hey

want to apologize for not being around lately. My computers were KOA and had no way to write. I have been doing some new work lately and will post soon. Im impressed with all the work people seem to be doing. Awesome stuff.

ROM, SPACENITE 2

All issues of ROM are out of print and apparently caught up in some weird publishing limbo preventing Marvel from rereleasing them, so I don't mind admitting that I downloaded every single issue from demonoid the other month. I poked through every issue and cut out my favorite weird robots and monsters, then put together an interesting collage as a sort of composition study. I'll be using the image above as a sort of sketch to make the final work. It's going to be a very colorful version of my typical digital collage work. Basically, I tried to come up with the most bad ass pin up poster of ROM that I could imagine.

Jason Leivian at Floating World Comics is putting together an art show of works inspired by ROM next spring along with a book of ROM inspired art. You can see examples of artists who have contributed including Renee French, Guy Davis and our own Uland. More here.

Details on the first exhibit from a few years ago can be viewed here.

If you're considering participating you can get some inspiration by checking out these ROM comic covers.

To sum up what this art show and book is for, I'll just quote the Wikipedia article on Bill Mantlo..

"a regular writer at Marvel, notably for the licensed properties Micronauts and Rom a.k.a. Rom: Spaceknight. On Christmas Day 1977, Mantlo's son Adam opened a new present, a line of the Mego Corporation's Micronauts action figures. Seeing the toys, Bill Mantlo was instantly struck by inspiration to write their adventures. Convincing then editor-in-chief Jim Shooter to get the comics license for these toys, Mantlo was hired to script their series.[6] Mantlo and Michael Golden (the artist on Micronauts) took a few bits of colorful plastic and built an entire (subatomic) universe around them, with its own history, mythology, personalities, and even an alphabet. Ultimately, the Micronauts comic won the 1979 Eagle Award for Favourite New Comic Title.

In the same way, Mantlo turned an uninspired toy called Rom into a cosmic odyssey about chivalry, alienation, and what it means to be human.

On July 17, 1992, Mantlo was struck by a car while rollerblading. (The driver of the car fled the scene and has never been identified.) Not wearing a helmet at the time, Mantlo suffered severe head trauma and spent over two weeks in a coma. He has since been institutionalized, and is not expected to fully recover. Mantlo now resides in the Queens Nassau Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, where he must have 24-hour assistance. His care has long since used up his health insurance. In 2007, cartoonist David Yurkovich released the benefit book Mantlo: A Life in Comics, with all proceeds from the book donated to Mantlo's brother and caregiver, Michael Mantlo, to help toward the costs of maintaining Mantlo's care. In addition, Floating World Comics sponsored Spacenight: A Tribute to Bill Mantlo, an art show made (almost) entirely of various artists' interpretations of ROM, to help raise funds for Mantlo's care."

MAHNSHTURZZZ!!!!

Some detail shots of an insanely detailed artwork I finished today.

Welcome home, son.

Petey's back from the war. Soup's on!

FILL YOUR HEAD WITH TRASH!!!

It seemed a bit crass to post an ad on here, but then i reconsidered. This blog is called Eaten By Ducks anyhow.

Stop buying your kids that Japanese Crap! Monsters, Weirdos & Creeps cards are out NOW! 27 Krazy, Kreepy & Gross characters! Comics, a puzzle & KOOL KRAP on the backs! Klassic American low-brow trash culture that'll put hair on your teeth! Always "G" rated!
$2 for first pack by mail, a buck a pop for each additional one. Postpaid.
$20 for a box of 20 packs. Control the market!
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SHOPS, contact me for wholesale prices!

bonus!

This was going to be the flip-side to the Monsters, Weirdos & Creeps wax pax but it made gluing them shut impossible. So as to not waste, here it is for you.

Just some bits and bobs

As far as I know,, Jacula are the first horror themed band ever, correct me if I'm wrong. They later turned into Antonius Rex. I can never get enough pipe organ and this just hits the spot.

