The Art of Jose Gonzalez

Jose Gonzalez is easily the greatest Vampirella artist whoever lived. And no one draws, exotic, mysterious and gorgeous women quite like Pepe. This book delivers. Covering Jose's entire artistic life from drawing romance comics for the UK to the years at Warren. From his incredibly detailed portraits of celebrities to his later commissioned artwork of Vampirella, this book has it all. His work with colored pencils will leave you speechless. A 246 page visual feast. Kudos to curator David Roach, book designer Rodolfo Muraguchi and Dynamite Entertainment for putting together such a stunning tribute.

If this is not the finest art book in the Dynamite line, please, someone tell me which one is its equal or better, so I can snap up that one too. This is just an awesomely well done overview of Jose Gonzalez' whole career, from early comics for British publications, through lots of Vampirella, to book covers, things you would hardly expect like Barbie and the Bobbsey Twins, to late-career private commissions and personal works. Don't miss David Roach's other books, THE ART OF VAMPIRELLA and MASTERS OF SPANISH COMIC BOOK ART -- but this is the most outstanding of the three.

This is a terrific collection of the art of Jose Gonzalez, an excellent and influential artist best known for his definitive work on Vampirella. While there is plenty of Vampirella to be seen here, from comic pages to covers to commissioned art, this book also showcases his other works, from romance covers, to the Bobbsey Twins (!), to his personal works and excellent paintings of golden-age Hollywood celebrities. There are many full-page color pictures in this book which, along with the great depth of Jose's work that this book contains, make it a must-have for fans of his work, or any fan of great comic art.

This book is absolutely stunning, I highly recommend it. One of the best art books I've seen and I bought this on a whim when I stumbled across it because I thought the art looked lovely (and I was right, Jose Gonzalez is incredible). I really love the variety of the art they chose to include too. Oh and he draws men so beautifully, it's difficult to find an artist who can capture a mans beauty so nicely.

Don't waste your time getting a comic on kindle if you want to read it or use it for anything and you are using kindle pc. There doesn't seem to be anyway to move the file to any other reader and kindlepc doesn't have zoom, A comic reader without a zoom feature, what is that? I will tell you what it is when the text is too small to read, pure crap. I wonder what percentage the world's greediest man gets of each kindle purchase.

THE ART OF JOSE GONZALES is a smashing piece of work! This over-sized volume is gorgeously mounted, loaded with hundreds of beautiful Gonzales illustrations (many of which I've never seen before), most in color. Vampirella is spotlighted for half the book, and the rest covers Mr. Gonzales's amazing career working for a number of European publications. The author, Mr. Roach, has skimped on nothing! This is a jaw-droppingly beautiful book showcasing the astonishing work of a brilliant artist who left us much too soon.

Fabulous art! Beautiful women and an erotic look (and some nudity). A variety of genres, and some recognizable movie celebrities. A great volume from a supremely talented artist! This was a worthwhile purchase!

The book contains many well reproduced mainstream and private artwork collections. It also included informative anecdotes and personal background of Jose Gonzalez. Great for fans of Vampirella, gorgeous female pinups and Spanish comic book artists.

The work presented in this volume is incredible, and not a bit daunting for one making a living as an illustrator! This is highly recommended!

nice well put together book that is careful not to tread in realms of pornography. It's relatively tasteful overview of this author's work and some nice color pages. Almost borderline coffee table compatible, doubt many moms would forbid their child to look at this book.

Jose Gonzalez is easily the greatest Vampirella artist whoever lived. And no one draws, exotic, mysterious and gorgeous women quite like Pepe. This book delivers. Covering Jose's entire artistic life from drawing romance comics for the UK to the years at Warren. From his incredibly detailed portraits of celebrities to his later commissioned artwork of Vampirella, this book has it all. His work with colored pencils will leave you speechless. A 246 page visual feast. Kudos to curator David Roach, book designer Rodolfo Muraguchi and Dynamite Entertainment for putting together such a stunning tribute.

If this is not the finest art book in the Dynamite line, please, someone tell me which one is its equal or better, so I can snap up that one too. This is just an awesomely well done overview of Jose Gonzalez' whole career, from early comics for British publications, through lots of Vampirella, to book covers, things you would hardly expect like Barbie and the Bobbsey Twins, to late-career private commissions and personal works. Don't miss David Roach's other books, THE ART OF VAMPIRELLA and MASTERS OF SPANISH COMIC BOOK ART -- but this is the most outstanding of the three.

