what have i been up to, you ask?

Great question!

At the beginning of October i started a new job at the Dartmouth College Baker/Berry Library, formerly held by the fantastic and inimitable Beth Hetland. Exactly what I do is a bit confusing, so i'll break it down in two parts.

Part one, Preservation and Conservation:
I've been incredibly lucky here, as this is something I'm quite new at. Basically this is the book hospital at the library; books come through and need various repairs and re-binding. This is some fascinating stuff for me, and I am so incredibly pleased to be doing it five days a week.

To begin with my bosses had me make a sketchbook. The glue is dry now and I must say it's looking pretty darn nice!

 

 

 

The cover is some old figure drawings I had from my time at CCS. Let's see, what else... single folio cloth hinge... it's pretty basic, but so am I. 

The other half of my job has to do with the library's "Digital Initiatives," which sounds interesting and actually is, too. Lots of adding to and working on the library's Digital Collections. I'm working pretty closely with the library's Special Collections (and the pres. department, natch) to make digital versions of some particular collections. Most recently I was transcribing and setting up the website for this little correspondence between the college and Dr. Robert Oppenheimer. 

Notable quote from the good doctor: "...since I promised to tell you what was up, this is it."

It may lack the hands-on aspect of the preservation/conservation side, but it's still darned interesting and fun to work on!

And that's not even all of it! I'm also assessing a chunk of the library's 16mm film collection; mostly old football matches, but also, quite curiously, a lecture from Pauline Kael.

It's been, in a word, inspiring. There's always something interesting going on and my bosses have all been so incredibly wonderful in teaching me the ropes. As a result my comics work is flowing nicely, and I'm currently working on a project with my good buddy J. Montgomery. Here's some of his concept art:

The idea is an old one I've had kicking around, but talking about it with Monty got me seeing it in all new ways. I'm writing, he's drawing, and we'll be posting more about it in the coming months.

Sorry to brag, but everything's going great around here. Over and OUT!!!

HIIIIII everybody....

so i finally bought and set up a scanner in my apartment. this means i may be making ever so little....

album cover from the amazing afrobeat drummer Tony Allen. redrawn by moi, bien sûr.

happy halloween, internet

show 'em your good side!

MUSCLEDUCK MONDAYS

in honor of the esteemed mssr. Steve Bissette's boycott of the Marvel / Kirby verdict, we're skipping marvel mondays in favor of something near and dear to me, my very own knock off! certainly more ninja-turtles than spider-man but still, stick it to the man and buy some independent comix, dudes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

stay tuned for the exciting conclusion.................

marvel mondays: ROM spaceknight

ROM - he's not really a robot, but then again, sort of.

don't mess with the KID

broadcasting from his super-secret above-ground lair, KID MILLIONAIRE has seen fit to drop two new mixes. BIGGIE WONDER (self-explanatory) and WORK IT, KIARA (Bonobo and Missy Elliott).

stick em in your jambox!

Always A Struggle by kid millionaire

Work It, Kiara by kid millionaire

MoCCA TOP PIXXX

so! as usual, the MoCCA fest was a damn hotbed of awesome comics. seriously, almost too many. no, just enough!

first i'd like to shout out to the people in my specific vicinity, tablemates Jesse Mead and Em Sauter, with some awesome books!

look out for Jesse and Monty's insta-classic, Lincoln Franklin: Ghost Hunters 2070 in a comic shop in YOUR future!

so, onwards to other comics. i would be remiss if i didn't mention Joe Lambert's shockingly awesome debut for secret acres: I WILL BITE YOU!

can't be overstated how much i liked this book. Joe's a fantastic artist and it's a real treat to see his work in such a nice package (wink wink).

also from the extended CCS family, Melissa Mendes' and Jose-Luis Olivares' KIDS anthology, featuring awesome work from Nate Beatty, Robyn Chapman, Dane Martin, James Hindle and even MORE THAN THAT...

 

this book was such a treat (the title is sponge-painted!), and it also featured work from one of my all-time faves, Chuck Forsman! who also brought an incredible new issue of snake oil that blew my brainbox.

 

 seriously, seriously great stuff!

and another thing! i picked up a TERRIFIC COMIC from Danish cartoonist Martin Flink called The Man Of Glass (from Accent UK Comics). such a beautiful story, done in one issue and for the measly price of $5??? this might be my pick of the show! 

 then again, i may just be partial to it because of this gorgeous sketch he did for me.

so there you have it! i'm missing a LOT of awesome people here, so here's the short list of other people whose comics you should buy!

Matt Aucoin's Percy and Grimm!!!!

Em Sauter's Relax, Emily!!!!!

Holly Foltz's BRAIN PARTS and UNPLEASANT PEOPLE!!!!

Ben Horak's GRUMMMP TOOOOOOOAAST

...and soooo many more. seriously, what an awesome year for comics. 

get you some!

MoCCA

well, i'm home from the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art Fest in new york. it's been a long week, as exemplified by this short diary strip i drew from behind me, Em Sauter and Jesse Mead's table.

 

while the strip's all doom-and-gloom, i actually had a pretty great time despite the multiple failures of my body. coming soon, a recap of the very bestest comics i read and some new comics all up in this piece.

stay tuned!