Gallur-y: Revenge of the Past!

Over the last few years, Mexican artist Rafael Gallur has become a go to painter for action. A regular painter of amazing lucha libre magazine covers, he channels the energy of Frazetta into modern cover art, something very lacking on this side of the border. And since his art doesn't quite fit into the usual comic-oriented Great Art feature, I thought it was time to give him his own feature here at Super Powered Fiction. Few painters can match the power he brings.

Octagon isn't a luchador well remembered by many American fans, but he was a big time hero when the martial arts craze was all the rage in the 80s and 90s. Long retired now, the character has been brought back on a few occasions with a new "junior" version, with both current WWE star Kalisto and international talent Flamita wearing the mask. He's probably most notable these days because the first incarnation of Octagon Jr gave rise to a new generation of his eternal foe, a young talent that lasted much longer named Pentagon Jr.

In his heyday, the original Octagon starred in his share of lucha libre comics and stories. "Revenge of the Past" is clearly one of the best. There's a whole lot going on here and Gallur combines it all into something awesome. 

Be sure to head over to Gallur's DeviantArt to check out more work by him and order some of his amazing work as prints. After you're done admiring his work, don’t forget to check out some of the other great stuff from yours truly this week!

Gallur-y: Super-Nenas!

Over the last few years, Mexican artist Rafael Gallur has become a go to painter for action. A regular painter of amazing lucha libre magazine covers, he channels the energy of Frazetta into modern cover art, something very lacking on this side of the border. And since his art doesn't quite fit into the usual comic-oriented Great Art feature, I thought it was time to give him his own feature here at Super Powered Fiction. Few painters can match the power he brings.

Unlike a lot of his work, Super Nena (or Supernena, as I've seen it written both ways) isn't an actual star of lucha libre. Created for the fiction magazine Sensacional Del Luchas, she allowed some female led stories with a whole lot of T and A. But because of her original nature, it sure looks like she was set up to be a bit more super than some of the other luchadors in the book. She definitely has a Catwoman vibe with her whip as a weapon. This cover seems to pit her against evil duplicates of herself, ones willing to use automatic weapons and murder wantonly. There's a great story there I suspect!

Be sure to head over to Gallur's DeviantArt to check out more work by him and order some of his amazing work as prints. After you're done admiring his work, don’t forget to check out some of the other great stuff from me this week!

Gallur-y: Cibernetico

Over the last few years, Mexican artist Rafael Gallur has become a go to painter for action. A regular painter of amazing lucha libre magazine covers, he channels the energy of Frazetta into modern cover art, something very lacking on this side of the border. And since his art doesn't quite fit into the usual comic-oriented Great Art feature, I thought it was time to give him his own feature here at Super Powered Fiction. Few painters can match the power he brings.

Cibernetico isn't as recognizable a luchador as some. He has been maskless since early in his career and never quite received the attention in America that many Mexican talents have over the years. But Gallur brings him to life with a true flare here and even presents quite a looming threat in the robot monster behind him!

Be sure to head over to Gallur's DeviantArt to check out more work by him and order some of his amazing work as prints. After you're done admiring his work, don’t forget to check out some of the other great stuff from me this week!

Gallur-y: The Burden of Death

Over the last few years, Mexican artist Rafael Gallur has become a go to painter for action. A regular painter of amazing lucha libre magazine covers, he channels the energy of Frazetta into modern cover art, something very lacking on this side of the border. And since his art doesn't quite fit into the usual comic-oriented Great Art feature, I thought it was time to give him his own feature here at Super Powered Fiction. Few painters can match the power he brings.

We start the feature off with an amazing Blue Demon piece, "The Burden of Death." It's one of his older pieces on the site, a cover to an old lucha comic. And no, I don't have a clue as to why he's fighting a 19th century United States cavalrymen.

So I'll open up a challenge. Tell me why this heroic Mexican hero has come to this position. I will award the best reason a copy of Quadrant 7, the launch of the second volume of that title, days before anyone else sees it! 

Be sure to head over to Gallur's DeviantArt to check out more work by him and order some of his amazing work as prints. After you're done admiring his work, don’t forget to check out some of the other great stuff from me this week!

#INSPIRATION

© Rafael Gallur.

Gallur Gallery Challenge 2 Tales - The saga of Atlantis!

