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Shepard Fairey gallery, San Francisco
2 min read
The other night, I cruised over to S.F. to have dinner at Edinburgh Castle (fish 'n' chips 'n' beers, oh my!) with a friend of mine. I parked my car and, as I got out, I look up and I see a whole gallery full of Shepard Fairey art.
If you don't know who Fairey is, you should check out his work. Everyone's seen the '80s Andre The Giant "obey" sticker around at some point. But that's just a drop in the bucket. His art is really awesome to behold in person.
Today a different friend IMed me a link to this SF Gate article about Shepard Fairey and his exhibition, which you might like to read.
"I could teach any 15-year-old to do what I do," Fairey said. "I learned everything I still do when I was 15 - stenciling, photocopying, printing. But that's what punk rock is about. Your technical ability doesn't limit your ability to impact people. That's empowering to people; you don't need to be an impresario."
Enjoy!
P.S. - "The Duality of Humanity: New Works by Shepard Fairey" runs through Oct. 4 at White Walls Gallery, 835 Larkin St., San Francisco. (415) 931-1500
If you don't know who Fairey is, you should check out his work. Everyone's seen the '80s Andre The Giant "obey" sticker around at some point. But that's just a drop in the bucket. His art is really awesome to behold in person.
Today a different friend IMed me a link to this SF Gate article about Shepard Fairey and his exhibition, which you might like to read.
"I could teach any 15-year-old to do what I do," Fairey said. "I learned everything I still do when I was 15 - stenciling, photocopying, printing. But that's what punk rock is about. Your technical ability doesn't limit your ability to impact people. That's empowering to people; you don't need to be an impresario."
Enjoy!
P.S. - "The Duality of Humanity: New Works by Shepard Fairey" runs through Oct. 4 at White Walls Gallery, 835 Larkin St., San Francisco. (415) 931-1500
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'Tagged' ... oh joy!
5 min read
I've been "tagged" by Becky 
because her conniving evil ways know no bounds.
Apparently being "tagged" means this:
The rules are:
1. Post these rules
2. Each person tagged must post 8 random facts about themselves
3. Tags should write a journal/blog of these facts
4. At the end of the post 8 more persons are tagged and named
5. Go to their page and leave a comment telling them they're tagged
Eight random things? Damnit. I'm too tired for this. But I can already tell you that I'm going to break rules 4 and 5. If I tag anyone, they'll probably hate me forever. OK, here goes...
1) When I was young, I had a huge crush on Susan Sarandon in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I also had a huge crush on Erin Grey from the Buck Rogers TV show. However, my BIGGEST crush of ALL was Michelle Meyrink, from Real Genius. Good LAWD!
2) I worked at an ice rink in San Diego around when I was 19 or 20 years old, and my job included driving the zamboni.
3) I had piano lessons for 10 years when I was a kid. I haven't played in a long time, mostly because I never had a living situation where I could have a noisy-ass piano, and I've probably forgotten almost everything. I remember once when I was a kid, I complained to my dad (as kids do) about piano lessons, and he said something like "Well, you didn't want to play hockey or soccer or anything." I don't remember even having a choice in the matter!
4) I didn't kiss a girl until I was 21. Yeah, I know, big surprise.
5) My first significant job (and highest paying job) was working as a production/designer/webmaster type for Danni's Hard Drive, which was a soft-core adult website. I had no experience doing web design, outside of tinkering with my own webpage at the time, but they hired me anyway. I guess they were desperate. But I'd like to think I was a great coworker and a benefit to the company. I got to meet a lot of porn stars and touch-up a lot of photos, too. Good times.
6) I'm VERY happy that I don't work in the porn industry anymore. However, I'm not happy that working in comics has halved my income.
7) After I moved out on my own to Los Angeles and got a job working in porn, my coworker Kathryn got me into the goth/industrial scene, where I would occasionally wear fishnet shirts and dance like an idiot. I'm sure they all hated me. If they didn't hate me for my crappy faux-goth dancing, they probably hated me for that one time I wore my Philadelphia Flyers jersey to a goth club.
8) My last love, who I was with for nearly 6 years, I met in a goth chatroom on the internet. Somehow that's just hilarious to me now. And, no, I'm not goth (damnit, STARKINGS!).
