Mark V :: 1980s Indies

Border Worlds Retailer Poster and House Ad (1986)

Artist: Don Simpson (All)

9 Comments - 214 Views - 8 Likes

Border Worlds Retailer Poster and House Ad (1986) Comic Art

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Artwork Details

Title:	Border Worlds Retailer Poster and House Ad (1986)
Artist:	Don Simpson (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Illustration
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	214
Likes on CAF:	8 9
Comments:	9
Added to Site:	4/24/2024
Comic Art Archive:

Description

14 x 20.5 original art used for a 1986 retailer poster and house ad to promote the Border Worlds series by Kitchen Sink Comics following the publication of the first issue.

Textured spacesuits.

That�s what first drew me to Don Simpson�s Border Worlds. I started reading the series when it was published as a backup strip in Simpson�s superhero parody series, Megaton Man. Simpson soon stopped working on Megaton Man and devoted his energies to Border Worlds, an �adult� science fiction series in every sense of that word.

The shift, to fans of Simpson�s wry and visually exaggerated work on MM, was abrupt. As Simpson recounted in an interview with David May in Amazing Heroes #94 (1986), �I wanted to try something dramatic, something that did�t rely on telling a joke in every picture. Border Worlds just seemed ideal for that.�

Simpson also altered his art style for Border Worlds. Gone was the exaggerated musculature and anatomy of Megaton Man, replaced by a more illustrative realism that, for me, showed up most in the design of the environments, the characters and their clothing � yes, those space suits! The environments and clothing in the series recalled the lived-in environments and functional work uniforms seen in Alien or the Tatooine-set scenes from Star Wars.

Set 1000 years in Earth�s future, the series followed Jenny Woodlore, seen on the left of this piece. Soon after losing her job, she accepts an offer to visit her brother, who lives on a space station and owns a space freight/hauling business. While the premise for the series seemed thin at first, Simpson uses the setting to explore the space station as a gathering point where multiple characters and plots converge. In that Amazing Heroes interview, Simpson cites Moebius, Enki Bilal, Al Williamson, and Ridley Scott as influences on the series� style and tone.

The 1980s were a time of ambition and exploration for comics but, like many of its black-and-white comics brethren on the shelves, Border Worlds didn�t last and was canceled after less than a dozen issues. However, nostalgia has a way of recovering and rejuvenating even little-remembered series and in 2017, Dover Books published a collected edition of Border Worlds with a concluding chapter by Simpson; or rather, a conclusion that ties up some plot threads but still feels open-ended. I�d love to see Simpson pick up the series again.

From the Denis Kitchen collection

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	Mark V Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	March 2021
Last Login:	September 2025
Website:	https://instagram.com/markvcomicsandart
Country:	UNITED STATES
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Comments on this Artwork

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Ruben DaCollector
Member Since 2008

1 - Posted on 4/24/2024

Outstanding! I LOVE the super tight rendering and shadow heavy style Simpson applied to this series. It brought back some good memories when I saw the Border Worlds pieces in the auction. Not for the stories, as I didn't read them, but rather because I was a big fan of and read Megaton Man and was also impressed at the time with his stylistic change on Border Worlds. I held off from bidding on them, because they were squirrels that didn't fit the focus of my collection, but man, was I ever tempted! So happy to see it in YOUR collection, Mark!

Marcus Wai
Member Since 2005

1 - Posted on 4/25/2024

Really cool pure 80's fun! Drawn like a movie poster too using the graphic style that was pushing the envelope of the relationship of art and science before computer graphics. That male perm, space age jackets, and big sunglasses also symbolized the bond between fashion and futurism.

Doug L
Member Since 2019

1 - Posted on 4/25/2024

Amazing piece. I always liked the serious nature of Border better than the exaggerated silliness of Megaton. Though the male figure in the ad seems about toppled over to his left, no?

Mark V
Member Since 2021

Posted on 4/25/2024

Doug L wrote:

Amazing piece. I always liked the serious nature of Border better than the exaggerated silliness of Megaton. Though the male figure in the ad seems about toppled over to his left, no?

I just assumed, Jenny, the real star of the series, was nudging him out of the way! 🤣

Mark Howland
Member Since 2004

1 - Posted on 4/25/2024

Very cool piece. And huge! A little reminiscent of some Steranko in my opinion.

Mark V
Member Since 2021

Posted on 4/25/2024

Mark Howland wrote:

Very cool piece.� And huge!� A little reminiscent of some Steranko in my opinion.

I can see it - that reminds me that I should revisit Steranko's work on Outland.

FBS Stroun
Member Since 2021

1 - Posted on 4/27/2024

Mark. I am speechless. I used to work in a comic store on weekends when this came out, and its one of the handful of posters I took home with me. Takes my breath away.

Mark V
Member Since 2021

1 - Posted on 4/27/2024

FBS Stroun wrote:

Mark. I am speechless. I used to work in a comic store on weekends when this came out, and its one of the handful of posters I took home with me. Takes my breath away.

Thanks! You, me, and probably three other people remember this! While I'd prefer a nice page from the comic, I'm unsure whether Simpson still has any or is willing to sell. I ran into him last year and he had large bins filled with original art but nothing from this series. This will have to do - evocative of the series and the artistic shift Simpson made. I'm quite pleased nevertheless!

Felix Lu
Member Since 2005

1 - Posted on 4/29/2024

I must be one of those three, then. Certainly not the highest profile piece...yet instantly stood out to me from Kitchen's collection. Good call on this having the same flavor as Steranko's OUTLAND adaptation. Another fun and striking '80s piece, congrats!

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