Two Sixes X Nines

Here's a couple recent 6" x 9" drawings I'm shipping out with some copies of The Lake Erie Monster for some valued Shiner Comics customers. The first one, Fantasm Jones is a character from one of the Ten Imaginary Movies. The second, the minotaur, "heavy", is just another minotaur.

I haven't had as many orders for the ol' 6" x 9" commissions, but they're always a blast to draw. These were pieces where I was simply left to my own devices to come up with imagery, but I'm more than happy to take requests.

Alpaca Buddy 6x9

This is a drawing of an alpaca, one of the 6" x 9" commission pieces. It's a gift for someone from someone else. I'm pretty sure the recipient received it, so I'm not spoiling it if they read this blog.

At any rate, this came about from the tiny drawing of an alpaca from that All Dinosaurs poster. So, I owe this one to them.

If you're interested in a small drawing, as a gift or for yourself, there's some more info on the 6" x 9" commissions, HERE. Feel free to email me, if you have any questions at all.

Hey Ladies

This is happening RIGHT NOW. Har Mar Superstar and Marijuana Deathsquads are currently at The Mohawk in Austin, Texas for a February Residency. This is only the second Mohawk poster I've done but I'm pretty stoked on it, especially since I drew this in a blur of illness recovery in the early middle part of January. I got so sick, I was torched alive- then the drugs I took to get better were like being in a crazy maze filled with waterfalls worth of the opposite of good ideas and barely any sleep. However, that week's worth of madness I got this done. So, that was the best feeling that week. Getting shit done always feels pretty awesome, but getting shit done in spite of reality caving in... that's a special kind of gratifying.



I sent my dude at Transmission Events a couple different roughs to give him the option of going with ladies, or just going bold face APESMOKE. The ladies mostly come thematically from Har Mar Superstar's whole projected persona, especially the more recent videos. I saw Sean Tillman's other band Sean Na Na a reeeeaaaally long time ago, and it was pretty dope, but nothing like the direction Har Mar Superstar has gone.



I feel like this variation has some longevity to it. I will use this for something in the future. Something will definitely come along that will need a close up of an ape with giant sunglasses, smoking a smoke. That's a certainty, not even any room for doubt. Probably won't give him a mullet, but ...the question is when, and what will it be? Maybe you've got the answer to that.

DRAG'ON

Here's this Rodd Racer homage, the nefarious villain Drag'on. Rodd Racer is an amazing creator owned comic by this maniacal dude Toby Cypress, that kills it. It's incredible because it's a chase comic about these bonkers OG car racers in this sprawling weirdly Hugh Ferriss-ish cityscape, but has this great gangster ass noir overtone that sets up the business that is the chases/races/disgraces. Published by Image earlier this year, in July. It's definitely still available, and I give it my highest possible recommendation. RODD RACER IS THE GOODS!

I had every intention of posting this a long time ago, but it slipped through the cracks. So now I'm trying to catch up and get my blog chops back. I may post the original for sale in the Shiner Comics Store, but that won't be for a couple days.

Anyway, Toby Cypress is also doing a crazy webcomic blog thing called KURSK, which you can check out here: http://kurskcomics.blogspot.com. As of this post, he's got 12 pages up, but hasn't posted any since July, right before San Diego Comic Con this year. So, here's me calling him out and saying GET ON IT, SON! I want more KURSK!

I can't fault him too hard though, being as he's one of the artists behind Blue Estate, another Image comic that blows my mind. It's a collaboration between a fistful of artists including Viktor Kalvachev, Nathan Fox, and Robert Valley. Also credited are the writer Andrew Osborne and Kosta Yanev. I've only really read the first issue, but I've got the Vol. One trade in the mail. I ordered that shit off Thwipster!

Okay, more sooon!

Hellboy Shenanigans

I did this sketch of Hellboy, Son, Hellboy!

I went down to rap about Mike Mignola's Hellboy with 2 of the 3 gentlemen from the podcast called Comics Are Go. You can find them on iTunes, or just go to THIS PAGE. The Hellboy episode was a "Special Edition", it's the one from 9/4/11. I had a total blast talking about the big picture of Hellboy über alles, but also focusing mostly on the last few main story arcs (Darkness Calls, The Wild Hunt, The Storm, and The Fury), which were all written by Mignola and drawn by Duncan Fegredo.