9) Once when I was a little kid, my family and I were at a hotel swimming pool, and I thought I could swim in the deep end, so I dove in. Of course, I couldn't tread water, and I was too far away from the side of the pool, so I started to choke and go under. I nearly drowned, but my dad was right there, and he kinda came up from underneath me and basically shoved me the hell out of the pool. Like, I was airborne and made a child-sized wet "kathwack" sound when I hit the cement. Boy did I feel like a dumbass. But, not long after that, in a "swimming class", they made us jump off a diving board into the deep end. I thought I was going to be the laughing stock of the class, but somehow I swam just fine. Go figure.
10) My first concert was a triple-bill featuring Ministry, Sepultura and Helmet. It was... intense, to say the least. I think I was 17 years old at the time. Helmet opened, and I ventured into my first mosh pit, where I had some good ol' pushing-and-shoving fun. When Sepultura peformed, the mosh pit became some kind of Whirlpool Of HURT. Being a dumb kid, and having been in weight training and in pretty good shape, I figured I'd be fine, so I went in again. A couple songs later, I came out sweaty, unscathed and thinking "Hey, this is fun. Piece o' cake!" I didn't think about it at the time, but shortly after I came out of the mosh pit, I noticed a woman being carried out, face bloody and unable to walk. As I was standing at the edge of the mosh, someone was thrown clear over my head. I mean, I had to duck a little, but he was OVER MY HEAD. I saw a lot of broken people that night. I had blood on my clothes, and it wasn't mine. I was probably lucky I didn't end up hospitalized. Thinking THAT pit was bad... when Ministry performed, the pit was an absolute warzone. You could feel the pain emanating from it's twisting destructive mass. By that point, I had pretty much realized the whole "discretion is the better part of valor" thing. Heh. DAMN that was a great concert!
OK, so hopefully those things are good enough to qualify, because I can't think of anything better to say right now!
ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, BECKY?! HUH?! ARE YA?!
because her conniving evil ways know no bounds.Apparently being "tagged" means this:
The rules are:
1. Post these rules
2. Each person tagged must post 8 random facts about themselves
3. Tags should write a journal/blog of these facts
4. At the end of the post 8 more persons are tagged and named
5. Go to their page and leave a comment telling them they're tagged
Eight random things? Damnit. I'm too tired for this. But I can already tell you that I'm going to break rules 4 and 5. If I tag anyone, they'll probably hate me forever. OK, here goes...
1) When I was young, I had a huge crush on Susan Sarandon in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I also had a huge crush on Erin Grey from the Buck Rogers TV show. However, my BIGGEST crush of ALL was Michelle Meyrink, from Real Genius. Good LAWD!
2) I worked at an ice rink in San Diego around when I was 19 or 20 years old, and my job included driving the zamboni.
3) I had piano lessons for 10 years when I was a kid. I haven't played in a long time, mostly because I never had a living situation where I could have a noisy-ass piano, and I've probably forgotten almost everything. I remember once when I was a kid, I complained to my dad (as kids do) about piano lessons, and he said something like "Well, you didn't want to play hockey or soccer or anything." I don't remember even having a choice in the matter!
4) I didn't kiss a girl until I was 21. Yeah, I know, big surprise.
5) My first significant job (and highest paying job) was working as a production/designer/webmaster type for Danni's Hard Drive, which was a soft-core adult website. I had no experience doing web design, outside of tinkering with my own webpage at the time, but they hired me anyway. I guess they were desperate. But I'd like to think I was a great coworker and a benefit to the company. I got to meet a lot of porn stars and touch-up a lot of photos, too. Good times.
6) I'm VERY happy that I don't work in the porn industry anymore. However, I'm not happy that working in comics has halved my income.
7) After I moved out on my own to Los Angeles and got a job working in porn, my coworker Kathryn got me into the goth/industrial scene, where I would occasionally wear fishnet shirts and dance like an idiot. I'm sure they all hated me. If they didn't hate me for my crappy faux-goth dancing, they probably hated me for that one time I wore my Philadelphia Flyers jersey to a goth club.
8) My last love, who I was with for nearly 6 years, I met in a goth chatroom on the internet. Somehow that's just hilarious to me now. And, no, I'm not goth (damnit, STARKINGS!).
9) Once when I was a little kid, my family and I were at a hotel swimming pool, and I thought I could swim in the deep end, so I dove in. Of course, I couldn't tread water, and I was too far away from the side of the pool, so I started to choke and go under. I nearly drowned, but my dad was right there, and he kinda came up from underneath me and basically shoved me the hell out of the pool. Like, I was airborne and made a child-sized wet "kathwack" sound when I hit the cement. Boy did I feel like a dumbass. But, not long after that, in a "swimming class", they made us jump off a diving board into the deep end. I thought I was going to be the laughing stock of the class, but somehow I swam just fine. Go figure.
