MARLON BRANDO by Bob Kessel

Marlon Brando, pictured here in motorcycle hat and jacket in the 1950′s movie , “THE WILD ONE”.
Brando is the leader of a motorcycle gang.
An old man asks him,  “Where are you going?”
Brando replies, “Going somewhere is for squares. We just go.”

Bob Kessel has created a new art series titled, “AMERICAN ICONS” featuring a picture of Marlon Brando. The pictures are available as limited edition fine art prints, signed and numbered by the artist. Contact Bob Kessel for prices and availability.

Bob Kessel’s American Icons art series also includes Marilyn Monroe, Miles Davis, Charles Bukowski, Muhammad Ali, Elvis Presley, John F Kennedy and many more.

8th Man Print By Bob Kessel

Shown above; 8th Man smoking an atomic cigarette by Bob Kessel. 8th Man, also known as 8 Man (Eitoman), was an animated cartoon that appeared in the 1960s. In the middle of every episode, 8th Man would run out of energy and need to stop and smoke an atomic cigarette (which he kept in his belt buckle secret compartment) to restore his energy. Back in the sixties this was acceptable in a cartoon for kids. Today it would be considered politically incorrect. This picture is available as a limited edition fine art print by Bob Kessel. Contact the artist for pricing and availability. More pictures of 8th Man and Astroboy and other Japanese characters can be seen in the art series “KAIJU” (Japanese monsters) and “FUTURISM” by Bob Kessel.

8th Man was a Japanese “manga” or comic strip which first appeared on a weekly basis in May of 1963. Written by Kazumasa Hirai and drawn by 28 year old artist, Jiro Kuwata, 8-Man told the story of Detective Hachiro Azuma, who was killed by the notorious gangster Mukade and resurrected by Dr. Tani in the form of a human-looking robot.

The series proved to be so popular that TCJ Animation produced 56 animated episodes of 8-Man’s nuclear-age escapades. On November 7, 1963 – 8-man made his television debut in Japan! Within two years (or less) a freshly dubbed 8th Man was showing in American living rooms.

8th Man is hands-down my most favorite animated series (but you’ve probably guessed that already!) Truly ahead of its time, 8th Man pioneered many of the elements that have distinguished Japanese Anime for years until the present. So did Astroboy, but this is not his page, ok? Despite the “limited-action” and low cel count, even in the earliest works of 60′s Anime, we see that the inventive Japanese went beyond the one-dimensional mind-set of the American television industry animation houses and their shallow “talking animal” toons. And in the most ingenious manner applied cinematic technique to their TV animated works. Through the use of simple yet clever camera methods – cut, pan, focus & zoom were used to create tension, excitment, or suspense. Characters were manipulated inside the frame as never before with highly exaggerated and 3-D in-your-face action!

But more than this, the Japanese totally revolutionized that industry with stories and scripting that went beyond children’s ideas and introduced passion, pathos, and personality into the world arena of TV animation, filling the void left by the cat-&-mouse slapstick humor prevelant in American TV animation at that time.
Yes, 8th Man, Prince Planet, Astroboy and others were the dawn of a new age of TV animation where the players could laugh, cry, hurt, and even die…were these concepts too strong for young children? Perhaps. Many people who testify of their childhood experiences with these early anime-works will state they were deeply moved and thus, well remember these works as they have seemed to make more than a lasting impression…

RODAPOVA by Bob Kessel

Bob Kessel drew this illustration for a New York Times article on the growing rumors that tennis players Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova were an item.

Bob Kessel has created a picture of Muhammad Ali immortalizing the iconic image of Ali standing over Sonny Liston at the end of their famous fight as part of his “American Icons” art series. It is available as a limited edition art prints and originals. Contact Bob Kessel for prices and availability.

Jersey Joe presided over a fight that even today still contains a mystery, a short fight that has become the most written about and talked about of all time. It lasted one minute and 42 seconds only. Ali threw three punches of note, Liston none at all. The first came almost before the bell had finished ringing, a stiff right cross. The second was a clip to Liston’s head, again with the right hand that appeared to stun him. The third, which practically no one, including Liston himself, even saw in real time was a flashing right hadn’t that lifted Liston’s left leg and sent him to the canvas for a long count.

The punch, which Ali was quick to call the anchor punch, has been analyzed endlessly. Seen now with the benefit of slow motion technology. It is exquisitely timed and certainly concussive almost like the blow of a martial artist. Liston shakes and slumps to the floor. Only sonny would ever truly know what effect it had.

The punch had certainly duped the crowd. The columnist jimmy cannon proclaimed from ringside that “it wouldn’t have dented a grape…” the audience became convinced the fight was fixed a view that became popular over the following months. “Boxing wants no more of Liston,” intoned the ring magazine. Ali himself said afterwards: “the punch jarred him. It was a good punch but I didn’t think I hit him so hard he couldn’t get up.”

Ali stood over Liston, screaming at him to stand up and fight. Sonny couldn’t or wouldn’t. Jersey Joe Walcott failed to get Ali to a neutral corner. Transfixed by Ali’s manic behavior, Walcott didn’t realize Liston had been on the floor for a full 17 seconds by the time he finally got to his feet.

Walcott wiped down sonny’s gloves and ordered the fighters to resume. Only when a journalist at ringside alerted him to the fact Liston had been counted out by the timekeeper did Walcott signal the fight was over. For the second time, an ali-vs-liston bout concluded in chaos.

Bob kessel’s American Icons art series also includes Marilyn Monroe, Miles Davis, Charles Bukowski, Marlon Brando, Elvis Presley, John F Kennedy and many more.