John Dillinger

Back With a Whimper

Aaaaannnnd it's the first drawing I've done since September '09. I'm not going gray for the fun of it, y'know!

Alien Soundtracks V2

I drew a picture very, very similar to this years and years ago, but decided to redraw it tonight. I obviously don't know when to walk away from the canvas!

The Gentleman With the Thistledown Hair

A little more fan art for Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (I finished the whole book, whee). Full view, please!

Mr. Norrell

I'm about 1/3 of the way through Susanna Clarke's mammoth tome Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (no spoilers, please) and decided to do a little fan art based on one of the titular characters. So, here 'tis. How are things?

Beatnik Octopus

Yes, it's another old drawing given a second lease on life. This guy was originally intended for use as a small sticker (just in black and red), but nothing came of it.

B(r)atgirl V2

Another drawing I did years ago, but only got around to coloring today. I'm all for recycling, y'know? I want to get a second use out of these things. In a way, I'd like to go through my archives and start pulling things out that could be worth a second view...as long as it doesn't keep me from producing new drawings, which is kinda the whole point of this blog. Your thoughts?

After Jerry Robinson

Well, I drew this picture three (!) years ago, according to my notes, and finally got around to coloring it tonight. Third year's the charm, especially when you can't get it together to draw something new. This is just a little tribute to an old Batman cover, illustrated by the great Jerry Robinson (can't find the original image in my files, but it dates to his early 1940s involvement in the comic book). I try to draw a little tighter these days, but there you have it. I might expand on this post tomorrow, when I'm less tired...no wonder, it's 10:30 (bedtime!). 'Night!

What I'm Reading/Dreaming

It's mid-August, and I'm having one of those weeks that's a bit out of focus. Come down with a mysterious ailment on Sunday (either a cold, swine flu, or a intense allergic reaction to something), and spent most of Monday either sleeping my way through it or shuffling between bed and the living-room couch, seeking distraction. I've kicked whatever it was, but am still feeling out-of-tune (on Wednesday night!). So, no new drawings, no new scans, nothing of my own to share. My drawing table is gathering dust and cat hair. So, it's time to reach into the "reading" pile, post a couple of scans, and call it even.

Lately, I've been falling asleep to Winsor McCay's Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend, a collection of McCay's weekly newspaper strip that ran between 1904 and 1913. I found a beat-up copy of a Dover collection (still in print), which was $4.95 well spent. Like many Dover art books, it offers crisp black-and-white reproduction and no frills.

Like his later Little Nemo in Slumberland, it was comprised of beautifully balanced single-page strips detailing some a character caught in an improbable situation, rapidly spinning out of control...who, in the end, wakes up to find him/herself sitting awake in bed (and vowing "no more o' them Welsh rarebits before I go to bed, no sir! Oh!"). Antlers, trolley accidents, gigantic domestic animals, thrills, spills, flights through the night sky in four-poster beds. Whimsical, yes, but rendered with sharp wit and perfect artistic instinct. McCay chased his inspiration into a new (dream) world, armed with a classical illustrator's skill-set. I like it.

Here's a scan for your amusement: please click on the image for a full view. I promise to draw again, 'pon my word!