Northern Exposure was on TV when I was in High School and too young to appreciate its charm. I learned later that David Chase (Sopranos) worked on the last two seasons of this show. I mostly remember the commercials and that people thought it was smart.
I wasn't expecting the theatrical, Freudian hilarity of this network (!) TV show.
Oddly most of the manga I've read have been biographies of comics creators. Most recently, I made my way through the tome The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime. Tezuka was a uniquely driven creator who lived a sheltered life.
His series Black Jack, is a fun adventure story like none I've ever read and also makes the most of his medical background. The art is beautiful, but after reading his biography I wonder how much of it was actually drawn by his assistants?
Have you ever been to Bigfork, Minnesota?
Well, there are some very dedicated art appreciators up there. I made the trip this July 4th weekend for their Art On The Edge opening celebration. My graphic novel, Holy Hannah brought home the Best In Show Prize.
Photos by myself and Deborah Carver
I try to make it down to the Lyndale Open Streets every year. There is something about walking down the center of a usually busy street that tells me it's summertime. Winter hasn't really ended until you've spent an afternoon among a throng of people.
Was that Russian reporter who revealed that he had FAKED HIS OWN DEATH, in reality, an elaborate promotion for the final episode of The Americans? Seemed like it to me, at the time. What is it they say about reality being stranger than something?
Emily Nussbaum has been writing about this show from the start.
Read the 9th Chapter of Holy Hannah! Hannah and Noah are in the jungle now, and people are starting to get weird.
Every month a group of cartoonists gets together at a brewery to draw and talk shop. Tap Rooms with long tables suited for sprawling sketchbooks and drawing materials are preferred such as Able Seedhouse or Lake and Legends Brewing Company. This June 7th, we meet at Insight Brewing.
I love the process. Here's an example of how I made the most recent illustration for Dirt Rag Magazine.
AD, Stephen Haynes, is the best. He also draws some pretty cool ships.
Thanks to Carla at blkkhand for the striking tintype portrait. This is my face.
I've always joked that Robert Heinlein was better at writing the first half of a science fiction novel than just about anyone. Usually the second half is where he would abondon the high adventure space thriller in favor of his peculiar grand narrative.
Double Star, is just that first half. This breezy 250 page narrative about an out-of-work actor who plays a double for a kidnapped intergalactic politician won Heinlein his first Hugo award.
If you see a bus covered with a plaid design at the State Fair this year—it started out looking like this.
Wes Anderson's 9th film. His 8th collaboration with Bill Murray. The second stop-motion animation film he's directed. The first time I've seen a dog cry tears like a person.
Finally, I got around to seeing The (US) Office. The trick, I guess, was finding the time for all 9 seasons. Like a great sitcom, it applies the comic-strip "variations on a theme" to perfection. Doesn't hurt that Steve Carrell is reliably goofy.
Ever wonder how to build a city? Or a town? A Pattern Language written by Christopher Alexander and Murray Silverstein shows a way. Apparently this tome also influenced early computer programing. I found the book a useful guide to arranging an efficient office space.
Comics reading! Comics reading!
Madeline McGrane | Brando Hughes | Cole HW
April 13th • Doors @ 7:00 PM
It's going to be at the new Beyond Repair + Uncivilized Book space: Assembly
The above, from the 2017 archives, is a fun example of how illustration and comics can be utilized in a promotional campaign. Abe Studios needed a single graphic to explain the complex process of applying for the Techovation Awards. The awards were so successful, they continued to use the art again this year.
