After putting out a work focused on Steve Holland‘s (1925-97) photo sessions for the Doc Savage paperback covers, Steve Holland: The Torn Shirt Sessions, Michael Stradford put out his next work. Steve Holland: The World’s Greatest Illustration Art Model is the definitive work showcasing his career and the many covers created from his poses.
While for many, it was his modeling for James Bama and other paperback cover artists for Doc Savage that we remember him. But he also posed for the covers for The Avenger (artists Peter Caras and George Gross), The Spider (Caras and Robert MacGuire), Operator #5 (Gross), and others. He modeled for Nevada Jim (Bama again), Tarzan, The Phantom, Conan, Matt Helm, and Magnus Robot Fighter.
This volume has photos, numerous covers in full color, interviews, and more. There are sections focused on his paperback cover work and for the men’s adventure magazines. And there are several interviews with various artists he worked for including Bama, Caras, Ron Lesser, Bob Larkin, Alex Ross, and more.
It was surprising, almost overwhelming, to realize how much artwork was based on his image. It’s one thing to realize how much pulp-hero paperback covers used him, but to realize he was used in a lot of paperback book covers and even MAMs is impressive.
If there is any negatives, for me, it’s that the work he did for George Gross was glossed over in a couple of pages. I would have loved to see more on this. Oh, and the reason The Avenger’s hair changed from white to black was not a decision of the artist. This was due to a change within the original stories, when Street & Smith had The Avenger be “de-powered.”
But despite that, this is an excellent work. This one goes on my shelves alongside the prior volume, and with my copies of works on Bama, Larkin, and other pulp artists. I hope others will feel the same way.
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