10) My first concert was a triple-bill featuring Ministry, Sepultura and Helmet. It was... intense, to say the least. I think I was 17 years old at the time. Helmet opened, and I ventured into my first mosh pit, where I had some good ol' pushing-and-shoving fun. When Sepultura peformed, the mosh pit became some kind of Whirlpool Of HURT. Being a dumb kid, and having been in weight training and in pretty good shape, I figured I'd be fine, so I went in again. A couple songs later, I came out sweaty, unscathed and thinking "Hey, this is fun. Piece o' cake!" I didn't think about it at the time, but shortly after I came out of the mosh pit, I noticed a woman being carried out, face bloody and unable to walk. As I was standing at the edge of the mosh, someone was thrown clear over my head. I mean, I had to duck a little, but he was OVER MY HEAD. I saw a lot of broken people that night. I had blood on my clothes, and it wasn't mine. I was probably lucky I didn't end up hospitalized. Thinking THAT pit was bad... when Ministry performed, the pit was an absolute warzone. You could feel the pain emanating from it's twisting destructive mass. By that point, I had pretty much realized the whole "discretion is the better part of valor" thing. Heh. DAMN that was a great concert!
OK, so hopefully those things are good enough to qualify, because I can't think of anything better to say right now!
ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, BECKY?! HUH?! ARE YA?!
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Just passing along the news that Jamie McKelvie is releasing a new comic in September called SUBURBAN GLAMOUR, through Image Comics. It'll be his first written work published, and he'll also be doing the art (with colors by Guy Major).
What's SUBURBAN GLAMOUR about?
"Astrid and Dave are teenagers stuck in a dead-end suburban town living uneventful lives – until Astrid gets a visit from her childhood imaginary friends, who tell her something big is about to happen. Are they real or is she crazy? Life is about to get a lot more interesting for the pair – interesting and very, very dangerous. A tale of magic, mystery and underage drinking."
Also, a couple preview images of SUBURBAN GLAMOUR for you:
Jamie is the artist of LONG HOT SUMMER and the artist/co-creator of the series PHONOGRAM, also published through Image Comics, and a very cool book indeed. In fact, here's an image of the cover, designed by yours truly:
There's also a podcast interview at Around Comics, where Jamie talks about "Phonogram, Suburban Glamour, how I got into the industry, and my complete lack of a background as an artist." Plus, the ladies will love his British accent. Unless you're British, in which case you may love his lack of an accent. Whatever. Just CLICK HERE.
You can also download an MP3 of the interview here: media.libsyn.com/media/aroundc…
Look for SUBURBAN GLAMOUR to hit comic stores in September, and the trade paperback PHONOGRAM VOL. 1: RUE BRITANNIA to be in stores in early July.
You can find Jamie on MySpace (of course, that loser), and at:
www.jamiemckelvie.com
www.phonogramcomic.com
www.kierongillen.com (writer of PHONOGRAM, don't want him to cry for feeling left out)
Enjoy!
What's SUBURBAN GLAMOUR about?
"Astrid and Dave are teenagers stuck in a dead-end suburban town living uneventful lives – until Astrid gets a visit from her childhood imaginary friends, who tell her something big is about to happen. Are they real or is she crazy? Life is about to get a lot more interesting for the pair – interesting and very, very dangerous. A tale of magic, mystery and underage drinking."
Also, a couple preview images of SUBURBAN GLAMOUR for you:
Jamie is the artist of LONG HOT SUMMER and the artist/co-creator of the series PHONOGRAM, also published through Image Comics, and a very cool book indeed. In fact, here's an image of the cover, designed by yours truly:
There's also a podcast interview at Around Comics, where Jamie talks about "Phonogram, Suburban Glamour, how I got into the industry, and my complete lack of a background as an artist." Plus, the ladies will love his British accent. Unless you're British, in which case you may love his lack of an accent. Whatever. Just CLICK HERE.
You can also download an MP3 of the interview here: media.libsyn.com/media/aroundc…
Look for SUBURBAN GLAMOUR to hit comic stores in September, and the trade paperback PHONOGRAM VOL. 1: RUE BRITANNIA to be in stores in early July.
You can find Jamie on MySpace (of course, that loser), and at:
www.jamiemckelvie.com
www.phonogramcomic.com
www.kierongillen.com (writer of PHONOGRAM, don't want him to cry for feeling left out)
Enjoy!
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Books, books, books!
5 min read
Hey all of you out there in the internet. All... three of you who might look at this.
