Tom of Finland XXL Hardcover – 8 Jun. 2016

Amazing book!

I purchased this a while back and I’m still WOW’ed by the art. It’s an inspirational and excellent read, which takes you on a journey of Tom of Finland’s personal life and career.

The Tom of Finland XXL book is absolutely fantastic! It’s quite heavy, but the incredible artwork inside makes it worth every bit of effort. The images are truly magnificent and showcase Tom of Finland’s talent in the best possible way. If you appreciate high-quality art and Tom of Finland’s work, this book is a must-have. Highly recommended!

I first came across Tom when I was in my early 20s and living in Paris in the 70s. Through reading the one readily available French gay magazine, I received through the post a flier for the work of Tom. I was still half trying to persuade myself that I was not gay (not least to protect my job). But the effect of Tom's drawings was electrifying. Could I really be seeing what I thought I was seeing: the graphic description of everything that I didn't dare accept I was desperately lusting after? In the pre-internet age, this was stuff you just did not see at all. Yet here was everything that was arousing about other men, not just graphically portrayed but glorified. In a society that was just about to accept John Inman as the embodiment of what it meant to be 'queer', Tom burst like a tiger among kittens. These men were about as un-camp as you could imagine. No part of their anatomy, let alone a wrist, was allowed to be limp. They were hyper-masculine, dominant, ready to convert the passing and condemnatory stranger to the joys of gay sex, completely unabashed at what they displayed and what they did. For the first time in modern life, male same sex attraction was glorified. All the aspects of male sexuality that one thought of furtively were there to be displayed, accepted, enjoyed and coveted. Attractive girlfriends were no match in Tom's cartoons for the attractions of the passing male stranger. Gay sex was so all right that Tom portrayed it happening as much in public as in private. He legitimised one's feelings and his heroes kicked sand in the faces of a straight world that thought all queers were pansies. He was a pioneer but his art still resonates because it is both extreme and exquisite. This is gay pride in art and it could not have a better champion or a better record and exposition than in this book.

This book is worth every penny, if you are a Tom of finland fan, then this is the definitive biography, I really can't recommend this more highly. The book is massive and contains everything that you will ever need to know about the author, brilliant artist, and the man himself. The cherry on the cake is that the publication is superb quality, there's just so much incredible facts and info to discover. It's a superb and amazing book, you will be transfixed from beginning to end.

It's big, XXL is apt for the title.The book is big, the muscles are big, well... everything about the men in here is big if you are familiar with Tom's artwork.The book also nicely covers the life, inspirations and drives of the artist. I grew up gazing at Tom of Finland art because it was seriously hot stuff for the adolescent boy i used to be. I mean, it's still hot now as the man i've grown up to be, but i have also garnered much respect for the boundaries he pushed and the stereotypes of the time that he smashed.Tip your delivery person too, this book is heavy haha

This book is way bigger than I’ve expected so I need to find a place for it but apart from that everything is great. Beautifully designed, high quality prints and loads of artworks to admire. I like the fact there’s a bit of background reading as well as pictures so it helps with better understanding of Tom’s work. I had this position in my basket for ages and I’m glad I finally purchased it!

Bought for a friend’s 40th. He loved it. Prices range quite a bit on other sites, but Amazon was the lowest price.