Sketch book pages

It's been a while...The Holidays have made things kind of slow art-wise, so I thought I would post some recent sketchbook pages (editing out some of the "too personal" entries, for your sakes and mine...)

I was planning on posting some new drawings tonight...but I unfortunately left my bag on the bus and lost some finished drawings and a bunch of unused illustration board I had just bought. Oh well.

This image was originally intended to be a rough draft for a preview of Ferocious #1...I ended up liking this version better than the sleeker, "cleaner" version I ended up doing. This version ended up in my mini-comic Frenzy.

...I have noticed that these blog entries have a very hurried, rushed feel to them...in the future, I plan on expanding the entries to be a little more informative, give a little more substance to my reviews and recommendations.
I also plan on posting some comic pages too, and even doing work that is for this blog specifically, that is to say work that won't be found anywhere but this blog...that will include sketchbook pages and diary comics as well.
Hopefully, I can follow through with all of this...

MATT FURIE

One of my favorite new artists/cartoonists, Matt Furie has mined a childhood of pop culture and channeled it better than anybody from his generation. His Boy's Club comics are so much fun it's like drinking a can of Jolt Cola and watching "Thrashin."

Jordan Crane's UPTIGHT

Without a doubt one of my favorite ongoing comics today. In a time when most independent cartoonists have ditched the "monthly" format in favor of the more economically promising book and "graphic novel" format, I love that guys like Jordan Crane are putting out good ol' fashioned comic books. I was pretty devastated when I heard that Sammy Harkham's "Crickets" was being cancelled due to economic decisions made by Diamond Distribution, but for now I still have Uptight.

Crane's work has been an inspiration since I first read his "Last Lonely Saturday" years ago (which remains one of my favorite comics of all time) and with Uptight he is at the top of his game. Do yourselves a favor and check it out. http://reddingk.com/

You Can Tell By The "X" In "Comix"

I have been really into the undergrounds from the 60's for a while now, and decided to channel that inspriration into my own work, just to give it a try...

Sweet Rampage Art Show 10/31/09

Yes, I was a squid for Halloween...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN YOU GHOULS!!!

ART SHOW TONIGHT!!!

Hellen Jo

One of my favorite local cartoonists, Hellen Jo's work is the kind that got me interested in comics in the first place; irreverent, funny, chaotic, bizarre and cool.
If you haven't checked her work out yet, do yourselves a favor and do so...her newest comic Jin & Jam is available.

Color Ink Book

Color Ink Book is a modern pop-art magazine, which in turn is a coloring book for art lovers of all ages. It's run by some pretty awesome guys, The Brothers Washburn, who are doing a great job of finding some truly talented artists. Check 'em out at www.colorinkbook.com

A Preview of Honky Tonk Blues from Hot Fog #1

These pages are actually NOT the finished product, but rather rough guides for the ink-wash technique I wanted to try for this story...these pages aren't even finished, but I decided to copy the rough pencils and then did the wash right on top of the xeroxed pages...I am intrigued by the result, especially with how it compliments the tone of the story, but I have yet to decide what the final product will look like...I decided to post it here as a sort of "behind-the-scenes" thing.

SUBLIFE

I have been aware of John Pham's work for a while now, but I must admit that he was never a cartoonist who's work set me on fire. That is to say, until I read the first two issues of his Sublife, published by Fantagraphics. The first issue of this series truly blew me away. Some of the work, as far as I know, has been previously released in serialized form in MOME(also put out by Fantagraphics)but most of the work was new to me.
His art is deceptively simple, with a slight line with no real weight variance, and a very muted color pallet. The art mirrors the storytelling, which has no real exposition, and develops quietly and subtly.
The 2nd issue strays from some of the longer narratives set up in issue #1, and even tries new ground artistically, with a story, which as far as I can tell, is about the film character Mad Max, and is drawn in loose pencils with no inks.
The covers for both issues so far have been some of the best I've ever seen, even rivaling Chris Ware in quality of design. Well worth the $7.95 price tag.

HOT FOG

...Despite the fact that I recently found out there is a local band with the same name, I still plan on having HOT FOG be my place to focus on unique and experimental stories, things that don't fit into the FEROCIOUS universe and where I can feel free to do whatever tickles my fancy.

I will be using this blog in the near future to preview pages from the book...any and all honest opinions would be greatly appreciated.

More Comic Reccomendations!

I Want You by Lisa Hanawalt (http://www.lisahanawalt.com/) is the rare comic that both made me squeamish AND laugh out loud. (Her drawing of hemorrhoids alone are worth the cover price...you know, if you're into that sorta thing...) Her work has a surreal quality to it, but never at the cost of the humor. (The perfect example of this is the section called "Hats", where different animals are wearing things like fax machines on their heads.) She won an Ignatz award for "Outstanding Mini-Comic" for her previous comic "Stay Aways From Other People" and she is definitely a talent to watch.

This is Boyd, one of the characters from Hurricane Sisters, one of the stories in Hot Fog #1. Hurricane Sisters is like a cross between The Road Warrior and Archie. I will be posting more characters soon.

Ghost Punch Preview

Hey, I just thought I would post the painting I did for the Ghost punch cover. It is actually the second version of pretty much the same image, but this one is a lot cleaner. The comic should be out in February, and is the first chapter of my FEROCIOUS comic.

APE and BEYOND

The fine folks over at www.colorinkbook.com have been good to me, so I decided to do this Rayola, (their mascot) for them and I gave it to them at APE.



This was a great APE, and not only because I got to hang out with some great friends. I love "discovering" new stuff, and this year I hit the Jackpot...





First up is LOSE#1 by Michael Deforge...funny, chaotic, & nolstalgic all at the same time, I had never heard of Michael Deforge before coming across this gem at the Sparkplug/Koyama Press booth, but I am now a loyal fan...his Dogs In College is some of the funniest stuff I have read in a while, and his Young Green Lantern is a pitch perfect take on DC's legendary comic character. His work is a cross between Dave Cooper and Ivan Brunetti. I am expecting this talented Canadian to become pretty huge in the near future.







This comic, by Malachi Ward, as well as the mini comic Scout, was also a pleasant surprise, not only for the work itself, but it turns out the artist and I hail from the same small Southern California town! The two books were both a sort of melancholy sci-fi by way of Fantagraphics and the art and story matched perfectly.



I will share some more of finds in future posts.

Art Show!!!

My next Bay Area show is also a swingin' Halloween Party, in collaboration with those wonderful folks at Zughaus Gallery in Berkeley.

On sale at the show will be FRENZY #1, my newest mini-comic, which is actually more like a sketchbook collection.