"Hapless Hooligan in 'Still Moving'" is what happens when comics and dance collide. Award-winning graphic artist Art Spiegelman and Pilobolus dance troupe create an amazing tale based on early comics. The dancers recreate the story by interacting with Spiegelman's art.
We are sad that our favorite curmudgeon comic-book writer Harvey Pekar died earlier this week. He will be remember for his genius of making the everyday man the central character in his many wonderful autobiographical graphic novels. He showed us that comics don't have to be about fictious superheros. That heroes could live in Cleveland, work as a file clerk and survive cancer. We'll miss you Harvey.
Got to love when Target, comic books and Christina Aguilera all come together for a commercial. Check out the details in the comic backgrounds. Pretty awesome that they used the Target logo as a moiré pattern.
Illustrator, comic artist and book cover artist, Frank Frazetta died today at the age of 82. Through his iconic paperback covers of muscular men and half-naked women, he defined what many of us now think of as fantasy. Frank thanks for the amazing art and giving us a hero like Conan. You will be missed.
[Image via USA Today]
Last week, I watched a bunch of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien to stock up on my fill of Mr. O'Brien before he left. And I was pleasantly surprised on Wednesday night to see a bumper that looked strangely like a Chris Ware comic. My husband and I stopped the DVR and stared at it for a while trying to figure out if Ware had really made it or if it was a really good homage. We didn't have to wonder long. The USA Today confirmed on Thursday that it was just a homage.
To see more of Conan's Tonight Show bumpers, check out this treasure trove on flickr. Conan, we'll miss you!
Comic icon R. Crumb just released a 224 page graphic novel of Genesis called, The Book of Genesis Illustrated. Both comic geeks and Christians are snapping up the book left and right. From the excerpts I've seen of the book, I might have to grab one for myself.
Cartoonist Doug Tennapel discusses digital vs. traditional media along with lots of other issues related to the art and craft of creating comic books.
[via Drawn]
I am a sucker for both cute anime-ish illustrations and superheroes so am drooling over the new line of Marvel superhero clothing by Tokidoki. Who wouldn't want Spiderman being bitten by a cactus dog or Wolverine eating a steak? Just too cute to talk about! Coming to a store near you in spring. 
[all images © 2009 Mr. Walters, Nerfect.com]
Mr. Walters of Nerfect.com fame put a Field Notes pocket notebook to the test by filling it with doodles and drawings at San Diego Comic-Con this year. Every page is chock full of characters and observations in Mr. Walter's signature style. The detail makes me feel as if I was actually there!
This weekend I picked up illustrator/graphic novelist Jillian Tamaki's latest work called Skim. I've admired Jillian's work for years and had to check out her latest work in which she collaborated with her cousin. I wasn't disappointed. Skim tells the story of a Canadian teenage goth girl dealing with adolescence angst, sexual confusion/exploration and outsider anxiety. The story is made more poetic and striking by Jillian's lovely and soul-stiring illustrations making you feel every kiss, whisper and slight. 
Besides capturing my heart, Skim this year also won an Ignatz award for Outstanding Graphic Novel, a winner of a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award and one of Publisher's Weekly's "Best Books of the Year." Congratulations Jillian!
Kansas City illustrator and educator Nathan Fox is definitely making a name for himself. He's most recently been spotted in a 6-page illustrated comic about robot poker in the December 2008 issue of Wired magazine.
Christoph Niemann's Abstract City illustrations published yesterday on the NYTimes site truly speak to the coffee-addicted. Drawn on cocktail napkins with what appears to be actual coffee, they amuse and entertain and demonstrate motor skills with coffee rarely seen on earth.
Christop Niemann is a prolific illustrator who has been featured on the covers of The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine and American Illustration. He's won lots of awards, illustrated children's books and recently relocated to Berlin.
[Madeline is on a roll today... wanna a guest spot on P+P?]
[Art by Scott Campbell for the Totoro Forest Project]
Just outside of Tokyo is an urban forest called Sayama Forest. It is believed to be the inspiration for legendary animator Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro. Due to urban sprawl over the last 30 years, the forest has diminished in size. In an effort to protect the remaining woods, Miyazaki set up the Totoro no Furusato National Fund, a trust help to preserve the park and promote awareness of environmental issues.
