Handy Art Tool

A friend recently released an app for artists that features a poseable, rotatable 3d hand with lighting. It's cheap and well worth the money for those of us who like to sketch but struggle when trying to draw our own hands.

http://www.facebook.com/HandyArtTool on Facebook and

http://handyarttool.com/

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Dylan Williams, Publisher at Sparkplug Passes Away

I heard the news last night and I felt like I left my body. Going to sleep early and feeling alone, even with my wife sharing the bed. This morning it hit me pretty hard. I never knew Dylan as well I would have liked -- I would see him with Tom Neely at shows, have dinner with him on a few occasions, and we’d exchange emails from time to time. But I only had this rapport with him for little more than a year or two.

I’d try to inquire as to whether he would distro some of our books, chat him up about also being a vegan, and generally come off often as a tongue-tied pest. If he found any of my blathering and blatant hero-worship the least bit obnoxious, he didn’t show it. Instead, he would tolerate my silly behavior, took me up on attending MIX, answered my questions on running a tiny comics operation, etc. In short, he was a patient, modest person who I perceived as my late 20’s role model.

Just being around Dylan put me in mind of having or being an older brother (I am the oldest amongst my siblings so I can recall being on the other end -- in addition, my younger brother’s name is in fact Dillon). Anyways, as you can imagine, the usual awkwardness and fumbling that arises from these sort of scenarios. This was my relationship with Dylan and he was fine with my interactions very much coming off like a foal’s first steps.
 Dylan was also aware of this effect he had on people -- we talked a bit about it at one point and he wasn’t always sure if people were genuinely trying to befriend him or merely trying to schmooze / network with him. He may have even been politely nudging me with this. In any case, Dylan was a true, ethical, hard working dude. He dared to publish comics no else had much interest in and to continue putting out many of them in the staple-bound format as comic books. It was no mistake that Sparkplug Comic Books had ‘comic books’ in the name.

Sparkplug was and is my favorite comics publisher and Dylan is the reason for that. I am deeply indebted to him for his openness, his example, for personally introducing me to awesome cartoonists like Noah Van Sciver, and just for being an honest and decent human being. He is sorely missed.

My heart goes out to Emily, the rest of his family & friends, and the comics community at large. We lost a great hero today.

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Sparkplug Comic Books need YOUR help

Dylan Williams, cartoonist and publisher of Sparkplug Comic Books is seriously ill and needs your support. If you have any interest in comics, specifically art comics / small press / or the new underground, I strongly urge you to stop by their online shop. They have a huge selection of drop dead gorgeous comic / books. To help you with your choice, here are some of my current favorite selections and those that I plan on adding to my Library post-haste(!):

1.)
Too Dark To See
Flesh and Bone
Both of these are by Julia Gfrörer, whose work I find emotionally overpowering and hauntingly beautiful. Gfrörer evokes deep, highly sophisticated magic. Reading her comics just fucking stun me and take over my day.

2.)
Gay Genius
edited by Annie Murphy
A well crafted hodge-podge of art / comics with a DIY / queer bent. Mixed-media, sketch book doodles, collage, photography, color, paint -- COMIX. Gorgeous zine-influenced LGBT work. Some of it is very personal and all of it is very precious.

3.)
Passage
by Tessa Brunton
My wife and I shared a table at APE in 2008 with this west-coast comics darlingly. She makes beautiful, funny, hand-crafted comics. Did I mention Matt Groening was wandering around APE that year and stopped at the table we shared with Tessa? Let me tell you, he certainly was not stopping for anything we had, he didn't even look our way, but he did purchase every book she had there!

4.)
Asthma
by John Hanckiewicz
Rob Clough, comics critic at High-Low & The Comics Journal, had this to say about Asthma "One of the greatest books of the past fifteen years and the best example of comics-as-poetry." So, maybe add that one to the cart too.

