband's works are valued in the tens of thousands. Who knows? This portrait by a mourning wife could be equally valuable...

011 Mekanda Robot ( 合身戦隊メカンダーロボ )

Mekanda Robot (or 合身戦隊メカンダーロボ , or Mechander Robo, or Mekander) was, after UFO Grendaizer, my favorite giant robot. I loved the shark missiles that would shoot out of his feet.

Other than those missiles, and the fact that the pilots has to shut down the robot at the end of almost every episode so that it didn't get hit by the Omega Missile, I remember very little of the actual show. After this show came on T.V. in the Philippines, I stopped drawing Voltes V and Mazinga Z in chalk on the road, and started drawing Mekanda as often as I could. I especially liked doing the boots...something about that tiered front, behind which lurked the shark missiles, I found very compelling. Also, love the spiked shields. Just a fantastic design. 

The poster is a little more beat up than the others, and I'm not a huge fan of this particular rendition of Mekanda...but it does show off the full design of the robot really well. 

 Sold for $100. 

010 Millennium Falcon (1979)

I'm pretty sure I got this from Santa for Christmas in 1979 (though it may have been '80, post-Empire), after we'd been back in the U.S. for a few months.

 

This was easily one of my favorite toys, and it shows. Well played with, but 95% complete with no broken pieces. I seem to recall that it stopped making the electronic sounds pretty early into its career, but have never had any reason (other than this toy) to buy D batteries, so have never tested it to verify my memory. 

Otherwise, just a few dried up and missing stickers, and a missing light-saber-practice-sphere-and-stick (which I'm told is one of the more commonly missing pieces in this vintage toy). Also, they're not broken, but the pegs in the rear legs were never the best at keeping the legs as supportive stand (they're now augmented with some wads of paper--see the photo).

The plastic of the body's exterior is much more yellowed than is evident in the photos, but I think it's just enough to add to the sense of "dirty tech" that one might expect of a toy from the original Star Wars films. The interior floors could do with a little sponging, though; I'm pretty sure those stains are from my friends' kid playing with it when he visits. This goes for $50 to $120 or so on Ebay...so I've found it more worthwhile to keep as a display piece.

 

009 Yellow Dog Comics #13 (1969)

I didn't acquire this until early 2012, and not purposefully. It was shuffled into a collection of old National Lampoon magazines that I bought. It appears to be a first printing (there's no indication otherwise), and it's in good shape (possibly very good, for a comic from 1969). You can see the bend in the front cover, and the nick in the bottom right.

  

Interior Front Cover

Interior Back Cover

On the back cover, there's also a little fold what's slightly nicked in the top left corner, but otherwise the book is in good shape.  It features art by Robert Crumb, Rory Hayes, Victor Moscoso, Rick Griffin, and S. Clay Wilson (amongst others).

Asking prices are anywhere from $5 to $75 online,  but I'd be surprised if anyone paid more than $1 for this.

008 Voltes V - ボルテスＶ

Another poster from The Philippines, circa 1978. This is Voltes V (or Super Electromagnetic Machine Voltes Five or 超電磁マシーン ボルテスＶ), and the first of two posters I have of this venerable mecha. 
 

This one is in good condition, but like the Aphrodite A poster, it's bothered me since day one.The "horizon" lines for the Z axis are all over the place. The vanishing points for the X and Y axis are also off, but...well...it's just a mess, really. The artist obviously used a straight edge of some sort in the creation of this art, so it's always bothered me that s/he didn't bother to work out the vanishing point. Other than that, I love the choice to go duotone, the display of tech, and the whole maintenance bay theme.

 The lattice work inside the chest piece was always a bit bothersome, too. It's a real challenge to the imagination to figure out how this internal structure could allow for the elongating sword. But the faults I've listed are just nagging annoyances in what is otherwise a joy to my eyes and heart. It brings back memories of drawing Voltes V in chalk on the street outside my family's house in Manilla.

Sold for $100.

007 Empire Strikes Back Sketchbook (1980)

So, my mom, my godmother, and I were in Columbia Mall in 1980, and I saw this book. I asked my mom to buy it, but she refused. As we continued shopping, my godmother conspiratorially leaned into me, handing me $20: "Don't tell your mother. You go buy that book."

 

Published in 1980, this book contains lots of cool examples of design progression. As a budding artist, it was my invaluable first example of how ideas can change over time, and how your first rendering of a concept isn't always your best (and in some cases, what ends up as the final product isn't as cool as some of the preliminary ideas). For example, I prefer the helmet on this snow trooper. 

And this snow speeder looks like what eventually became the A-Wing fighter. I guess another example of how even an initially unused idea can be recycled into future creative efforts. The snow speeder that ended up on film was my favorite of all the ship designs in the Star Wars saga, but this is a close second.

Wait! I lied. The Slave I was my favorite...until I found out it didn't fly in the same way that it docked (I've rotated the picture to how I thought it would fly). Rumored(?) to be based upon the shape of a streetlamp, this was another great lesson in art: Inspiration for design may be found anywhere.

In decent shape for a well read 32 year old book.