This is a terrific collection of the art of Jose Gonzalez, an excellent and influential artist best known for his definitive work on Vampirella. While there is plenty of Vampirella to be seen here, from comic pages to covers to commissioned art, this book also showcases his other works, from romance covers, to the Bobbsey Twins (!), to his personal works and excellent paintings of golden-age Hollywood celebrities. There are many full-page color pictures in this book which, along with the great depth of Jose's work that this book contains, make it a must-have for fans of his work, or any fan of great comic art.

This book is absolutely stunning, I highly recommend it. One of the best art books I've seen and I bought this on a whim when I stumbled across it because I thought the art looked lovely (and I was right, Jose Gonzalez is incredible). I really love the variety of the art they chose to include too. Oh and he draws men so beautifully, it's difficult to find an artist who can capture a mans beauty so nicely.

Don't waste your time getting a comic on kindle if you want to read it or use it for anything and you are using kindle pc. There doesn't seem to be anyway to move the file to any other reader and kindlepc doesn't have zoom, A comic reader without a zoom feature, what is that? I will tell you what it is when the text is too small to read, pure crap. I wonder what percentage the world's greediest man gets of each kindle purchase.

THE ART OF JOSE GONZALES is a smashing piece of work! This over-sized volume is gorgeously mounted, loaded with hundreds of beautiful Gonzales illustrations (many of which I've never seen before), most in color. Vampirella is spotlighted for half the book, and the rest covers Mr. Gonzales's amazing career working for a number of European publications. The author, Mr. Roach, has skimped on nothing! This is a jaw-droppingly beautiful book showcasing the astonishing work of a brilliant artist who left us much too soon.

Fabulous art! Beautiful women and an erotic look (and some nudity). A variety of genres, and some recognizable movie celebrities. A great volume from a supremely talented artist! This was a worthwhile purchase!

The book contains many well reproduced mainstream and private artwork collections. It also included informative anecdotes and personal background of Jose Gonzalez. Great for fans of Vampirella, gorgeous female pinups and Spanish comic book artists.

The work presented in this volume is incredible, and not a bit daunting for one making a living as an illustrator! This is highly recommended!

nice well put together book that is careful not to tread in realms of pornography. It's relatively tasteful overview of this author's work and some nice color pages. Almost borderline coffee table compatible, doubt many moms would forbid their child to look at this book.

An artist who has inspired me my entire life, it’s great to have a portfolio of his work and a bio of his career

Just an amazing collection of Jose Gonzalez. The images are the perfect size on each page. The paper quality is also great. A must buy for any artist.

Beautiful art, from a phenomenal artist, presented in a very impressive book.

Amazing must have book for any art lover. Great image reproductions, and large full page images, from original art.

Gonzalez was a great artist. Best know for Vampirella, but I like his drawings of Greta Garbo and other film stars.

Book is filled with beautiful detailed artwork. as is to be expected from the artist. Amazing.

Best artist

Great book that fills in the blanks of the career of THE Vampirella artist. Loads of art, background info and images. Excellent book!!

jose

Awesome published work. Above expectations for the value of the book. A definite for art collector.

Excellent example of this artists's works. Long time fan and this did not disappoint.

Great!

So great to see more of Jose's work.

Excelent book. One of the most exquisites artists in the female drawing world.

BUY THIS BOOK!!! Seller was very reliable. I would use them again.

This is a great book of the art of Jose Gonzalez

Excellent work.

His work are great, I just expected more of his work on Vampirella.

I don't like that amazon required me to review this book before I can proceed to more pages. Shame on you amazon.