5.)
Blammo #7
by Noah Van Sciver
Anyone who has been reading here in the past, where I fumbled through an interview with the new underground comics legend would realize I am in love with this young man's work and his work ethic. The dude is tireless and unstoppable. Blammo is modeled after excellent comics like Optic Nerve, Hate, Eightball and Yummy Fur -- but it's made today. #7 is the latest and greatest! Go get it stat!

6.)
Eschew #1 & #2
by Robert Sergel
I really like the clean line and short anecdotal story-telling. It's sharp looking stuff!

7.)
1-800-MICE (series)
by Matthew Thurber
Don't yet own this and have not read it, but I will be amending that shortly as I have heard some very good things about this series.

8.)
Inkweed
by Chris Wright
This comic looks like nothing else out there that I have seen. I really really dig Chris Wright's work. Inkweed made me think hard and long about the type of comics I would like to make some day...

9.)
Pines (series)
by Jason T. Miles
This is another one that I have not yet read, but I have really enjoyed what I have seen of Jason's work and plan on acquiring more of it. So far I only have that oversized La Mano release, Dead Ringer.

10.)
Exploding Head Man
by Jason Overby
Overby is another comic cat whose work I really dig and I'd like to see more of, which is why this book is in my cart as we speak.

11.)
The Ditko Package
by Steve Ditko (you know, co-creator of Spider-Man!?)
What has the co-creator of Spider-Man been up to? Why making comics of course. Play a detective and purchase them. Black and white is featured prominently.

12.)
Service Industry
by T. Edward Bak
T. Edward Bak is a mighty talent, his work has been featured in MOME and D & Q Showcase. Service Industry looks to be an earlier work. Again, I have yet to read it, but AGAIN I shall and soon -- see the Sparkplug Comics Shop!

13.)
Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man
by John Porcellino
This was an earlier work by John P. about his job as an Mosquito Abatement Man. John's Simple evocative lines draw you in to his world and his life. If you are a fan of King Cat, you ought to pick it up as it is another gem and well worth adding to your library.

I should add that none of these are in any particular order. They are all excellent comics by excellent creatives. You really ought to use this time to head over to the Sparkplug shop and peruse to your hearts content. There are so many beautiful and cool comics over there. And as I have said above, Dylan could really use your help.

Dylan Williams is the Publisher behind Sparkplug as well as a cartoonist in his own right. For about 10 years he has been publishing beautiful and weird comics alike, both as spined albums and folded and stapled mini's. He also has acted as a distributor for some of the best damn small press comics out there today. The list above collects a mix of comics that he has published, illustrated, and those that others have self-published or other small press publishers have distributed via Sparkplug.

If there is one comics publisher we at 2D Cloud most closely identify with, it is Dylan at Sparkplug. His focus on floppies, when Fantagraphics, Top Shelf, Drawn & Quarterly were still publishing them, and his persistence in continuing to publish them well after the big boys have stopped has likely not earned him a ton of cash or accolades but I find it so damn necessary for the form to continue and carry on. And THAT is why I find Dylan's efforts at Sparkplug so important and admirable. He is one ethical, tough, cool dude. Please help him out as this real world comic universe needs him.

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Some Stuff from Figure Drawing (x-posted from my blog)

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xtranormal

www.xtranormal.com is the topic of this post. What is xtranormal? It's absolutely the fastest way to make a movie. Ever. All you need is an internet-capable device, and an account, and KABLAMO! You've got movie-making at the tips of your fingers.

Why is this cool? A few reasons come to mind, but the two most glaring ones are:

1) Movies are a complicated and time-consuming prospect, and

2) There is now a very fast way to test cinematography edits and storyboard ideas.

The movies themselves are pretty primitive, and often quite boring, but the site is definitely worth checking out and messing around with. I'm going to post some movies I've made there to give you a rough idea of what it's all about.

Why am I showing you these? Mostly because I think my sh*tty little movies are funny, but also to illustrate my point. Each of these were produced in under an hour. Bam!

