Little Book of Tom of Finland: Bikers

In 1953 Marlon Brando donned a black leather Perfecto motorcycle jacket, military cap, denim jeans + engineer boots to portray Johnny, sneering leader of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, in The Wild One. In 1954 Tom of Finland abandoned brown leather in his artwork to create his own wild ones: muscular, hyper-masculine, black leather-clad rebels with powerful engines between their legs. Of course, being Tom, he soon customized his new gay icons, adding leather jodhpurs, knee high boots + leather caps + every motorcycle bore the brand name “Tom” on the gas tank. When he sought an ongoing character, a personal avatar, in 1968, he created Kake as the ultimate biker leatherman + elaborated on his riding adventures through 26 panel stories. Tom adopted Kake’s gear as his own, presenting in black leather jacket, white t-shirt, jeans + high boots to the end of his life. The Little Book of Tom: Bikers includes Tom’s earliest images for Physique Pictorial, Kake in motorcycle gear, biker panel stories + sizzling single drawings, all packed into 192 pages of sexy, masculine men enjoying other masculine men in black leather, blue jeans + high black boots. On bikes. Hardcover. 192 pages.