#gridlords

The Treasure Stack at Gridlords Part III:

Further Reading by Andrice Arp, new this year and new to Seattle!

Short Run is Saturday, November 5th!

The Treasure Stack at Gridlords Part I:

This is the fresh stack! All of these are new to Seattle and some are new to this world entirely! Available at the Gridlords table will be limited-run tapes of music by Aboriginal Flowers with cover art by Sean Christensen.

Also Sean Christensen’s new 60-page story Bootleg Moon.

All the way from Germany we have fresh copies of Vincent Fritz’s Some Towers 2 published by Colorama Press

Here is the ‘Being Being’ from Jason Overby.  This is a fantastic book.  I had to read through it a good 4 or 5 times before I could write about it, its actually the main reason that this blog stalled for a bit (well, it also stalled because I’ve been on the road nonstop, having reached the peak of my busy season drawing caricatures for events and parties).  It took a lot of reads to fully comprehend the book, it also took a lot of reads because it is a tiny book so it takes a bit of concentration to stay with it; you have this tiny little book in your hands and it doesn’t take up much of your field of vision so if a cat walks by or there is an explosion by then one is distracted and goes and pets the cat or one sees the explosion and runs away from it.  But it is a real humdinger of a book.  I know I say humdinger a lot but hey, comic books are humdingers. 

Overby has a wonderfully abstract style that is like a mix of Warren Craghead, Tom Hart, and Stefan Gruber.  The fact that his work evokes those late ninties early aughts for me did not come as a surprise when I discovered he’s 41 years old, so he totally wuz probably digging on some Hart and Gruber back in the day.  He wonderfully and skritch-ily carves out little scenes that are easily recognizable through all of its chaotic and brittle line because its still quite minimal in its execution.  And the motherfucker knows how to pace, thats the real fun.  Reading the comics in my little downtown studio with all the traffic and hustle of the city out my door and all its noise and chaos turned to silence.  The pacing really is poetic and stuffs cotton in my ears.  The most successful at inducing a dream like state was the strip that was completely without drawings, just paneled words, that was a real dang successful piece of comix making. 

He does strive at times to really make sure you know these are ‘intellectual comics’  and I vomited at the fact that the comic has not one but two references to Charlie Kaufman.  There is not elitism in its lofty logics and its crystalline thought patterns so it does not bear that particular burnish of the intellectual but it does have a youthful, “look, I’m really pushing thought and emotion here,” vibe of the insulated collegiate who actually thinks, because of years in their bubble, that anyone cares one shit stain what they think but in the end it is always tied together with a certain playfulness (those moments where I really see similarities to Gruber) that ends up calming any raised eyebrows or cynicism and results in an enjoyable read.  

Hey Overby, do you read John Hankiewicz’s comix at all?  Though he takes a totally different approach in the artwork there is a certain poetry to the language that I feel you could take from, beef up your monologues a bit out of the self and into a more overbearing abstraction.

But yeah, real sweet stuff here.  The centerpiece of the book, the comic about the dude who’s head becomes a bomb (or does it?) is a real power of a work.  It is the best example of his work, taking all the tropes that are present in the other pieces and combining them into a real solid piece.  As in that piece is like a serious museum quality piece of work, great comic goddammit.  

And, just cuz I gotta say, there was some trouble getting my hands on the comic.  I ordered it from Gridlords, the publisher, and never received it.  I ended up contacting Overby, who apologized and sent me a free copy after getting my money refunded as well.  That was a real cool thing to do.  As I dug the comic so much I went back to gridlords and spent another 50 bucks on other stuff they’ve published.  That stuff also was never sent.  I emailed a couple times to no response, then opened a paypal dispute to still no response, and since then have been refunded the money.  I’d rather have the comics but it seems if you buy the comic you do it at your own risk, here’s the link: 

Here’s a book I’m really excited to have stumbled across, ‘Untitled’ by Sean Christensen.  I’ve seen bits of his work pop up here and there but I think this the only collection I’ve got by him.  Or maybe not, I can’t keep track of my shit over here.  Christensen is an abstract artist who seems to have only the loosest association with comix.  I guess cuz he’s making these little books, mainly.  I don’t know if I’ve seen any more traditional ‘paneled’ works or stuff with dialogue so I could be wrong.  Regardless, this is a collection of drawings that is right up my god damn alley. 

