Thursday, December 24, 2009

Time for (K)laus


Well, another year, another holiday. At least people get one thing right his year and celebrate with the greatest European actor, The one true Klaus (Kinski).

I'll be watching all of his classic Herzog collaborations tomorrow. Hope you do the same.


Oh wait, that wasn't the claus you wanted?




Here you go(it's pretty good too).

Have fun.

(That's it for the rest of year for me. Maybe a few lists of things to look forward to, but no more pictures).



Monday, December 21, 2009

Mountains of Kirby


Hope you don't run in this guy when enjoying your snow activities.


Saturday, December 19, 2009

Remembering Dan O'Bannon


Dan O'Bannon died yesterday. He was 62 years old, still spry from all accounts, still writing. He was one of the landmark screenwriters in the sci-fi genre of the last quarter of a century, and one of my favorite screen-writers period.

But to list just screen-writing(though it is the position with the most credits to his name) would be misleading. He also acted, did special effects, and directed. He also had works outside of film, and yet also influenced the medium.

His first credit was as editor, co-writer, art department and actor in "Dark Star", an assuredly efficient film that is so good you frequently forget it is a student film. This spring boarded him to Alejandro Jodorowsky's "Dune", the most amazing film that never got made. However,without it he would have not made the connections to contribute to the genre of sci-fi.

He went back to California, where the talk of his great effects on a shoestring skill got him him a job doing just that on "Star Wars". Then he wrote a screenplay based on his monster sequence in "Dark Star", making eventually the blueprint for "Alien"(the beginning of the finest series in science fiction). He also suggested some of the artists he made friends with on Dune for the film, Chris Foss, Moebius, and of course H.R. Giger. Speaking of Moebius, he collaborated with O'Bannon on a terrific comic called "The Long Goodbye", which was an enormous influence on the look of "Blade Runner"

Afterwards he continued to write superb screenplays , including "Invaders from Mars" remake, "Blue Thunder", "Lifeforce", "Dead and Buried", segments of "Heavy Metal", "Screamers", and "Total Recall", which is perhaps his second best known work.

The third thing his most known for is his directorial debut--which he also scripted-- called "Return of the Living Dead"(the film I am convinced forever matched zombies with brain eating). Despite occasional gaffs it is an absorbing film, wittingly skewing "Night of the living dead" showing comedic zombie years before "Shaun of the dead" He also, as far as English zombie films go, invented the notion of fast zombie(perhaps the cleverest way, given the material). Altogether he showed a masterful hand, with sly nods to classical Hollywood directors like Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder; like his "Dark Star" co-creator John Carpenter his manged to take the images and thoughts of old Hollywood dreams and apply them to modern nightmares.

At the time of hid death he was working an guide to screenwriting, which was only lacking a publisher. Hopefully, someone will now step up to the plate and let the world know of his skilled hand, his dedication to craft, and his long body of work, in his own words. You will not be forgotten Dan, and we thank you for all the memories.

Afterthoughts, Classic O'Bannon quotes:

"You're supposed to be stupid, son. Don't abuse the privilege. "

When you’re walking on eggshells don’t try to hop."

"You coming, or just breathing hard"?


"See? You made me hurt myself again! I broke my hand off completely at the wrist this time, Tina! But that's okay, Darlin', because I love you, and that's why you have to let me EAT YOUR BRAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIINS! "



Friday, December 18, 2009

Drilling with Doug Sneyd

[Enlarge Here]

From a. . . does it really matter, this picture is really, really good(I can't remember what issue of playboy, anyway).

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Moebius and Miyazaki; a delcious combination


Great friends, great artists. They had a co-exhibit musiem in france, which I believe this is from. And what better Miyazaki then the title character from his best film, and on of the greatest animated movies of all time.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Kirby to the Moon

[Enlarge Here]

But wait, Kirby's just getting started:



From a random reprint in Harvey comics. So much creativity in so few panels.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Bring me back, bring me a brick (with Krazy Kat)


Christmas time(or near) or not, it is always the season for this feline.



Sunday, December 6, 2009

Turk (live 2008) by High on Fire



Continuing to show good, recent musical talent (yes it does exist, just doesn't get much attention).

