HOUDINI CONNECTIONS
TOPIC
JIM STERANKO
A cult figure in the world of action comics
since the Sixties
JIM STERANKO
also made a significant contribution to the world of Escape Artistry
when, in October 1964 he published what is still the best thesis on
Escapology
in the leading 'magazine for magicians' of the period, Genii.
STERANKO'S
WORLD OF ESCAPES
is a forty-eight page article, full of technical information, profusely
illustrated with photos and an exciting range of his own early drawings
(above)
each showing a proposed escape challenge.
As far as I can
discover, this article has never been reprinted.
For Escape Artists and admirers of STERANKO
a reprint is long overdue
Chapter headings for this comprehensive review of the subject include:
Tools, tricks and techniques of lock-picking
Rope, chains and straitjackets
How to be a jail-breaker
Dynamic magic
Preoccupation with peril
In
the introduction the young STERANKO makes a warm acknowledgement to
ROBERT PAOLINI his
"... life-long friend and colleague."
and (below and right)
Steranko with Robert Paolini
CAN YOU ADD MORE ABOUT STRANKO TODAY?
With a tremendous respect for his artwork and an international fan-base, it is not surprising that there are several excellent Steranko web sites.
I try to stay up-to-date but sites come and go - and even on my site links to other people die without warning. Somewhere there was a comprehensive list of Steranko books. It was at /www.budplant.com which carried a whole range of information including Steranko's personal reaction in the wake of 9/11 'STERANKO WAGES WAR ON COMIX TERRORISM' - but that has gone or at least moved.
Sometime soon I will make a search and try to locate it. In the meantime ...... an interesting site gives some information about Steranko books available http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Nebula/8650/
Even more excitingly, news about a small new site promised a direct STERANKO web site via http://www.steranko.com/
However, that has remained an opening page and no more, since 2004. I keep an eye on it in case it blossoms (Jim June 2010)
MORE ON ESCAPOLOGY
Follow this link for different aspects of the general topic.
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