Big bug panel

Marc Maron

... reads from his book, Attempting Normal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_BGSEH2JfA

2 panels, 1 film deux

http://lewistrondheim.tumblr.com/

Fade to Black

Bruce Springsteen

Top 5 Bruce Springsteen records:

1. Nebraska

2. Tunnel of Love

3. The River

4. Born in the USA

5. Devils & Dust

Janusz Stanny 2

If You Steal

This anthology of off-kilter, anthropomorphic short comics by Jason feature Frida Kahlo as a contract killer, and much more.
Jason’s latest collection of full color comics indulges in his light and playful side, consisting of eleven wildly off-kilter stories that mix incongruous elements of pop culture and a variety of genres, pastiches and mash-ups in a delightful soupcon of graphic storytelling. Frida Kahlo is a hired killer. Santo, the Mexican wrestling film star, faces his ultimate challenge. The rise and fall of Chet Baker—told in six pages. Night of the Vampire Hunter. The last word on the JFK assassination conspiracies. A non-linear heist story that also somehow includes images by Magritte. A big bug story based on 1950s black-and-white films. And what would Van Morrison’s Moondance album look like if it was a horror comic? All as foretold by Nostradamus, of course. And all told by Jason, whose sly and elusive meanings are hidden beneath a beguilingly deadpan style. Full-color illustrations throughout

http://www.amazon.com/If-You-Steal-Jason/dp/1606998544/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414180003&sr=8-1&keywords=if+you+steal+jason

Paff!

I'm listening to the latest Inkstuds, and my name is mentioned as having drawn Paul Pope being slapped by a German woman during the Oslo comic book convention in 2013. She's not German, she's a Norwegian journalist living in Berlin and I wasn't a witness to the slap but heard about it later (it was the thing everybody was talking about) and did this quick sketch.

2 panels, 1 film

 

with monsieur Lewis Trondheim. http://lewistrondheim.tumblr.com/

Nanci Griffith

Vintage Swedish Film Posters

http://50watts.com/30-Vintage-Swedish-Movie-Posters-for-Hollywood

Ten records

...that made an impression on me.

 

1. The Fine Art of Surfacing by The Boomtown Rats

Wished this record as a Christmas gift, probably in 79. It's got I Don't Like Mondays.

 

2. The Smiths by The Smiths

First record I ever bought! Should have kept that money and waited for Hatful of Hollow. Oh well, gotta start somewhere. 

 

3. Various Positions by Leonard Cohen

I remember seeing a short film called I Am A Hotel, with different songs by Leonard Cohen. I then found a copy of  Songs of LC at a flea market and also bought this one, a fairly underappreciated record, I feel. It has one of his best songs, If It Be Your Will.

 

4. Secrets of the Beehive by David Sylvian

The first song by Japan I ever heard was Night Porter. And I was never the same person again. This record is his masterpiece, especially the version that has Forbidden Colours at the end.

 

5. Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan

The first record by Dylan I bought was his debut, which is okay but nothing special. Then I heard Shelter From The Storm, and I was hooked.

 

6. This Is The Sea by The Waterboys

Their three first records are all classics. Actually, their first five records are classics. I believe Room to Roam is my current favourite, if I had to chose, but this was the first one I got.

 

7. Rattlesnakes by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

Poor Lloyd. If you start with a masterpiece, it can only go downhill from then on. His later records have been more uneven. They still have some really good songs, though.

 

8. Five Leaves Left by Nick Drake

Only three records in his life time, all masterpieces.

 

9. Blue Moods of Spain by Spain

A quiet and minimalistic album, it grows on you.

 

10. Cruel Sister by Pentangle

Discovered this group last year. I love their first five or six records, especially this one, hypnotized by Jacqui McShee's voice.

Lost Cat notes

I re-read Lost Cat, and I'm pretty happy with the drawings and the way the story is told. I find it harder to judge if the story itself worked or not. If I were to do the book all over again, I think I rather would have printed it in black and white and gotten a clear line, rather than the full colour printing it is now that makes the line slightly fuzzy. Oh, well... I've decided to answer a few questions that I've never been asked. If you'd rather not know, stop reading.

 

1. Is Charlotte an alien?

-Yes.

 

2. Is Kitty an alien or a real cat?

-I suppose she's an alien too. At the end, 50 years into the future, she's still alive, so it can't be a cat.

 

3. What was the thing with the fake Kitty in the bookshop about?

-Uhm, don't know. It just seemed like a good mystery, that someones tries to make things look normal by bringing in a cat double, but they screw up by getting the colour of its tail wrong.

 

4. That ending - were you high or what?

-Not at all. I've read that some people didn't like it. To me, Dan Delon and Pierre Pascal sharing a smoke is the ending and the rest is the epilogue. I like the mix of the everyday and the absurd. Two people meet, they have a connection, she disappears. 50 years later they meet again, just for her to say goodbye. It should be heartbreaking. But at the same time she's wearing a costume from some old science fiction film and there's an alien invasion going on outside the window. That's good comics! I don't see how I could have removed that scene. I feel that's the only logical ending to the story.

Another one

Murderer on the run panel

Santo in colours 3

Marie's Wedding

Dime Mystery 2

The Searchers

Blue Velvet

The Sixth Sense

Some books I've read 18

Don't Tell Dad by Peter Fonda

It's an okay book. I read it mostly because I was curious about Easy Rider and working for Roger Corman. There is also a lot of 60s nostalgia (far out!), namedropping, and Fonda often gives himself the best lines of dialogue.

 

Dissident Gardens by Jonathan Lethem

I struggled with this book, Lethem's clever language often getting in the way. And a week after finishing it, I'm already beginning to forget what the whole thing was about.

 

Sugar Skull by Charles Burns

Finally, the third book is out and you can read them as one story. Punk meets Tintin, in colour. So, how many levels are there? At least two. It's a puzzle, leaving it up to you to put the pieces together, encouraging you to read it all a second time, or a third.

 

Gast by Carol Swain

This is kind of a weird book - in a good way, I should say - with Swain pretty much ignoring all the traditional rules of plots and storytelling. But the road less taken is what you expect from Swain, and with a  bit of patience you got a great story.

 

Truth is Fragmentary by Gabrielle Bell

Autobiographical comics are old hat, and soo 90s, but luckily, Gabrielle Bell doesn't give a flying fuck about that. She finds truth in looking at the small details. It's like reading a letter from a friend.

 

Ballade by Blexbolex

A pretty amazing book, with one story retold several times, with more details added each time. Normally, I'm not a fan of images created on the computer, but Blexbolex gives them warmth and texture.

 

Currently reading:

I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson

North by Northwest

Miller's Crossing

The Blues Brothers

Crime and Punishment

Dime Mystery

 

O Marie