Though he didn’t create the character of Vampirella, José Gonzalez (or ‘Pepe’ as he was known by his friends and colleagues) was the artist who best defined her. Through Pepe’s drawings, Vampi became a character that transcended comic books and became one of the most iconic horror figures—at once beautiful and deadly, and devastatingly sexy. Pepe was called a “lazy” artist by those who worked in the comic book industry, because he was usually late sending in his finished pages (Pepe sent his work from Spain to be published in America when he worked for Warren), and had problems meeting his deadlines. But Pepe was also a complex person, and though he was a brilliant artist, claimed he hated drawing comics. In fact, Pepe was simply an “artiste” in every sense of the word, being at once an excellent imitator—he could mimic any movie star, male or female, and every rock’n’roll singer although he didn’t speak a word of English. Although it was the way he drew stunningly beautiful girls that got the attention of the other artists and editors in the comics industry, his drawings becoming the model to follow if you wanted to draw romance comics with pretty girls. Funnily enough, as you look inside this book and see the sheer amount of work this artist managed to put out during his career, you get the impression that he was anything but lazy. Nevertheless, Pepe will be best remembered for his drawings on the Vampirella series. No other artist has managed to define the character as well as Pepe did. Also, Pepe’s girls are very natural-looking and you can see that they aren’t drawn by a lascivious male artist, but someone who totally understands the femininity of the women he draws—oddly enough, as Pepe was openly gay, though actually wasn’t fond of drawing men, unless they looked like James Dean, otherwise they were usually ugly, toad-like, and mean, or old and wrinkled. That said, this book published by Dynamite has managed to amass a load of work from every aspect of Pepe’s artistic career that will leave you breathless. Did Pepe really have the time to do all that work, and miss deadlines, or disappear for days without letting anyone know where he was? Included are three Vampi stories scanned from the original art boards. The third story appears in English for the first time, as it had previously appeared only in Spain before Warren went bankrupt. Unfortunately the artwork for the last Vampi story Pepe ever did, ‘The Mysterious Stranger’, has gone missing for all these years. It is said that it was his best work ever, although we still get in this book Pepe at his best. Thoroughly researched by David Roach, this book dwells on every aspect of Pepe’s career, from comic book artist to illustrator (he wasn’t fond of working in color, preferring color pencils to any other color medium), with a staggering amount of scans from original artwork, including images of very hard-to-find pocket books no one has heard of. We also learn many aspects of his life, of who assisted him on certain Vampi stories and who actually painted the famous and iconic six-foot Vampi poster. Highly recommended for fans of good-girl art, and lovers of Vampirella.

Jose Gonzalez was among a number of truly superb Spanish artists who graced European and American comic book art in the 1960's and '70's with a level of realism, maturity, skill, and finish that was absolutely unparalleled in comic book art at that time and, perhaps, even now! There are some extremely strong comic book artists working today: Stuart Immonen, Lienil Francis Yu, Mike Deodato Jr. (all currently for Marvel), and the always imaginatively creepy Jae Lee (for DC)! Yet I STILL think of these amazing 20th Century Spanish artists (of the Warren Comics era): Jose Gonzalez, the incredible Fernando Fernandez, Ramon Torrents, Esteban Maroto, and the amazing Luis Garcia Mozos, as the highest level of illustrative achievement in comics, even if the stories they worked on were sometimes far below their talents. Ironically, their inspirations often came from America's most dynamic and experimental commercial advertising illustrators of the era such as Al Parker, Robert McGinnis, Paul Calle, and Bernie Fuchs, among others. But that's a HUGE difference worth noting! They didn't simply learn to draw from other comic books, as many do today. They first properly studied in art school and then applied their skill, with a nod to American avant garde illustration, to Britain's romance comics during the mod revolution! And there you have a cinematic level of surrealism that even Neil Adams didn't approach! This collection is a wonderful showcase of Jose "Pepe" Gonzalez's talent and work. As a true career retrospective it has something for everyone; plenty of Vampirella art (interiors, pencils, frontispiece, original page art, and commissions), his beautiful romance comic illustrations (my personal favorites), and a myriad of other excellent commercial work. I can't thank Dynamite enough for this great book and I hope they might someday honor the lesser-known (Warren) Spaniard artists with a similar compilation volume. I only wish Dynamite would reconsider their tone-deaf company logo, which mires the spine of this great book on my shelf (and also their comics), like a neon "going out of business" sale sticker! C'mon, guys, you can see this too, right(?), PLEASE!

