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Underground > Comic Books >

Shaky Kane and the BLACK STAR FICTION LIBRARY

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19:28 / 30.10.02

So I ordered this little item on a whim: the name "Shaky Kane" was vaguely familiar, and the low price made it a no-brainer. So.

This Shaky Kane: his style reminds me of someone, but I can't quite put my finger on it. There's a little Jack Kirby in his compositions, a little Bill Everett in his line, and a fuckload of bad drugs in his system, by all indications. The book itself, in both its art and story, has an almost embarrassingly-retro Seventies underground, "head shop" vibe—it's ugly as hell, but with a certain charm in the tremendous energy and vibrancy of the drawing. And the oversized magazine format, and the slick paper, are of highest quality, showing off the garish coloring in all its horrid glory.

Hideous, Flash-heavy website hither.

Tell me of this Shaky Kane: the Interhighweb will only tell me that he's a part of the 2000 AD axis. What are the important works in his oeuvre? Is all his stuff this trippy? Any biographical info? A real name, maybe? Any fans in the house?

19:40 / 30.10.02

It occurs to me that the cover above looks heavily MacFarlanesque: but the interiors ain't.

20:42 / 30.10.02

That really doesn't look like the Shaky Kane I remember.

21:06 / 30.10.02

This is the Shaky Kane I remember. He drew some godawful David Bishop series in the Megazine called Soul Sisters and a lot of S&M themed stuff for Deadline. If I get the chance, I'll scan acouple of examples of the latter and stick them up here for you.

Went through a period of signing his work off as 'Shaky 2000', if that helps your search any.

23:27 / 30.10.02

He also did the cover for Morrison's Doom Patrol #50-something, the one where Danny The Street has the dream of the retro-60s DP team. Also a DP pinup in the double-sized, white-cover issue.

Bunch of weird strips and pinups for Deadline magazine - The A-Men, Elvis vs. Godzilla, The Flying Head Of Jayne Mansfield, etc.

What Kirby would have drawn were he fucked on acid all the time.

23:51 / 30.10.02

Comic(s?) World used to love him. I saw this in an Alldays shop in Dundee, and didn't buy it. It's quite the most bizarre thing I've seen on a newsstand/in a newsagent in some time.

I wish I had bought it.

But it's gone now.

yawn - thing's buddy

07:11 / 31.10.02

chck out this link.

it shows a readers drawing published in 2000AD in 1979.

look who the artist is.

I alwayts liked Shaky kane - remember 'pinhead' in revolver?

08:14 / 31.10.02

Shaky kane is indeed alive and well and living in Exeter - glad to see people are buying his blackstar library stuff - is available now in the states - did you get it through diamond, jack ?and was it resized as a standard US comic? This was the plan last time i chatted with him...

the other element you notice in his work might well be geoff darrow, particularly in the cityscapes...

Earlier this year shaky collected his a-men strips in a single volume and self published it - if anyone is interested in ordering it, I'm sure i can dig out the information...

09:01 / 31.10.02

E.Randy: that piece looks like a photo-manipulation. A little Warhol, a little Patrick Nagel. God, it just screams "Eighties," dunnit?

Sleaze: Geoff Darrow! Yes. That's it.

Yes, I ordered through Diamond.

No, the book is not standard US-comic sized--it's about an inch taller & an inch wider.

Front cover's got a little label stuck to it that says USA EDITION ISSUE #1," but the inside front cover says "Welcome to Issue 2."

There's a little note tucked inside the cover on a separate sheet of paper, about four inches by five,that says

"Dear reader

"Welcome to the first issue of Black Star Fiction Library to be published inthe USA. This premier issue features a reprint from the British issue 2, material from the British issue one was deemed too extreme for a launch and will be available at a latter date in a special edition.

"Please contect the editor at this address blah blah visit the website blah blah fishcakes."

"Reprinted material from Issue 2" apparently means "Leftover copies of issue 2 with an adhesive sticker on the cover."

And the first issue was deemed "too extreme"? Now this is interesting...

19:04 / 31.10.02

19:10 / 31.10.02

19:14 / 31.10.02

Sorry about the poor quality of these, by the way. My scanner's broken and I'm also having to downsize them, hence the pixelisation.

21:26 / 31.10.02

These are all from various later issues of Deadline.

