If you’re a fan of 1960s lowbrow culture you know his art, but you might not know his name or his story. This large full-color book is crammed with the fabulous Weird-Oh art of Bill Campbell.
Ed “Big Daddy” Roth was probably more famous for his Rat Fink character and wild custom cars, but Bill Campbell had just as big an influence in the kids’ world of models and toys – and according to this book, was actually first! The history of Hawk models is explored from early plane kits to their breakout Weird-Ohs models: “car-icky-tures” of kooky characters in crazy vehicles like Digger, the Way Out Dragster.
Campbell went on to create whole weird worlds of sports figures as well as his spin-offs Silly Surfers and The Frantics. The book features reproductions of sample tooling photos, early sketches, renderings and illustrations, package art, fine art paintings, and sculpted dioramas. Did you know there even was an all-CGI TV show of the Weird-Ohs in 1999? And get a load of the sketches and plans for models that weren’t produced: the Weird-ohs that never were. I also enjoyed reading about Campbell’s adventures in “Mad Men” era advertising (like getting stiffed by the Keebler elves!). Just like with your old Weird-oh models, your mom won’t like this new book, either – but you will!
See sample pages from A Weird-Oh World: The Art of Bill Campbell at Wink
