THE GREAT JACK DAVIS

[monsterjoe]

WITH THE TOPPS FRANKENSTEIN STICKERS I WAS VERY LUCKY AND FOUND A DEALER WHO HAD UNOPENED BOXES BACK IN THE MID 80'S. I HAVE A COUPLE GEM SETS FROM PACKS AND AN UNOPENED BOX IN MY COLLECTION. TERROR TALES WAS MUCH HARDER AND TOOK YEARS TO COMPLETE A HIGH GRADE SET, I DO HAVE THE DISPLAY BOX AND A FEW SEALED PACKS.

[Leeman13]

I keep finding fantastic threads on this site!

I love all of Davis' art from old EC and MAD, but my favorite art of his is actually the monsters from the old Slim Jim ads.  I have been trying to find quality scans of any of that original artwork off and on for many years now.

[Scary Terry]

He keeps on tickin'!

http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/3031-jack-davis-s-new-mad-world-illustrations

[horrorhunter]

I keep finding fantastic threads on this site!

I love all of Davis' art from old EC and MAD, but my favorite art of his is actually the monsters from the old Slim Jim ads.  I have been trying to find quality scans of any of that original artwork off and on for many years now.

Not original art but here are pics of the cool ads. 

[haveapotato]

John worked for several companies throughout his career, but he was THE MAN at Cracked where they did For Monsters Only, Monster Party, and various monster issues of Cracked. I really enjoyed his Kull from Marvel back in the early '70s. John and Marie Severin did some excellent comic book work over the years.

The war comics that he drew for Kurtzman in the 50s are also among the best in the genre. (Same can be said for Davis too, I might add)

[jimm]

Those Kurtzman EC war covers...doesn't get any better!

[jollygorilla]

Jack Did do the mad monster party designs

[Hepcat]

Yes, that's what I had thought too!

[haveapotato]

Jack is really a treasure. Not only one of the best cartoonists of the 20th century, but certainly one of the best and most important artists in general. There was no precedent for his comic book work when he came on the scene in the 50s, and no comic book artist has bettered him in subsequent years. He truly elevated the art form. Particularly his use of negative space stands out to me.

[RAGMAN]

This thread is incredible. I saw Jack's work for the first time when I was about 10 years old. We were on a family road trip and had stopped at a relative's house in Lubbock, Texas. A distant cousin of mine, whom I had just met, showed me his MOUNTAIN of vintage MAD magazines. I began tearing through them and realized that I kept going back to the same illustrations. The ones with these goofy looking characters with sharp facial features buried in pockets of fatty flesh, long skinny oversized feet attached to these noodly long, skinny legs, etc. I couldn't take my eyes off of them. They were larger than life and to say they left a sizable impression on my young mind would be a major understatement. He was the first artist that I remember being able to identify his work when I would see it from that point forward. His style was his own and there was no mistaking it for someone else's. Such an amazing artist.

It's fitting that the first piece of Mr. Davis's art in this thread is the 6' poster Daniel shared. It was the sole inspiration for my first sculpture and mask. It has always been, to me, the perfect representation of "The Monster" and by far Jack's best piece. Staring at that drawing day in and out while sculpting brought back those exact same feelings I had sitting in my cousin's room looking at the man's work for the first time. And that was 26 years ago. Just an unbelievable experience from start to finish.

I've since molded him and produced a Urethane Master copy and I'm a few weeks out from production but here's a couple of quick pics of the sculpt.

I call him...










And thanks for sharing so much of his work in the thread. I had no clue about some of the cards, etc., so it's 2014 and I'm STILL seeing new work of Jack's. Too freakin' cool.

Later,
~Blue

[60sThru80s]

A Jack Davis coincidence that I'd like to share on a personal level, as a testament to his talent:

I was a fan of his art starting in my teens in the early 70s, especially via MAD magazine, and remain a fan today. And I'm keenly aware that my Mad Monster Party avatar would not exist without him.

Last weekend I was searching through a box of my mother's memorabilia and came across an advertisement she'd cut out of a magazine back in 1968. The reason she cut it out and put it in the box was because of some stupid comment I made about the advert when I was 6 years old. You know how mothers are....

Guess what...it just happened to be a Jack Davis advert. Even though I was way too young to know anything yet about his name or artwork, I apparently spotted his quality even at that age. I don't remember making the comment and don't remember my mother cutting it out of the magazine. But I just find it indicative today to know that, at 6 years old, I was able to peg Jack Davis out of the crowd, in ignorance. And without knowing that I would eventually grow up admiring him so much.

The randomness of this coincidence makes me realize how prolific he must have been during the late 60s, so that a little boy and one-day-future fan would single out his artwork long before he knew the name "Jack Davis."
Even scrutinizing this advertisement 46 years later, I'm reminded of why he's so great. With almost every facial expression he drew, you couldn't help but laugh out loud. In this case, I particularly love the kid dumping oatmeal on his head!

[Monolith]

60's thru 80's- nice story.

I love Jack Davis's work. Here's something he did for an indie rock band called Sex Clark Five featuring some monsters.

[Haunted hearse]

On MeTV they replay "F Troop", I'm certain a drawing they have during the credits (2nd Season) is a Jack Davis creation.

[Monolith]

Here's a Jack Davis Bigfoot from 1959...

[RAGMAN]

Here's a Jack Davis Bigfoot from 1959...

Great find! And as cool as Bigfoot looks I think the best part of the piece is the Indian. Love it!