The first and last minutes of this song are to DIE for, but the middle is just pretty nice. Associated with Steve Hillage of Gong. In recent times the frontman Mont Campbell of Egg does actually look like a wizard but he is an exceptionally handsome man((I seem to be going crazy for handsome guys in bands)).

I'd been hearing the name The Residents several times but it came to the amount of times where you start thinking "If I keep hearing about them in the circles that I'm poking around in, I'd better check them out" and then I found this massive article on Not Available and then I listened to this video and being quite astounded then bought the album. Then I found out there had already a couple of mentions of them on this very blog,, I dont know how I missed them because I watch/listen every single video link here.
Could someone give me pointers on buying their albums? Are the live albums worthwhile? Are there dips in quality? Because I have my hands full with ultra prolific bands like Acid Mothers Temple and Robert Pollard/Guided by Voices,, a discography the size of Sun Ra and Tangerine Dream is extremely scary and a bit offputting.
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Inner Sanctum
This is the radio show that I believe started the trend of horror hosts and the format of 50s horror comics and so on. Here are over 100 episodes, I only listened to the first one, but later episodes have movie stars doing voices.
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Mike Ploog card art
This is for Sean,, there is lots of other good stuff he does on ComicArtFans.
And if you are still hungry for Graham Ingels, here is one of his best stories which is featured in that book I recommended...
Ingels loveliness
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I just found out about The Goode Family today and I ended up watching all 13 episodes on Youtube and I really liked it,, but how well exposed did this get? Does the average cartoon watcher in America know about it? Everyone seems to think it is cancelled out of existence, but ABC let go of it and they are simply moving elsewhere. How is anyone offended by this show? It makes fun of these people, but is loving towards them too. It reminds me of recent discussions here.
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I'm still working on art,, but I'm starting to think of motivational signs I can put up on my walls to work harder.

The Beast With The Ventriloquist Dummy Skeleton For A Hand

Here's a close up from a large wraparound book cover I'm working on right now.

Li'l Ray

Here's the first of eight pages from a story I did for the upcoming House of Twelve anthology "Touching Children's Stories".



It's kind of an origin story of Ray Murphy and Molluskhead. I think at some point it will make a fitting prologue to a Ray Murphy's Collected Adventures book.

Incredible Prog videos

This is where I discovered Devil Doll, on this great series of videos, also containing Goblin, Renaissance, Comus and an incredible piece of Vangelis. These videos really filled up my already overly long music wants list. Each video goes from the late 60s to present time,, and they really tend to divide opinion when it gets to the 80s and onward. Annoyingly, the first video was not allowed on Youtube for long because of the big label obvious prog bands. The sidebars on the actual youtube pages for the second and third videos tell you what each album is if you cant work it out from the covers, unfotunately the first video has none of that on its page, so I have no idea who a lot of those bands are.
In some years to come I want to eventually do a similar series of videos on dreampop/etherial music. The only similar thing I've seen to these was an impressive guide to Dark Ambient music. These really get me wanting to explore and search for more epic eargasms. If anyone knows of any other video compilations like this, please do share,, I dont care what genre,, just as long as it is not your standard "my favorite bands" videos you get alot of.

The Underlings - Vice Squad 7"

I just knocked this out for the Underlings. Out soon on Meth Bog Records.


The Underlings playing at the Oak Street Speakeasy

Don't want to jinx this, so i'll just say that i'm excited about a new illustration client. Yes indeed.

From Windows To Walls

Since the start of making my digital artworks I've been progressively going bigger. I'm currently working on an image that is 30 x 20 some inches but I still feel that is too small for the detailed works that I make.

I've been thinking about digital cameras and how they take such small images. Most of the newest, more expensive "good" digital cameras still only have a resolution range of 15 - 17 megapixels. But then there are the large format cameras, capable of 100 megapixels. The digital versions are far too expensive, most cost that of a new car. But the traditional large format camera, that seems like the answer to this riddle since it is a reasonable price. Taking a photograph with a large format camera, having that film developed, then scanning that film into the computer, that appears to be the answer for me to get vast photographs to work with and make the gigantic imagery I want to create.. in the future at least. I intend to set up scenes with models and props to help sketch out the composition in the real world before fleshing it out in the digital realm.

