Throwback Thursday Remembers Erotica Artist Bill Ward

When it comes to talking about queer sexuality, you can't ignore the impact and historical relevance of the leather/kink community. For all of their flubs and foibles, they have also been at the forefront not only of your parades, but for protests and fundraising. And not to mention just a whole lot of fun! Dore Alley, anyone? For Throwback Thursday, we are remembering kinky erotic artist Bill Ward, whose impactful images are indelibly tied to the leather eroticism of Drummer Magazine. The publication, celebrating its fiftieth year this year, has recently released a comprehensive collection of Ward's work. Simply titled Drum: Bill Ward, it includes single panels and his famous strips telling erotic stories that redefined no-holds-barred gay male erotica. "Erotica"? Hell, this was straight-up cartoon porn!

BTW, if you wanna Google "Bill Ward" to see more of his work, you need to know that there is also Bill Ward the straight erotic artist, and Bill Ward the drummer for Black Sabbath. So Googling "Bill Ward Drummer" will return some unintended results!

Bill Ward (1927-1998) was born in London, where he lived his entire life, save for a three-year stint in the army. He came up through publishing as a copyboy, then as a graphic artist for children's comics. It wasn't until after he had been able to cut the ties to mainstream illustrating that he began publishing gay erotica, though he did publish some work in men's "physique" magazines, notably under his own name. Such explicit work was illegal before 1967. By 1976, he was gaining popularity in the States with his various characters (Drum, King, Zeke, and Rogan) appearing in Drummer and other publications.

Ward’s men are everything real gay men want: huge, hung, hairy, and always in control. Cops, bikers, punks, prisoners—thick with muscle, bellies pushing out of harnesses, fists clenched around cocks the size of clubs. These guys don’t beg. They command. And they always get what they want. (From Drummermen.com)

 

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Ward not only drew the men, he lived the life. He was a former service member as well as a biker. While Tom of Finland drew what he saw and fantasized about, Ward often drew the men he knew, expanding his real-life encounters into the largeness of fictional art. As an additional counterpoint to the more famous ToF work, Ward's men weren't of cartoonishly-endowed physiques and sizes. Where Tom's work featured mostly smooth, heavily muscled men, Ward's men, while still exhibiting accouterments born of an artist's flair and imagination, were more natural and bearish in stature; they might have some paunch to the belly, some body hair, some "imperfections" which to many were just fine.

Drawn in masterful black-and-white with graphic intensity, Drum strips drip with tension, domination, and satisfaction. Scenes explode with alleyway sex, barracks brawls, backroom fucks, and sci-fi bondage—all starring leather-drenched, hard-nippled, ass-hungry brutes who don’t believe in pulling out. (From Drummermen.com)

Upon Bill Ward's death, the man who inherited his estate and the storerooms of material was disinclined to keep and catalogue all that was left behind. A friend, Guy Burch, along with Robert Bremner, the real-life physical inspiration for the character Drum, offered to help clear the studio and storage. Arriving just in time before it was to be tossed away, they salvaged hundreds of original works and photographs, which are Ward's legacy above what was already owned by Drummer and other publications. You can read much more about Ward and this event on Burch's site here.

Photo courtesy of Drummer Magazine - Original publication: Drummer Presents: The Erotic Art of Bill Ward; Immediate source: Oxxbridge Galleries.

At 576 pages with a price tag of $180, Drum: Bill Ward is an investment for the die-hard fan or the casual enthusiast with some bones to drop. With a limited printing, they are selling fast! You can purchase yours from Drummer.com here.

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