In an effort to spread awareness of the project and raise funds, The Totoro Forest Project hosted a charity auction of paintings, drawings and sculptures created by almost 200 artists, cartoonists and animators all inspired by the iconic film, My Neighbor Totoro. The project is currently on exhibition and the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. The artwork will be exhibited through February 8, 2009.
A book featuring the work in the exhibition has recently been published but according to the Totoro Forest Project blog, it sold out in a matter of minutes. Hopefully, it will be reprinted soon.
Paul Hoppe is an illustrator that I admire and I am glad to call him a friend. Paul and I met in graduate school and I was struck with the emotional vibrancy of his illustrations. It has been great to see his work progress over the years and see how he has advanced as an artist. 
He has worked for many publications such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Playboy, Adidas, IMB and many more. Besides publication work, Paul is also the co-founder of the comic arts magazine Rabid Rabbit and just released a new kids book called Metal Man for which he did all the illustrations. 
I am a huge Gary Panter fan. Panter is considered one of the greats of underground American comics and was included in the 2006-2007 exhibit Masters of American Comics show along side illuminaires such as Charles Schultz, Chris Ware and Will Eisner. His punk, psychedelic style has influenced tons of artists and he has shaped American culture through his surreal sets of Pee-Wee's Playhouse.
Panter recently released a huge 2 volume monograph of his artwork and paintings. The 688 page book is a treasure trove of sketchs, paintings, interviews and articles about Panter. Check out this awesome interview with Panter about this monograph.
If the book isn't personal enough, you can have your own Panter-created artwork. Just give him three words, some cash and 6-8 weeks and you'll receive your own piece of art. My husband and I both own have our own drawings and we love them. (my words were squirrel, bunny, parade and his were kitten, rainbow, mafia.)
If you haven't noticed it yet, besides loving type, design, posters and letterpress, Pica + Pixel also harbor a deep love for comic books. Darwyn Cooke is one of my favorite comic book illustrators. He draws men with square jaws, crooked noses and thick fingers. His women are full-lipped and full-hipped. His retro styling and stark simplicity resurrected the Catwoman series and made the Justice League so cool it was turned into an animated movie, The New Frontier.
Announced at the recent San Diego Comic-Con, Darywn Cooke autographed postcards promoting the release of Parker, a graphic novel series based on the noir classics by Donald Westlake (under the pen name Richard Stark). Four volumes are planned. The first to be released will be "The Hunter" in Summer 2009.
For more info, check out the A spirited life interview.
[One panel from the Panda Panda strip featured on Earthquake Strips]
Earthquake Strips is a series of funny, touching comic strips illustrated by Coco Wang about victims, volunteers and rescuers of the May 12th earthquake in China. Check back daily for new stories.
Comics during the past couple of years have exploded out of the underground into the spotlight as graphic novels end up as bestsellers and comic heroes rule the big screen. NYU and MoCCA team up to present Post-Bang: Comics Ten Minutes After The Big Bang! which is a day long series of talks exploring this new comic environment through the eyes of major comic creators and critics. Scheduled speakers include Lynda Barry, Gary Panter, art spiegleman, Mo Willems and pica + pixel favorite Sara Varon. It all happens Friday, June 6, 2008 at Cantor Film Center at NYU.
Rama Hughes is an illustrator and educator working in Los Angeles. His portfolio is extensive and his drawings make me crazy happy. He illustrated a comic book to celebrate his wife's birthday including the image at the bottom of this post. How could we not love him?
His sketchbooks will be featured in Danny Gregory's upcoming book An Illustrated Life. Exciting! To hear Rama discussing drawing and his sketchbooks, check out Danny Gregory's podcast.
[Back page of Rama Hughes's limited edition comic book for his wife's birthday. This is the requisite order form familiar to anyone who grew up reading comics. In this case though, its all the gifts he was planning to buy his wife. If this is the kind of stuff she wants for her birthday, Pica + Pixel love her too!]
[I can't believe it's only Wednesday... in my head its Friday and this is a fun "let's stop at the comic book store on the way home" sort of post. So, don't blame me if you just have to go to the comic book store on your way home today and new books won't be in until tomorrow -- all good comic book nerds know that.]