This book is way more than just Vampirella art. Although there's plenty of Vampy in this book, you also get a lot more of Jose's amazing artwork. Dynamite does an amazing job with these artist's books and I hope to see more like it. The quality of the reproductions is very high quality. You also get some of Jose's process which is great to see and how he used models and photo reference. Read the book to find out more, but Jose didn't just copy or trace photographs. He used photos as a platform to make his drawings more realistic. Although Jose was a natural artist and able to draw figures seemingly effortlessly. Dynamite doesn't hold back which is good and shows many of Jose's nude drawings and paintings. This is a new release for 2015, but pick this one up before it goes out of print. It was a pleasure to learn more about Jose the artist, and see more of his catalog of art. I'll be reading this book multiple times as there's a ton of artwork to see.

Along with Art of Vampirella the Warren Years, this is a must have. Gonzalez is most well known for his work on Vampirella, and a significant portion of that work is presented here (some full interior pages from stories are here, but only a couple of complete stories - you will need to get the anthologies for that). Plenty of his non Vampirella work is here as well. I was particularly impressed with the section of his personal commission work, which I don't think has been published before. Like most of the Dynamite collections, the production values are excellent - high quality paper stock and superb color. This is top notch stuff!

Good color artwork, perhaps the best artist that Vampirella.

SPECIFICS: Page Count: 246 Number of paintings: 139 Small paintings: 33 Half page paintings: 20 Full page paintings: 86 2-page spreads: 0 B&W: 61 TEXT: Foreword – 1 page Introduction – 10 pages Chapter 1 – 4 pages Chapter 2 – 3 pages Chapter 3 – 2 pages Chapter 4 – 2 pages Chapter 5 – 2 pages Chapter 6 – 4 pages Chapter 7 – 3 pages Epilogue – 4 pages Title, year and publishing details for most of the art ART: 23 images: 5 stars 83 images: 4 stars 33 images: 3 stars 0 images: 2 stars 0 images: 1 star Overall: 4,0 Stars Note: Comics and small book covers occupy around 80 pages of the book, and that art was left out of the rating.

Its pretty amazing how far Dynamite has come these last 5-6 years. This is a company on a mission and everyone and anyone who enjoys comics and comic art should send an email to Dynamite, congratulating them for thier success and thanking them for the amazing work that they have delivered to comic lovers the world over. In particular, the amazing work they have done with Vampirella since aquiring the rights from Harris has been nothing short of incredible and I can't think of a single release that wasn't well worth the purchase. One of my favorite aspects of Dynamite in recent years has been their focus on releasing comic related art books. While I love reading comics, its actually the artwork more than anything else that really keeps me coming back for more. So it should come as no surprise that I am a big art book and sketch book collector and Dynamite has produced some outstanding art books in recent years. Just to name a few you have the 3 Vampirella art books (The Art of Vampirella, Vampirella: The Warren Years, and Vampirella: The Dynamite Years), The Art of Dejah Thoris and the Worlds of Mars, The Dynamite Art of Alex Ross, The Art of Red Sonja, etc. The Art of Jose Gonzalez is their latest release and like Dynamite's previous art books, it certainly doesn't disappoint. If your familiar with Dynamite's other art books then you know exacty what to expect quality wise. Dynamite's art books have quality glossy covers, quality bindings, and nice mid range quality paper, which is exactly what you should expect from artbooks in this price range. All in all, Dynamite's art books are well worth the money and will last a good long while if properly taken care of. As for the artwork itself....well, what can one say about Jose Gonzalez? The man was an absolutely brilliant artist and his work on Vampirella was nothing short of stunning. He is largely considered by many fans to be the best Vampirella artist to date. While I don't particularly agree he was the single best, I would agree that he is one of the top 3 artists to ever depict Vampirella on paper. His depictions of Vampirella were as much fine art as comic art and had a level of maturity and sexiness that very few artists have ever been able to match. I am extremely fortunate to own 2 Vampirella originals from Jose and they are without question 2 of my favorite pieces of original comic art in my entire collection. One of the great things about Vampirella is just how long the character has been around. Vampirella's entire body of work really gives one the ability to see the stylistic changes that occurred with bad girl art, and the bad girl genre in general, as the years passed by and even tho the genre has changed pretty dramatically over the years, Jose's Vampirella work stands the test of time and doesnt feel dated at all and that is ultimately one of the true tests of real quality artwork. While this book has a ton of amazing Vampirella art, it also has a lot of Jose's other art, which was a nice touch by Dynamite as they could have easily just made this about Jose's Vampirella work, thus making it the 4th art book in the Vampirella art book line and while that still would have been an amazing book, it wouldn't have been as rich or enjoyable as this art book wound up being. Unfortunately, Jose passed away in March of 2009, but he will be long remembered for the amazing artwork that he produced and Dynamite did just an outstanding job producing a book that is worthy of Jose and one I think Jose himself would have been very proud of! Bottom line - Dynamite has done it once again!. They have produced yet another amazing art book, one that I consider an absolute must buy. Jose Gonzalez was without question one of the premiere artists of his time and his Vampirella work is easily some of the best Vampirella work ever produced. If your a fan of Jose Gonzalez or even just a fan of Vampirella, you really owe it to yourself to add this art book to your collection. 5 Stars!!!

