CLASSIC COMIC BOOK BACK COVERS

As a depressed cartoonist with internet access, I spend a lot of time looking at old comic book covers online.  They're beautiful.  But what I find almost as beautiful are the back covers of old-school comics.  Here's a quick sampling of a few, from the early 1970's.

KING-CAT ON TOUR: March-April 2010

I'm leaving for tour in early March.  Besides the confirmed dates listed below, I will also be stopping in Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta, Athens GA, Birmingham, and Tallahassee.  I won't have scheduled signings in those towns, but if you live nearby and want to meet up, please drop me a line!  Thanks everyone!

JUST ADDED: ATHENS, GA -- HONEY'S SALON -- TUES. MARCH 30 -- SEE BELOW!!!

(PS: I have a month's worth of posts scheduled in advance, so this blog will be updated automatically while I'm on the road!  Check back often!)

Thurs./Fri. March 11-12 -- CHICAGO, IL

Comics Symposium of Chicago

http://www.comicsymposiumofchicago.tumblr.com/

(Thurs. 5:45-6:45 PM "Comics as Art" panel w/

Paul Hornschemeier, John Porcellino, Christa Donner,

and Bernie McGovern)

Fri./Sat. March 12-13 -- CHICAGO, IL

Chicago Zine Fest

http://www.chicagozinefest.org/

(Fri. Zine Reading at Quimby's 7 PM, followed by Zine Art opening at Johalla Gallery)

(Sat. Tabling at CZF + King-Cat slideshow/talk at 12:15 PM)

Fri. March 26 -- GAINESVILLE, FL

University of Florida Comics Conference

www.english.ufl.edu/comics

(Keynote address)

 

Tues. March 30; 7 PM -- ATHENS, GA

JUST ADDED!!!

Honey's Salon

Mercury A.I.R. building

160 Tracy St. Suite 10

Athens, GA 30601

(706) 254-4008

http://honeyssalon.com/

Fri. April 2; 8-10 PM -- HOUSTON, TX

Domy Books

1709 Westheimer Road

Houston, TX 77098

(713) 523-3669

http://www.domystore.com/

Sat. April 3 -- AUSTIN, TX

Austin Books/Domy Books

Booksigning: 1-3 PM at

Austin Books and Comics

5002 North Lamar Boulevard

Austin, TX 78751

(512) 454-4197

http://www.austinbooks.com/

Slideshow & Reception: 7-9 PM at

Domy Books

913 E Cesar Chavez

Austin, TX 78702

(512) 476-3669

http://www.domystore.com/

Tues. April 6; 7 PM -- NORMAN, OK

Atomik Pop!

918 W. Main

Norman OK 73069

(405) 329-9695

http://www.atomikpop.com/

* * *

Fri.-Sun. April 16-18 -- DENVER, CO

Denver ComicFest

http://www.denvercomicfest.com/

* * *

Sat. May 1, 2010 -- BOULDER, CO

Free Comic Book Day

Time Warp Comics

3105 28th Street

Boulder, CO 80301

(303) 443-4500

http://www.time-warp.com/

Sat May 1, 2010 -- WESTMINSTER, CO

Free Comic Book Day

I Want More Comics!

10355 Federal Blvd Unit C

Westminster, CO 80260

(303) 460-7226

http://www.iwantmorecomics.com/

DEVIL DINOSAUR HOMAGE IN COLOR

Hommage à Jack Kirby (et Morrissey)

Drawn by the Jovial John Porcellino

Colored by the Nerdy Noah Van Sciver

2010

To see the rough b+w version, click here.

To see a painful comparison with the actual cover, click here.

* * *

Lyrics © Morrissey

Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy © Marvel Comics

Can we have a job, please?

(Some of my) FAVORITE COMICS OF 2009

Everybody makes these kinds of lists, so, I thought, why not me?  These are just SOME of the comics I read last year, that I really enjoyed.  Some of them came out a long time ago, but I only finally read them in 2009.  One of them came out in 2009, but I didn't read it till a few weeks ago--  I still included it.  Of course, this is no definitive list:  I can't claim to have even begun to KNOW of all the comics that came out last year, and I'm an old man--  undoubtedly I've forgotten something.  Also, I still have a box of comics that I got while on tour that I have barely begun to crack.  So take this list with a grain of salt, and if it turns somebody somewhere on to something that they wouldn't have known about otherwise, that's the point.  Huzzah!

