It was an enormous thrill for me to provide a review of "The Erotic Elfin Art of Nymphettes" by Barry Blair and Colin Walbridge. Barry and I go way back, almost twenty years. We've never met, never even spoken by phone, but when I put out my fledgling fanzine "Alter Limits" back in 1986, Barry's comic company Aircel was one of the most helpful independent comic companies to a young writer, supplying me with review copies, artwork, even paying to advertise in my little zine and I've always appreciated it. I've been an admirer of his work ever since he first produced his legendary fantasy comic, Elflord. Influenced by both Wendy Pini and Wally Wood, with a touch of Anime, Blair has carved out a nice little niche for himself and garnered a legion of fans with his comic works over the past two decades.
This 48 page over-sized book feature Blair and his partner Colin Walbridge presenting an extraordinary collection of full-color paintings of erotic and sultry Elfin art, all with the wily and spry humor we've come to expect from them. One thing I love about the book is that the each piece is titled. I wish this was done more in art collections. Blair and Walbridge use colors that are as bright and feisty as the characters they illustrate.
Dark Elves are popular character in fantasy fiction these days and one of the standout paintings in this collection is "Rosehawk" featuring a dark elf female, clad in contrasting red leather, holding a sword and ready for battle. In "The Lynx and the Serpent Lagoon" a beautiful red-haired elf battles for her life against a monstrous sea-serpent. Showing off their wry humor is a piece called "Now you will tell me" depicting an elf buried in sand up to her chest as a female pirate waits for her to spill her secrets.
"Unexpected Visit" is an aptly named painting. A cute elf is lounging in a refreshing bath when she's suddenly startled by the appearance of an unwanted companion in her bathtub. And in a nod to playful pin-ups of days gone by, "Bad Bianca" shows a pretty little elf on the receiving end of a good spanking while several other elves laugh and giggle in the background. It's a superb collection by one of my favorites from the "golden age" on independent comics. Well worth checking out for fans of fantasy or erotic art.
Reviewed by Tim Janson