South End Slant & FLOON

Well, now we know how well the whole "Floon" thing worked out in the election campaign to replace Menino as Mayor of Boston.

Random Paddy pages

Here are some pencils from pages that I'm working on. Sorry for not posting as often lately—seems I'm paying more attention to Twitter than I am my blog! Anyways, I'm thinking of starting a posting schedule for this blog: something new will always be up on specific days...

Two-Three sentence book reviews!

Post Office by Charles Bukowski from Ecco: This is a great novel full of depravity, self -induced misery and true originality! I've known guys like the main character and Bukowski's Henry Chinaski rings true. After you read this, you'll never, ever, look at your mailman the same again.

Slow Storm by by Danica Novgorodoff from First Second: Novgorodoff is a real talent; with this book she proves the saying that there are NO RULES when it comes to graphic novels. Excellent line work and beyond excellent watercolor washes bring this story of an encounter between a female firefighter and an illegal immigrant to life. Go buy this!

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation by Ray Bradbury & Tim Hamilton from Hill and Wang: I LOVE Fahrenheit 451 and Ray Bradbury; and Tim Hamilton's art in this version is exceptional. But this adaptation only left me wondering, "What's the point of this?" This just didn't work for me at all, and I feel like Hamilton's talents would be better suited working on original ideas as opposed to adaptations.

Bourbon Island 1730 by by Lewis Trondheim and Olivier Appollodorus from First Second: When I started to read this tale of pirates, slaves, colonial powers & ornithologists(!) set in the Indian Ocean, I was initially bored. By the time I had finished a quarter of the graphic novel I couldn't put it down. The artwork is black & white and would probably benefit from the addition of color, but I can see why the publisher avoided that option due to some of the more mature themes in the book; Trondheim's art style is very whimsical and could easily fool someone into thinking that the book would be appropriate for younger children.

Cat Burglar Black by Richard Sala from First Second: In what seems like the first installment of a series, a young girl trained as a master thief stumbles across a family mystery. This seems like an excellent read for young girls due to Sala's lighthearted art and Nacy Drew-ish story. I may buy this for my nieces!

Another Paddy Panel

Like the title says, here's another panel from my graphic novel proposal Go Home, Paddy!

Two-Three sentence book reviews!

Union Atlantic by Adam Haslett from Nan A. Talese/DoubleDay: I've really got mixed feelings about this one; truthfully— it didn't seem finished. Parts are beyond excellent, while other sections of the novel seem to be rushed and less developed. I'll be VERY interested to read the reviews on this when it's released in January 2010.

Laika by Nick Abadzis from First Second: I absolutely love this graphic novel. A genuinely original work telling the true story of the first dog in space set in The Soviet Union during the 1950's. I can't wait to see what Abadzis does next.

Parker: The Hunter by Richard Stark & Darwyn Cooke from Idea & Design Works: Damn! Cooke adapts Stark's story of a man in 1960's NYC Hell bent on revenge with such skill that I cringe in jealousy! Cooke is such a masterful draftsman and storyteller that I think he could try his hand at ANY type of story and succeed!

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill from HarperCollins: This is the first time I've read anything by Hill, and this collection of short stories has me wanting to read everything else that he's written. Almost all of the tales are excellent, but the story "Pop Art" is on another level. At times reminiscent of Bradbury and Matheson, these stories transported me to another place.

South End Slant & Pre/Post Primary cartoons

I forgot to post the South End Slant cartoon from before the primary this past month, so here's both cartoons for September. The primary results decided that it would be Menino vs. Flaherty for Mayor of Boston. Flaherty and Menino used to be on very good terms (some have even suggested that Flaherty was Menino's handpicked successor), before a falling out several years back.
Interestingly enough, Sam Yoon came out today not only backing Flaherty, but is attempting to run as Flaherty's Deputy Mayor. Developing...

Paddy panel...

Work on my Paddy graphic novel proposal continues.

Two-Three sentence book reviews!

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen from Picador: An excellent novel that had me HATING several of the characters — which to me was the mark of a great writer. At one point I put the book down and thought, "Thank God no one in my family is like these characters!" Franzen's writing is funny, depressing and has a understanding of human nature that you don't find as often as you should.


Pig Island by Mo Hayder from Bantam Books: A so-so read that seemed a little too interested in mimicking the style of Dennis Lehane. The novel contains some interesting ideas, but I felt that the ending was rushed and unsatisfying.

I'm currently reading an advance copy of Union Atlantic by Adam Haslett sent to me from Double Day.

Asterios Polyp Review

Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli from Pantheon

How do I even begin to review this graphic novel? I could go on and on about it, but I'll try my best to stick with my usual style of brief reviews (although my typical two - three sentence review is out the window for this one). Simply put, David Mazzuchelli has created a Graphic Novel masterpiece.

