It’s been sitting behind my computer desk for years…

It’s funny what can fall to the wayside in life. If you’re not careful, you can lose something you very valuable.

I recently found out that Sentences is CNN’s runner up for best graphic novel of ‘07.
Also, it looks like Sentences is on Time Magazine’s top ten graphic novels of the year list.
Aint that dope?!

It’s right on time. My life has been kinda hectic lately. Eeesh. I need to put it in a comic like Reyyy did.

Unwarranted, blatant self promotion over on Code Z Online. Here’s the most flattering article ever done on me. I like to believe it’s all true. Now I’ll have to rush to make work to warrant the flattery. Hopefully people see it. Hopefully it’s a trend.

here’s some flix of the graphic poem for that “Top Secret Meathaus Project”… crazy late… hope they can use it.

Page 1&2

some panels.

I’d be interested in what people think, but I only seem to get junk from pharmaceutical advertisers… I hate those guys. At least street pharmacists don’t advertise or spam…. imagine the day when you get crack spam!

But anyway

I doodled this while trying to sleep, watching the killing machine on IFC. eesh. so tired… and yet, not at all sleepy.
Anyway, so It’s just sonny chiba then I drew a headband on him and accidentally spilled mad ink on his hair with my pen brush. Then I proceeded to doodle myself into a corner…

…anyway, I swear that the character of ryu from street fighter is taken from a Sonny Chiba flick called Karate Bull fighter:

see about a minute 25 into the video, I swear this is Ryu. I love this old stuff, spaghetti sauce, rubber eyeballs and all; The energy of it is undeniable. Sonny Chiba would be the perfect Ryu.

(more…)

so since I cant’ sleep, I’ll post… and suffer tomorrow.

The ritual of martial arts is a rich and varied aspect of human culture. I saw this the other day while exploring the interweb.

The Ag’Ya, Danmye or Ladja of Martinique

You know, sometimes it’s not just about destroying someone. This shows a physical expression of violence where both participants remain unharmed despite the expression. This is dope. Also it’s ill because of the duality of violent play and compassion for your opponent. This is a martial “art”, forreal.

TMAs and fighters would nodoubt question the effectiveness of this as a style of self defense. It’s a moot point to me. Foremost because a martial art is more than the ability to destroy a human being, or else the study of nuclear physics or balistics would be the ultimate martial art. Also, I do think it’s possible that this playful style could conceal practical skills, in the same way that other practical martial arts have ceremonial aspects. Indeed the physical dexterity exibited by these players leads me to think that these performers are rather fit athletes. They are very aware of their entire body and the subtle movements of human bodies interacting… which leads me to believe that that they could handle themselves in a streetfight. My favorite fighters dance (ali, bruce, any muay thai fighter or senegalese wrestler)

I think this would make a great character for a game. Looking back on the dying fight genre of video games, I remember missing a true diversity of fighting styles. I guess that’s unfair. Streetfighter was diverse in it’s own way, but wouldn’t it have been great to see an obscure martial art like Ag’ya, Systema or even Nuba wrestling in a fighting game. Like true “world warriors”

Whatup Ch’all?
“I just got back from another world, it was way, way past another side” (George Clinton, “I just got back”)… But yeah y’all. Just had my first signing at NYcomic con… man… It’s a thin line between love and hate, ya’ll… that’s all I’ll say about that… if you’ve been to a convention and/or sat at a table, you know what the fuck I mean. But Grimm handles it like a pro; it’s a testament to his hustle. I met some cool people though. Azarello, Haspiel, Vietch, Peter Gross, Dysart… whew! not to mention a some dope fans.

Glad to drop those names, they’re heavy. hahaha… you can’t really name-drop in comics, because no-one’s really famous. But I met becky cloonan too and that’s why there are tree monsters in my deviantart gallery now. I wanted to link with lots of people, because… well… comics is a lonely profession, and even when you’re in a crowd of people, the commercialization of the individual (talent) makes one feel isolated. It’s similar to the fine art world… But on that note, I missed Ross Campbell and only got to briefly build with Lesean. Just wanted to shout them out real quick.

Real quick… if you’re a fan of hip-hop… especially the wu… you probably already heard these but, if not, peep the new solos by Masta Killa and Inspectah Deck. Masta Killa dropped “Made in Brooklyn” and “No said date” within the last year. Both have some bangers. I’ve been rocking the Rebel Ins’ “The Resident Patient” pretty steady. Not to mention it’s my favorite Wu album cover since, “Cuban Links” or “Liquid Swords” (correction, like 5 minutes later: How did I forget Bill Sienkiewicz’s work on “Bobby Digital”, another favorite of mine)

Also been listening to The “Good the Bad and the Queen” (off the strength of Tony Allen and Paul Simonon)… it’s good pop music.

If you haven’t copped the free “Chrome Children 2″ over at Cartoon Network, go cop it… It’s arguably better than the first one, my main argument for it being better than the first one, “It’s free!”

Working on getting some drawings up here. I’ll post some pictures of the NYcon once I get them. And if you’re reading this and you got them… run them!

After a long hiatus… I’m gonna get right back into it!

I’ll be signing at the vertigo booth today. Signing what is the question I asked myself. I guess I’ll find out when I get there.

I picked up a few great books the otherday,“Tophats and Flappers” , “Dear John, the Alex Toth Doodle Book” and “Black Panther, the Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas”. If you know me, these purchases won’t come as a big surprise.

“Tophats and Flappers” is a decent collection of the artwork of Russel Patterson, a cartoonist from the first half of the 2oth century. Honest, frank lines and plenty of long legged girls. A blueprint for modern fashion sketching and cartoon pinups. He was a master of combining black fields in shadow and local color to manipulate negative and positive space.

Which Brings me to “Dear John…” which I couldn’t find on Amazon; I picked it up at “forbidden planet” here in the city. This book is fireproof! More of that classic use of of black fields to really balance and design the page. Another thing these guys share is an excellent use of mechanical tone. In a way I’d even say that Toth is a step down the lineage of Patterson. These books are must have for narrative designers.

“Black Panther…” is a collection of the work of Emory Douglas. I recently got into Douglas’ work. This is a great poster book. I won’t go on to waste words describing it… give it a look, it’s well worth it. It’s also a great piece of Black Panther ephemera.