Hommages

Mr. Corben tends to insert into his art hommages to the other artists. This page tries to scratch that surface.

"The Premature Burial" appeared for first time in Edgar Allan Poe's The Premature Burial (2014), and it was reprinted at least in Edgar Allan Poe's Spirits of the Dead (2014). The story was a Edgar Allan Poe adaptation written by himself and color collaboration with him and his daughter, Beth Corben Reed.

The last frame of the 9 page story contains a hommage for Harry Clark illustration for the story under the same name.

"Retard" appeared for the first time in The 1977 Annual World's Best SF and Science Fiction Book Club flyer (Sept. 1977). Among others it was reprinted in Flights into Fantasy (1981).

"Retard" is a hommage to EC covers but it's also an inside joke for the front cover of Slow Death #5 (April 1973) by Rand Holmes. That cover happened to be colored by Richard Corben.

Fakes
Retard

"Scourge of the Spaceway" appeared for first time in 1984 #2 (1978). The cover art was planned to be different looking: the girl chained to the spaceship ought to be dark skinned, see the back cover of 1984 #1 (1978).

The pict is clearly a hommage for Jack Kirpy's cover art publisehd in the front cover of DC's Mister Miracle #1 (1971).

Mr. Corben has been said in several occasions that Maxfield Parrish is one of his biggest infulences. For example, "New Tales of the Arabian Nights", he said, is a hommage to him. Above you can spot the similarities of the girl in glass coffin.

"Under the Oak" is loosely derived from the figure of Isaiah on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel [Corben].

"Wizard's Dreams" . The figure and the general structure was inspired by 'Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem' [Corben].

Hommages

"The Premature Burial"

"Retard"

"Scourge of the Spaceway" (the cover of 1984 #2)

Maxfield Parrish

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669)