In 1953, Marlon Brando put on a black leather Perfecto biker jacket, a military cap, jeans, and boots to play Johnny, the cheeky mocking leader of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, in Salvaje. In 1954, Tom of Finland dropped the brown leather in his works to create his own wild ones: muscular, hypermasculine rebels dressed in black leather with very powerful engines between their legs. That same year, the style was adopted by the Satyrs Motorcycle Club, the first gay rebel club, bringing Tom’s fantasy world to life. As expected from Tom, he soon adapted his new gay icons by adding caps and leather riding pants, knee-high boots, and the “Tom” brand on the gas tank of every motorcycle.
Tom’s bikers first appeared as two "Motorcycle Boys" in Physique Pictorial in the winter of 1958. Another appeared on the cover of the April 1960 issue. From that moment on, the bikers became the stars of his content, a nod to his American readers and a sign of his growing obsession. When in 1968 he decided to use a recurring character, a personal avatar, he created Kake, the quintessential leather-clad biker, and presented his all kinds of adventures in 26-panel comics. Tom adopted Kake’s outfit and was seen wearing a black leather jacket, a white t-shirt, jeans, and tall boots until the end of his life.
The Little Book of Tom: Bikers includes Tom’s first images for Physique Pictorial, Kake in his archetypal gear, comics, and steamy individual drawings in 192 pages full of sexy, masculine men enjoying other masculine men dressed in black leather, blue jeans, and tall boots. And all on motorcycles.
