Tuesday, January 29, 2008

"Cool Art Pencils"

In 1992 Pentech began producing a series called "Cool Art Pencils" that features art by well-known cartoonists, such as Peter Bagge and Gary Panter. I can't find much information on these, but I have 7 different ones, numbers 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 14, and 18 -- so I assume the series had at least 18 different pencil sets. All of them have color art on the package and pencils, and black and white art on the back. Here are some images:

Drew Friedman (#14):

Lou Brooks (#1, 8, 5):

Elwood H. Smith (#2):
Peter Bagge (#18):



If you have any other information, please post it in the comments section.







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Monday, January 28, 2008

Lichtenstein's Lettering

http://www.tcj.com/lichtenstein-and-the-art-of-letters/

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Side by Side: Ware, Brunetti, Henry, Boop

I never would've known about the relationship betweeen these three images if not for Chris Ware's amazing Acme Novelty Date-book, Vol. 2, the source of the above image.

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Richard McGuire / New Yorker

A winter cleaning uncovered a stash of illustrations clipped from past New Yorkers. Here's a few from the great Richard McGuire that appeared in 2001-2002.

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To Arms


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The What!?

"From Condorman 1 (1981).

Monday, January 21, 2008

"Secretarial Silver"


Poppytalk, has asked Janine from the Uppercase Journal to share, and talk about, her modest collection of typewriter ribbon tins. They are all beautifully designed, and are in great condition. Great colors, typography, printing… just perfect. I wish I collected things that could fit so easily in one small box.



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Thursday, January 17, 2008

Whiteout, stray pencil marks . . .

A while back, I wrote the introduction for a catalog that accompanied a Buenaventura Press gallery show held in San Diego. The show was titled "Original Comic Art" and was timed to open the weekend of Comicon, the massive superhero/pop culture convention. I post the essay -- on the subject of orginal art -- here for your enjoyment (or not).

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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Werewolf by Night

If you are going to be performing in Zaire, you will need something to read on the plane.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Let's go below the border for some South American jive!

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Sunday, January 13, 2008

Tomine / New York Times


Today's New York Times Magazine (1/13) has a cover by Adrian Tomine. The feature story on morality also includes some large color illustrations by the cartoonist.

Friday, January 11, 2008

News Flash! Jonathan Bennett interviewed on the January 10th edition of the radio program Ink Studs!



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Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Reading Samson by a tree.

From ShorpyJuly 1941. Youngsters at the Fourth of July picnic in Vale, Oregon. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. Click the image to view a larger scan of this photo.

Reading: Fantastic Comics. Not sure which issue. Hopefully that one features a Stardust story.

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Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Slow (Abridged)

Monday, January 7, 2008

The Book of Other People

Penguin has just released Zadie Smith's The Book of Other People, a collection of short stories. It's of special interest to comics readers: the book's cover is designed by Darren Haggar and features 12 profile portraits by Charles Burns (one from the back cover is shown above), and it has new stories by Daniel Clowes and Chris Ware.

A panel from Ware's "Jordan Wellington Lint":

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Trick Out Your Hoopty

Recognizing that many of us are discomfitted by the rigors of brand compliance at least to the extent of preferring one trademark to another, these are merely two examples to get you started. They feature Wally Gropius, Teen Millionaire--in usage since 2005.

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Saturday, January 5, 2008

R. Crumb's Underground


I curated this big retrospective exhibition "R. Crumb's Underground," which ran at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco last March-July, and is now traveling to the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, opening January 26. Alvin posted these Yerba Buena pre-opening installation shots on his website during the original run, but here they are again for anyone who didn't see them... it also might be of interest for some of the folks who see the show in Seattle to compare and contrast.

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Thursday, January 3, 2008

Oxnard Boulevard at 4th Street

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