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Running through July 25 at Fantagraphics, “Now Serving Cheesecake: The Classic Art

Published 7:00 am Monday, September 24, 2012

Though it covers just one wall, don't let the size of the gallery fool you; after factoring in compilation books the amount of drawings are seemingly endless, and the stories behind the WWII veteran artists are fascinating.
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Though it covers just one wall, don't let the size of the gallery fool you; after factoring in compilation books the amount of drawings are seemingly endless, and the stories behind the WWII veteran artists are fascinating.
Though it covers just one wall, don't let the size of the gallery fool you; after factoring in compilation books the amount of drawings are seemingly endless, and the stories behind the WWII veteran artists are fascinating.
Jack Cole, who was famed for creating The Plastic Man prior to WWII, was hired on by Hugh Hefner to contribute to Playboy such as here in this early issue. Hefner credits Cole with helping to create the look and feel of Playboy from the beginning.
An original drawing by Jack Cole, who would often sign his pinup drawings as Jake.
Dan Decarlo, who was responsible for creating The Archies, Josie and The Pussycats and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, also drew gag pinup comics to make extra money.
A spread included in a book featuring Bill Ward, who was set apart from his colleagues based on his skilled use of the conte crayon.
An original Bill Ward sketch, which featured a common chasing theme. Though they seemed to exploit the female form, gag comics mocked the neanderthal mentality of men just as often.
Another book chronicling the 1950s pinup comic phenomenon.
Many of Dan DeCarlo's pinups, such as this one here, would closely mirror his mainstream female characters such as Betty and Veronica.
As is seen in this original Bill Wenzel cartoon, spanking was another common theme in gag pinup drawings.
Fantagraphics publishes and sells various compilation books, formatted to mirror original publication sizes and styles, for all five of the artists showcased at the exhibit.
As in this original Dan DeCarlo drawing, gag jokes were often scribbled onto the scenes as an excuse for the risque artwork.
A third common theme throughout pinup comics, exhibited in this original Bill Ward drawing, was that of the lecherous boss.
Having been in business for more than 30 years, Fantagraphics is the fifth largest comics manufacturer in the US and largest Alternative Comix publisher and distributer in the world.
Bill Wenzel was the most prolific and successful cartoon pinup artist for over three decades, contributing to virtually every humor and mens magazine in print.
Dan DeCarlo rose to fame within the Air Force as an artist painting pinup women on nose-cones for pilots.

Running through July 25 at Fantagraphics, “Now Serving Cheesecake: The Classic Art of Cartoon Pin-up” features original sketches by five cartoon artists from the classic era of Playboy and other men’s magazines. Photos and notes by Nick Feldman.Published on July 11, 2008

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