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Monday, December 6, 2010

Third String Goalie Holiday Shopping Guide - The Art of Robert Ullman

For those of you unfamiliar with the work of hockey fan and illustrator Robert Ullman, it's time for an overdue introduction to his work here in Third String Goalie.

Ullman, who is a Penguins fan and frequent participant in the comments on this website, creates eye-catching illustrations of pin-up girls wearing nothing but hockey sweaters, stripey socks and sexy smiles describes his work as "Archie Comics gone bad".

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He has begun a tradition of creating battling babes in sweaters to represent his choices in the annual NHL playoffs each spring, which he posts on his blog, Atom-Bomb Bikini.

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Ullman playoff pinups

And these are not just generic hockey-style jerseys either. As a true fan and artist with an eye for detail, the jerseys are highly accurate in striping and even the addition of patches. A perfect example is this Minnesota North Stars jersey with the drop shadow on the numbers properly going down and to the right, unlike most of the retail versions of this jersey which we have dubbed, The Most Frequently Screwed Up Jersey of All Time™.

Ullman North Stars

Ullman has also published a number of collections of his work, two of which contain his NHL pin-ups. The first is the all-color hardcover book "Atom-Bomb Bikini: The Lurid Art of Robert Ullman", a 64 page collection of his art featuring girls from a variety of themes, "sporty, super or birthday suited" as he puts it, which includes many of his hockey girls. It its available for just $16.

Ullman Atom-bomb bikini

Atom-bomb bikini sample

Another of his publications of interest to our readers would be Teeny Bikini #5, a 20 page collection of hockey sweater wearing pinup girls (all different illustrations than those in Atom-Bomb Bikini) in black and white with a color cover, which can be yours for a mere $2.

Ullman Teeny Bikini #5

In addition to his pin-up art, he has also created a "mini-comic", wonderfully titled Old-Timey Hockey Tales. At 16 pages it tells the stories of Bill Barliko, Terry Sawchuk and the Rocket Richard riots from hockey's golden age and is available for the low, low price of $2.

Robert Ullman's Old Timey Hockey Tales

Along the lines of Old-Timey Hockey Tales, you can also purchase a print of Liberez le Rocket!, Ullman's illustrated story about the Rocket Richard Riots. A signed 8" x 12" signed print is available for $10.

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At this point we must call out Robert in public and demand he begin work on "More Old-Timey Hockey Tales" and suggest Georges Vezina, Joe Hall, Frank Mahovlich, Ace Bailey, Bjørn Skaare and Howie Morenz as possible topics.

What's that you say? $2 is too rich for your wallet in these tough economic times? Fear not, for Robert is having a sale just in time for the holidays! Everything mentioned above, as well as all the other items in the Atom-Bomb Bikini online store and his original art available in his Etsy store is now a generous 20% off! Just enter the code "Holiday10" when you check out.

C'mon, you've got a $1.60 in the cushions of your couch or the cup holder in your car - buy something! Beyond the hockey girl related items, Ullman also has t-shirts, other books and sketch books, prints, stickers and cards available.

Now for the best part - Robert does commission work! You simply provide him with some photos of your significant other and he will create one of his popular pin-up pieces of her wearing your sweater of choice created specifically for you. It doesn't even need to be a hockey theme or even a real person depicted, as he has also created baseball and football themed pieces and can certainly draw you a pretty girl at will.

For $300 you will receive both the original hand drawn 11" x 14" art as well as a color print of the image with all the logos and uniform details. After a quick sketch to ensure you are happy with the pose, he'll begin creating your one of a kind original - a fantastic gift for the holidays!

Ullman Whalers

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