(No particular order):

1. Genesis by R.Crumb (Norton)

This book really surpassed my (high) expectations.  People I know and respect have had varying opinions on it, but I think it's a masterpiece.  By restricting himself to the traditional text, Crumb has achieved something really special, something that only an artist with his age, experience, and perspective could have pulled off.  I have a special place in my heart for these types of old religious writings, but even so, I was surprised to find myself moved to tears at the conclusion.  Now--  how about Exodus?


2. OMAC: One Man Army Corps by Jack Kirby (DC Archives)

My friend Ray has been trying to get me to read OMAC for years now, going so far as to send me issue #1 in the mail.  So I finally read it.  We'll see how it all shakes out, but this may be one of the most influential comics for me, as an artist, that I've ever read.

After years of hand-wringing and miserablism, this collection reminded me of just how much I love comic books.  Ever since then I've been on a comics rampage-- I can't get enough of them!  And that long-term doubt and shame I've felt about my role in life, as a cartoonist, has evaporated in the morning light.  I LOVE COMICS.  There.  I said it.


3. Like a Dog by Zak Sally (Fantagraphics)

It's impossible for me to be objective about this book, as Zak is one of my closest friends, but this is a really powerful, fascinating collection of comics.  Very dark, and even brutal sometimes, but bracing, and highly original.





4. Blammo by Noah Van Sciver (series) (self-published/Kilgore Comics)

Another great comic by another good friend.  Noah started out talented, and has improved with every issue.  Bleak and hilarious, his comics emerge from a classic Underground sensibility, but are thoroughly modern at the same time.  Great stuff.






5. Amazing Adult Fantasy Omnibus by Kirby, Lee, Ditko et al. (Marvel)

I discovered the existence of this book while messing around online, and when I did, I became very, very happy.

Before it became the launching pad for good ol' Spiderman (in issue #15), Amazing Adult Fantasy ("The Magazine That Respects Your Intelligence!") featured goony, wonderful sci-fi and monster comics by Kirby, Ditko, and Lee, among others.  Reading this stuff changes my brainwaves in a very, very good way.  Also highly recommended:  Marvel Masterworks reprints of Tales to Astonish and Tales of Suspense.


6. A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn and Quarterly)

A brilliant, engrossing memoir of Tatsumi's early years in Manga, from his precocious childhood through early adulthood, when he and his friends created the mature, groundbreaking gekiga style of Japanese comics.  Didn't want it to end.  Will there be a Volume Two?  Please say yes.




7. Aya by Marguerite Abouet & Clément Oubrerie (series) (D+Q)

Nothing too earth-shattering here (except of course for totally destroying the typical American notions of what life in Africa is really like), but this day-to-day tale of growing up in 1970s-80s Ivory Coast is absolutely beautifully written and drawn, and a complete joy to read.





8. Cecil and Jordan in New York by Gabrielle Bell (D+Q)

The best collection yet of one of my favorite contemporary cartoonists;  Gabrielle Bell's quietly detached views of modern life are sweet and smart.







9. The Complete Little Orphan Annie Vol. 1 by Harold Gray (IDW)

After years of hearing how great this comic was, I was happy to find that it completely lives up to its reputation, and then some.  Masterful from its earliest pages, in this classic strip Harold Gray really knew how to keep you coming back for more.  I'd tell myself "Just one more page... then I'll go to sleep!"  Not likely!  Can't wait to read the next one, and the next one, and the next one...


10. Doing Time by Kazuichi Hanawa (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)

I kept looking for a portal into Manga, for something idiosyncratic and personal that I could really sink my teeth into, and this true account of Japanese prison life was it.  I read it at Zak's while on tour, and afterwards I felt like a whole new world had opened up for me.

HEE HAW: The Art of PATRICK PORTER

"My brain feels like a saxophone; it's all downhill from here..." 

-- Patrick Porter

Some of you who know me well, or who have been following my online chattering for awhile, will have heard me go on and on about my friend Partick Porter.  Patrick is an artist-- writing novels and poetry, painting, and making music.  In this post, I wanted to share some of Patrick's art with you, cuz it's some of my favorite stuff ever.

I met Patrick sometime in 1993 or so, when he was 15 years old.  I was at Wax Trax one day (legendary Denver underground nexus), and picked up a copy of his zine, Our Comics Suck.  In it he expressed his wishes to buy an old Fender guitar, and I had a Duo-Sonic that I never used anymore, so I wrote him a letter telling him about it.

