GENE BILBREW REVEALED: The Unsung Legacy of a Fetish Art Pioneer: 1 (African American Artists)

The media could not be loaded.  In the event that this author had not existed, we would have had to create him.If it were not for his current drive to raise awareness of an area of art which has hitherto (apart from a couple of projects from Taschen) been neglected to the point of virtually no return; Eric Stanton, Gene Bilbrew and the whole, magnificently seedy history of the ‘Bizarre Underground’ would have faded into the realms of the forgotten.As I write this, he has four publications available:1. Sweeter Gwen - based on the layout format of the 1963 collected edition, this new incarnation has been ‘remastered’ from material made available through working closely with Stanton’s family, and is a fantastically crisp presentation of the artwork with many inconsistencies and errors (reversed panels etc.) now corrected. Printed on a nice cream coloured stock.2. Gene Bilbrew Revealed - incredible 280 page look at the life and legacy of one of the ‘big two’ fetish art pioneers of the 1950’s. Packed with detail of Bilbrew’s early life, his musical career with the Basin Street Boys, involvement with the Times Square mobster, Eddie Mishkin and his death in 1974 the book is filled to overflowing with page after page of black and white, pen and ink and wash, illustrations that are almost impossible to gather together in any other way without a hefty bank loan.3. The Return of Gwendoline - Stanton again, and again a beautifully crisp presentation of the pencil art. Included also is the ‘Deborah’ strip which appeared in the periodical ‘Exotique’ in 1957, and this in particular has the signs of a careful hand being employed in the rescanning. Grey washes are lush and balanced perfectly to avoid any muddy blacking. Topped off with a selection of other Stanton pieces from the period.4. Eric Stanton and the History of the Bizarre Underground - The piece de resistance is a 280 Page b/w and colour hardback that covers everything you would wish to know about the man and his place in the history of fetish art. From his early interest in comics to his meetings with Klaw and Burtman, his studio sharing with Spiderman creator Steve Ditko, family life, book covers and an exhaustive collectors guide, if you have an interest in the, pre hardcore, fetish art scene then you really must get this book!Overall, the four books present a nice, sizeable chunk of material for anyone wishing to know more about the Underground history of America in the 1950’s, and the two men who were instrumental in its advancement.The hardback is a beautiful object, as well as informative, with illustrated endpapers and dustcovers and is well worth the asking price.The three paperbacks are, despite being Amazon’s own ‘print on demand’ items, beautifully crisp, and reproduced very nicely throughout, possibly due to the care taken by the author in preparing for print.Unlike some reviewers I had no issues with the Bilbrew book. This would indicate a problem at the printing house - return and replace.Either way, considering the rarity of the contents as well, these are a steal.As a disclaimer, I do not know the author, and purchased all four books because of my interest in the subject - an excellent purchase... ‘nuff said.

Brilliant account of Gene Bilbrew. Immaculately researched yet very readable. Lots of rare illustrations. An absolute treat and a bargain. Get it! The author is doing an amazing job of documenting this movement of outsider art. More!

I had never heard of Gene Bilbrew until I acquired this publication, now I know the sad and ultimately tragic life of a fetish art pioneer. Beautifully reproduced artwork helps bring his artistic brilliance to the audience it deserves. I recommend this without a moments hesitation, bravo Mr Seves on a fine book!

Content is awesome but the print is cut off on some pages near front of book. Printing or page setting of this book is faulty.

Great book with great pictures

Brilliant and informative insight. Must buy for any serious or partial pervert.

All the classics!

I wish this book was fully in colour, but it's still great. Packed with information about Bilbrew and tons of illustrations.Glad to add it to my collection. I recommend this book.

I'm very happy to be able to exlpore such great artist through this book.

And yes, the artwork is amazing and that by itself puts this book's value beyond its purchase price. As I write this I have only just cracked the volume and I still have nearly the whole story to read. But so far I'm impressed by the effort the author expended in providing as complete as possible a picture of the artist. I've read the same author's work on Eric Stanton, and I think it's safe to say he's outdone himself with this one.

Very good book, as usual with Richard Perez as author!

As the cover shows, lots of 1950 ~ 1960 full page art and cover work, some writings on Bilbrew and his life. Very pleased with this & all the Stilletto artwork! Definitely Adult Reading