I look forward to pursuing this old technology with the new technology to push my art to the next level in the coming decade. I'm sure it will help emphasize the theatricality of the imagery I intend to create. But most of all, the biggest objective in the art is to turn it from a small window into my imagination, into a larger wall sized space, a portal that the viewer will be able to seemingly fall through.

There is a great article on low cost large format cameras and related equipment here.

Work of Jerzy Duda-Gracz

This art dates from 1970s, it is a cynical reflection on Socialist-Liberal "paradise" that all Poles were lead to believe they lived in. Obviously Duda-Gracz would not be a fan of Chavez. Anyway, he made a lot of people pissed, especially in the Party.

P.S. I working on some inks now, I'm not really sure when they'll be finished, I'll post something new as soon as I can.

Militantly Reasonable

This Watchmen Bearbrick is 109 dollars and I can find no redeeming features in it. Is this the ultimate opposite of substance and meaning? Are fanboys the most materialistic people in the world? Because watches, cars, shoes, sofas and clothes have a reasonable function even if they are overly expensive. During the burning of around 800 comics/magazines/graphic novels,, I was pondering the redeeming features of all of them. A lot of them actually weren’t that bad,, the burning of them was mostly down to the principles of how and why they were created and what need there is for them when there are even better collected versions of the work. When you isolate those DC and Marvel events like Infinite Crisis and Secret Invasion,, they aren’t as bad as I usually make them out to be. There are even a few nice little moments scattered in them,, but the greater context is why I dislike them so much.
I think all of that stuff I burned must have cost me atleast £3000. I thrown in lots of those expensive Masterworks and DC Archives books because they are very badly conceived, executed and the “re-drawn masterworks” mini-scandal gave me extra justification. The remaining unwanted 400 or so comics I didn’t burn cost me atleast £1500,, including a lot of very well executed Kirby reprints, Warren and Charlton comics. My friend Paul is going to get a small chunk of these.
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I’m trying to find virtues and value in things I’m normally opposed to. To be militantly fair and reasonable. Militant usually doesn’t sound good, but who ever says “I hate that guy, he’s just far too reasonable”? So I’m rethinking a lot of things,, especially cosmetic surgery,, which I’ve always had a strong dislike for,, but I’m finding little difficult spots to attend to, mostly in the more understandable transgender situations.
I don’t understand how a lot of people are perfectly comfortable knowing they are a hypocrite,, surely everyone has to sort everything out till it all makes the best sense they can make of everything.
One area I’m always thinking of is genre and style prejudices,, which is not nearly as serious as racism or anything like that,, but I think it probably contributes a lot more than usually thought. A tolerance for someone else’s tastes surely has something to do with tolerance of other cultures in general? I’m sure intolerance of genres and styles all builds up into something nasty. I’d like to disconnect myself completely from the negative and cynical attitude that surrounds me but seems to be inescapable. I’d like to lose my ability to say “he’s an asshole” or “that is shit”,, and lose my ability to recognise dirty innuendos or to judge harshly or to grumble.

One thing that constantly comes up is people who build up this frustration and hatred for other peoples music,, but they could easily slip into enjoying it if they let themselves. The argument I dislike the most is when people say “the singer has an annoying voice”,,, but I don’t think you can be reasonable and use that argument. It’s always just an easy ticket to be dismissive so you don’t have to open your mind and challenge yourself. I have used that argument several times and of course I have to take it all back now. I used to dismiss Sham 69 because the singer sounded exactly like a comedy sketch character of an angry teenager I used to watch,, but you really cant blame the singer for that.
I think about 70% of the most beautiful creations in the world are things I used to find annoying, repulsive or some other discomfort. I have found a goldmine of amazing vocalists that used to make me annoyed or uncomfortable. You have to get past that discomfort to really judge these things properly. Heaven knows I’d be an extremely poorer man if I didn’t get past the “annoyed” stage. I think a lot of people are afraid they will like these bands but wont be able to justify it to their sneering friends.
I remember times when people would do a mocking impression of a singer to “prove” they were a bad singer,, but you could do that easily enough with Dylan, Springsteen and The Beatles, but it would be childish and unconvincing. Today I have less problems with voices and the discomfort period is usually extremely short,, actually disappointingly short for me,, so I actively seek bands with “annoying” voices because the reward is always sweeter for the longer friction between annoyance and pleasure. IQ were great for an extended period of friction where I felt “I don’t know if I like this” and I wish I could experience that friction and discovery all over again.