I also sat in on the "News" segment of Episode 85 with Cleveland comics luminary Mike Sangiacomo. He also recorded a "Special Edition" about the Avengers movie filming in Cleveland, but I haven't had the chance to listen to it yet. I did hear some stories in person a couple weeks ago and they were all pretty interesting and cool, so I'm guessing it's an awesome podcast.



I'm selling this bad boy for just ten measly bones: Check it out HERE, at the Shiner Comics Big Ass Cartel Store. I've also posted some more involved drawings, mostly from Melt jams over the past few months.

Fleagle Beagle Fan Art

Here's a piece of quick warm-up fan art for Fleagle Beagle, which has quickly become one of my favorite things on the internet. With weekday updates by my Cheeto sister, Cheeto McCloud, the mastery of the one pager is pretty fun to see develop.



I especially like the little detailed touches, like signs indicating things that are obvious, but maybe not apparent. Or... like a Rat Driving a Shoe (which, I am kicking myself now, being that I drew my fan art without looking at the strip- and see that the rat is indeed wearing sunglasses).

Witchfinder

There's a new Witchfinder comic out from Dark Horse. It's called Lost and Gone Forever, which is most notably part of the lyrics to an American Western Folk Song, Oh My Darling, Clementine. At least, that's what I took it as, this being somewhat of a western comic, featuring an English Paranormal Victorian Era Detective named Sir Edward Grey. The Witchfinder is tied pretty closely to the entire Hellboy universe of comics.

The first volume of Witchfinder comics, In The Service of Angels was really awesome, so I was looking forward to this ever since that series ended. Little did I know it would be drawn by the legendary John Severin.

This was kind of a fast piece, drawn in short bursts while waiting for ink to dry on other things or printers to print, or files to transfer- so it took a couple days to get final, but I think all said and done, this is in the neighborhood of a 90 minute piece. Between the All Dinosaurs poster, the Dude Abide posters, and this... I think I'm addicted to these earthy palettes. I wonder what's up with that?

UPDATE: I added the original drawing to the Shiner Comics Big Cartel store: HERE. Only 26 bones, shipping included. Get it while it's hot!

UPDATE 2: SOLD.

Black Eyes

I just recently found this on a blogpost! I drew this portrait of the Black Keys for Columbus weirdo cartoonist Michael Neno, in his copy of Caveman Diaries Vol. 6!

I actually don't know much about The Black Keys, I had to search for a photo ref on my phone. I'll say this, though, that Blakroc is a hell of a record.

Check out NenoWorld, where you can get order copies of The Signifiers, which is a totally weird blast of bonkers comics! I think Scott at Astound Comics Shop in Westlake may still copies too.

ODDS/ENDS

I've been working on a lot of various big time projects and random jams. Too busy to post up regular. Aside from the kitten picture. Been amassing this bunch of stuff I can put up in the meantime while I type/write about the others.

The above is a weirdo warrior dude I just kinda free-styled. I don't think this fits into any particularly accurate historical depiction of any kind of actual warrior. Some kind of weird Pagan/Celtic Gladiatorial Thug. I actually ended up using this on a poster I'll post about later.



This is a panel I'm not going to use from this project where I replaced it with something else that worked better for that specific joint. I like this though.

I really like porchin' it. I remember, as a kid, walking down Edwards in Lakewood, where I grew up. I saw one of my neighbors just sitting on this step that was part of the walkway that lead up to her house, which was one of the only houses set back way off the street. I asked her what she was doing and she answered "Watching the world roll by." I remember that kind of blowing my mind at the time, that a person could just sit down and watch the entire Earth turn. Since then, loitering, porchin' it, stoopin' it, it's all pretty much a valid use of time. I'm a busy dude, but if you don't take moments to watch the world roll by... you are wasting it.



This is my dude, my cat Rider, one of two. He's a big bozo- a Tuxedo Buddy, the most lovable and loving bag of fur that's ever purred and meowed. That's my dude.



