Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Ralph's Romulans

(Click on images to enlarge.)


We feature this time the awesome artwork of Ralph Fowler, featured on the covers of "Enterprise Incidents." Artist extraordinaire Ralph Fowler was a regular contributor to the terrific fanzine "Enterprise Incidents." Issue #6, above, was published September, 1978 by the prolific James Van Hise. Full of photos, artwork, articles, fan fiction and more, this lovingly produced publication almost seemed a companion magazine to "Trek: The Magazine For Star Trek Fans," which preceded it by a year or so. Although seemingly inspired by "Trek's" example, it often surpassed it in the quality of the rare photos, artwork and articles. But for the most part it was very close, and I hold them both in high esteem, treasuring my copies of each.

Issue #7, pictured below, depicted a Romulan attack on Earth. Ralph's specialty was ships, technology and architecture, all rendered with precise accuracy and near-photographic detail. This was before CAD and Photoshop, kids... so don't feel superior to the artists that did it by hand.


As if a Romulan invasion wasn't bad enough, the eastern coast of the U.S. was threatened by a hurricane. Some days nothing goes right.

Below, an interior full-page piece of art that incorporated both his space scenes and ship interiors. Fowler never ceased to amaze me with his paintings and drawings! I'll be showcasing more in future posts, for sure.

Bonus: Below, the cover art of a coloring book. The beginning of the K/S rumor can probably be traced to this one item. There is just so much wrong here that it could almost be a "spot the mistakes" game.


The significance of the pump should not be overlooked.

9 comments:

Jay said...

Awesome, awesome, awesome, and awesome. The '70s were a horrible decade in American politics and men's fashions, but it was the golden age of Star Trek fandom.
Any idea what became of Mr. Ralph and his amazing talent?

Frederick said...

Jay,

I wish I knew! I hope some readers will contribute that news. An online search turned up nothing. But there has to be someone among his fellow fans who know what happened to him.

The Weary Professor said...

The company that published the coloring book knew that Spock would soon die in Wrath of Khan. Obviously that's why they have him in a red shirt.
Do I get my no-prize now?

seo expert said...

I still miss The star trek series. Although it is old but is still interesting..

Anonymous said...

I can tell you what happened to Ralph Fowler. I know him. I am sure he will love seeing his work and knowing that it is admired. I will send this link to him.

Frederick said...

Anon,

That's great news! Thanks, and I hope Ralph comments when he visits.

Kimm said...

Hi Frederick, Ralph received the link that was sent to him by anonymous which by the way is not me. He enjoyed seeing his work and knowing that it is admired. I know that he views your site now from time to time. I have known him very well now for six years and he loves talking about those days and his art work. Thank you for having this site for all to view.

Frederick said...

Kimm,

Thanks for letting me know! I'm glad he saw it and enjoys visiting. I'll respect Raplh's privacy, and wait until he contacts me or comments on the blog. If he wants to talk about his art and such, I'd love to feature him again with an update.

Raplh, if you are reading this, and want to talk and let your fans know what you have been up to, maybe even email some artwork we haven't seen, please email me through the site or comment!

Anonymous said...

Kirk is telling Spock to clean the pool.