Asterios Polyp works on three levels: One, the book features the absolute perfect compound of words and pictures; neither works as well without the other. Two, Asterios Polyp is an excellent story which focuses on the humbling transformation of the title character. Mazzuchelli presents a witty, poignant, and philosophical tale full of oddball characters and oddball moments. Three— the art; Mazzuchelli is a superb draftsman and cartoonist. Also, his use of limited colors in the book is both simple and complex. Sounds weird, but it’s true.

This book is awe-inspiring to those of us that have studied the graphic novel format due to Mazzuchelli's complete mastery of sequential storytelling. This book will inspire some to new heights and disillusion others who will feel that they will never be able to compete. Asterios Polyp will be “the” textbook for sequential art classes for years to come— this book is THAT good.

A few examples that really caught me from the book are below. The last example is just one panel—but it's such a beautiful panel!

South End Slant & Boston's Mayoral Election

This week's South End News editorial cartoon. Bets are that turnout will be LOW.

Paddy page 5 & 6 color variations

UPDATE: The sizing on the full-color pages is now fixed so that when you click on the image, it pops up large enough so that you can read the text.




Thanks to all the people that offered advice and opinions to me though the comments on this blog, through Twitter and especially through Linked In. The above illustrates where I'm at right now: Full color & a blue/green toned version. Time to plow through coloring the rest of the pages in my submission.

South End Slant & Boston's Latest Role Models

I forgot to post last week's cartoon for The South End News. Ortiz got popped for doping, and DiMasi & Wilkerson were both indicted. Nice.

Paddy page 5 color variations!

Here are some color variation tests that I've worked up for my graphic novel pitch: one full color, two just with either green or blue tones and one with sepia line work (in an attempt to give the viewer a sense of the story taking place in the past). I'm not sure if the green tones are a little bit overkill — like hitting the viewer/reader over the head with the "Irishness" of it all.

I'm looking for some feedback—so either leave a comment below or hit me with an email: john@johnawalsh.net. It's MUCH appreciated!

Paddy Page 5 Pencils

Here's a penciled page from the Graphic Novel pitch that I'm putting together. The graphic novel deals with the Irish famine and emigration to America. I'm hoping to play with a lot of the Victorian stereotypes of the Irish, including how the Irish were drawn in newspapers and magazines. This page shows the main character Paddy (stereotype #1!) and his mother struggling to hold it together as the make their way across the land during the famine.

I'll post inks and colors as I complete them.

Two-Three sentence book reviews!

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford from Vintage: A fun read about a New Yorker magazine editor/writer that decided to work for a year in Mario Batali's kitchen. Buford lost me somewhat when he really dug into recipes and cooking methods, but the sections detailing brand "Batali" and Batali's real personality are excellent.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks from Three Rivers Press: I don't really go for the whole "zombie genre", but this book is ridiculously good. The novel reads like those post-WWII journalistic accounts of the 40's; except this is set roughly in our times and the enemies are Zombies. World War Z reminded me of those classic Ray Bradbury/ Phillip K. Dick/ Richard Matheson stories of long ago.

Figure sketch

A very quick figure drawing sketch done as a warm-up. I've been sketching in a small Moleskine for a bit now and it's hard figure drawing in such a small sketchbook as I'm used to usually doing these kind of sketches in very large pads. This figure looks pretty stiff—hopefully I'll get the hang of working so small and the results will get better and better.

South End Slant & Walter Cronkite

Here's both the B&W and color versions of this week's editorial for The South End News.

Two sentence book reviews!

More reviews—still only TWO sentences.

Skim by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki from Groundwood Books: The story of two-teenage girls circa the 1990's growing into their true personalities. The book is saved from being lumped in with all the other navel-gazing graphic novels out there by Jillian Tamaki's stellar artwork; she can draw and tell a story flawlessly.

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson from Vintage: A remarkable book that I was VERY sorry to finish! Larson weaves together the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, a Victorian era serial killer in that same city, and appearances by notable historical figures such as Teddy Roosevelt, Buffalo Bill Cody, Walt Disney's father, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and many, many others.

Local by Brian Wood & Ryan Kelly from Oni Press: I haven't read anything by Wood and figured it was time that I did. I was more impressed by the story structure than I was by the actual story, but the book was still enjoyable.

I'm about to re-read Asterios Polyp...there's so much going on in that book that I can't write a review until I've thought about it some more.

Hermann Hesse sketch

Just fooling around/warming up with a sketch of Hermann Hesse. Recently got of copy of Narcissus and Goldmund that I'm looking forward to reading.

Sketches

More random warm-up sketches...

Two sentence book reviews!

