I have always liked this little series of pictures by the artist, Keith for reasons which I explain below. Fragments of it have long circulated amongst internet art groups, usually as small, indistinct images. I've have always wanted to 'restore' them so that they are easier on the eye and was finally prompted to do so when I discovered a number of frames which were previously unknown to me and which filled in major elements of the story line. These images are the result.
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1
The story concerns a 'punk' named Darryl. Darryl is one of Keith's stock characters. In the UK, 'punk' refers simply to those who follow rebellious, punk rock fashions, like the blue mohican Darryl is sporting here. In the US it has much wider 'bad boy' connotations, which I only dimly grasp, but I think the situation here is clear. The detailing of the bottle is nice, don't ask me what the orange liquid is!
My 'restoration' work on these pictures is limited in the main to enlargement of the image and penciling over the figure outlines and dialogue boxes to make them sharper and clearer. This removes some of the original subtlety in a few places where Keith where used colour to delineate a boundary instead of a hard outline (e.g. Darryl's pecs) but I have tried to use restraint and I think it does achieve better clarity. In this picture I also enhanced background colours a little where the boundaries seemed indistinct. The writing on the sign shows the 'faded' look I started with.
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2
This picture shows the main reason why I like the series so much, the cop dressed in oh-so-short shorts which reveal muscular, hairy thighs. Indeed, Darryl's sighting of them seems to have prompted an instant orgasm. The circular badge on the cop's shorts (a sexy detail) appears to say MAD Patrol but I don't know what that refers to, apart from the obvious pun. I was tempted to remove the strangely canted house in the background but decided to respect the original intent.
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3
There's a nice sense of struggle here, mainly provided by the cop. Readers will know from previous posts that I like the 'click-click' moment where the handcuffs give the cop control over the arrestee. The fact that Darryl is now nude, his yellow underwear/swimwear trampled underfoot, makes it all the more sexy. The punk's exaggerated feet will also delight enthusiasts of that fetish. The detailing of the toes, slightly baby-like, truly captures their essential appeal. Darryl's protest is suitably insulting (shorty) but the 'storm trooper' bit doesn't seem derogatory enough to me. I like the cop's reponse, it might sound punchier if 'crack' was substituted for 'ass' or is 'wax' a pun on 'whacks'?
In picture 3, I fiddled with the shading on Darryl's six pack since the original detail was very faint.
to be continued
