Mort Künstler | laststandonzombieisland

Tag Archives: Mort Künstler

Combat Gallery Sunday: Give us the Mort, Part IV

Posted on December 14, 2014 by laststandonzombieisland 2 comments

As you are probably aware, I am a huge pulp art and military art fan. One of the best there ever was in the business is the famous Mort Kunstler. In the past I’ve posted several of the Master’s works in the pulp art category from the 1950-60s and have found enough (new to me) ones to make a fourth extensive post. As always with this blog, “click to big up” and feel free to save for posterity.

Without further “adoo”…bring on the Mort!

The Trap

The Decoy Mort Künstler Source Heritage Auctions Stag magazine illustration, September 1958 http://fineart.ha.com/itm/illustration-art/mort-kunstler-american-b-1931-the-nude-decoy-stag-magazine-illustration-september-1958-gouache/p/699-116003.s#1200412004148 Note this is Mort's wife Deborah.

The Decoy by Mort Künstler. Source Heritage Auctions Stag magazine illustration, September 1958 Note this is Mort’s wife Deborah.

The Amazon’s Forbidden Stone Age World Mort Künstler Source Heritage Auctions http://fineart.ha.com/itm/illustration-art/mort-kunstler-american-b-1931-the-amazon-s-forbidden-stone-age-world-male-or-stag-magazine-cover-/p/699-116019.s#1200412004168

The Amazon’s Forbidden Stone Age World by Mort Künstler Source Heritage Auctions

One Man Army They Call ‘The Cong Buster’ Mort Künstler Source Heritage Auctions

Night of the Hyenas Male magazine cover, March 1969 Mort Künstler Source Heritage Auctions

FOR MEN ONLY, March 1963, art by Mort Kunstler Rich Oberg Collection

Harm’s Way, Mort Künstler Stag magazine cover, November 1964 showing Sinking of the Yamato Source Heritage Auctions

Jumping Wildman of the 82nd Airborne, Mort Künstler For Men Only magazine cover, February 1964, Source Heritage Auctions

Headhunters

Captured by the Chief, Stag cover, February 1967 Mort Künstler. Source: Lewis Wayne Gallery who currently has this piece for auction http://www.ebay.com/itm/MORT-KUNSTLER-STAG-MAGAZINE-COVER-CAPTURED-BY-THE-CHIEF-ORIGINAL-ART-1967-/390508753317 . Just where was the chief keeping that 1911 anyway?

Captured by the Chief, Stag cover, February 1967 Mort Künstler. Source: Lewis Wayne Gallery who currently has this piece for auction. Just where was the chief keeping that 1911 anyway?

Arctic Ordeal on the Heartless Rock, True magazine illustration, 1964 Mort Künstler Source Heritage Auctions.

Combat Gallery Sunday: Vive le Mort! Part trois!

Posted on August 17, 2014 by laststandonzombieisland 3 comments

As you are probably aware, I am a huge pulp art and military art fan. One of the best there ever was in the business is the famous Mort Kunstler. In the past I’ve posted several of the Master’s works in the pulp art category from the 1950-60s and have found enough (new to me) ones to make a third extensive post. As always with this blog, click to big up and feel free to save for posterity.

Without further “adoo”…bring on the Mort!

Now this would have been a super intersting method of delvering small X-craft and Chariot type midget subs (sorry, the correct term these days is little people subs) to a target area. The flying boat is a U.S. Navy PBM, the submersible looks a lot like an updated WWII German Biber http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biber_%28submarine%29 and the Aqualung is all 1950s. Now that's cool pulp.

Now this would have been a super interesting method of delivering small X-craft and Chariot type midget subs (sorry, the correct term these days is little people subs) to a target area. The flying boat is a U.S. Navy PBM, the submersible looks a lot like an updated WWII German Biber or Italian Chariot and the Aqualung is all 1950s. Now that’s cool pulp.

Normandy. And no, I don’t think John Hamm was around when Mort drew this one…excellent detail on the M1 carbine though.

Hey it gets cold in the polar regions mate

Frogman v Frogman (big up this one, you’ll want to)

Mort Küntsler (1956) “The Hardboiled Lineup” ….Anyone feeling some Usual Suspects here?

This is actually a beautiful image of martial art.

Venice

Is that a long barreled M3 submachine gun or are you just too hip for this party?

Thats what I’ve always wanted in my trunk is a M1919 Browning .30 cal machine-gun with a remote firing solenoid.

How many times was this Mort pulp from the Woodstock era ‘re-imaged’ in heist and spy flicks?

You gotta love the Tommy gun if nothing else.

“Terror at Chasm Pass”

Combat Gallery Sunday: More Mort

Posted on March 6, 2014 by laststandonzombieisland 5 comments

As you know, I’m a huge fan of Mort Künstler.

Mort cut his teeth on pulp fiction covers and early military pieces before he became the go-to artist for Civil War pieces.

So here are some more of his works to share.

Enjoy

(As always, click for bigger)

You can feel this GI’s love for the Korean winter.

Washington crossing the Deleware, a more accurate version.

Washington crossing the Delaware, a more accurate version.

Always with those pesky partisans.

The great escape

This one makes you smell saltwater. From the looks of it, this is a Douglas TBD-1 Devastator Torpedo bomber…

Dance Dance!

Dutch pilot scrambling to get airborne in May 1940? If not, what?

Combat Gallery Sunday: Some of the Best Pulp Fiction Covers..from Mort

Posted on August 23, 2013 by laststandonzombieisland 6 comments

Mort Künstler is one of the most respected military art masters in modern US history. Odds are if you have ever stopped and admired a Civil War painting, it may have come from Mort.

You may recognize his art from this painting of the CSS Hunley just before its last mission

You can almost feel the tension in the air for those brave submariners on this human powered submersible

Or in his more modern works such as this one of the Alaska Air National Guard

Guarding for polar bears while your C130 on skies unloads supplies. I’m cold just looking at this…

But what you may not know is that he cut his teeth on a whole ‘nother category of military art.
Born in 1931, he started off doing covers for men’s adventure magazines (aka pulp fiction type books) in the 1950s and 60s. Although he often used pen names, some of his better works he signed his own to and they are just really great stuff.

Nothing like a M1 Garand, a M1918 BAR, pineapple grenades, and belts of 30.06 LMG food to put some swagger on your cigar

With that in mind, what follows is a few of his works from back in the pulp days. You see a lot of Tommy Guns, and a good bit of guest appearances from BARs, M1s, M3 Grease guns, Short Magazine Lee Enfields, and of course, Luger P08s.

Enjoy!