This is a sketch, just a sketch... doesn't really mean anything other than it was an excuse to draw. Holy shit, do I like to draw. I sent this to my homie, Food, in a box cramjammed with other stuff. It looks like this:



THIS is CMD7. Or, the seventh volume of Caveman Diaries, a zine I put together every now and again. This box actually contains seven separate zines, CMD7A through CMD7G:



I kind of explained it here back in May when we put this out, but in the above blurry phone snap you can get an idea of the scope of that box.

CMD7A: Get Monastic (A collection of random illustrations and rants and shit)
CMD7B: Month of Flyers (A month's worth of fliers/posters)
CMD7C: See You At The Show (A whole lot of rock show fliers/posters)
CMD7D: The Five Ws (the other, non-show, fliers/posters of the last year)
CMD7E: Year One in The Meltification Machine (the first year of MELT posters)
CMD7F: Draw Hard (A collection of sketches, roughs, inks, unused pieces, stuff)
CMD7G: The Splatter Effect (Ink)
Guerrilla Gangsterism (by Asbestos Breath)

This volume was limited to 50 boxes, and I think I have about 25 or so left. If you would like one, they're $25 plus shipping ($5?). I'll throw in a sketch and maybe a bunch of other junk. Maybe I'll add it to the Shiner Comics store, but until then feel free to email me about it: jgritty@gmail.com

Speaking of my dude, Food One, he just put out a new zine: Scum of The Earth. It wa super limited and I guess you could only really get it if you caught him at a con this summer, like, in Paris or at San Diego. Unfortunately it's sold out, which... well, there's an interview I did with him in this issue, so, that pretty much ruled. I spilled coffee on my copy though, look!:



I'm certain there will be future Scum of The Earth issues, so keep your eyeballs peeled! In the meantime, for your earballs, there's always one of my favorite podcasts, The Beat Bee Sessions, hosted by Food One & Jane Dope! I'm currently a little behind, I'm listening to Vol. 14, right now, as I type this. It launched with Fishbone's Everyday Sunshine! (Oddly enough, also the name of a documentary about Fishbone I haven't seen yet but would love to (BOOYAH))



This is the cover art for the self titled CD that Hiroshima Vacation just released through Ithaca Underground. I'm not entirely 100% certain how to get it outside of Ithaca. I'd guess that if you get at the band through their myspace page, you can get it from them.



Here's the full on wrap around front and back. Those track names are great. "Bashing Emo Kids" and "I Hate Everyone" are probably the best songs that have ever been written or recorded in the history of Ithaca punk, ever.



Here's a poster I drew for Troy over at Star Pop, for his Christmas in July celebration. He's been over there for over a year now, selling all kinds of toys and clothes and other oddball sub-pop-cultural things. Star Pop is still going strong! This piece came from a really detailed request that Troy sent me, breaking down all the elements and references to the toys like Crocodile Mile, Skip-It, and the Pogo Ball. Looking at it now, it's kinda got me stoked for Christmas in December this year.

I just did some other work for the entirety of Waterloo that I'll be posting soon. I've got a bunch of other posters that I've done recently too. I hope to get them posted before they're irrelevant! Stay tuned!

Most Grim

Sometimes a man just has to draw himself most grim.

I was able to successfully re-string the string back through my hood last weekend. It took quite a while. It was hard to do, I'm clumsy and the fabric of the hood is pretty thick. A fortunate thing in cold weather, but not so great for stringing hood strings. However, I'm an incredibly patient dude. I was able to sit with it and, increment by increment, jam the string into the opening on the one side. Yeah, I'm stoked that it worked. Hoods rule.

Getting Monastic for the next few weeks. Check back often if you don't follow or subscribe. Even later today should be some new jams.