I hate to use this space to drop names and promote stuff, but there are a couple things we publish that I really enjoy, and feel the need to share. Hell, I made the ads, I may as well show them off.
First of all, there's a hardcover coming out collecting issues 1-7 of CASANOVA, a series writed by Matt Fraction with amazing drawlings by Gabriel Ba. At the very least, it's amazing visually. I love Ba's art with a fevered passion, and there's a wild story to try and wrap your head around (good luck!). There will also be a new continuing story arc, with issue #8 coming out in August.
Click here: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
My two favorite Brits are the wizards behind the series PHONOGRAM. My pal Jamie McKelvie is the artist, and it's written by the effervescent Kieron Gillen. The first volume is ending with issue 6, and we're releasing it in trade paperback (which I am designing). If you love Britpop, or even if you're new to it, you should give it a look. And I lettered issue 3, so you all need to go out and buy that issue RIGHT NOW. Heh. Actually, though, the single issues offer a LOT of awesome stuff including essays, glossaries, and other information regarding the oodles of pop music/culture references throughout the book. I'm tellin' ya, it's worth looking at. It's a six issue series, and I'm about to put together the last issue. I'm sure there are still books floating around out there, but if you have to wait for the trade paperback, I'll forgive ya.
Click here: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
My favorite superhero book is INVINCIBLE, hands down. Written by Robert Kirkman, you know it's got to be good. Ryan Ottley is the artist, and HE IS AMAZING. I've seen him sketching at conventions, and he is a MACHINE. His sketches are rad... and this year at Wondercon he was only charging $20. THAT'S ALL!!!!! They're worth twice that just to see this guy work his magic. Anyway... the book is fun, and I am filled with joy whenever I read it. It's about a young kid who's dad is a Superman-like guy, and he ends up developing his own powers and decides to fight crime, while dealing with things like school and girlfriends and work. All kinds of things happen in this book, and it makes it hard to put it down. Highly recommended.
Click: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
Oh, and Robert also writes some other great books, namely THE WALKING DEAD (you gotta read this zombie apocalypse story, it's gritty as hell), BATTLE POPE (some may find it offensive, but I call it brilliantly funny) and BRIT (somewhat related to INVINCIBLE).
Click: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
I'm rather fond of the ad I made for the FELL, VOLUME 1: FERAL CITY trade paperback. Written by Warren Ellis (gotta love the bastard), and illustrated by that Aussie nut Ben Templesmith. Ben's digital art is layered, detailed and simply a lot of fun to look at. He also illustrated a crazy adaptation of the Alice In Wonderland based series THE LOOKING GLASS WARS - HATTER M. But, FELL is about a detective who relocates to a city that really needs all the help it can get. If you've read any of Ellis' other books, you will probably dig this one as well. It doesn't disappoint.
Click: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
Mike Allred is awesome. If you haven't ever read MADMAN, you might wanna start now. We're releasing a brand new series, by Mike and Laura Allred. It's really pretty to look at, and the story is pretty weird, as fans can already attest to. If by chance you want to see the OLD series, we're also publishing a giant tome with EVERYTHING IN IT. It's 800 pages, man. HUGE. And worth every penny!
Click: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
Click here, too: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
If you love Doug TenNapel (I know I do!), the creator of Earthworm Jim (this may be too old/vague for some of you), then you should check out his funny funnybook called GEAR! As he would describe, it's basically about stupid cats hijacking giant robots to fight a war against dogs and insects. I mean, c'mon, you know that's gotta be good. The book eventually became a cartoon on Nickelodeon called Catscratch. Anyway, we've published the book in a nice digest-sized edition, in full color for the first time!
Click: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
If you like vampires, ninjas, samurai, boobs, blood, sword fighting and some pretty sweet art, you might dig DRAIN. An ongoing series, out right now.
Click: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
If you like cowboys and indians and ogres and magic and ... what?! Yep, you heard me. My friend Traci is coloring this new kids' comic we're publishing, called TEXAS STRANGERS. It's a fusion of genres, and it's fun for all ages. Great for kids, and I wish there was more interest in that realm. People don't seem to like anything unless it's a bit raunchy or violent. -- Dig my cool ad!
Click: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
Wow! After reading all that over again, I sound like a dope. I think my brain wasn't running on all cylinders. Thanks for reading, though. Maybe next time I'll write about something nonsensical, and not so promotional.
I hate to use this space to drop names and promote stuff, but there are a couple things we publish that I really enjoy, and feel the need to share. Hell, I made the ads, I may as well show them off.
