Thursday, September 3, 2009

THE INVASIVE EXOTICS - SNEAK PREVIEW pt. 2







Some Recent Work





Clients: WBGO and SO Rhode Island Magazine.

For the past couple of months I've been working on a graphic novel. I go back and forth about the idea of web comics over printed matter; there is a lot more one can do with a web comic, but then again I hardly read anything online as it's straining on the eyes. Amazon.com, Microsoft and countless other corporations continuously attempt to put out digital readers, but from what I can see and understand they aren't catching on like Ipods or Iphones. I love the feel of paper and the book as an art form presents countless design opportunities for experimentation. Look no further than Chris Ware, or even go far back to Windsor McCay and you and me and everyone we know know how satisfying a hardcover can be.

But with this said, I've worked in black and white for almost 3 months because printing in color is too darn expensive. The above color illustration (the last one of the junk pile ant hills) was made simply because I miss color as a design element; color is extremely tricky - balancing warms and cools is only the beginning. In all honesty, this illustration I find to be a monstrosity as far as color goes, but give me a break, I just got back into the color game. I see it as a formal exercise.

Coming up on this blog is another preview of the Invasive Exotics. My due date is September 30th and things are on schedule for publication.

Reading List:

* "Akira" by Katsuhiro Otomo: A Japanesse cultural anomoly that is a metaphor for Hiroshima. The book's audience is clear; it is geared towards testosterone filled adolescents and repressed buisnessmen. It isn't for everybody because somebody implodes or gets run over on basically EVERY page (not to mention future Neo-Tokyo EXPLODES). With this said, Otomo is THE master of creating envirornment. His architectural drawing is flawless and if a cartoonist wants to know how to use a setting as a character, this is the series for them. I'd love to get a discussion going somewhere based on how spaztic the sequencing in this book is in comparison to something like Jimmy Corrigan or Tintin; I read it OK, but I can see how someone who didn't grow up reading comic books would have trouble figuring out what the hell was going on.

"Tintin and the Secret of Literature" by Tom McCarthy: A phonominal disection of Herge's classic series, this book is an essential to anyone enthusiastic about the Adventures of Tintin. McCarthy explores not only how the Tintin series breaks down story structure to bare elements, but also the dualistic nature of Herge the man. In the end, Tintin is THE series if one wants to understand a 20th century European male worldview.

"The Gift" by Lewis Hyde: I'm still digesting this one, but basically it's about the difference between a capitalistic society versus a gift exchange society. I'll write more when I'm done reading it ...