Here, pencils:

Lucky Sunshine

I was at Blue Arrow last Saturday night during the festivities on Waterloo. My friend Katherine was DJing at the party they were having and I got to go in the back and meet Lucky Sunshine, a kitten that Debbie had rescued and was taking care of. He was tiny and sick and adorable. Lucky for Lucky, I have this big belly, a perfect shelf for tiny creatures like sick kittens and the occasional human baby. I'm pretty self-conscious about my big belly. Being paralyzed from the chest down, there's not a lot I can do to slim down without switching to a steady diet of nothing*. However, in the moment, holding a new little guy, fearful and compromised, I was happy about that big belly. He was safe and warm and purring like a motorboat. He was loved and loving it. Debbie and Katherine gave him his medicine and he took it like a champ. A reluctant champ, but a champ nonetheless.

Messier and more thuggish, I think this self portrait is better than the last.



Yes, accurate in this drawing is the update. I got the words DRAW HARD tattooed in Helvetica Bold on my knuckles by Adam at Black Metal Tattoo out in Strongsville, Ohio. This picture is from last friday, about three hours after the fact. These are my first tattoos.

*This is probably most certainly not true at all. I bet if I just regulated my caloric intake and did more cardiovascular exercise I'd probably slim down at least a little bit.

Thank You

I drew the art for this shirt for the one and only Uno Lady. They're not listed on her myspace page yet, but they're $8 and worth every penny. If you send her a note she'll probably hook it up. She had them available at her tape release show, so she'll probably also be selling them at any of her upcoming performances.



Here's what she gave me as a reference to draw from. She wanted herself in a Godzilla suit, her dog Flip Mo Pi in a tiny airplane with a banner behind it saying "Thank You". I will cherish this post-it masterpiece for as long as I live. I'm not kidding.



Here's the pencils. This was the second take. The first was almost the same, but rougher and without the city. The city's even crooked in this one, which makes things weird. I didn't sweat it. I knew I could fix it when it came time to throw down for the final. Sometimes, that's how things work.



I liked this project a lot. I had a good time with it. I went with a particularly cartoony take, and with good results. Cartoons are fun. I intentionally left out the gritty ink splatter that has now become what I'd imagine is an identifier of my work. A signature, some might say. I knew this was being screen printed and I wasn't sure if that kind of detail would make it onto the shirts. When I sent this to Uno Lady, she wrote back "Hey, where's my John G gritty ink splatter?"



I took to it, and made it happen. I think it came out awesome. There's more Godzilla type giant monster offerings to come in the very near future. Giant Monsters are part of the zeitgeist, right now.

Speaking on scree printing... in case you're reading this on Friday, September 25th 2009, and not on some distant date in the future , Died Young Stayed Pretty is showing at the Cinematheque tonight and tomorrow night, and Eileen Yaghoobian will be here to talk and answer questions after the film. I made a poster for it, you can see here.

Deadwoodesque

I feel like I haven't posted anything in a year. I've got a bunch of irons in multiple fires, so there is much posting to come very soon. However, I felt the need to get this up just as an interim piece. Don't want anyone forgetting I exist. I also happen to like this jam, so I'm going to write some stuff about it that may or may not benefit anybody to read.



The idea with this piece, this commission, is that it's not totally a landscape of the setting of the stellar HBO show Deadwood, as much as it's a landscape of "Deadwoodesque" characteristics. That was the instructions I got, and how I chose to proceed. I re-watched some choice episodes of the show, then got down to grinding. I had done all the heavy lifting, but had to ink with the client present. I thought that would be pretty bad, not having the art done in time, but she actually liked it a lot. I think. Got that impression. Getting to see the brush strokes and ink splatter techniques that she's paying for. So, that's now an option for any commission. If you want to WATCH me draw, I will do so for anyone.



The rough sketch, a second attempt, the first being below. I was pretty thrilled with how this came out, even with wonky perspectives and loose overall architecture. They never really show any long shots of the camp on Deadwood, so it's mostly just guess work as to what buildings are where or what they even look like further than their doors and façades. I've always got that disclaimer: it's NOT Deadwood but Deadwoodesque.



This one, an early attempt at riffage, was kind of a failure with no heart in it. Too close for comfort, and maybe it could have been something with just a little elbow grease or deepening the depths. I don't know, and it's too late to care. So, here's that. You can always get at me for whatever illustration needs by emailing jgritty at gmail dot com.

Dysart

Drew this for my dude, killer comics scribe Josh Dysart.

