If you’re reading this site you were probably reading Condor’s NINJA Magazine in the 80s, and on a then crowded newsstand the beacons, the avatars, of all that ninja content were the garish and lurid painted covers. For much of that run, the cover artists were uncredited, but that changed in 1986 as the name “Lowry” started to appear tucked into the artwork.
Some four decades later, I’m proud to be involved in the first ever project of its kind — an art book dedicated to the painted covers of NINJA, in particular those of New York City-based artist/designer Beirne Lowry. And you can buy this book right now, while supplies last!
Published by LA’s renown Secret Headquarters and premiering at the Los Angeles Art Book Fair August 10th, Ninja Master: The Magazine Art of Beirne Lowry is sized like a giant Marvel Treasury from the 70s and is packed with ninja art. Its 64 pages of thick deluxe stock contain newly mastered scans of 24 of Beirne’s original paintings, presented for the first time in print uncluttered by logos and feature hype.
In addition to the treasure trove of glorious painted cover art, the book contains:
- 30 new scans of vintage covers by the artist in their published form
- Exclusive interview with the artist discussing the creative process, technical details, mayhem in the offices of Condor Publications, posing sessions with NYC martial artists and more!
- Intro articles by your’s truly, and when you see the end-papers I designed for this thing you’ll want to blow them up to cover your walls…
YOU folks are the exact audience I had in mind while slaving over this thing for the past few months, and the gents at Secret Headquarters have truly done the Lord’s work in tracking down the artist and giving new exposure to this unsung material. You NEED this on your shelf!!!
Ninja Master is available directly from SHQ only, it will not be wholesaled to other merchants and will not be on Amazon. The run is limited and will sell out, so don’t sleep on this!
KR —August 2023
