SHOP TALK: Rob Schamberger Newsletter 27OCT24
With eyes that look like heaven, lips like cherry wine.
Hi. My name's Rob Schamberger. I'm that guy who paints rasslers. And other stuff. Giddy up, um-poppa-um-poppa, mow, mow.
WORDS
Seeing as she’s the queen of spooky season, I figured I was well overdue to make a painting of the Mistress of the Dark herself, Elvira. As a child of the 80’s she’s got a special place in my heart. The humor, the sexiness, the overall look and vibe, it’s all the perfect persona. If you haven’t read it, Cassandra Peterson’s memoir Yours Cruelly, Elvira is incredible (she narrates the audiobook, which adds a whole other dimension) and shows you that her tearing down pop culture idols isn’t something new for her.
Here’s a study I did yesterday of Rodin’s The Thinker. We have one of the original castings of it here in Kansas City at the Nelson-Atkins Museum. There’s something about how bronze statues age and oxidize and the colors it creates that really captivates me.
Here’s a preview of Thursday’s first-ever Abadon painting. Kima and Tikka are pictured here working really, really hard on it.
UPCOMING AEW/PWT PAINTINGS
Abadon - SIGNED!
Jamie Hayter
Hikaru Shida
Konosuke Takashita
Card subject to change.
Rob’s Art on ShopAEW
###
Rob and Jason Arnett's novella Rudow Can't Fail!
###
Rob’s prints and shirts at Pro Wrestling Tees
###
Instagram
Threads
Cara
YouTube
WHAT I LIKED THIS WEEK
What We Do in the Shadows season six has given us the term ‘jack shack’ and for that I’m eternally grateful.
Friday night Katy and I watched Woman of the Hour, a true story of one of America’s worst serial killers but more importantly about the women who survived him but couldn’t get law enforcement to take action, allowing his horrible crimes to continue. Anna Kendrick stars and directs and does an absolutely incredible job as a woman who was actually on The Dating Game with the killer.
Okay, this turned out to be a Star Trek-heavy week for me. So, like, a GREAT week.
Star Trek: Lower Decks season five started up, the final for this brilliant series. It’s quite possibly my favorite of the ‘new’ shows with its humor, characters, and unabashed love for the Trek mythos. I’ll be sorry to see it go, but I’m excited to watch these final episodes.
I read Star Trek volume three by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly and Marcus To, the ‘Avengers’ take on Trek combining an all-star cast of characters to tell new stories in the time between the movies Insurgence and Nemesis. Led by a returned Captain Sisko, aided by Data, Dr Crusher, Mr Scott, Tom Paris and some fascinating new characters to keep things interesting. In this story, they’re on a planet of evolved dinosaurs so that’s neat.
Star Trek Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way by Ryan North and Chris Fenoglio is arguably not just the best Trek comic to date, but is also the best ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ type graphic novel I’ve seen to date. It manages to not just perfectly match the tone of the show and the look and voices of its characters, but it also creates an in-story reason for why it’s in the ‘Choose Your Own’ format that’s simply brilliant.
I was excited to finally read Superman: Lost by Christopher Priest, Carlo Pagulayan and friends, having looked forward to it since it was announced. Superman flies off from Lois on a mission and comes back just a few moments later, from Lois’ perception. But in actuality he’d been gone for 20 years and had a whole odyssey to get back home to her. It’s an inspired blend of Superman, The Odyssey, and the movie Castaway that ended up going in a direction I could not have predicted.
Speaking of things I’ve been eagerly anticipating, Dracula: A Storybook Portfolio by JH Williams III is the most gorgeous take I’ve seen on Bram Stoker’s tale outside of Jon J Muth’s ‘A Symphony in Moonlight and Madness’ back in 1986. Williams is one of my very favorite artists so it’s always a delight when I get to pore through his work, especially when it’s something this dang cool.
Little Richard knocks it out of the park, as expected, but he also announces Aerosmith as ‘Aaron Smith’ which is outstanding. It’s wild how fully-formed Aerosmith was at such an early period. But also: Kool and the Gang! Golden Earring! (“I like golden earrings. So does your mom,” says Little Richard.) What a treasure.
Close your eyes. She’s still there. Looking at you. Forever.
YOU GOOD?
A few weeks ago I bought a couple of these creepy dolls and have been doing a sort of cursed elf on a shelf with Katy. I’ll hide it in her dresser, in the closet, hanging on the back of the door, in a kitchen cabinet, in her car and so on. When I bought them I jokingly said to the cashier, “This might be my divorce origin story.”
Without laughing she stared me right in the eyes and said, “Yeah. It could be.”
(Katy’s loved it. So far. I mean, there was one in the hallway outside of the bedroom, where Katy saw it when she first opened her eyes and said it needed to be moved immediately.)
Love you more,
Rob