Of High on Fire fellow fan ribos had this to say (of their latest album and of them in general):

"It's too fast to properly be doom, not fierce enough to be thrash, too sludgy to be traditional heavy metal (in the vein of Motörhead), but too rocking to be sludge/stoner metal. High On Fire sits somewhere in this nebulous, not-really-defined realm where they lack any notable qualities to push them into a specific genre... and normally such a case would sound like a confused gobbledegook of influence worship.

But this is different. This kicks ass."

I'm not sure I could have said it better myself. They are clearly inspired by several different ideas and styles, but are not slaves to them. This is just solid craftsmanship and dedication, by people who put out albums to please people and doesn't cater to one band member's ego. Make no mistake, they are impressive musicians(they also have unusual gear, guitarist Matt Pike has a nine string guitar and drummer Des Kensel has an 30% larger drum kit). I honestly can't think of better trio, in any genre right now. Correct in the comments if wrong.
Enjoy.

PS: they are also great for putting on while drawing, especially if you like to draw fantastical creatures like those form "Wizards".

Bonus: Blessed Black Wings


Thursday, December 3, 2009

Friday, November 27, 2009

Turtles, Honeymooners, and Advice


This is an image from an unpublished turtles comic made by the great Milton Knight, who was kind enough to put it up on his website.

More cartoony cartoon fans wonder why I love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as they don't appear very often in such adventures. I always felt the potential [I mean, ninja trained reptiles named after Renaissance painters? How delightfully surreal!] was there, it's only the people who never follow up on it. Knight, influnced by the new york 1930' s animation(among others) does just so. And he adds in the Honeymooners, one of the few worthwhile sitcoms in tv's hisory. Bravo.

The Turtles meet the Honeymooners

And Remember;


Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Black and white Hounds

I love black and white Marvel comic books, I love Sherlock Holmes, And Val Mayerik is one of my favorite artists. So obliviously I am thrilled to show this comic.

The Hound of the Baskervilles Part 1


The Hound of the Baskervilles Part 2



Oh
, and have I mentioned Diversions of the Groovy Kind is great? Well, it is!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Punch the Heavens

[Enlarge Here]

Solid cartooning skills to re-create a scene from a great game.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Pioneer Giger


I promised some more Giger, and here I deliver. These were for ads for Pioneer.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Early Hanna-Barbera Explosion



I love me some HB cartoons, especially the early ones(and isn't that above picture great?). A really informative blog discusses these classic years at length, and even puts up incredibly rare (and incredibly catchy ) music from each episode. Enjoy!

Yowp: Stuff about Early Hanna-Barbera Cartoons

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Oil Astro

Let's just forget that dreadful cgi movie and enjoy these lovely oils by Ashley Wood.
And the 1908's series, if you fancy more good stuff.

Monday, November 9, 2009

A medusa you want to see

An odd choice for a pin-up, bit nonetheless excellent.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Phone Home (live 2004) by Dillinger Escape Plan



I have a a tag called music, and yet I so rarely use it. Time for change.

I love a lot of musicians that are uncontroversial choices( ie, their place is already secure). Such as Johnny Cash, Iron Maiden, Pixies, Charles Mingus, Frank Sinatra, Muddy Waters, Frank Zappa, Black Flag, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Patsy Cline, etc, etc.

All great , and I like them because I experienced a great euphoria, a sense of joy when hearing them. I didn't like them because others do. Still, I don't have to exactly defend them. It's like saying your favorite band is the Beatles, no one is really going to challenge that (on grounds that their greatness is stated for years).

It's far more debatable (and interesting) to note modern bands, who are more or less new, who don't have a massive legacy. Combined with the consistent cry that there is no good music made today I must note one of my favorite new bands, The Dillinger Escape Plan.

Once called greater than the Beatles (debatable, but certainly a more frenzied and physical live act) Dillinger is a band that has been around for a decade, made a few alums, and is certainly not unknown, but deserves all recognition they can get. Their work is is that rare blend of destroying riffs with actual accessibility (to a point). This is one of their mellower songs above, with not quite as much screaming. But they also have scorching technical numbers, laid back electronic,a warped pop song,and more on their albums.

They are also easily one of the great live acts I have seen, especially in a small club. Definitely check out their works (personal favorites are Sunshine the werewolf, black bubblegum, and Mouth of Ghosts[the last being quite beautiful] and of course Phone Home).

Any suggestions for great new bands you guys like (even ones completely different from this) be sure to let me know. I am always on the look out for new stuff.


