With War for the Planet of the Apes—third in the mega-successful reboot of the film franchise that’s not only based on the 1963 science fiction novel by Pierre Boulle, but (according to director Matt Reeves) is a direct series of prequels to the classic 1968 Planet of the Apes film starring Charlton Heston—battling last weekend’s champion, Spider-Man: Homecoming, for box office supremacy, the time couldn’t be better to mention the work of one of SWC’s artistic stars.
Were you aware that painting legend and SWC contributor Bob Larkin is highly regarded among Planet of the Apes fans as one of the franchise’s greatest cover artists? He is! Back in the 1970s, when Marvel Comics had the license to produce PotA comics, Bob provided quite a number of covers for their black-and-white magazine series—and those paintings became much-sought-after collectibles. Not only that, but current comic license owner, BOOM! Studios, is reprinting those tales in deluxe hardcover collections—and the cover for volume 2 (seen here, and available this fall) is one of Bob’s classic paintings! (They also plan on using a long-lost painting that Bob did—one never published because the PotA magazine series was canceled just before he delivered it to Marvel!)
And while we’re on the subject of Bob and his amazing work, perhaps you might like to check out The Bob Larkin Sketchbook, a collection of some of Bob’s incredible pencil drawings.
What you’ll discover when you see them is how wide-ranging his subjects are. Sci-fi, horror, Westerns, pulp adventure, crime fiction, movie merchandise, even wrestling stars—as we say on the book’s back cover, there really is little that he hasn’t painted. And the sketchbook features three pieces created especially for it: the Pandora Zwieback cover art; a portrait of Patricia Savage, the fightin’ cousin of pulp fiction’s top-tier adventurer, Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze; and a two-page spread in which Doc faces off against another Golden Age crimefighter—The Shadow!
The Bob Larkin Sketchbook is available in print and digital formats. Visit its product page for ordering information, as well as sample pages.
