Here' the finished Hejji comic page. I decided not to add watercolour. Keeping in the tradition of a old newspaper Sunday page I felt it should stay black and white. The show begins March 3 at .Gallery Nucleus

I sketched out the page on the computer then pencilled the pages onto on a 18 by 24 inch piece of Strathmore over the printouts. I like drawing and changing as I ink rather then having things really locked down. Never sure how its going to come out.

I'm still pondering whether to add some simple watercolour to the page. I imagine I'll come to some decision later tonight...

More Hejji.....

I'll have a piece in the Dr. Seuss tribute show at Gallery Nucleus. Dr. Seuss is one of the greats so its a bit embarrassing to try to do something but since I love the old Sunday newspaper pages I'm taking a crack at doing his wonderful creation, Hejji. The strip itself ran less then a year and I believe has never been reprinted in its entirety . KLASSIC KRAZY KOOL KOMICS from Yoe books has all the known samples in it. Here's a progress shot.

I love this recent Calle facsimile editions of classic illustrated books. The latest I bought was THE SLEEPING BEAUTY AND OTHER FAIRY TALES illustrated by Edmund Dulac. You can't tell here but the reproductions are beautiful.

Fun with ghosts.....

At last a comprehensive monograph on iconic graphic designer Saul Bass from Laurence King Publishing. A LIFE IN FILM AND DESIGN is 440 page look at one of the 20th centuries most important graphic designers with lots of words from the man himself. The first Bass image that would have struck me as a youngster would be hard to say.. one of his titles for Vertigo, Psycho or Man with the Golden Arm for sure (tho I'd lean towards Psycho) . Even a brief look at the work he created and its easy to see how it still resonates and appear in images continuing today and like the best graphic design it has the ability to let you enter another point of view. Clarity and simplicity but not simple, there is power to the juxtapositions of shape and image, space and colour that take one into the work and contemplate rather than just a clever visual gimmick.
Not only that he seems like that nicest of blokes. An inspiring read
about one of the main shapers of modernistic advertising images of the 20th century.









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Saul's only children's book illustration soon to be reprinted.



And after all this heady stuff treat you self to some top notch cartooning. My morning coffee guffaws and eye popping admiration came courtesy of KLASSIC KRAZY KOOL KIDS COMICS from the always great Yoe books the out of print THE COMIC STRIP CENTURY. A excellent visual overview of the newspaper strip from Kitchen Sink.

Coming in Spring from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.. Working Mummies!
Available for preorder here

Nice mention of my Happy Undertaker webcomic in Vancouver's The Snipe

morning goofiness.....

Morning goofiness