STEVE HOLLAND The Torn Shirt Sessions

Now for the first time, the surviving reference photos of model Steve Holland's sessions with James Bama, Bob Larkin and Joe DeVito. The very first photos for Bama's initial painting, The Man of Bronze, and dozens in between, down to the very last session where (still fit at 66) Holland posed for Joe DeVito's The Frightened Fish. When Bama hired his good friend, model Steve Holland to be the new interpretation of pulp hero Doc Savage, he began the first of what would be 62 classic covers for Bantam paperback books. A great many of these are shown here full page, full color -- along with Holland's pose. Holland starred on thousands of magazine, comic book and paperback covers for more than 30 years, working with the greatest illustrators of the day, including Mort Kunstler, Roger Kastel, Peter Caras, Sol Korby, Ron Lesser, and Jack Faragasso. He was The Spider, The Phantom, Tarzan, Conan, Matt Helm, Magnus Robot Fighter, Flash Gordon and dozens more. But of all the characters he portrayed, he is most closely associated with Doc Savage, The Man of Bronze, and that is what this book is all about. Steve Holland's Doc Savage inspired the imagination of legendary illustrators and continues to excite fans more than fifty years after the photos were taken! NOTE: This is NOT a collection of James Bama paintings, but in some ways it still is: some 80 or 90 cover paintings are here, all full page, and most sans the logo and text, taken from the original art. This includes all Holland covers, or most of them anyway, by Bob Larkin and Joe Devito, who took over after Bama's 60+ cover run. Includes a chapter of very cool outtakes.