The man seems to follow by a simple set of obvious rules.  Some thin linework, some runic style text, some bold and clunky black lines, lay down some zip a tone, and brush it a bit with white out (or an eraser?).  He’s nailing it time and time again as the pages turn.  All at once they look like graffitti-ed walls of some egyptian palace with its suggestions of reliefs and hieroglyphics as well as a real artist’s statement of their exploration and style into the abstract and the expressive.  His figures are loose and relaxed and made with a gentle and playful line and the blacks, though looking so clunky, seem to be so thoughtfully placed.  Recognizable forms emerge as though memories or dreams and bear some familiarity but its best not to think to hard and just enjoy the ride. 

I think the closest contemporary in the field I could compare to is some of Patrick Kyle’s more abstract works, which seem to follow a similar rule set of bold and thin lines in contrast which break apart and come together in confidence, but this is still wholly his own and without compare.  And I can’t believe I got the book for so cheap!  It was like 5 bucks and its really nicely put together, the limited uses of white out and an orange conte crayon show their full texture on the paper and the variances in the ink wash come across well.  I get such a boner for these kinds of books and I really don’t know why.  I’m no critic, I don’t really know how they’re made, but damn I dig them.  So much better than Netflix.  Cancel your fucking Netflix subscription, stop using your parents or your ex’s login, you’re just making millionaire bastards richer.

Gridlords books at Comix Thing tonight!!! Our own Emily Nilsson will be DJing.

9-12 pm

Just before slumberland last night, the night before Gridlords and its books travel to the upper bunk of our NW bunkbed Seattle for the @shortrunseattle small press fest, I watched Witch’s Night Out. Witch’s Night Out is a classic Canadian Halloween special. It features a witch who sits alone in her old rickety house at the end of a gentrified neighborhood. She is wild in her witchy ways, flying about and wishing hoping and desiring for the call to leave her attic studio space and really shine on the world! She wishes to show off her spooky monstrous transformative spell-casting! Her ability to transform a party with her wild cackling explosive ways! Her very individual special ways. I realized we are that witch, all of us who are making our way to Short Run. And in the way the witch uses her powers to cast a spell to let us be whatever we want to be and really beam, Short Run too is that witch!

Short Run is calling upon our individual and crazy ways to come shine and transfix each other. As Jeff Lynne of the great Electric Light Orchestra said, “You Shine a little Love on My Life,” Short Run, “and let me see."  I would be nowhere and maybe nothing if not for Short Run.

a page by Benjamin Cornwall

At the Gridlords table we will have work by Andrice Arp, Amanda Blix, Michel Losier, Graham Kahler, Benjamin Cornwall, Daria Tessler, Julianna Green and Jason Overby!

The Being Being by Jason Overby

And of course our latest anthology Chase Scenes featuring a powerful huge collection of great artists.

Oh yes, and some of my own work (Sean Christensen).

New untitled book by Sean Christensen, and Dolphins by Sean Christensen and Daria Tessler

Short Run is Saturday, October 31st from 11am-6pm at the Fisher Pavilion in Seattle. It’s free!

Get bewitched and soak in all the "awesomeology” as the song by my favorite long-gone Seattle band Cobra High goes!

What is this tape you see here with The Being Being, Jason Overby's comic collection, you might ask?

Well, it’s a very limited-edition audio cassette that has on it some songs recorded in 1997 by Jason Overby, including the Exploding Head Man theme, which is performed within the comic!

Get your super limited-edition cassette personalized as an art object with purchase of The Being Being from Jason Overby himself, this Thursday from 6-9 at Floating World Comics during the release party!

Floating World 400 NW Couch Portland