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A Ghost Dance in the Op Ed. Thanks to incomparable AD Matt...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:53:33 -0400

A Ghost Dance in the Op Ed. Thanks to incomparable AD Matt Dorfman !

This image accompanies Kai Ashante Wilson’s Super Bass for...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:29:21 -0400

This image accompanies Kai Ashante Wilson’s Super Bass for tor.com. It’s a story about a wounded soldier and a charismatic healer in a fantastical world of unconventional social structure and magical elements reminiscent of voodoo and Santeria. It’s sure to appeal to anyone who’s enthusiastic about the post-colonial trend in the genre. And Super Bass is available for purchase for your e reader. I always love drawing for fiction and this was no exception. Plus I love reading about invented syncretic belief systems. Thank you Irene!

For PLANSPONSOR March. Doing Well by Doing Good. I’ve...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:37:00 -0400

For PLANSPONSOR March. Doing Well by Doing Good. I’ve never been fruit-picking, but I can’t seem to stop drawing it… Thank you, SooJin!

The number of corrupt law enforcement pieces that I’ve...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:48:44 -0400

The number of corrupt law enforcement pieces that I’ve been getting recently has been a bit troubling. Though of course I’m more than grateful for any heavier topic that gets lobbed in my general direction. This piece for the Texas Observer was published yesterday. You can see the image in part online, and in its complete form in print (in Texas). This one’s a family story, about the nastier side of nepotism on the border. You can read Melissa del Bosque’s story The Shadow of the Son (clever title, right?) in its entirety here. Thanks very much, AD Kate!

Battle of the Battles, for Mental Floss’s March/April...

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 12:45:00 -0400

Battle of the Battles, for Mental Floss’s March/April issue. In this section MF compares and contrasts conceptually linked military campaigns, strategies, innovations… The comparisons relevant here were longbows + phalanxes, Custer + Varus, Operation Mincemeat + The Tet Offensive and The War of the Bucket + The Pig War. I liked some of my mash-up sketches enough to ink them anyway, especially Mincemeat/Tet. Thank you, AD Winslow.

Super Duped : The Professor, the Bikini Model and the...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:36:33 -0400

Super Duped : The Professor, the Bikini Model and the Suitcase Full of Trouble. A piece for the NYT Sunday Magazine by Maxine Swann for all you Locked Up Abroad fans out there. Massive thanks to Raul and Arem!

“Breakaway Brokers: Is going independent all it’s...

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 02:07:00 -0500

“Breakaway Brokers: Is going independent all it’s cracked up to be?” for PLANADVISER January/February 2013. Thank you again, SooJin!

Cover images for the last couple months of Singularity & Co....

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:05:00 -0500

Cover images for the last couple months of Singularity & Co. ebooks. E. V. Odle’s The Clockwork Man was a particular favorite of mine. It begins with a cricket match, and turns quickly to the contemplation of the shape of time and man’s relative place in it. Jerry Yulsman’s Elleander Morning should also appeal to time travelers. If you’ve ever thought about going back in time to perpetrate political assassinations (how irresponsible of you) then you’ll like it too.

When I got the email for this assignment, the subject line...

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 16:33:48 -0500

When I got the email for this assignment, the subject line accompanying Michelle Alexander’s chilling article was simply “The Police Lie”. The full title does nothing to diminish or undercut the effect of the content. The idea of a legal system that allows for and incentivizes dishonesty among officers… It’s the sort of thing that you expect and fear abstractly. Reading about it in the NYT sharpens the reality of those fears. Or, it did for me. My thanks to Aviva Michaelov for trusting me with such a challenging subject. See it in print today in the Sunday Review.

Knights for Corporate Knights. ’Nuff said. My thanks to...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:46:00 -0500

Knights for Corporate Knights. ’Nuff said. My thanks to AD Jack Dylan for giving me a chance to indulge in arms and armor again.

A pair of matched covers for Green Profit and Grower Talks....

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:45:56 -0500

A pair of matched covers for Green Profit and Grower Talks. About why the ladies of Gen X and Y won’t hoe, and about the management of Garden Centers. Basically a great excuse to draw more triffids. Thanks Chris and Christine!

The New issue of 3x3 is out and it’s got a profile on me,...

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 18:27:30 -0500

The New issue of 3x3 is out and it’s got a profile on me, Jonathan Bartlett, and Mark Smith, among several other desirable things. I’m Illustrator No. 60, and this image sits next to a giant picture of my head, courtesy of Jeffrey Lo. The lovingly lacquered profile was languished over by my friend, Robyn Ng. Make sure you get to the student work after the profiles. Some of my very favorites and friends are featured. It’s the best bit.

Finally we’re all clear to blog about our Sundance Film Festival...

