One of the joys of setting up at the annual S.P.A.C.E. show is talking with fellow Kirby-fan Tom Scioli, of Godland and The Myth of 8-Opus.Tom was drawing several renditions of Batmandi, Last Billionaire on Earth last week, so I had to purchase one. Pretty nice!Check out Tom's brand new site: http://www.tomscioli.com/
Thanks to Nathan Smart (http://www.myspace.com/nathansmart) and his lovely wife Meridith, who gave us free tickets to the show, Mary and I saw Todd Rundgren during his recent visit to these parts - fulfilling a 29-year dream for Mary,who missed seeing Rundgren in 1980.
It's doubtful whether Todd rocked as hard in 1980 as he did in this show; playing the entirety of his new, crowd-pleasing album Arena and a good dose of older material, Todd and his finely-tuned band created a barrage, a wall of melodic heavy metallic sound. Throughout the exhibition, the still-thin band leader performed physical sprints and leaps not usually witnessed on a man in his 60s.
Here are some photos from this amazing show: http://trconnection.com/gallery/set=dss20090410/preview=1
Before Alex Steinweiss convinced Columbia to allow him to design album cover art for Smash Song Hits by Rodgers & Hart in 1939, album covers featured just text on the cover. When the sales of that album skyrocketed, Columbia paid him to continue designing covers, and he went on to design roughly 2,500 of them over the next 35 years.
I will be presenting nearly 60 of Steinweiss' record covers (most of them from the '40s and '50s) in a gallery display entitled Steinweiss: the Inventor of the Record Album Cover, hosted by Wild Goose Creative in Columbus, Ohio.
The grand opening of the display is Saturday, May 9th, at 7:00 pm. Program notes will be provided. If you're in the area, please stop by and enjoy the designs and innovative techniques of this important 20th century graphic artist.
Wild Goose Creative is at 2491 Summit Street, in Clintonville. Parking is available on Summit and behind the building.
WGC is a non-profit, community driven arts company. Learn more at: http://www.wildgoosecreative.com/Wild_Goose_Creative_%7C_Home.htmlAnd learn more about Alex Steinweiss at: http://www.alexsteinweiss.com/as_index.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Steinweisshttp://soundfountain.org/rem/remcovart.html
That's right, I said the best. Who are Glen Brunswick and Dan McDaid? I'd never heard of them before picking Jersey Gods off the shelf for the title alone and the classic, Silver Age vibe it projected. Now I know: these guys are the bomb.
Brunswick, in two short issues, has created not one but three worlds, each with their own unique environment and array of sharply defined characters. The operative word here is fun - and good-natured suspense. This was like reading a 1965 Thor in 1965 for the first time: fresh, and exciting.
McDaid brings it all home with a classic style forged from the fires of Kirby, Frank Robbins, and Alex Toth, with the quicky, juicy inklines and spontaneity those gents' work conjures in the mind. I'm a Dan McDaid fan for life now.
With a Mike Allred cover for the first issue, a Darwyn Cooke cover for the second issue, and a Paul Pope cover for the third, Jersey Gods is essential reading. A backup series by Mark Waid seals whatever deal you weren't going for.
Check out these links for more info:
Jersey Gods blog: http://jerseygods.blogspot.com/
Dan McDaid's blog: http://danmcdaid.blogspot.com/
Dan McDaid's website: http://danmcdaid.com/
One of the joys of setting up at the annual S.P.A.C.E. show is talking with fellow Kirby-fan Tom Scioli, of Godland and The Myth of 8-Opus.
Thanks to Nathan Smart (http://www.myspace.com/nathansmart) and his lovely wife Meridith, who gave us free tickets to the show, Mary and I saw Todd Rundgren during his recent visit to these parts - fulfilling a 29-year dream for Mary,who missed seeing Rundgren in 1980.
Before Alex Steinweiss convinced Columbia to allow him to design album cover art for Smash Song Hits by Rodgers & Hart in 1939, album covers featured just text on the cover. When the sales of that album skyrocketed, Columbia paid him to continue designing covers, and he went on to design roughly 2,500 of them over the next 35 years.
That's right, I said the best. Who are Glen Brunswick and Dan McDaid? I'd never heard of them before picking Jersey Gods off the shelf for the title alone and the classic, Silver Age vibe it projected. Now I know: these guys are the bomb.
Cartoonist Ray Tomczak cornered me recently for a short interview in anticipation of the annual Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo, April 18th and 19th at the Aladdin Shrine Center in Columbus, Ohio. I'll have a vast array of goodies there for sale and original art on display, and will be available for autographs and movie discussions.
Drink your morning coffee in a Larvae Boy mug. Still available for adventuresome souls:
How ironic that The Village Voice fired jazz reviewer and social critic Nat Hentoff the very same week The New Yorker published an article on the illustrious history of the groundbreaking magazine.