Monday, May 31, 2010

Friday, May 28, 2010

Funky Redneck Visits Nippon™

Just got through putting together this artwork for the latest Kutmasta Kurt release. This one is a tribute to all things Japanese, and the 'bearded one' pulls out all of the stops as he incorporates sounds of the far east, and assembles them in his signature style.

Check here for a preview:

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Famous Monsters Of Filmland

One of the most coveted discoveries at a random newsstand (especially a place called United Cigar in Santa Cruz) was finding copies of Famous Monsters. It was a B&W magazine based on anything horror or sci-fi in film. This magazine spoke to me as a young man like none other (Scientific American, Marvel Comics and National Geographic came a close 2nd). This was the source for anything happening in the horror film world, and it offered a great behind the scenes look at the effects and make-up art that went onto the films.

The magazine was founded in 1958, at which was probably the height of the horror/sci-fi b-movie wave by James Warren and in particular, a man named Forrest J Ackerman.Forrest was considered by many to be the ultimate horror/sc-fi fan, and the procurrer of the 'Ackermansion', and museum based in Los Feliz/ East Hollywood that was filled with props, artifacts and memorabilia from the world of horror/ sci-fi.

One of my favorite elements of the magazine was the hand done 'ad-hoc' approach to the layout. Most of lettering was hand drawn, and all articles were written in a tongue and cheek manner that felt like Forrest was talking to you. It offered up in depth behind the scenes and it came from a true fan perspective. Forrest J Ackerman can truly be considered the original 'fan-boy'.

Another great feature was the letters section that would feature 'would-be' teenage makeup artists, who would send in their pictures. I have no doubt that Rick Baker and Rob Bottin were some of these amateurs who'd sent their photos in.

Sadly, Forrest passed away a few years ago, but his legend lives on and FM still stands as being one of the best and first fanzines ever published.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Blurb 1.0 2

Some more artwork and sample pages regarding Blurb which I mentioned a while back. This involved the first iteration of the storyline and characters that I eventually revamped and published a few years later.


The story itself wasn't too coherent, but, it was done in one page installations, that continued a basic plot involving thugs, freight trains, and UFO's. At the time, I'd contributed to a couple of magazines, and submitted the comic strip as one off's. I got some positive feedback, although one person had admitted to me that thought a little kid had drawn it.

Best of all, I'd gotten up the nerve to submit it to Fantagraphics for publication. Below is the rejection letter I got a couple weeks later. I did learn a lot from feedback like this, and, started a second iteration of the strip and characters a few years later.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

The Hardest Part

I ran across this and was surprised to see the graff in the background. It looks like a Fabulous 5 production. If you look closely, you'll see Fab 5 Freddy, Lee, Blade names. I think Fred was pretty close to Debbie Harry and Chris Stein back then, which eventually led to the song Rapture, where' he's name dropped.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Northern Soul Vol. 3



Can be heard here!

Track Listing:

Soul Thing- Keith Mansfield
I'm On My Way- Dean Parrish
A New Guy- The Dynettes
Thumb A Ride- Right, Earl Orchestra
Just One More Chance- - The Patrick Bradley
What- Judy Street
The Snake- Al Wilson
She Blew A Good Thing- The Poets
Special Category- Roe-Tae-Tion
Harlem Hendoo- Al Hirt
Two Timer- Little Carl Carlton
So Is The Sun- World Column
Cassanova- Ruby Andrews
You're Gonna Need Me- Dionne Warwick
If You Ask Me (Because I Love You)- Jerry Williams
Unwind Yourself- Marva Whitney
Breakout- Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
Outro- Connie Price & The Keystones

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Monday, May 10, 2010

Running Rabbit

A new project has me making this guy run. Here's a wireframe: