Studygroup Magazine no. 2

I have 2 pages in the new Study Group Magazine entitled, "Whistle While You Work ...Or Think of Death."  This is a great art/comics publication edited by Zack Soto and includes several other talented artists.  Check out the online preview and order here.  Below is a sample page of mine.

 

The Folio Club no. 5 - Cover Illo and More

Here is the wrap-around cover I drew for The Folio Club #5 published and edited by Robert Pranzatelli.  I also have some sketchbook selections published in this issue (see below).  It also features new work from Lilli Carré. 

"Black Eye no. 1: Graphic Transmissions to Cause Ocular Hypertension"

I'm very proud to announce the release of the dark humor comics & graphics anthology, "Black Eye" edited by Ryan Standfest and published by his Rotland Press + Comic Works.  The cover above was drawn by Paul Nudd and myself using watercolor, ink, and graphite on stained paper.

The book includes work by over 41 artists and writers from all over the world including Ivan Brunetti, Lilli Carré, Stephane Blanquet, Al Columbia, Paul Nudd and many others working the in the dark humor arts.  Please visit the Rotland site for a line up of contributors and ordering info.

I also contributed a two page spread of one-panel gags entitled, "Blood Clots."  Above is one of them.  The rest are much, much worse.

In addition to the cover, Paul Nudd and I also made a collaborative letterpress print for Black Eye.  It was printed by the great folks at Rohner Letterpress here in Chicago.  This is also for sale at Ryan Standfest's site.  More info and photos of Paul Nudd and I editioning the print can be found here.

"The Folio Club" Issue No. 1

The is the wrap-around cover I did for Robert Pranzatelli's literary/art book series, "The Folio Club."  He also featured seven of my drawings from Claptrap #2 in it.  Here's a review for it from Fine Books & Collections.  Robert also wrote a nice entry on his blog about my drawings.  You can purchase the book through Amazon here.

New Comic - For Book of Children's Dreams.

The book is called "Elmonstruodecoloresnotieneboca" and it's the project of Roger Omar (Spain). What he's done is collect dreams from children in Mexico, Spain, and Brazil and is having artists render them from several different countries as well. The collection will include cartoonists Rene French, Matti Hagelberg, Anke Feuchtenberger, and Max as well as illustrators like Derek M. Ballard, Steak Mountain, and Flavio Morais (any many, many more). I illustrated the dream I chose as a comic strip simply because of the narrative nature of the dream itself. I'm not quite sure when the book will be out or where you can purchase it, but once I do, I'll be sure to post something about it. Oh, and here is the dream I illustrated:

Jesus Roberto (Mexico)
The Puncher Ghosts
"One day I dreamed that there were ghosts in my house... They punched me when I was left alone, and when my mother arrived, she found me all beaten up... From that moment she doesn't leave me alone anymore."

Ivan Brunetti's "An Anthology of Graphic Fiction"

(Click for Larger Version)

Now in some stores and soon to be in others - "An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, & True Stories", edited by Ivan Brunetti and published by Yale University Press. You can order it here. I won't go into it too much here, simply because I don't want to attempt to write a full review of it, but the design and production are incredible and it's surely something I see as an essential book on comics (old and new). I just so happened to be able to be a part of it (and am very honored I could be) - I drew the illustrated table of contents of numerous cartoon characters. Here's a sample of some of 'em:

While I'm updating here, I may as well post a couple of random drawings I did a while back:

"Asthma" by John Hankiewicz

My pal, John Hankiewicz, has a new collection published by Sparkplug Comicbooks and I gotta say, this is his most ballsy approach to that thing we call "comics". John plays off of the formal aspects of the medium, the use of titles/labels, time and setting, and even distorts the figure more so than he has ever before, giving abstract and fragmented emotional responses. Can you tell I'm digging this new book? Can you tell I'm telling you to buy the sucker? Do it here or at a comic shop in the not-to-distant future. Here's some more info from the Sparkplug site:

Asthma is a collection of recent comics by John Hankiewicz. From story to story, even page to page, the book mixes a startling range of graphic and narrative styles to form a dreamlike whole.

"Amateur Comics" creates a wordless lyric of body, chairs, and space. "Martha Gregory" delves into the rhyming psyches of a young woman and an old man. "Jazz" charts a single day through the lens of the unconscious. Also included are the visually abstract "The Kimball House," the autobiographical "Westmont Is Next," the elliptically humorous "Dance" (printed in black and red), and several other ineffable pieces.

At once perplexing and moving, disturbing and playful, Asthma explores the formal and emotional reaches of the comics medium.

Now in Stores - Hotwire Comix & Capers...

The Fantagraphics anthology, "Hotwire Comix & Capers" (that includes five pages by me - all under the theme of Oklahoma-livin') is now in stores. You can order it here. It's a damn fine book, featuring new work from Ivan Brunetti, J. Bradley Johnson, Johnny Ryan, Mats!?, Tony Millionaire, Carol Swain, and several others. Below is one of several one-panel gags I did fer it.

Huizenga, Nilsen, And Harkham - At Quimby's Last Night...

Kevin Huizenga, Anders Nilsen, and Sammy Harkham made their last stop on their book-signing tour here in Chicago at Quimby's. I decided to make some small drawings for the three of them, so above are separate cards for each of 'em. These three cartoonists are pretty damn inspiring to me and it was great to hang out with them after the event swillin' beer and talkin' 'bout comics and whatnot.

Purchase their new comics:

Kevin Huizenga - Ganges #1
Anders Nilsen - Big Questions #8
Sammy Harkham - Crickets #1

"We All Die Alone" by Mark Newgarden...

Although I'll have to take a lint brush to the fuzzy cover of this book, I'm a bonafide proud owner of this collection of Mark Newgarden's comics (and man-oh-man, have I been waiting for this!). Edited by Dan Nadel (Ganzfeld) and designed by Helene Silverman, this book is a brilliant laff riot and is essential to any of you doing humorous work out there. How can you go wrong with 224 pages of big whoppin' noses? Here's some info on the book straight from Mark's site.