Editado en tapa dura y buen tamaño (un poco más de A4), este libro es un amplio repaso a la trayectoria de José González que, pese a tener texto (unas 10-12 páginas de biografía general, así como algunas páginas más a lo largo del libro presentando etapas importantes de su carrera, todo ello EN INGLÉS, por supuesto), presta la mayor atención al apartado gráfico, que incluye reproducciones de originales de sus cómics, ilustraciones principalmente a toda página salvo casos en los que aparecen tres o cuatro por página (la mayoría en blanco y negro original, que González prefería para sus trabajos, aunque hay muchas en color, como las de portadas de libros realizadas por él), encargos (las famosas "private comissions") , etc. No aparecen cómics completos con la excepción de tres aventuras de Vampirella ("Return Trip", "The Spawn of the Sun Beast" y "The Wrathmore Curse") y una corta historia romántica de 3 páginas creada para el mercado británico, siendo el libro por tanto no una antología de cómics , sino sobre todo un catálogo de ilustraciones y páginas sueltas escogidas de la obra de González. La selección es variada, dedicando espacio a sus portafolios con retratos de famosas estrellas de cine (especialmente su adorada Marilyn Monroe), a las portadas de libros, a las revistas románticas para chicas del mercado británico para las que trabajó durante años, y a algunos de sus trabajos primerizos o más desconocidos. Pero la gran protagonista del libro es Vampirella : Las ilustraciones protagonizadas por este personaje, la reproducción de páginas de sus cómics y las realizadas por encargo con ella de protagonista ocupan más de un tercio del volumen, lo cual es lógico tratándose de su trabajo más famoso , con diferencia. La calidad de reproducción es buena salvo en algunos "frontis" de las historias de Warren o ciertas portadas de antiguas revistas británicas, probablemente reproducidos a partir de materiales no muy bien conservados, pero son muy pocas excepciones en un libro bastante cuidado en ese aspecto. En general es un libro muy recomendable para los fans de Pepe González y de su Vampirella en particular. No le pongo cinco estrellas porque me hubiera gustado precisamente que la famosa vampira no acaparase tantas páginas y se prestara más atención a los trabajos poco conocidos del autor, pero comprendo que eso perjudicaría las ventas del libro y quizá decepcionaría a sus fans.

Molto bello. Rimane la voglia di sfogliare altre pagine, il che è tutto dire. Gonzales è un grande artista molto elegante e molto classico. Appello: giovani illustratori-fumettisti guardate a questi artisti, come anche i Rockwell, Al Parker, McGinnis, guardate solo il meglio come raccomandava Benvenuto Cellini nel suo manuale di pittura secoli fa. Non guardate questi disegnatori moderni che producono mostri per ignoranza dell'anatomia mascherata da espressionismo mi riferisco alle valanghe di supereroi e fiabe impressionanti per bambini...Cmq l'eleganza deve restare per pochi, quindi fate come volete, non seguite il mio consiglio... Una piccola osservazione per l'editore Dynamite che sul dorso ha messo un patacca gialla con il suo logo. Deturpa la mia libreria. Il gusto ormai si è perso... non c'è nulla da fare forse un giorno se potrò permettermelo comprerò la prima edizione di questo magnifico libro. Quando ancora esisteva il gusto... e buoni mostri agli altri.