Perhaps introducing the second Gallery Challenge during the holiday seasons was a mistake. Despite almost twice the number of readers as regular posts, the Challenge never attracted anyone to write a short synopsis, I suspect because most folks were busy with family and friends (and shopping) during December.

But that doesn't mean I can't add my own take on the "Master of the Seas". Check it out, right below the image it is based upon!

The war was over Atlantis had barely saved the world once again from the dangerous Ocean Witch, but at great cost to him. While the Witch was dead, his kingdom was in shambles, his people flung across the Seven Seas and his bride Luna was locked in an unwaking dream, a final curse left by his arch-foe. Only his faithful companion Octavian remains as Atlantis sets out on a quest to find a cure in the world above!

The Gallery Challenge will return in February for another go around, but until then feel free to still share your story ideas for this piece in the comments section below!

Gallur Gallery Challenge 2: Master of the Seas

It has been far too long since I presented the first Gallery Challenge back in September. But time does nothing but make the heart grow fonder. So, this holiday I proudly present the second edition of the event.

The basic premise is simple: I present a piece of art by a master of fantasy or science fiction art and then I encourage my readers to share a story premise based on that art. In two weeks, I will share the responses before sharing my own concept.

So far that artist has been the amazing Rafael Gallur, a Mexican artist known for his intense visuals and amazing work on lucha libre adventure novel covers. Last time around, I featured a cover featuring El Hijo Del Santo, the Son of the Saint. This time around, I feature the wrestler Atlantis, a piece called "Master of the Seas".

Image copyright Rafael Gallur.

What's happening here with our hero, the squid and the sexy lady? That is up to you, the readers and fans to decide. Leave your one paragraph synopsis as a comment below or on one of the social media links to this page!

Gallur Gallery Challenge 1 Results

Image copyright Rafael Gallur.

Last week, I shared the following picture of El Hijo Del Santo in battle and challenged the intrepid readers of this blog to write a paragraph summarizing the vents that caused this scene to occur. I had several fun and amusing responses to this challenge on social media, but sadly only one person followed the rules and posted to the site itself, one Mr. Jeff Deischer. I have read some of Jeff's fiction and he is no slouch at the writing game, so it is no surprise he gave such a great response:

The Son of the Saint, using his God-given ability to sense evil, arrives just in time to prevent the vampire lord Nocturno from killing a trespasser, the beautiful and buxom Misty Callahan, an amateur spelunker from north of the border who stumbled upon the sinister being’s lair while in search of a good cave.

Quick, simple and to the point with the action. I went a slightly different route, but you can see the crosslines in each of our tales, I suspect.

The masked criminal madman Dr. Furioso used his evil genius to kidnap students of the University of Mexico for his mad experiments in human genetic engineering. His actions do not go unnoticed as the heroic protector of the city, El Hijo Del Santo, uses his masterful detective and lucha skills to track down the mad criminal, but not before he kidnaps another young couple from the university. Isabel can only watch as her lover Marcelo is transformed by the mad doctor into a subhuman creature at the beck and call of only Furioso. Isabel tries to escape, but Marcelo is sent to catch her, only for the Son of the Saint to rush to the rescue!

If you want to get in on the next Gallery Challenge, stay tuned as we will launch another one near the end of the month.

Gallur Gallery Challenge 1: The Son of the Saint

I am a big fan of the art of Rafael Gallur, a Mexican artist famous for painted covers in the tradition of Frank Frazetta or Earl Norem. He creates some amazing pieces, many of them for a local lucha libre fiction magazine. Stunning art based on stories of luchador's adventures means I am in.

But like so many amazing covers I often like to come up with stories revolving around great art I know nothing about otherwise. So that is where the Gallur Gallery Challenge begins. I am going to take an image from the amazing Gallur Deviant Art Gallery, post it here and ask anyone interested to write a one paragraph synopsis of what they think is happening. While I will give the luchador or star's name if I know it, I want to challenge folks to not do any research on that figure, instead letting just the picture do the talking. In a week, I'll post my own synopsis before setting up another Gallur Gallery Challenge the next week.

Alright, here is our first image featuring the familiar mask of El Hijo Del Santo, the Son of the Saint. What's happening here? You tell me!

Image copyright Rafael Gallur.