Earlier this year shaky collected his a-men strips in a single volume and self published it - if anyone is interested in ordering it, I'm sure i can dig out the information...

Oo, yes please, sleaze.

23:02 / 05.11.02

I live in Exeter and have had the pleasure of doing his photocopying a cat-load of times in my shop. Well, ex-shop considering I was recently fired. This means I know a celebrity!!! He's a nice guy!!! Some of his artwork hangs in local club 'the cavern'!! I have a kitten-load of signed (yeah...'signed'!!) Shaky comics including 'The Dinosaurs Are Coming' and 'A-Men' if anyone is interested in making a purchase....

I be illin now!

03:15 / 07.11.02

I as well would like my hands to get on this shaky kane's work. Have a bunch of old revolvers, allus thought they were the best thing in, after Morrison's Dare. Equal best, then. alright.

m.

14:22 / 12.11.02

Earlier this year shaky collected his a-men strips in a single volume and self published it - if anyone is interested in ordering it, I'm sure i can dig out the information...

Count me in too sleaze. Loved the A-men back in the day, god I wish someone would re-create deadline.

sophie coulthard

21:09 / 05.02.04

hello i'm sophie coulthard, shakys daughter what do you want to no?

21:19 / 05.02.04

Well, I would like to know...

Where is Shakey Kane now, what’s he been working on recently, how can we read it, is he playing in a band, and anyway how is this artist old enough to have a daughter capable of typing? At this time of night, I mean.

Please.

sophie coulthard

21:29 / 05.02.04

Hello im shakys daughter, is there anything you would like to know about him? he'll be really pleased to see your interest. Thanx

21:30 / 05.02.04

Oh ho, now I see the link upthread. So, more questions: the Blackstar Fiction Library, is this a Shaky-run venture? Is it still active, seeing as how the rest of this thread is a bit on the old side? And is it still accepting submissions? I need a job.

Tell your dad I loved Soul Sisters, by the way. Best thing the Megazine ever published. Really.

sophie coulthard

21:32 / 05.02.04

No he's not in a band (but he's open to offers) whatever he told you about his age is a lie im 16 hes 46!

00:39 / 06.02.04

The lines of the cape in the first drawing/post remind me of Keith Giffen/Ambush Bug...

12:10 / 07.02.04

hi im friends with shakys daughter sophie and he gives me comics and gess what!! he signes them too! lol

ONLY NICE THINGS

17:31 / 08.02.04

So, is his real name Shaky Coulthard?

sophie coulthard

20:40 / 08.02.04

no! it's michael - sounds a bit boring compared to shaky!

ONLY NICE THINGS

21:30 / 08.02.04

Hang on... so his name is Michael Kane?

DUDE!

(I loved "Soul Gun Warrior". It was just so Kanetastic)

06:19 / 09.02.04

NO! Michael Coulthard...
It was my sisters Birthday yesterday.
Hi Sophie you stupid looser.
we all like your dad and not you!!
Love From
?????

16:34 / 09.02.04

Any relation to a certain McLaren driver?

I wonder if there's a David Schumacher out there...

(well duh! Ralf's son is named David...)

Ok, carry on.

23:50 / 09.02.04

Hello pants to it the haus of tiny, sophie me other persom at smoke filled room, what, how you find site, if the daughter where were we, say hi if you are, will call your dad back in country, lot happened!

23:50 / 09.02.04

Hello pants to it the haus of tiny, sophie me other persom at smoke filled room, what, how you find site, if the daughter where were we, say hi if you are, will call your dad back in country, lot happened!

23:52 / 09.02.04

...the hell?

00:00 / 10.02.04

Sounds like a child’s text message, doesn’t it Jack? But follow this poster’s email address to it’s web site and s/he appears to actually be a grown-up. Which makes the post all the stranger, I think.

sophie coulthard

16:00 / 10.02.04

i haven't looked on the msg board for ages and there's this mad msg from ali76?? What does it mean?? I'm baffled!!

08:53 / 14.02.04

well that certianly was a weird message???
ali76 is so weird, infact ali76
you made the camera go blurry
you were so....ewwww

sophie coulthard

12:11 / 17.03.04

NEW PAINTINGS BY SHAKY KANE
SECRETS OF THE BATCAVE

Exeter Picture House
Tuesday 16th til 29th

IF SUPERMAN IS THE AMERICAN DREAM
BATMAN IS THE NIGHTMARE

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