DTV

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!

placemat doodle I did at 200 fifth ave bar. in Park Slope. Julian told me to shoot it.

It’s a great place for takeout, but if there is a game or a fight on tv, prepare yourself for some ruckus if you want to sit in and eat.

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.