Conocí el arte de Pepe González a través de Vampirella. Este es uno de esos raros casos en los que un artista tiene más peso sobre un personaje que el creador mismo pero Pepe González definió al icono de horror y de los comics que Vampirella es el día de hoy. José "Pepe" González es uno de mis artistas favoritos. Sumamente talentoso, conocedor de la anatomía femenina y un artista capaz de congelar el tiempo en un instante en específico. Aunque su arte es ya en sí una garantía, el libro es una excelente recopilación de su trabajo, desde bocetos, trabajos a lápiz, su trabajo comercial, encargos, etc. Ampliamente recomendable.

Amazing art collection from Jose Gonzalez Big hardcover book with a-lot of stories and art from this great artist! I would have given it a 5 stars but it came without any wrapping and had a little minor dent on the cover! Otherwise I’m really happy with the book!

Para os fãs de 'Pepe', um prato cheio. Muitas informações e muito conteúdo de material artístico.

Absolutely stunning work from a talented/gifted artist. Not just his Vampirella work, but his vast career and breadth of his artist achievements. A huge inspiration for fans and artists alike.

Rispetto a quanto letto nelle precedenti recensioni, devo dire che lo consiglio senza riserva. Un valido contributo sotto il profilo storico, e artistico. Chiaramente il desiderio è sempre quello di possedere più materiale possibile, in un'unica soluzione ma questo ovviamente, non è possibile. Se trovo altro materiale su Jose Gonzalez lo comprerò sicuramente.

Il primo volume interamente dedicato a uno dei più straordinari illustratori spagnoli. Non solo un'ampia galleria dedicata alla sua splendida Vampirella (da sola varrebbe l'acquisto), ma centinaia di opere che testimoniano il grande talento e l'eleganza di questo raffinato artista, coprendo la sua intera carriera. Un libro da non perdere... e custodire gelosamente!

Buen libro, recoge muchas ilustraciones. Calidad de edición y de interés. Imprescindible para los seguidores del gran artista José Gonzalez.

Me gusto mucho el libro, el arte de esta personaje me fascino y lo conocí por el personaje de vampirella. Es un libro que debes que tener en la colección si eres fan del dibujante o de Vampirella.

Es un producto de muy buena y alta calidad, recomendaría comprarlo físicamente. Y también sugiero ver en una tablet la edición Kindle.

A great archive from an extraordinary and supremely talented illustrator artist. A great book to own and enjoy over and over again. Methinks I am going to do the unthinkable ; cut out a coupla pages and frame them !!

Buon volume, ma mi aspettavo di più. Se dovessi ricomprarlo non lo acquisterei di nuovo. E' ben curato nella grafica, ma aspettavo di più nei contenuti. Ma forse è solo una mia impressione.

Discover more about the artist who have us the classic campy covers we all know and love. In words and images we get a wonderful insight into this man's life and art.

Gran producto que responde a las expectativas generadas. Envio puntual. Transacion muy eficiente

A terrific book about a wonderful artist who made a lasting impression in the pop culture world of comics and beyond. Highly recommended!

Só posso dizer maravilhoso. O trabalho deste grande artista é excepcional.

Excelente obra! Valeu cada centavo.

Amazing!!!

un libro extraordinario que completa la vida y obra de un gran artista aunque esté en el idioma shakespiriano,que tomen ejemplo y lo editen en la lengua de el Quijote

Gran libro sobre un artista irrepetible

Awesome book! Must have for collectors!

ya conocía el libro y por eso lo pedí. Me ha gustado. se lo recomendaría a todos los aficionados al comic.

Un trabajo extraordinario. Muy buena presentación, buen papel, El estudio de David roach es de un gran nivel y precisión.

Magnifique compte rendus de la carrière d'un dessinateur exemplaire di 20eme siécle. La femme est Reine, Déesse et Sex Symbole en fractruce avec so temps

Fantastico todo el trabajo de documentacion grafica en toda la obra. El general un volumen bastante representativo de la obra de pepe.

Awesome book with some really amazing artwork from the Warren years as well as Spanish comics / books as well as UK comics from the 50s and 60s. Not too much about the artist though and not too many pictures of him either. A number of original comic book pages are included as well as crisp reproductions of the work from various periods. The book contains a lot of drawings of Vampirella, perhaps too many - wish there had been even more original art from the UK comics as well as book covers. Good quality book from Dynamite and a sort of companion to the soon to be released, Artist edition with a huge selection of original pages from Vampirella.