More Vintage Albert Bigley Paintings Revealed! 1979 MESSterpieces! Hulk! Dr. Strange!

It has been awhile since I threw a lingering light on my past forays into brush-and-canvas painting, but, thanks to a recent feverish rampage in my attic, here are three unearthed painted pictures from my 9th-grade past! First up: A 1980 acrylic rendering of ol' Captain America himself, based on a then-current cover of Cap's own mag! Click each image to enlarge!

My 1980 painting (above, left) and John Byrne's cover (right) for
CAPTAIN AMERICA #238! Which do you prefer? Don't answer that.

Next up is another acrylic paining, whipped up by me in late 1979! Here is Dr. Strange, looking a bit elongated and gaunt, as he casts a spell over an entranced audience! I recall creating tons of glazes for applying over the hands and circular "spell" areas! This painting was even part of a student art display event at my high school! Yow.

Are those Doc's hands, or inflated sausages on display?! The idea of
getting reference, or having somebody pose their
hands similarly for me? At that time, I thought
that would be copying and cheating!

And, finally (and mercifully,) here is a 1979 Hulk image, painted in acrylic on flat canvas board! The Hulk breaks free from a dark prison, with an image of the "Banner-to-Hulk" transformation posted overhead! You can tell I used Bill Bixby (then the star of the INCREDIBLE HULK TV series) as my inspiration for that lead face! I was also influenced by my newly-acquired FANTASTIC FOUR index, with Jim Steranko's amazing cover painting! Note Jim's almost monochromatic orange area (with the facial close-ups) on his cover below...These paintings aren't bad for a 15-year-old comic artist wannabee, but...

My 1979 painting (above, left) and Steranko's influential FF INDEX cover painting (right)!

1982 "Don Bigley Meets The Hulk" Comic Strip! Albert Bigley Art! Bill Bixby? Marvel Comics?

Not sure if this was part of a trio of hand-drawn comic-strip newspaper ads for my father's tire shop, but here is my (age 17) own illustrated tale of Dad Don Bigley meeting the Incredible Hulk! Silly and inspired by Marvel's satire book NOT BRAND ECHH, this is one odd little story, coming off like a demented 70s "Hostess Fruit Pie" comics ad! I thought it was funny to depict my father as constantly being draped in heavy shadow, as if he was a mysterious figure pulling stings from behind the scenes! Click to enlarge if ya really must!

The Early Painted Art of Albert Bigley! Hulk! Captain America! Marvel Comics!

At long last! I was finally able to photograph these over-sized (around 2 by 3 feet) masterpieces for the panting public to view! That first Hulk "origin" image was painted by me in late 1978, with tempera paints, based on and inspired by the ubiquitous HULK magazine covers painted by Ken Barr, Bob Larkin, and others! Done simply on drug store poster board (then fully framed under glass yet!), I spent weeks studying shading, cast light, rim lighting, even Bill Bixby's caricature from a recent issue of MAD! Don't laugh too much now--this won not only first place in my 8th grade school-wide art show, but GRAND PRIZE as well! Heh. Click each image to enlarge!

Below is the follow-up painting. Based on a 60s TALES TO ASTONISH tale  (I saw the MARVEL SUPERHEROES cartoon adaptation rerun, not the original comic at the time), I included all the players from that comic! The Leader, Watcher (lifted from the cover of SON OF ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS). A big improvement over the debut painting (same media, all bought from the local Revco. I can still smell that pungent egg-based tempera paint!), this baby won awards and acclaim at the local "Arts in the Park" 1979 spring event! It was a small town.

I've skipped ahead here, as I could not locate a few paintings, but this Captain America image was done in early 1980, using acrylics this time, still, alas, on cheap poster board (my discovering canvas was right around the corner)! Based on then-recent CAPTAIN AMERICA comics, I recall struggling to get more "pop" and realism into that mountain range in the background. Didn't work. You can even see the slathered-on layers used in this one, as I made constant "improvements" over and over...Never entered in any contests, but seen widely in my 9th grade "Art 1" class, this piece still made the rounds!

It's fun to look back at my early attempts to be like the painted cover superstars of the day, but now I marvel at the amount of time I could put into these pieces, and still make good grades in school, draw other things, read, enjoy hobbies, experiment with other art mediums, etc...None of it ever felt like work or making time for each discipline...Now it seems hard to multi task for only TWO projects running concurrently!

Albert Bigley THOR Original Art? Shirley Bigley Scripts! Bill Bixby Gets Zapped!

This HAS to be the oddest piece of art from my own archives I've ever run. Inspired by NOT BRAND ECHH, Marvel Comic's parody and humor magazine, I drew this little beauty, but left the word balloons blank, handing over the Stan Lee-like scripting chores to my Mom, Shirley! She took the ball and ran with it, giving Stan Lee a run for his money! You now get a 1980 titanic tale featuring Lou Ferrigno, Bil Bixby (then the stars, of course, of the TV series INCREDIBLE HULK), Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the Mighty Thor! Huh? Click to enlarge, if ya must!

My 500th Post! What a Way to Celebrate! 1980 Albert Bigley Art! Captain America and Bill Bixby?!

An old high school pal (thanks, FaceBook!) sent me these in-class drawings I did, circa 1980. Captain America,  Scarlet Witch, and--Bill Bixby?!

Yep. I used to love to caricature Bill, due to the then-recent HULK TV show spoof in MAD magazine drawn by Angelo Torres! Click to enlarge and start the celebrating!