ARTHUR DE LA CRUZ IS NOT EMPTY!

I love Tuesday's because that's when I get to scour the Internet for underground comics that I have yet to read. Its digital spelunking for pure illustrative gold and the payoff is ever so sweet. This week's lode of comic gold is a web comic by Arthur De La Cruz entitled, "KISSING CHAOS" and if you're fans of David Mack, Brian Wood, Becky Cloonan and Dave McKean then you are going to love this black and white comic that states, "You're too young to be this empty!"

Nothing says the history better then what I found on his website;
Kissing Chaos first saw the light of day in 2001 as an 8 issue mini series published by Oni Press. In 2002 Arthur De La Cruz was nominated for an Eisner award for KISSING CHAOS, and was listed as one of the Top Ten Comics of the year from Ain't It Cool News. Kissing Chaos: Nonstop Beauty, was a 4 issue follow up series, featuring an all new cast. This story shed more light on the ominous conclusion to the first. Arthur De La Cruz plans to continue pumping out the KC via this website http://kissingchaos.com/, continuing the series with a story arc titled KISSING CHAOS: 'TIL I DIE. As well, he plans to unveil a top secret animated story arc sometime this year. stay tuned.

To see how beautiful these illustrations are and to see why this is my underground pick of the week follow this link: http://kissingchaos.com/tx/?p=153 Arthur states the hiatus is over for more KISSING CHAOS, I do hope so. I missed it the first time around and don't want that to happen again.

THATS CHECK-EYE NOT SAJAK!

His name is JEF, that's right one "F" and his last name is CZEKAJ-that's pronounced CHECK-EYE he states and most people say it like SAJAK you know like PAT from Wheel of Fortune-wrong. Jef lives and works in Somerville, MA. and is a cartoonist, children's book author and illustrator, and musician. His comic, Grampa and Julie: Shark Hunters, ran in Nickelodeon Magazine for more than 10 years. A collection of the first three years of the comic was published with the help of a Xeric Foundation Grant and distributed by Top Shelf. Im still having a blast on JEF'S website which is a very fun interactive adventure-JEF opens up the labyrinth of his mind and shares it in virtual form and I'm still spraying graffiti all over a giant rock via a small bumble bee while listening to hip hop, yea that's right you heard me! HIP & HOP AND YOU DON'T STOP is a creation of JEF'S and features the creatures of SLOWJAMZ SWAMP and BREAKBEAT MEADOW. It's a modern re telling of the Tortoise and the Hare this time its taken to the streets of free style jams and hip hop warfare. What happens next could change OLDSKOOL COUNTY forever! It's an all ages book that deserves your attention and respect as the rap off of the year gets underway. And don't forget to check out Grampa and Julie: Shark Hunters, R2D2 is an Indie Rocker later retitled Hypertruck and the Circulatory Story.
You can read a great interview with Jef at this link
http://reglarwiglar.com/RWone_two/jefczekaj.html
or visit his website at : http://www.czekaj.com/index.html

DRAWING CURES CANCER!

Well I'm not sure if drawing really does cure cancer but looking at Ryan LaMunyon's drawings cure me of my ills as I'm transported away into the frenetic, amped up world of Ryan's twisted imagination. Ryan is in the process of his first comic which I have included an image. Be at Coast City Comics on June 19th where I hear he might be debuting this amazing new body of work! I first met Ryan over coffee a year ago and was blown away by his electrifying style that feels like the page is plugged into an amp and cranked up to 11. All of his sketches have a reverence to European classical styling but given a modern make-over, infused with a introspective humor that will make you want to take it in over and over again!

I wish there were shelves full of Ryan's artwork in graphic novel form but we can only wait patiently until that day arrives and it may not too far away! In the meantime check out Ryan's blog and his website where you can see the variety of illustrations he's been working on for the last few years!