First of all, there's a hardcover coming out collecting issues 1-7 of CASANOVA, a series writed by Matt Fraction with amazing drawlings by Gabriel Ba. At the very least, it's amazing visually. I love Ba's art with a fevered passion, and there's a wild story to try and wrap your head around (good luck!). There will also be a new continuing story arc, with issue #8 coming out in August.
Click here: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
My two favorite Brits are the wizards behind the series PHONOGRAM. My pal Jamie McKelvie is the artist, and it's written by the effervescent Kieron Gillen. The first volume is ending with issue 6, and we're releasing it in trade paperback (which I am designing). If you love Britpop, or even if you're new to it, you should give it a look. And I lettered issue 3, so you all need to go out and buy that issue RIGHT NOW. Heh. Actually, though, the single issues offer a LOT of awesome stuff including essays, glossaries, and other information regarding the oodles of pop music/culture references throughout the book. I'm tellin' ya, it's worth looking at. It's a six issue series, and I'm about to put together the last issue. I'm sure there are still books floating around out there, but if you have to wait for the trade paperback, I'll forgive ya.
Click here: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
My favorite superhero book is INVINCIBLE, hands down. Written by Robert Kirkman, you know it's got to be good. Ryan Ottley is the artist, and HE IS AMAZING. I've seen him sketching at conventions, and he is a MACHINE. His sketches are rad... and this year at Wondercon he was only charging $20. THAT'S ALL!!!!! They're worth twice that just to see this guy work his magic. Anyway... the book is fun, and I am filled with joy whenever I read it. It's about a young kid who's dad is a Superman-like guy, and he ends up developing his own powers and decides to fight crime, while dealing with things like school and girlfriends and work. All kinds of things happen in this book, and it makes it hard to put it down. Highly recommended.
Click: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
Oh, and Robert also writes some other great books, namely THE WALKING DEAD (you gotta read this zombie apocalypse story, it's gritty as hell), BATTLE POPE (some may find it offensive, but I call it brilliantly funny) and BRIT (somewhat related to INVINCIBLE).
Click: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
I'm rather fond of the ad I made for the FELL, VOLUME 1: FERAL CITY trade paperback. Written by Warren Ellis (gotta love the bastard), and illustrated by that Aussie nut Ben Templesmith. Ben's digital art is layered, detailed and simply a lot of fun to look at. He also illustrated a crazy adaptation of the Alice In Wonderland based series THE LOOKING GLASS WARS - HATTER M. But, FELL is about a detective who relocates to a city that really needs all the help it can get. If you've read any of Ellis' other books, you will probably dig this one as well. It doesn't disappoint.
Click: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
Mike Allred is awesome. If you haven't ever read MADMAN, you might wanna start now. We're releasing a brand new series, by Mike and Laura Allred. It's really pretty to look at, and the story is pretty weird, as fans can already attest to. If by chance you want to see the OLD series, we're also publishing a giant tome with EVERYTHING IN IT. It's 800 pages, man. HUGE. And worth every penny!
Click: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
Click here, too: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
If you love Doug TenNapel (I know I do!), the creator of Earthworm Jim (this may be too old/vague for some of you), then you should check out his funny funnybook called GEAR! As he would describe, it's basically about stupid cats hijacking giant robots to fight a war against dogs and insects. I mean, c'mon, you know that's gotta be good. The book eventually became a cartoon on Nickelodeon called Catscratch. Anyway, we've published the book in a nice digest-sized edition, in full color for the first time!
Click: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
If you like vampires, ninjas, samurai, boobs, blood, sword fighting and some pretty sweet art, you might dig DRAIN. An ongoing series, out right now.
Click: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
If you like cowboys and indians and ogres and magic and ... what?! Yep, you heard me. My friend Traci is coloring this new kids' comic we're publishing, called TEXAS STRANGERS. It's a fusion of genres, and it's fun for all ages. Great for kids, and I wish there was more interest in that realm. People don't seem to like anything unless it's a bit raunchy or violent. -- Dig my cool ad!
Click: www.drewgill.com/image/ads/200…
Wow! After reading all that over again, I sound like a dope. I think my brain wasn't running on all cylinders. Thanks for reading, though. Maybe next time I'll write about something nonsensical, and not so promotional.
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Oh, what the hell.
1 min read
Well, here I am. Thanks, Icee. It's all your fault. Now I actually have to make something worthwhile to put up here, so I don't look like a joke. Great. Holy crap, it's 3am. Screw this!
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