Bonus: Sunshine the Werewolf (flavour or Dillinger in frenzied live setting)

The Dillinger Escape Plan - Sunshine The Werewolf - by XAVY from Xavy [Perrone Salvatore] on Vimeo.



Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Giger-mobile


Rarely seen concept art for Batman Forever by bloody H.R. Giger. Who knew?

(Cripes, Giger is one of my favorite artists and this my first post about him. More to come).

Saturday, October 31, 2009

What Things goes there?

(Original novella, art below)

Monsterbrains is a fantastic site (which is why I link to it) but here it outdid itself, showing interesting fan artwork for John Carpenter's The Thing(which I just saw on the big screen today). As a fan myself I find it fascinating. Top-notch work.

Happy Halloween, everybody.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Devil Jelly


I know what the intent was (to sell jelly) of this ad, but somewhere that idea got quite corrupted. And I am glad for it.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Scares from the past

[Enlarge Here]

Illustration that always stayed with me, long after I forgot what most of the actual stories were about (enlarged version is far bigger, by the way).

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Splatter Art


Flyer for one of the best horror themed games

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Dancing Jane


Joan Crawford & Dorothy Sebastian from "Our Dancing Daughters" (1928). As someone who first saw Joan in "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" I sometimes forget that she was young once, which is why pictures like this floor me.

From the rather scattershot but interesting RETrOZONe


Thursday, October 15, 2009

Monday, October 12, 2009

The Kat and the Moon

Now this is one fairy tale that should go on forever. You are a master, George Herriman

Friday, October 9, 2009

Running up that hill


I love Conan ( and John Buscema).

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

The mob rules


Artwork for a collection of the little oddities called the Madballs. Never cared for them, but this illustration is much more fun.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Toho monsters

[Enlarge Here]

I love Japanese monster films, particularly those from Toho, and especially those from the late, great Ishiro Honda. This is one of his weaker ones, but still entertaining enough. This poster is neat too.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Most Dangerous Music (by Hironobu Kageyama)









This might be the flimsiest excuse for a post I have ever had. This is really only the soundtrack for an anime, but I do like it so. The actual anime is enjoyable, if completely over the top ridiculous. Definitely for people who think modern anime characters are too petite and especially for those who love the road warrior(which of course includes me).

I
guarantee you will have a hard time forgetting what little English there actually is in this song out of your head. There's no real reason for liking it, it's just awesome rock-synth that is totally 80's. And from Japan no less! Preposterous, yet so delicious. (Incidentally, this is not the order presented in the anime, quite the opposite; and, yes, the middle is instrumental only).

Edit: The singer in these songs (the one whose combination of English and Japanese is so delightful) is called
Hironobu Kageyama. I assumed he didn't do anything else but apparently this was his first of many songs for anime. And he has his own band of other vocalists. Hmm. Neat. Checkout more info here.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

A little Wally Wood

[Enlarge Here]

[Enlarge Here]

Wally always had a way of combining comedy and horror( the two planes this world truly lives on) mesh so flawlessly.

Monday, September 21, 2009

See this poster, visit space

Now this is how you do collage(with a bit of illustration the bottom), not any of this muted looking photoshop used to promote movies today.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Klaymation Kat?!




I love stop-motion and I love newspaper strips, but I have rarely seen them combined. This makes me really wish there were more.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Floating Shirow

[Enlarge Here]

The use of color here is quite exceptional.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Skull of the Beast


Where are all these kooky sci-fi book cover artists today?

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Space defined


Gave I mentioned recently how much I love Kirby's work? Amazing, even without entirely being pencils

Sunday, September 6, 2009

On Foreign Ground

[Enlarge Here]

Japanese Poster for one of my all time favorite films
(Is that picture of Plissken real or drawn? hard to tell)

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Landscapes of Moebius

[Enlarge Here]

I want to live in a world designed by this man, so beautiful.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Monday, August 24, 2009

Rainbow Zombies in a Dark Universe


Perhaps they are not zombies, maybe they are morlocks (the underground race from the time machine), but they do look cool.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Concept art of the universe


Concept art for a so-so movie based on a rather mediocre(at least visually) animated show. Despite that, it all looks rather impressive. More here.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Racing thrills


Another poster where I suspect it is actually more entertaining than the film.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Art of Ogasa Shin



Just found a an incredible artist's website, check it out. 

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

A poster from long ago

Whiter or not you like star wars, this is an impressive illustration. Artist unknown(for the Japanese release).