Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Batusi
Bad coloring on this one, maybe I should redo it.... when that happens, you'll be the first to know.
1stgirl
Titled such because this was the first time I'd played around with doing illustration work in color since I'd put down the crayons as a kid.
Secret Country WOMEN, WHISKEY and NIGHTLIFE
I was tremendously excited to be asked to do the full artwork and layout for Kearny NJ's own Secret Country's CD WOMEN, WHISKEY and NIGHTLIFE. This is the cover. To see the rest, you have to buy the CD, a walloping slab of songs concerning the complex issues noted in the title. You will not regret it.
Secret Country Poster
This Secret Country poster uses the "Hot Dog Girl" image from the inside cover of the CD WOMEN, WHISKEY and NIGHTLIFE.
CMJ Family Albums
This piece appeared in CMJ NEW MUSIC MONTHLY No. 64, December 1998. Another piece done before I had a scanner, as the original of this was sent (mailed, mind you) on a giant piece of illustration board with the text boxes done in Illustrator and printed out on sticker paper, then attached to the original. This is also from my brief experimentation with mixing colored pencil and marker for color.
Monday, September 20, 2010
aka THUNDERSTORM
I created Thunderstorm in high school (that'd be in the 1980s) as a standard superhero strip and self-published two THUNDERSTORM comics, portions of which will NOT be posted here. My next comic, the anthology BEAT COMICS (1985-1990) featured a revamped version of the strip, focusing more on the hero's alter ego and his relationship with his wife. When the strip next appeared in the Lancaster PA free monthly, 13 MAGAZINE, from 1994-95, it had evolved further into AKA THUNDERSTORM, now almost solely about how being a superhero affected the character (named, heh, Alexander Hitchcock... no, really) and the small group of friends and family (mostly his wife Laura) who shared his secret.
The strip predated the whole "superheroes in real life" genre as Thunderstorm didn't really have supervillains to battle, he mostly used his powers (flight, invisibility, the ability to generate lightning bolts of varying intensity) to put bad drivers in their place and run errands more easily. I may get around to posting some of the later strips here, and I also have a big file of layouts and scripts for a never-finished graphic novel / screenplay (wasn't sure which). Whether or not TS remains in limbo remains to be seen.
This drawing shows a costume that I never got to use for the character, with the shirt turned into a heavy pullover (seemed to me that tucking in a shirt would be very cumbersome to a crimefighter).
The strip predated the whole "superheroes in real life" genre as Thunderstorm didn't really have supervillains to battle, he mostly used his powers (flight, invisibility, the ability to generate lightning bolts of varying intensity) to put bad drivers in their place and run errands more easily. I may get around to posting some of the later strips here, and I also have a big file of layouts and scripts for a never-finished graphic novel / screenplay (wasn't sure which). Whether or not TS remains in limbo remains to be seen.
This drawing shows a costume that I never got to use for the character, with the shirt turned into a heavy pullover (seemed to me that tucking in a shirt would be very cumbersome to a crimefighter).
YDLA: 20 Things I Actually Love About the 80s
This was slated for AQUATULLE Magazine, but the magazine sadly folded before it was printed. I still hate the 80s.
Alison's Parents
In 1999, my friend Alison hired me to do large drawings of old photos of her parents for their 50th wedding anniversary.
Music Geek: Semantics
This accompanied a piece I wrote for MTV.com's Music Geek about what to call music in the age of MP3 (is it still a "record" or not?).
Agents of P.O.O.C.!*
This was the flyer for a 2003 show I curated at Maxwell's called AGENTS OF P.O.O.C.!* which stood for "Panels Out of Context," in which artists were asked to do reinterpretations of comic book panels (some of mine are elsewhere on this site). The background for the flyer was my version of a panel from LOIS LANE #93 (1969) by Irv Novick in which Superman and Wonder Woman were dancing the Froggie Underwater.
S'TAN & SOCIAL GRACE: No Reserve
This was the final episode of S&SG done for THE NEW YORK HANGOVER, but the paper folded (and at the time wasn't set up for large graphics... man, how the internet has changed) before it ever saw print.
What Sort of Man Reads Playboy?