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The Wolf is coming to get you!

Hello folks! Tom Neely's new painted novel is on it's way. If you happen to be in LA on the 8th of July, you should totally stop by Secret Headquarters (deets below) and check out the book release party. I'd  be there if I were not here, in MPLS.  But you can pre-order Tom's book at his shop, check the release below for some positive words from folks that have already given it a read and watch the trailer-- very cool stuff!

“An assaultive, erotic riot of sex and combat and horror and sheer image-making power. There’s great beauty in The Wolf’s blackness.”

– Sean T. Collins, critic (The Comics Journal, Robot 6)

The Wolf is a new graphic novel by Los Angeles-based painter-cartoonist Tom Neely. The book tells a simple love story, but one woven with surrealist horror, werewolf lore and its own brand of nightmare logic. With The Wolf, Neely progresses from the traditional cartooning style he showed off in his previous books, The Blot and Brilliantly Ham-Fisted, to a form that blends comics-style storytelling with a fine arts approach to imagery. The ultimate effect is equal parts touching and chilling.

Neely’s paintings and illustrations have been featured in galleries all over the U.S., in magazines and literary journals, and on records, posters and CDs for bands like The Melvins, ISIS and Wolves in the Throne Room, Groovie Ghoulies, among others. Earlier this year, he garnered a flurry of attention as one of the authors of the cult hit mini-comic Henry & Glenn Forever. Neely’s debut self-published novel, The Blot, won an Ignatz Award in 2007 and made it onto several of the industry’s “best of” lists that year, including “Best Comics of the Decade” in The Comics Journal.

228 Pages, Black & White and Full Color, Paperback, $25.00 (US)
Available now from I Will Destroy You
P.O. Box 39963, Los Angeles, CA 90039
www.iwilldestroyyou.com

Book Release and Signing
July 8th, 2011 at Secret Headquarters Comic Shop
3817 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Some early praise for The Wolf:

"The book talks about a progression, and an inner struggle, but I was most impressed with how Tom masterfully articulates the sentiment of love."
--Trenton Doyle Hancock, artist.

“The Wolf is drawn with skill and heart … It is thrilling to see Neely work this way, and to know that this dedicated artist is in it for the long haul.”
--Austin English, comics author/publisher (The Disgusting Room, Domino Books)

"The Wolf veers from frightening and expressionistic to cartoony at the drop of a hat, sometimes in the same drawing. But Tom pulls it all together beautifully.
--Zak Sally, cartoonist (Sammy the Mouse, Recidivist)

"Tom's work has the unusual ability to provoke anxiety, uncertainty, horror and uncomfortable laughter in equal measure … Mr. Neely has done so here with grace and a crafty precision.
-- Aaron Turner, musician-artist (Isis, Mammifer)


Pre-order the book from the IWDY store now!
Stores- e-mail Tom for wholesale orders!

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The Highway Won't Hide You: The Knotwells Album Release Event

The Knotwells woodsy genre blending sound will be touching down in Minneapolis at the Hexagon Bar about 2 and half weeks from now on friday July 1st. The event will kickoff the release of their second full length release, 'The Highway Won't Hide You'. It's a fantastic album and well worth your cash (and mine too-- I'll be there!). And being at the Hexagon, it is a 21+ show and is of course, FREE.

The Knotwells with Brute Heart, and Black Audience
Friday July 1st @
The Hexagon
2600 27th Ave. So.
Minneapolis
music starts at 9:30pm

They are having another album release event the following day at a currently undisclosed place. This one will be an all ages show and they will be playing with Terracide and Visitor. More details are forth coming.

I am not a music connoisseur by any means, but in my skull and in my heart, the Knotwells are quintessential Minnesota music. If you'd like to try a taste of their sound before making it down to the show, click the links below. Hope to see yah there!

Thousand Dead by the Knotwells

02 The Spinning Song by the Knotwells

Oh and here is their poster for the event:

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