28 Saturday Dec 2013
Posted in indie, science fiction
A year or so before Image began publishing Sam Kieth’s most famous work, Maxx, Fantagraphics produced two volumes of Kieth’s drawings and short stories as I Before E. With creepy aliens, prowling tigers, and visual treats like the short story “Max the Hare,” these two comic-sized volumes make a fine companion to any Sam Kieth collection.
Collector’s Guide: from I before E #2; Fantagraphics, 1992
25 Wednesday Sep 2013
Tags
alwun house, art, cats, painting, Tiger
I never met Andy Bach, but I dig his tiger. Acrylic on some sort of art paper, it measures 17.5 x 23 inches. Andy painted the tiger in fifth grade. Since I bought it in 2009 or 2010, he should be wrapping up junior high about now.
Most visitors to the Martian Headquarters assume I painted the tiger, but no. I bought it. The Alwun House Foundation hosts Salon des Enfants, an annual children’s art show in partnership with local schools. The galleries in the first story of the house display visual art. Children perform music and dance on the stage in the back yard, entertaining a huge crowd of parents and community. All the money from the art sales goes directly to the kids. Andy’s big red tiger cost me $20. I always wonder what he did with the cash!
05 Wednesday Jun 2013
Posted in art studio
Tags
A panel by Eduardo Risso serves as the source image for this painting. The panel comes from a page of 100 Bullets, a masterpiece of crime fiction by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso, colored by Patricia Mulvihill.
This is our first painting working with our new grid system. Instead of tracing and then drawing a grid and then enlarging, we tried something slightly different. We made a digital grid we place over the source image in a graphics program. Next, we drew the grid on paper and did a study of the image in pencil and marker. Instead of using the grid on the canvas, we felt confident enough after the study to go freehand on the canvas.
Why this image? Other than the sheer awesomeness of big cats, this one has meaning in the context of the 100 Bullets story. Jack has been told that the person responsible for messing up his life is none other than himself. Like other characters in the story, Jack received a pistol and 100 bullets along with this revelation. Jack is a heroin addict, prone to violence, and troubled by his past.
In this chapter of the story, Jack confronts a caged tiger. The tiger has been put there, but the cage is clearly a metaphor for Jack’s self-created confinement. Jack sees a kindred spirit in this tiger. Eventually, he sets this tiger free. Similarly, Jack kicks his heroin habit and leaves his old life behind him. Jack suspects that nothing good awaits this tiger, but at least the tiger will live his remaining life free and true to himself.
15 Sunday Jan 2012
Posted in educational, golden age
Tags
Baboon, Dell Comics, Elephant, golden age, Keys of Knowledge, shark, shrew, Tiger, Wild Animals of Asia, Wild Animals of North America, Wild Animals of South America, Wild Boar
Dell Comics’ Keys of Knowledge may not be comics at all. Why? Because comics are sequential. Comics tell stories. These are really illustrations with captions, not truly comics.
We won’t hold that fine distinction against them. Because… Dude! Anteater! Shark! Violent Baboons! Nuff Said! Anyway, The Keys of Knowledge in the gallery below come from the original Turok Son of Stone. Yes, Martian, we are feverishly compiling all of the Young Earth stories from Turok to share with you very soon.
What’s Young Earth, you say? Dinosaurs. The first pure dinosaur comics of all time, according to Steve Bissette — and by “pure” we mean NO HUMANS and no anthropomorphizing. No time travel. JUST STORIES ABOUT PREHISTORIC CRITTERS DOING THEIR PREHISTORIC THING! YES!!
Anyway! Back to the Keys of Knowledge: Wild Animals of Africa from Turok #31, Fish from Turok #35, Wild Animals of South America from Turok #36, Wild Animals of North America from Turok #39 & #42, and Wild Animals of Asia (TIGER) from Turok #43. The black-and-white ones come from the inside covers of the issues. We don’t know if Dark Horse is including these babies in their new reprints of the original Turok, but we hope so. Because we dig these educational animal comics a hell of a lot more than those dumb Turok and Andar stories!
Mars Will Send No More 