This illo accompanied a NEW YORK HANGOVER piece I wrote in 1998 called "Playmates, Cheap Cigars and a Goodie Bag" about attending a party for the newly crowned PLAYBOY Playmate of the Year with my then-roommate Rob and being really creeped out by the atmosphere of the shindig. PLAYBOY was a big part of my adolescence in the 1970s, and while nostalgia certainly colors interpretation, I came away from this party just skeeved at what had become of the magazine and its brand.
YDLA: The "Real" Superman
Never before posted, this 1998 installment of YOU DON'T LIKE ANYTHING! was intended for publication in a friend's zine that never came to be. I'm putting it up here (despite hating the panels of George Reeves and Christopher Reeve) because it's interesting to see (post-SUPERMAN RETURNS) what was right and what was wrong. I'm just still so damn glad that Tim Burton film never got made!
POSTSCRIPT, February 2012:
Note that a few elements from this strip made their way into the ICON episode of PRINCE STREET NEWS, located above!
POSTSCRIPT, February 2012:
Note that a few elements from this strip made their way into the ICON episode of PRINCE STREET NEWS, located above!
Christmas Video Party Invitations
For the past two decades, I've been hosting an annual Christmas Video Party, where a buncha pals come over and everyone votes on what classic holiday specials or TV episodes to watch while we get all hopped up on egg nog and cookies. I ain't lying, it's my favorite day of the year. These two invitations are from 2004 and 2005.
Yo La Tengo, 8 Nights to Love Poster
I did this poster for Yo La Tengo's 2007 8 Nights of Hanukkah at Maxwell's, a semi-annual event featuring amazing guest stars and great comedians. The band does a different set every night and proceeds all go to charity (and yes, that girl is wearing a vintage pair of Gilda Radner's Jewess Jeans).
Betty's Decorating
Another Dan DeCarlo reinterpretation, from an old Archie Christmas comic book (man, I love them). For some odd reason, I did this piece on gray speckled paper, giving Archie and Betty very unflattering complexions.
Spectre Ballyhoo / Beerguy
This piece (the pose on the girl came from an ad for a Philadelphia used clothing store that really struck me) was later reworked for the ill-fated line of Tough Guy greeting cards (the sad tale and altered version can be found in another post). I had to take out the Spectre and replace him with the gentleman below. My cat Monkey (R.I.P.) remained, however.
Sexist / Retro
The only panel / gag cartoon I ever did... I can't remember if I submitted it to anyone or not. I still think it's kinda funny, although not as timeless now that the Cocktail Culture fad has passed. This was later made into a Tough Guy greeting card (see below).
Beware the Creeper
This is another of my favorite pieces, later reworked for the first (and only) line of Tough Guy cards (see below). I had to replace the DC Comic in the corner that gives the piece its name with something that wouldn't get me sued. So I worked up the Tough Guy Comics cover below. To see the reworked piece, take a gander elsewhere on this site...
The Tough Guy Greeting Cards
Okay, so here was the deal: In 2003, I launched TOUGH GUY GOODS AND SERVICES as a greeting card / graphics products line. The idea was to build a company that put out cards, stickers, mugs, etc. I emptied my savings, printed up thousands of cards, bought supplies, filed for a tax number, set up the website, hired an assistant, sent out hundreds of packages to stationery stores around the country.... and sold absolutely nothing. Zip. Zilch.
If anyone is interested in purchasing any of the following cards (they are 5 x 7", blank inside and come with envelopes), drop me a line. I'll give you a deal that will make your head spin. Okay, so it's unlikely that any deal on freakin' greeting cards will make your head spin, but trust me, it'll be cheap.
If anyone is interested in purchasing any of the following cards (they are 5 x 7", blank inside and come with envelopes), drop me a line. I'll give you a deal that will make your head spin. Okay, so it's unlikely that any deal on freakin' greeting cards will make your head spin, but trust me, it'll be cheap.
Supermovies
This was done to accompany a piece I wrote for MTV.com about the DOs and DON'Ts of superhero moviemaking. I still can't believe that nobody's taken that cue from 007 that I mention in the piece.
The Pyloric Valve
A 2000 pitch for a comic strip set in a bar. Didn't sell. Most of these characters were based on people I know (but that should go without saying, right?).
Holly Jolly! CD cover
The cover and inaly to my 2009 Christmas compilation... it's got naked booty on it! There was also a censored version for the kids.
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