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 13:47:00 -0500

Finally we’re all clear to blog about our Sundance Film Festival Alphabet Book images. Not speaking as the royal “We” here—Todd Oldham Studio and Sundance commissioned a different illustrator for each letter. I did the letter Y, which represents both Y Tu Mama Tambien and You Can Count On Me. Both of these films featured female protagonists straddling the madonna/whore line, and red station wagons. It’s not so bad, for a conceptual mashup. There’s water, and madonna of Guadeloupe halos, so I’m pleased. Some illustrators in this book had 4 films to siphon into one image. Quite a challenge. My thanks to our designers, Greg Kozatek and Todd Oldham.

Now that it’s the New Year, I can post this cover for a...

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 02:20:15 -0500

Now that it’s the New Year, I can post this cover for a Lisbon paper, about the cumulative year-in-culture. Again, I felt a bit like I was getting away with something the entire time. Having this to work on gave me a welcome respite from the usual holiday program. Between this and the Times Townies, I was blissfully alone with some paper and a borrowed space heater while the snow fell over all of Ohio. My thanks, Paula.

Here’s a cover about doing business in China for ACC...

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 01:13:47 -0500

Here’s a cover about doing business in China for ACC Docket, also from November. Basically the idea is that China is too vast and complex for western entities to possibly navigate on their own terms, if only because they’re incapable of participating from an insider’s POV. The legal landscape is never what it appears to be at the outset. We ended up with this iceberg of a guardian-lion, with picnickers hanging out on the tip. Had to revise the initial chosen composition to make room for the mailing label (this is what you see in the pencil sketches). Pesky things. My thanks to my AD, Jamie!

As some friends will recall, earlier this month I spent some...

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 00:30:00 -0500

As some friends will recall, earlier this month I spent some time jabbering about my proof copy of McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern No. 42. Now that you can buy it, I can talk some more. This issue tackles the theme of literary translation by way of a game of telephone. There are a few things lost and found between Japanese and Urdu… It contains work from some of my favorite fiction authors (I love ‘em all, but if I must choose personal-most-favorites: Byatt, Coetzee, Lydia Davis, David Mitchell, Zadie Smith), and some much-admired co-contributors (Erin Althea, Mike Bertino, Kelsey Dake, Tim Lahan, Brianna Harden, Ian Huebert). This job was particularly pleasant because it gave me a way of reacting to narrative quickly and naturally, creating drawings that resemble some of the Extra Bitches work. Each of these images and more appear at the beginning of one of the translations of each story. Thank you so much, Brian! And best wishes for the New Year to Everyone!

Did these for the Telegraph UK this November for a piece about...

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 20:03:41 -0500

Did these for the Telegraph UK this November for a piece about body dysmorphic disorder. With a topic like this, the literal approach is wrong. I know what I look like when I visualize my ideal self, and the “space” between that and what I see in the mirror. For anyone else, I couldn’t imagine. So the thing to draw wasn’t a thin girl seeing a fat girl (it was a girl in this story, but yes I know body dysmorphia effects both men and women), but a girl not-seeing herself at all. Or, what that distance between self and truth might look like. I always enjoy illustrating from the DSM. Anyone want to send me more mindphantoms for Christmas? Thank you Danielle!

PLANSPONSOR December is out, kids. This is my alternative to to...

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 15:24:10 -0500

PLANSPONSOR December is out, kids. This is my alternative to to the “octopus concept”—one thing that does and is many things. I had to remove a butt cheek, but otherwise this one sailed through the process unscathed. Nice to get paid for Extra Bitches content. See also my friend Victo Ngai ‘s transcendant cover (how does she know what 30% of my anxiety dreams are about)! Thank you SooJin!

Ever get two articles that tackle the same or similar topics...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:09:00 -0500

Ever get two articles that tackle the same or similar topics from two separate and radically opposed perspectives? Up top is an image done for Grist Magazine for an article forecasting the extreme ecological consequences of ocean acidification. Below is a full-page done for a University of Texas alumni magazine about how social and environmental systems are at once complex, subject to human control and influence, and not as apocalyptic as forecasted. Usually I’m happy when I get to draw water, no matter where opinion in the source material is tacking. Makes me wonder what I wouldn’t illustrate for… Anyone want to help me find that edge? Thank you Greg and Mignon, and Kate and Erin!

This was for Power and Motoryacht Magazine’s November...

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 14:04:42 -0500

This was for Power and Motoryacht Magazine’s November Issue. It’s about liberating a freshly varnished Bertram 72 foot yacht from a Panamanian den of thieves/unpaid union workers, with the help of some ex-army ex-patriates and some AKs. Sometimes petitioning the Maritime Court just isn’t enough. Thank you Erin!