http://www.ryanlamunyon.com
http://ryanlamunyon.blogspot.com/

TOM NEELY WILL DESTROY YOU

When I first saw the Blot I knew I had to have a copy. Even without knowing the story I could see from the sample pages online this wasn't just your run of the mill indie comic. In fact I was right and the Blot is something special. Tom Neely, a painter and cartoonist living in Los Angeles, is the creator of this graphic novel. The Blot was featured in our shop as part of Indy Comic Book Week and was the first to sell out and there's so many reasons why. The art inside this book is astounding. Its black and white with clean lines but starts to be taken over by an inkblot that changes shape and Neely uses a variety of techniques within the panels that keep you glued to each one. Its the contrast of the Blot and the stark clean pages that create a fantastic world of metamorphosis and struggle. Its like a vintage comic strip come to life in the now, blending tongue in cheek humor and cartoonish sentiment. Even after having read this book a dozen times I'm ready to read it a dozen more, if you haven't seen this book yet come by the shop. We just ordered a bunch more for you all. You can also visit Tom at his website: http://www.iwilldestroyyou.com

ALL HAIL THE ZOMBRE!

Sick of zombies are you? Well "ZOMBRE" the mini comic by Ansis Purins will slap you out of your zombie overdose and give new life to the overkill of the undead in comics today. This one features ZOMBRE VS. SLAPPY-MEGATHUNDER SHOWDOWN!-I mean come on if that name doesn't get you jazzed to the gills to tear into this comic then you should check your pulse to make sure you're still alive.
Besides this book being a fun read, the art is unreal. Its cartoonish but smart, I wish I could see it in full size, every page is a work of art to me with minimal words but the illustrations convey the story fully and I only wish there was more. On Ansis' website he describes ZOMBRE as; "ZOMBRE faces some tough choices. Is the cool new guy who eats your pets really your friend? Will the forest ranger go bonkers or stay "groovy"?" That's it, enough said right? Check out Ansis website at http://ansis.tv/comics.html

JOEL "OF THE MIGHTY" RIVERS

There's nothing better then to turn the corner in your neighborhood and find not just comic book creators in your own backyard but highly talented and not just talented but positive role models with a never say die attitude in a digital age ready to kill the book! Portland is that place where you can find all of the above and one in particular sticks out and that is the artist known as Joel Zain Rivers. Rivers is a Xeric grant awarded self publishing,iPhone illustrating madman. Obion Comics is Joel's creation and a vehicle to get his stories out there without having to wait to be judged by the all mighty publishing companies that say do or die, its great to see people say oh yea? screw you I'll do it myself thank you. Its nothing new, Self published comics have been a staple of the medium for decades, its just a breath of fresh air to see that still alive and well in an age where iPads think they have all the power. Check out my interview with Joel on BlogTalkRadio on the player to the left. I had the chance to catch up with Joel and talk comics, yachts and digital comics. You can see Joel's work at the following links;

http://mecollective.blogspot.com/2009/07/09-working-artists-show-joel-zain.html
http://www.obioncomics.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Joel-Zain-Rivers
download Joel's iAllosaur for the iPhone

HERE'S SAND IN YOUR EYE!

So your stuck on an island with perhaps a bad case of amnesia and your only company is a crab named Carl "who sees himself as perhaps the only sane creature on an island full of weirdos. He has little time for leisure activities that don’t include reading the paper or sleeping and Larry a frantic little nervous wreck of a bird. Because of this, he may just be out of his mind." This is how comic creator Matt Forcum describes his side kick characters in his web-comic "ROBOT BEACH" Whose main character is Robot "and all he has ever known is the island on which he lives. He has no idea how he got there, or how long he has been stranded, but he won’t let that get him down."

I came across ROBOT BEACH'S daily strip that was updated this week and knew I had to write about it, three panels and that was all it took I had to know more. On Matt's website he gives new readers this statement, "Most people don’t know this about me, but I am not supposed to be an animator. If you were to hop into a time machine and travel back in time to ask my grade school self what my career is going to be one day I will tell you that I am going to be a jet pilot. That, or a cartoonist.

So Why Robots? Why a Beach? Believe it or not, this web comic started its life as a simple sketch I created two years ago while I was bored and on a lunch break. I sketched out a little robot and for some reason thought that he might look cute with a surfboard and flower print swim trunks. Something about that little sketch felt fresh and interesting. I knew I was on to something special."

And I will have to agree, I think he is onto something very cool especially considering I'm partial to artificial intelligence and cartoons over the realism of pseudo intellectuals overcrowding urban jungles and homogenizing daily culture. I find this robot and his beach with his sense of humor a breath of fresh air. check out Matt's website @: http://www.robotbeach.com