A few days later Patrick came over to my apartment to look at the guitar.  It was a piece of junk, to tell the truth.  It'd been stripped and "refinished" with a sticky, gloppy dark brown stain, and the neck was jerryrigged onto the body with ugly bolts.  Didn't sound too good either.  But it was cheap.  Patrick agreed to buy the guitar for $125 (a rip-off, looking back), but he only had $75 on him.  I took the money and said pay me the rest when you can.

(You can read another version of this event in the story "Lost and Found," in King-Cat Classix.)

Turns out Patrick loved that guitar, and used it in his band Neglected Lawn, up in Bailey, in the mountains, where he lived.  But he never got back to me with the remaining payment.  I kind of figured he never would, but then one day that fall he called me up and said he was in town, and he had the money.

I drove down to DU and he came out of the apartment, with, no shit, a plastic bag with $50 in change in it.  Pennies and everything.  That's when I knew I was dealing with a special person.

Years passed.  Patrick learned jazz guitar, and began making his own music.  I moved back to Chicago, Patrick shifted all over the country.  We had some kind of weird bond, and many 2 AM phone calls ensued.  We became really good friends.  I never had one in real life, but in many ways Patrick is the closest thing I've ever had to a brother.

The stuff Patrick makes is messy and brilliant, and deeply beautiful and sad, to me.  His music is some of my favorite music in the world.  One day Patrick decided to start painting, and lo and behold he was good at that too.  He likes to paint because he doesn't know how. 

Over the years his music has grown from funny punk noise to hushed shoegazery pop, to his current style, which is a splattery mix of crazy/delicate singing, smart lyrics, trashcan/luminous guitar, drums, piano, reverb, and haunting beauty.  Real beauty, like looking out at the real world.  Even before Patrick started making canvases, I felt like his songs were paintings.  They have that feel to me.  People looking for the latest "indie rock" car commercial are going to be confused and knocked back by this kind of thing.  It's real art by a real artist.

Without going into details, Patrick has lived an oftentimes rough life.  Of all my many poor friends, Patrick is the only one who, to my knowledge, has ever spent nights on park benches.  To me this is a crime.  But that's America™ for you, right?

I'm including here some videos, images, and poems, plus links where you can find more of his work.  I hope you enjoy it.

--John P.

Patrick Porter Wikipedia entry

* * *

MUSIC

Patrick has released over ten full length albums, on various small labels.  His 2007 recording, A Swan at Smiley's, is, I think, a masterpiece.  His latest album, the achingly warm, crazy, and funny Bachelor Pad Blue; Bent Pants and Stray Cats, has not yet been "officially" released, but is available for download from bandcamp.com.

For studio versions of his songs, please visit:
Patrick's Bandcamp site
Myspace site with art and music
More unruly songs

Recommended tracks for first time listeners:
"Bond Funeral Home"
"Wait For Another"
"Hee Haw"
"Feed From a Holy Lite"
"Fogelburg"
"Hollywood is a Word on a Wall"


Video for "Wait for Another," from A Swan at Smiley's:


"When The Summer's On" live in NYC


Patrick Porter Plays "Hee Haw" Live Behind The TV Set:

* * *

ART

Coconut Soop (2007)

Ten Million Mules (2008)

Freeway (2008)

Band (2009)

Quiet Girl (2009)

Schdy 1 (2009)

Video: Patrick Porter Paints Live From His Horse Pillow:


Video: Patrick Porter-- District Attorney Painting, In Progress:



Patrick's etsy shop

* * *

POETRY

Just a few short samples:

OCEAN

my house
is in
the
middle
of the
ocean

i open
doors
and the
waves
push me
through

i have
to walk
with
conviction

from
crag to
crag

the
water
is warm
milk
white



MINER

I spend
My time

Mining
Diamonds

From
Atop

A floral
Mattress

I eat
Raw glass

And widen
My eyes

I mine
Diamonds

In my
Own
Likeness



HOME

I have
To
Talk
Backwards

Just
To make
Sense

I have
To
Walk
Backwards

Just
To get
Home


Patrick's blog

EVEL KNIEVEL STORY

A super rare comic that originally appeared in Steve Mandich's classic Evel Knievel zine, Heinous, Oct. '95.

(Sorry it's a little fuzzy.  I don't know what I'm doing!!!)

FEBRUARY THAW

Filmed behind our apartment building, Denver, Colorado; Feb. 22, 2010.