Appropos of nothing comics, Beasts! contributor Heiko Mueller has an art show coming up here in the States this fall and "Gangland II" (pictured here) seems to be a culmination of everything that's inspiring about Heiko's work. I couldn't talk about this piece without talking about every anxiety and fixation on death that I have about the passage of time. I'd have to tell about the ghosts I had in my room as a child and nobody wants that here. Heiko captured time itself like I've never seen it captured. Check out his Flickr page HERE.
Los Angeles: Jon Vermilyea.
Not-to-be-missed Jon Vermilyea show opens Friday night in Los Angeles. I lifted this info straight off the Secret Headquarters site: I believe Jon told me this show is all prints he drew reinterpreting the infamous "Mars Attacks" trading cards from the 1960s. Jon's old silkscreen book was a jewel of pop culture sickness that mashed-up the legend of Hercules' Trials with He-Man's life in Eternia. Like a Saturday Morning cartoon made by an acid-tripping Basil Wolverton, these Vermilyea interpretations should be amazing in person. Meanwhile, in case you need a meat shirt, find one here. Or a print. Whatever. Note…
Buckley Brings More Penguins.
Paul Buckley is Art Director at Penguin Books, a publisher known for iconic design (and Art Directors), and he recently started a Flickr page featuring a small sampling of his work. Buckley is also the guy who managed to spearhead all those amazing classics-of-literature-covered-by-cartoonists. It may seem obvious– Chris Ware doing the cover art to Candide, Jason doing Dharma Bums, Charles Burns on The Jungle, and so many more– but getting all that through the marketing teams and other red tape at an enormous publishing house isn't just brilliant, it's tenacious. Looks like the hits just keep coming with the…
Portable Grindhouse to Press
Portable Grindhouse won't be out until the late holidays but after a long delay I'm pleased to finally be sending Jacques Boyreau's baby off to press. What seemed like a good suggestion at the time– to present these old beat up video tapes as austere artifacts (my "Richard Avedon" presentation according to Jacques)– turned into a nightmare of production. But at last, rest easy VHS fans, this thing is going to press. Featuring 200 pages of spreads showing the front and back of video boxes selected by Jacques, the book will also come inside a light cardboard slipcase, video box…
San Diego Blues
San Diego hosts Comic Con International this week and every comics "insider" has an opinion about CCI and most of the opinions I hear are exasperated ones, heavy with a burned-out tone. Granted, I've only been to one year of Comic Con– 2007– but I loved it. I'm a guy who hates crowds but still I LOVE COMIC CON. Comic Con is filled wall-to-wall with people who are SO FUCKING EXCITED to be THERE. Everyone is excited just to be among comics and people who also like comics. Not that they know what to do with that energy– it's still…
Tony Millionaire is God.
Being married to actress Becky Thyre (Weeds, Arrested Development, Six Feet Under, etc.), it should come as no surprise that Tony Millionaire finds time to make bizarre short films about God compelling men to drink.
Prints!
Jordan Crane is offering an enormous screenprint of one of the most classic comic book covers ever made– Jaime Hernandez's art for Love and Rockets #24. Epic. Perfect. Plus, he's got new prints of his own work, including the sure-to-be-classic cover of his latest issue of "Uptight". You buy these two prints, you put them on your wall, it's your funeral when your mind explodes. Plus you can buy the second in his series of objects, this time of raffle tickets. Buy prints here.
QUACK QUACK
QUOCK.
Are Comics the New Liquor?
After a very long stint as our Fantastic Intern here in the Fantagraphics Art Department, we are very pleased (and relieved) to have the poorly-photographed Alexa Koenings working on staff as Designer #3. We all know liquor sales rise as recession creeps but who'd have thought that we could add staff at a comics publisher? Onward we push, to bring the world more comics, more graphic novels, more of the best inky inebriants. Thank you comics buyers for your support. We owe you a drink. Trivia: Alexa's the only person I've met whose name is spelled and pronounced similar to…
Hey Seattle…
I've yet to turn out to Capitol Hill Block Party but for a set of only Built To Spill fan favorites there's a good chance I will. Using the internet to its best effect, BTS are performing a set list decided by public opinion. I voted Dystopian Dream Girl but it's looking pretty iffy. (*The old Fantagraphics benefit poster pictured above is unrelated but available from our pals at Patent Pending.)
