ATTENTION

Hi there:

Just an FYI, this blog has ended and has been reborn at www.jackturnbullstudios.blogspot.com ... it's just a minor name change as I didn't want to pigeon hole my label as JUST an illustrator (I also make comic books! :-) ... and write essays, occasionally play music, etc. etc.) ...

Thanks!

ETSY STORE/BROOKLYN COMICS FESTIVAL/ILLUSTRATIONS

It's been too long without a blog post and a lot has happened.

First off, please review my ETSY PAGE where I've got all 3 Invasive Exotics for sale!

I debuted Invasive Exotics #3 at the brooklyn comics and graphics festival. It was a stormy day, but ironically I think it made the show even more busy because nobody wanted to leave and go out in the snow! Thanks to everyone who came out, I did pretty well, reconnected with some good friends and made some new ones as well.

Invasive Exotics #4 will be out in the beginning of 2010 and then I'm going to focus on living a little bit. My next story arch is entitled "Suburban Cyclops Hunters" ... nuff said!

Painting for Cake Shop Show curated by Carly James: "DEAD PIZZA PARTY"

OPENING INFO:

CMJ 2009

DAED PIZZA PARTY

Saturday, October 24^th, 2009

Bands & DJs include:
UUVVWWZ

Coin Under Tongue

MKNGFRNDZ

Love or Perish

Anamanaguchi

Noon to 6

FREE

All-ages

Cake Shop | LES | NYC

I'm going to try and make it. Hope to see you there!

Etsy Store Now Open

Etsy Store is now open! The Invasive Exotics Act 1 and Act 2 are now for sale!

http://www.jackturnbull.etsy.com

You can also buy Acts 1 and 2 at the following Stores:
Forbidden Planet, Union Square, NYC
Desert Island, Lorimer Stop, Williamsburg Brooklyn
Million Year Picnic, Harvard Square, Cambridge
New England Comics, Harvard Square, Cambridge
(more stores to come!)
$6 each

I've had some tough breaks lately, I'm not sure how to speak publicly about it on a blog. In any case, I've relocated back to the Boston area and am getting to experience the New England autumn foliage. I've grown up with this phenomenon, but having been removed from it for a few years, it's nice to know you're from somewhere.

The above illustration was for SO Rhode Island Magazine illustrating a Cajun styled soup. Special thanks to Alli Coate and Allison Cole.

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 ...

MOCCA FESTIVAL WAS FUN! IT'S GOING TO TAKE A WHILE TO UPLOAD THE GRAPHIC NOVEL/ZINE SECTION OF MY WEBSITE, SO FOR ALL THE OLD FRIENDS I SAW AT MOCCA TODAY WHO DIDN'T PICK UP A SNEAK PREVIEW OF "THE INVASIVE EXOTICS", HERE IS JANE EASEWELL, OUR STORY'S PROTAGANIST, BREAKING INTO AN ICE CREAM FACTORY. COMING OUT 2010, 80+ pages.