Thursday 9 August 2012

Mike Hinge - 81st Birthday Anniversary - Alex Jay


Thanks again to Alex Jay for another priceless contribution. Here we have a postcard to Alex from Mike when he returned to stay in his native New Zealand between 1983-1984 (Mike would have been age 53 when he wrote this postcard). I have copied and pasted Alex's email as he explains the contents and context of Mike's message.

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Hi Ivan,

I was cleaning out a box of papers and found this New Zealand postcard from Mike. Here's what he wrote:


Hi! Alex, that Star Wars book [Return of the Jedi] you designed finaley [sic] turned up in a city bookshop.
Found no interesting &'s [ampersands] yet. Its still raining off & on here so must be one of the wetest [sic]
summers ever which makes me curious about N.Y.C. if it had that severe winter as predicted. NZ as a
country goes into a total stop/siesta/holiday period around Xmas, so been slow…I'll bet your as busy as
ever. Have designed one logo, painted a Romantic Illus, for a sml [small] poster (ice cream) & two storyboard
for household cleanser. Hearing the standard pop music on the radio nothing outrageous & the color tube has
so many bad British soaps, or chuckle-alongs it makes me cringe. The "Police" played here so Rock Riot
written up in paper.

Regards Mike


I designed two Star Wars: Return of the Jedi books, the novelization and a sketchbook; I don't know which
book Mike referred to. I have a small collection of wood type ampersands, which Mike saw, and recently I

He found work in NZ but he didn't bring printed samples when he returned to NYC. I'm sure he was desperate
to hear new music; things were too quiet in NZ. He grew restless and returned to NYC.

...

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I wonder if anyone has, remembers or knows of the painted romantic ice cream illustration? 

I have looked at one of Mike's later resumes and during Mike's time back in New Zealand between 1983 - 1984 he worked at Campbell Advertising in Auckland as an Advertising Designer.





Mike Hinge - 81st Birthday Anniversary - Darren Shroeder

Darren Shroeder webmaster and editor of Small Press Printed Matters emailed me some early illustrations of Mike's in the form of two publicity flyers from when Mike was still living in New Zealand before emigrating to the USA. I'm guessing it probably dates from sometime around about 1954. The same year which Mike illustrated "Time Fanzine" with Monica Naughton which they wrote and published together. It might be that Mike was age 23 when he made these illustrations? It would be great if anyone could date these flyers.

The first flyer is for Alien9+ and the second is for Auckland Science Fiction Club.


Bottom Flyer: Auckland Science Fiction Club: Size - 14.5 x  13.7







Mike Hinge - 147

Today is Mike's birthday, he would have been 81 years old. I wish that he was still here with us to see and hear more about his work and life. 

Here is an unpublished cover for Amazing Stories Magazine.



Mike Hinge - Amazing (unpublished cover) . Marker pen on white paper. Approximate size 48 x 61cm. Date Unknown. Unsigned.