Tom of Finland: The Comics (1) Hardcover – 1 April 2011

I bought this book primarily because I loved the book design element of the reversible cover (I was also aware of Tom Of Finland's paintings).The hilarious thing about the reversible cover is that the content is so graphic in it's depiction of relentless sex scenes that the subterfuge of the cover would never last a second, it remains a very cool design element though because of it's playing with the sentiment.The first five seconds of reading the book are shocking because the action is so sexually graphic. It takes a while, however, to acclimatise and realise that Tom of Finland's strips work in exactly the same way that all other entertaining comic strips work. Popeye is a sailor therefore he has big arms, nautical tattoos and travels the world fighting people and in Tom of Finland's world the characters are blue collar men who live in a sexual utopia of equality, affection and mutual willingness to engage in hard sex all of the time, a utopia that even as a straight man, seems perfect. Everyone is in perfect shape because they have sex all of the time. There are no power imbalances unless they are there for comedic reasons, everyone is happy and engaging in mutual pleasure and the action often has elements of affection and tenderness rather than being mechanical. Everyone in Tom of Finland's world is, sexually, having a great time.From then on there are set-ups and punchlines like there are in other comic strips, often with an ironic or comedic twist to the story and in the same way that all comedic comic strips are a product of the world of the characters and the set up of the specific strip, these are no exception. It is funny that the next thing that happens is the inevitable engagement in sexual acts, the specific digressions from a master of anatomy's sense of proportion is hilarious and the punchlines are often up there with the best of the newspaper strip masters.I always think that one of John Water's jobs is to make us feel affectionate towards groups of people that we wouldn't intuitively warm to and each time it makes us better people. The Tom of Finland comics disarm us from their sexual explicitness , by on one level entertaining us and on a loftier level pointing to a potential pornography that isn't about power imbalances and the titillation of transgression.

Once again Taschen have excelled themselves with this fantastic volume featuring the comics of Tom of Finland. The hardback cover includes gold lettering and two wonderful Tom of Finland illustrations on the front and back covers. But here's the amazing part - the cover jacket is reversible and so if you don't want anyone knowing the identity of the book on your shelf, just reverse the cover and it will show Smiths Wealth of Nations Volume 1. And what a wealth of Tom's artwork can be found inside the book. Each page features a plate taken from Tom's comics and beautifully reproduced on heavy stock gloss paper with the black and white artwork coloured with sepia. The book includes an introduction to Touko Laaksonen, otherwise known as Tom of Finland, and reproduces an unpublished 1946 comic beautifully coloured along with Kake 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, Beach Boys 1 and 2 and Jack 1 to 3.Anyone who knows the artwork of Tom of Finland will want to include this first volume in their collection. Alternatively, it is a great first look at the homo-erotic art of Tom which has given untold people joy over the decades.A warning - if you are offended by gay artwork then maybe this book is not for you. Alternatively, it would make a great gift for a gay friend and it is at a very acceptable price on Amazon

Sexy

in perfette condizioni, come nuovo!!.grazie

Tres belle ouvrage retraçant les dessin de Tom absolument pas déçu Merci Bruno Gmunder. Il viendra compléter ma collection. À posséder pour le amateur du genre.

Do not even think twice, hit the BUY button and get it on it's way to your box...... Any man who is a fan of Tom of Finland must buy this book. The price is a pittance for the quality of this book. Buy it used, buy it new, but buy it, even if you already own "The Art of Pleasure" and XXL. Make sue to also check out the other companion edition of this book of comics. Simply more TOF at his very best. Buy more than one copy, I guarantee you your friends will wear yours out.

Schnelle Lieferung und sehr gute Qualität . Sehr zu empfehlen. Unterhaltsam und von den Zeichnungen sehr schön und sehr erotisch. Hält was es verspricht

Soy un admirador de la obra de Tom of Finland....esta edicion ademas de su buena calidad grafica, tambien tiene un precio muy razonable por lo que lo recomiendo a todos aquellos que conozcan la obra de Tom.