The piece is from Kelly’s Eerie Visions portfolio and Eerie #80 (cover), both from 1977.
(Images via eBay)
Archive for the 'Ken Kelly' Category
Ken Kelly Iron-On Transfer (Roach Studios, 1976)
Published April 4, 2016 '70s Decor/Design/Fashion , Fantasy Art , Iron-on Transfers , Ken Kelly , Roach Studios Leave a CommentAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons Role Playing Dioramas (NSI, 1983)
Published March 9, 2016 D&D , D&D Non-Gaming Merchandise , Ken Kelly 2 Comments
From the makers of the AD&D Cool, Cool Candles and the AD&D Woodburning Set (!). The diorama set includes “semi-precious stones and foil for decorating”! Looks like the same art used for the LJN action figure cards. The backgrounds are very well done and might be the work of Ken Kelly.
Crossbows and Catapults: Battling Giant Minotaur (Lakeside, 1984)
Published January 25, 2016 Board Games/Tabletop Games , Crossbows and Catapults , Ken Kelly 3 Comments
I had Crossbows and Catapults, but I forgot about all the expansion sets. It’s obvious now that the game, while revolutionary in its way, was a simplified, physical expression of D&D. The problem with pen and paper role-playing is that you need time to play and people to play with. Toy companies began to exploit this limitation early on. Still, Lakeside’s “the fun is only limited by your imagination” is a crude mockery of TSR’s “products of your imagination” motto. You don’t need imagination to play Crossbows and Catapults. You just need what’s in the box.
There was apparently a set that included both the Cyclops and the Minotaur, and the sprawling box art (below) was scanned by some kind soul at Board Game Geek. The artist is Ken Kelly, who was illustrating LJN’s AD&D toy line at the same time. Kelly also did the art for the Crossbows and Catapults: Trojan Horse (1984) expansion set.
I wrote a piece on how Kelly changed the toy industry here.
(Images via eBay)
The 1975 Warren Awards: Ken Kelly, Berni Wrightson, Alex Toth, and More
Published August 26, 2015 Comic Books , Ken Kelly , Magazines/Zines , Warren Publishing Leave a Comment
They’re all legends. In fact, I just wrote a piece on Kelly for Warpo Toys called Ken Kelly and the Golden Age of Toy Art. Please check it out. If you share the post on Facebook and/or Twitter with the hashtag #CthulhuIsComing, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win an autographed (by Kelly!) Legends of Cthulhu coloring book. Kelly, if you didn’t know, did the spectacular art for Warpo’s Legends of Cthulhu line.
(Images via Booksteve’s Library)
Micronauts: Centaurus and Kronos (Mego, 1979)
Published July 31, 2015 Ken Kelly , Mego , Micronauts 1 Comment
Carded Antron, Membros, and Repto are here. That’s all the aliens except for Lobros. Ken Kelly changed the nature of toy art, and arguably the nature of action figures, with these paintings.
Eerie Visions Art Portfolio by Ken Kelly (Earth Art Graphics, 1977)
Published January 22, 2015 Fantasy Art , Ken Kelly , Sci-Fi/Space Art 1 Comment
Limited edition (1100 copies) ten plate portfolio signed by the artist. All of the pieces here originally appeared on Creepy and Eerie covers except plates one (“Lucy”) and eight (“All Hallow’s Eve”), which I believe are original to this portfolio. Earth Art subsequently released posters featuring the original works (seen below). Interestingly, according to the seller, the posters were given away as carnival prizes.
Eerie Jigsaw Puzzle (Milton Bradley, 1977)
Published January 22, 2015 Comic Books , Jigsaw Puzzles , Ken Kelly , Sci-Fi/Space Art , Warren Publishing 2 Comments
There were six puzzles in the series, per the entry below from the 1979 Milton Bradley catalog*. I’ve got a close-up of another puzzle here.
The brilliant art on the one above is from Ken Kelly for Eerie #64. Kelly’s cover work is featured on four of the six puzzles.
*The blurb reads
This spine-chilling puzzle assortment has long been wanted by all our fans of the macabre and grotesque. From Warren Publications “Eerie” and “Creepy” comic series, we present in puzzle form, six cover illustrations that are considered to be classics by comic book collectors…
“Considered to be classics by comic collectors” is a backhanded compliment, isn’t it?
(Images via eBay)
LJN’s Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Toys: Tiamat – Five Headed Evil Dragon (1984)
Published November 3, 2014 D&D Non-Gaming Merchandise , D&D Toys , Ken Kelly , LJN Toys 3 Comments
Ken Kelly Cover Art for Richard Avery’s The Expendables (1975 – 1976)
Published February 18, 2014 Fantasy Art , Frank Frazetta , Ken Kelly , Sci-Fi/Space Art 8 Comments
Ken Kelly and Frank Frazetta are family, and Kelly grew up admiring the work of his “Uncle Frank.” The Frazetta style—the overwhelmingly imperiled Romantic hero set against a backdrop of otherworldly colors and atmosphere—is obvious here.
Kelly would never completely escape his mentor’s shadow, but a lot of his sci-fi work is wonderfully unique. These are some of his earliest covers.
2 Warps to Neptune 