Andy Mech

Big Congrats go out to Andy MacDonald for his Marvel Comics debut as the artist for Punisher War Journal #26:



He did not draw this cover, but his name is ON it. It's a really good issue though. Matt Fraction, y'all. Great colors by our pal Nick Filardi, too.

Here's a piece. Andy drew it. I colored it:

Crust Almighty

Dude plays bass in DMC is my old long-time amigo Mikey. We were once young and filthy, rode bicycles, hunting the ruins for big game. Once. We used to fight each other. We're not young anymore. At least, I'm not. I ain't fighting anybody.




This is one of the pieces I just sorta laid down the loosest possible groundwork before throwing down with the inks. I liked the way this gasmask guy looked.



Posters can't rock on gas masks alone, so I decided to put the blue lady bird in the BG. Gave her some swords. Why not?



Here's the inks. I dunno how long I spent on this piece, but I had fun drawing it. The text I made by printing it out, shrinking it down and blowing it up on my copier to get it crusty as hell, then taking the part with the band names and moving it on the glass as the copier's light bulb thing moved under that. It gives it that deformed blur look. Then I copied it again and took that, cleaned it up with a pen and white out, and scanned that.

I forgot to put it on the poster, it wasn't in the text that Mikey sent me to put on the poster, but... I think this show is a CD release party for DMC.

Hood Weather

Things are getting thick, kinda. Busy busy busy. Gonna be posting a bunch stuff soon, so stay tuned. The weather is getting really awesome. I'm hoping it hangs on like this instead of just rocketing down into the depths of a shit winter forever. At least for a couple weeks.

At the coffee shop right now and some squirrely old weirdo is buggin' out about some computer software licensing bullshit and just yelling, while is ancient moms is hacking up a lung. I really need to get the internet back in The Cave.

Chalita:



She really loves that printer.

Died on Friday

Busy Busy Busy, but I wanted to post some shit. No flyers or anything. I'm mostly in the cave busting my ass on some pieces for this show at Vision Gallery that opens on Saturday August the 2nd. It's part of the Waterloo Arts Fest. It should be fun.

This piece has nothing to do with that though, it's just something I'm fucking around with. I think I'm going to try and bust out a new artbook style thing in time for this upcoming event I'm planning for September. Anyway, colors and textures:



Speaking of Art Books... HOLY SHIT. Derek Hess has just published an insanely great art book called Please God Save Us. I got it at the release/signing at the Natural History Museum and I'm super glad I did. You can order it online, here, or if you're in Cleveland, get it and get it signed at Ingenuity Fest on Saturday from 3 to 6. The book is really well thought out and full of tons of great, really clever, pretty overt Hess art.



Also, I wanted to say Hellboy II kicks The Dark Knight's ass in half, but more on that laster...

Nostradamus Prefered Gypsy Girls

Leaving for Chicago tomorrow morning. Gonna hit that Wizard World bullshit to see all my people that I never get to see. I feel like it hasn't been that long, but thinking about it, I'm pretty sure it's been like, 5 YEARS since I last saw some of my best friends on earth. Also going to see my sister and her babies, including my new niece, Mary Katherine. She'll be four weeks old, and had a rough start. But she's finally home from the hospital and doing well. I think it's time she met Uncle Gritty.

Anyway, here's some pieces from this thing I'm working on. Wanted to have it finished for the show, but when it came time to choose between having to scramble to put out a less superior product, and sleeping on it with the result being a hopefully better joint down the road, I erred on the side of wisdom and called it a night. I realize now that this is an insanely mature move on my part, considering what I've always done in the past. I used to love that scramble to make shit happen in the zero hour and then show up all sleep deprived and bombed out the morning after. I was never able to achieve the levels of quality I sought after, but I was proud as hell that I had my books together and tangible at all. The fact that I've decided to hang back this time means I'm an old old man who has possibly learned from experience. Who knew that was even possible?

On with the show, SPEK:



WARREN:



GITTA:



CLEVELYN:



This booklet is totally shaping up into something I hadn't expected it to be, which is a good thing. I think. I keep adding content and pages, but I like what I've got, so.. there's that.

I've got a whole bunch of posters coming up, so... stay tuned.