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Here is where the topic of annoying voices leads to... Mr Doctor’s DEVIL DOLL!!!

Mr Doctor is clearly the best looking man in music((Stephen Malkmus coming second)),, and his voice is where most people cant appreciate Devil Doll, their albums are like movies with a story acted out with classical, prog, metal, Slovenian folk and the many voices of Mr Doctor. His voice moves, changes shape and strains like the way a German Expressionist actor might use his body. The only similar vocalist I can think of is David Tibet of Current 93. I’ve read a great deal of people saying “I cant take this seriously, it’s way too silly” and others complain that the music is not scary,,,, they are mistaken in believing this horror themed music is supposed to scare.
It might sound like I’m complaining that everyone should like the things I like,, it’s more that I sense they are making sure there is no possibility they will enjoy this,,, with their defences and tribal prejudices guarding their ears.
I bought Sacrilegium a month ago and last week I bought the rest of their albums in one go,, one of those bands that makes you eat up their work as quickly as possible just in case the world explodes in a month or two. Ebay is the only place you will find them at reasonable prices and I think Mr Doctor might be against having their music on places like iTunes and I doubt they are on Spottify. Youtube has most of their albums, but since their songs tend to be single very long pieces in a movie-like structure, they will suffer from being cut up into small youtube videos. But here is a piece from Sacrilegium I selected because of the beautiful part towards the end of this clip...

Devil Doll is very much against reason dominating an artist, but my pusuit of militant reason does not bleed into my art. Mr Doctor sounded very reasonable himself in interviews, but I assume his stance is that too much logic and too much control can ruin art. He has written books about music and I’d be very happy if he released a book he planned about 1000 pieces of music pieces capable of inspiring fear in the listener.

If any of this sounded interesting to you, I’d encourage you to read more about them, because they are a truly bizarre band,, but that comes with the frustrations a fan can have with enigmatic artists,,, there is only one copy of their first album((guess who owns it))) and Mr Doctor says he has not been interested in releasing the songs for public consumption that they have been making since 1996 when their last album came out. I hope he changes his mind eventually,, because Sacrilegium really inspired me and opened some doors for me creatively.
I’ve been meaning for months to talk about what point there is in letting other people see your art,, and it has nothing to do with vanity. I bragged last year that I might lose interest in showing people my art, although I seriously considered maybe that was a healthy option,, I was mostly full of shit when I said that. I’ll always want to show people my work forever,, because I know that it can inspire people who might eventually inspire me back and multiple other artists,, so it’s like a big orgy of lots of artists making each other feel amazing. Where the hell would I be if I had never seen and heard my favourite artists? I wouldn’t be as good as I am,, and I think that sometimes you need to see other people to find yourself. I think that when I get better,, my art could have the power to help people find themselves artistically and maybe even have a more positive and wide-eyed view of life in general.
So Mr Doctor,, if you happen to Google yourself and read this,, and if that whole book of fan letters did not work... PLEASE release more albums, you would be inspiring more people and helping create a slightly but significantly better world. One great song has the power to push thousands of people in the right direction. We need more.

How many times I gotta tell you freaks? Aint nobody sleeps with uncle creepy peeps!

Something inspired by old fairy tales that will eventually find its way into my Land of the Moth story book. I wanna turn Easter into Halloween.