GO APE for 13 COVERS: A BOB LARKIN Birthday Celebration

Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jul 10, 2021 | 1 comment

The fan-fave fantasy painter turns 72…

Bob Larkin — who was born 72 years ago on July 10, 1949 — was one of the preeminent Marvel fantasy artists in the ’70s, with a litany of covers from such titles as Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu, Savage Sword of Conan and The Tomb of Dracula.

But for my money, you can’t top Larkin’s covers for the Planet of the Apes magazine, which feature wonderfully lurid — and often unhinged — tableaux.

This isn’t just classic POTA scenes we’re talking about. We’re talking about Davy Crockett apes, apes flanked by winged green gargoyle creatures, an underwater ape vs. giant octopus battle, and whatnot.

Classic pulpy, wacky, lovely work.

So dig these 13 COVERS. And remember: Ape shall never kill ape. But you can paint them doing some really strange things.