Sketchbook 88

Like it says on the label. The cover of sketchbook 88. White and black ink and ditto markers  on black canvas
 

Family Viewing

Family viewing. Study of one of my character's family background. Hondsdag (his name means dog day, which is randomly chosen) comes from money, his mom divorced and he has been living off his wealthy dad's allowance. Then the business was nationalised after a sweetwater-communist takeover, which broke his dad. In his later days. Hondsdag took to taking care of him. Then Hondsdag's secret crush Pola got a doppelganger in the multiverse who went to live with him and who took to plastic surgery at the doctor's that his mom chose to live with.

The narrative is getting a bit complicated, but that is how I like it. Besides, books are becoming expensive so a graphic novel should be worth several readings. Especially now.

 

Sine Qua Non re-edition

Woohoo, a new edition of Sine Qua Non, by The Hoochie Coochie in France. The first edition (2005) had not been available for years. This was my first venture into emulating medieval art into my work, and the one without other books such as Inferno, 1348 and All Saints could not have existed. Very nice silkscreened cover and expanded preface and afterword. 

Thanks to the Dutch Literary Fund, La Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the Centre National du Livre for their generous support.

 

Kids like to see blood

 

Coming soon: Observator

My new book. Only available in Dutch, but what are you gonna do.

 

ONTsnapt

 

Jezuzulem, Pazuzugonia

 

Sketch in grey

Rough pencil drawing with a flat grey layer. I like the general effect, but haven't decided yet whether I would use it.

 

More from sketchbook 87

 

From sketchbook 87

 More recent sketches from book #87. These are embryonic ideas. Some may get used, other will be frozen. Among the character studies is Pola Kazoni's daughter as teenager.

Puberty, after Edward Munch

 

Dancefloor cringe

 

Puberty

 

Again more sketchbook stuff from #86.

 

From sketchbook #86

 

Dinnertime

Dinner scene from my upcoming book. Or rahter, an 'afterstudy' of it. Not so happy with the quasi-cubist approach. It should have been more radical. I will try again later.

 

Sketchbook #87

New sketchbook. Number 87. Front, back covers. Really rough treatment with white paint.

 

Diskomodo

My good friend Daniele Murtas sent me a copy of his hilarious underground comic Diskomodo with a dedication featuring  a couple of my characters. I got a real kick out of that! Some time ago, I had borrowed his 'son' for an illustration for Murv/Murf magazine after a documentary by Werner Herzog, The White Diamond. Diskomodo is a grumpy techno DJ in Berlin of Komodo descent, always getting into trouble for his bad attitude. Highly recommended. You can order a copy by reaching out to https://www.instagram.com/nervomurtas/ 
 

Spontinaity or clarity?

A new version of a page that I posted about a week ago or so. I suppose I am sacrificing spontinaity for clarity, as is so often the case when you are drawing comics (sigh). A single drawing-page does not require it so much, but the other pages of this chapter have about six or seven panels, and do need a great degree of clarity and cleanly alligned shapes. By the way, the character on the left is a nod to Tardi for his magnificent illustrations to Céline's Le Voyage au bout de la Nuit. Just so you know.

 

I wish I could be active on social media again…

I wish I could be active on social media, but I find them annoying. Anyway, here are two zines I made some times ago for you to enjoy.

I did those with Maud Newton (Nerf Antagonistes) and Meles (Ronronzine). They are both printed using a risograph.