The Ephemerist

This was the poster for an Ivan Brunetti exhibition in the Fantagraphics gallery, earlier this year. I dig the Van Gogh reference.

Quite a nice, albeit overwhelming, poster for Bob Dylan’s radio show, by one of the Hernandez Bros (I keep mixing them up).

One more time, and with only one more to go, we delve into the educational treasure trove that is the Nutricia Baby Books. This week, another cuddly toy gets its comeuppance, as I tell you the story of…

“The stupid little bear”

ps : pay attention to the monkey. I hated that monkey !

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A real life think bubble from the Wooster Collective.

This cover was drawn by Adrian Tomine for Yo La Tengo’s WFMU benefit album “Murdering the Classics”. I like the way Tomine weaved a little story in the art, and also commented on the music (which, if I may say so, is not the Tengo’s best)…

The local police in the Belgian zone “Noorderkempen” organizes a campaign against bicycle theft featuring Fanny Kiekeboe, a creation of Flemish cartoonist Robert Merhottein and one of the most succesful comic stars in Belgium. Just so you know.

I’m not really sure what she means by “Bike locked well ? Now that’s cool !” Sounds like a copywriter should probably have tried a little harder…

Jeff Smith brings to our attention that the new double CD by New New Wave Rockers Say Anything was released yesterday. Why, you ask ? Well, since he did the cover art. Which is quite awesome and new, albeit a bit menacing. I only wish the music was just as impressive, and not the Joy Division meets Sisters Of Mercy rehash.

Wired presents a thorough though concise insight in how Manga Conquered the U.S. in PDF format (with art by Atsuhisa Okura). Nothing new, but a good intro nonetheless. And it’s in comic format, which makes it even more interesting.

(via Boing Boing)

When I saw the above illustration from ‘The Magic Pencil’ by Dwight Sturgess (courtesy Stripper’s Guide), the scene below came to my mind immediately.

This strip is from Willy Vandersteen’s Suske en Wiske comic ‘De Briesende Bruid‘ (’The Roaving Bride’, 1968), in which Auntie Sidonia, an unmarried-but-hoping woman, finally gets a chance to find a mate. She travels through time to meet all kinds of legendary lovers, and in the end settles for a folk singer from her own time.

Which, to use Star Trek lingo, clashes with the Prime Directive of comics : “Nothing shall disturb the equilibrium”. In other words, the situation that the characters find themselves in after an adventure should be as similar as possible to the one they were in before it started. Now, how to end this story in a logical way (with Sidonia married) and still allow for new stories starting from the comic’s premisses (with Sidonia unmaried-but-hoping) ?

To solve this Gordian knot, Vandersteen used the same device that Sturgess used at the end of his comic : he draws himself simply erasing the story, and starting anew. An extra nice touch is the way Vandersteen explains himself to his readers (and, in turn, his characters) :

“I know Sidonia’s desires and after having her faithfully play her part in my stories for years and years, I simply had to make her very happy for once. But I really can’t miss her, and so nothing will come of this marriage. Tomorrow they will all be on paper again, and they will remember nothing of what happened here. Those are the benefits of the job !”

(from The Hurting)