|
|||||||||||||
On April 28, 2010, I had the opportunity to hear the late Harvey Pekar speak at Modern Myths, a comics store in Northampton, MA. I brought my sketchbook, as usual, and during the lecture I made some rough sketches. I thought they were pretty undistinguished at the time so I didn’t upload them, but in light of his passing this week, I thought I would share them.
He was 70 when he died. Way too soon.
More randomness from the dark recesses of mine mind…(Yay! Recess!)
Moe.D.O.K.
Hi All. I’m a Newbie to the Group. Have been trading Graphics with Brandon for a little while and he has invited me to join in on the fun here. Hope to become a regular contributor to the site. Also hope to get the chance to meet everyone at one of the sketch meets.
My style is cartoony as you can see, not really good at the realistic stuff. prefer to be weird and loose with it all. Did this sketch after seeing Brandon’s MODOK and always wondered why that guy had Moe Howard hair.
Mike Long
Tom Corbett #1
Here’s the cover to BlueWater Productions title Tom Corbett: Space Cadet, issue 1. This was fun to draw and will be even better when the title gets slapped on there. C&C Always appreciated
It’s been way too long since I posted anything up here- got permission to post a few images from some past clients and here they are
First up is an old character design for a local restaurant consulting group. They needed a superhero-esque rendition of their head chef, this is what I cranked out
This was for a card game geared towards an adult’s sense of humour
And lastly- my new project working with BWP- Tom Corbett: Space Cadet- this book is a BLAST to draw, the writer is setting up some top notch fun. Oh, ignore the logo- it’s been retooled, just never added it to this version!
9 x 12 microns & sharpies on bristol board
Not confident enough to try the nib or brush just yet! 
Gene Yang, in his first full length graphic novel which is the first GN to ever win a National Book Award, pulls off a story that works on a miraculous number of levels being part folk tale, part coming of age teen drama, part over-the-top race comedy. Each part of this story would stand perfectly on it’s own but Yang still finds a way to tell one complete story with each, even going so far as to bringing the seemingly separate stories together in the end.
The folk tale part is a retelling of the Chinese tale of the Monkey King. Yang’s Monkey King is cute but also stubborn and belligerent. When he is rejected by the other gods because he’s a monkey he goes on a warpath and lapses into self-loathing. A theme continued throughout the book.
The teen drama is the compelling story of Jin, a Chinese-American teen trying to assimilate in his school and smitten with a girl that he can barely find the courage to talk to. Jin tries very hard to fit in, to the point of turning his back on his own heritage and his own sense of self.
And the comedy comes from the bizarre story of Chin-kee, the most offensive stereotype a Chinese person could imagine, complete with yellow skin and mixed up R’s and L’s. Chin-kee is in America visiting his inexplicably non-Chinese cousin Danny and everything he does embarrasses Danny to no end. Like eating cat stew in the school cafeteria and jumping on the table to sing “She Bangs” William-Hung style. This story is equipped with a laugh track that adds to the surreally offensive tone.
All three of these stories are nothing short of brilliant. Then, Yang throws in a shocker by bringing the stories together into one. I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed in this turn of events. It felt a little unnecessary since each part was already building on the same themes and bringing them together doesn’t really add anything. Nonetheless, this is one of the best stories of cultural assimilation I have read and Yang’s clean artwork, sense of humor and imagination make this a fantastic graphic novel.Boo
So I’m about to order a copy of Scott McCloud’s Making Comics on Amazon. Anyone else planning on getting this? Any idea if Charlotte is going to be a stop on his 50 State Tour?