Ok, here's a new list of books that I've recently read:

Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk from W.W. Norton & Co.: Nope, not for me. At all.

Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman by Hank Wagner, Christopher Golden and Stephen R. Bissette from St. Martin's Press: I was disappointed by this book. Probably because I knew most of the anecdotes about Gaiman's work already and also by the fact that I've really enjoyed Golden's fiction, but this is a different beast entirely.

Tonoharu by Lars Martinson from Pliant Press: I have never heard of Martinson before, but he excellently captures the feeling of alienation that one must feel when dropped into a foreign culture. His drawing style is very cartoony, and the four panel page structure of this graphic novel really serves the story well.

Blue Pills by Frederick Peeters from Houghton Mifflin Company: Peeters expressive brushwork beautifully illustrates this tale of how love can go right. Unlike most introspective graphic novels, Blue Pills is not full of the navel gazing that I've come to expect; a very welcome change!

The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang & Derek Kirk Kim from First Second Books: I'm a big fan of both Gene Yang & First Second Books so it's no surprise that I really enjoyed this graphic novel. Three slightly connected short stories that make you question whether most people want reality or the freedom of fantasy — and the answers will surprise you.

Aya of Yop City by Marguerite Abouet & Clement Oubrerie from Drawn & Quarterly: I read the first volume of Aya about a year ago and when I saw this second volume on the shelves at the library I grabbed it immediately. Continuing the tale of a teenage girl living in 1970's Ivory Coast, this funny book presents a warm and lighthearted vision of Africa that we don't often get to see.

South End Slant & Rainy Boston

When will it end? June was horrible!

Random Sketches

More weird scribbles.

Goody's Lament

The College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies at the University College of Cork will soon be publishing my original story "Goody's Lament" in the college's annual research journal! I originally created the story for a solo exhibit for GloveBox here in Boston, so I'm very excited about my work being published in the Old Sod!

In the 1680's, during an era of anti-witch hysteria, the Puritans of Boston condemned an innocent woman to hang on the Commons for practicing witchcraft. Unfairly accused and sentenced, Goody Glover's plight was not helped by the fact that she was a proud Irish Catholic — a small group that was hated and despised in Boston at the time. A poor women ripped from her home in Ireland, sold into slavery and eventually settled as a servant in the New World, Goody Glover would find that the old miseries of hatred and intolerance had followed her across the Atlantic.

Below is the brief story presented in it's entirety. Click each image to read three pages at a time.







Click here to return to www.johnawalsh.net

South End Slant & Voting

Voter turnout last week was pathetic. Too bad Obama wasn't running...

4th Wedding Anniversary

Four years ago today. Time flies...
Best move I ever made.

Random Sketches

More weird warm-up sketches.

15 Books in 15 Minutes

Via Terry Teachout and CAAF: “The rules: Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.“

My List:
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
The Great Shame by Thomas Keneally
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Lenin's Tomb by David Remnick
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli
Deogratias by J.P.Stassen
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Patch of Askeaton Days by Patrick J. Carrol
American Gods by Neil Gaiman

RSW & her spring rolls

A week ago my wife Rachel decided to make spring rolls for a group of us to enjoy on the roof with a few "cold" beverages. This was the first time she had ever attempted making spring rolls and was so happy with how everything looked that she asked me to snap some photos of the before and after. Rachel served them with soy sauce (flavored with garlic and ginger) as well as Sriracha Hot Sauce. The rolls were slammin!

One sentence book reviews!

Just finished reading several very good books and here are my reviews—

Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse: Loved the novel's examination of the middle-class mindset & really enjoyed it except for the unclear ending; main character would probably be labelled as bi-polar in the modern era.

Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist: This novel was unbelievably creepy, extremely well written and has a very unique take on the vampire genre.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz: Tremendously good read and the prose reads like a comedic and heartfelt conversation with dudes hanging on the street back in Bridgeport.

Currently reading Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk

Random Sketches

Here's a bunch of warm-up sketches from the little Moleskin book I'm currently using....gotta say, I'm not a fan of the small size. I can't wait to finish this book off and get back to a larger sketchbook.

South End Slant & Parking in The South End

South End Slant & Game 7 Blues

Lousy days for Boston sports fans, but Politics is considered a sport, right?
Also, turns out Aaron Michlewitz won the 3rd Suffolk special election Democratic Primary yesterday. Looks like he'll definitely be taking DiMasi's old spot on June 16th.

South End Slant & Swine Flu!

Word is that Swine Flu had been discovered here in the South End at Boston University's Dental School.
Does this signal my impending doom?!

Sketches

Fooling around with some sketches and various Photoshop brushes. Weird, but interesting?

South End Slant & Typical Boston Publicity

C'mon...we all know Menino's gonna run again.