Ragged Claws Network

(Click each image in this post to view a larger, readable version.)

“Wally Wood’s 22 Panels That Always Work!!”:

Ivan Brunetti’s “22 Panels That Always Work* (*Sometimes)”:

“Cheese’s 22 Panels That Never Work!!”:

And…

Jon Morris’s “16 Panels That I Don’t Think Work All That Well (But Which People Keep Using Over and Over) (Also, I Couldn’t Think of 22, So Wally Wood Wins)”:

Bonus Links:

Wally Wood’s 22 Panels that Always Work: Unlimited Edition - Joel Johnson outlines the history of the famous 22 panels and offers, for your downloading pleasure, various “high-resolution versions of ‘Wally Wood’s 22 Panels That Always Work’ in ‘Unlimited Edition,’ scanned in from the original paste-up.”

Walking with Wally Wood: 22 Little Panels Project

“It’s a way of coping with the world. You know, in the same way that somebody copes with it by being a stamp collector or a sports addict or a titan of industry or an alcoholic or something. My way of coping with the horrors of existence is to put my nose to the grindstone and work and not look up.”

Source: “The Director’s Craft: Woody Allen reflects on ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona,’ love and his life,” by Rachel Abramowitz, Los Angeles Times, August 10, 2008.

Here’s a classic art instruction book by George B. Bridgeman (1864-1943), first published in May 1920 and now in the public domain (see Wikipedia: “According to s. 6 of the [Canadian Copyright] Act the copyright of a work lasts the life of the author plus 50 years from the end of the calendar year of death“; “In the United States, all books and other works published before 1923 have expired copyrights and are in the public domain“), available from Ragged Claws Network as a free download (click the cover image):

Here are some teaser images:

Courtesy of Tor.com, an original graphic story by a talented young artist, Ms. Wesley Allsbrook:

I had exactly same feeling reading this piece as I had when I first read Jillian Tamaki’s City of Champions mini-comic and the shorter “comic book” edition of Skim a few years ago, i.e., this is someone to watch!

P.S. If you buy the superb Skim graphic novel from this Amazon.com link, you’ll be doing yourself a favour and Jillian herself will receive a little extra in her Amazon Associates account!

Bonus Links:

Wesley Allsbrook Illustration

Wesley’s Wallsblog

Fresh Paint: Wesley Allsbrook (interview)

Self-Portrait with Saxophone is not only my favourite of Max Beckmann’s many self-portraits but also one of my favourite self-portrait paintings of all time. Beckmann’s painting technique, which in his later works can sometimes be a bit messy and offhanded, is beautifully controlled and economical here. The quilted (silk?) robe, which in real life would be soft but sort of slick to the touch, reminds me also of the tough protective skin of a pineapple or a pangolin, though here the underbelly, so to speak, is open and unprotected, with the casual posture, meaty hands, steady gaze, and set jaw of the artist projecting boundless confidence and creative power such that even the ordinarily rigid metallic musical instrument seems to bend and twist in conformity with the artist’s pose and grip rather than vice versa.

Max Beckmann
Self-Portrait with Saxophone
1930
Oil on canvas
55 1/8 x 27 3/8 in.
Kunsthalle, Bremen

As of 12 July 2008, my wife and I are the proud owners of the following artwork by cartoonist George Woodbridge:

George Woodbridge (1930-2004) joined Mad Magazine’s “usual gang of idiots” in 1957 and had work in nearly every issue thereafter. He also worked at Marvel during the 1950s on titles such as Astonishing, Battle Action, and Kid Colt.

Click the image to view a larger, more detailed scan of the artwork; the image area of the physical artwork is 9″ x 6″. Click here to view a scan of the image in its original context as part of a piece entitled “Appeals from Charities through History.”

The total price for the artwork, shipping included, was US$55.95. So now we have two–count ‘em, TWO–pieces by George Woodbridge in our modest but growing collection of original comic-book (and other) art.

Related links:

• “43-Man Squamish” by George Woodbridge and Tom Koch.

• “George Woodbridge, R.I.P.” by Mark Evanier

From Kookie #1, posted in its entirety by Chance Fiveash at his site, Last of the Spinner Rack Junkies.

“The Blood Money of Galloping Chad Burgess,” The Unseen #5 (June 1952) .

“Murder Mansion,” Adventures into Darkness #5 (August 1952).

“Alice in Terrorland,” Lost Worlds #5 (October 1952), as reprinted/recoloured in Seduction of the Innocent #1.

“The Phantom Ship,” Out of the Shadows #6 (October 1952).

“Joe Yank: Black Market Mary,” Joe Yank #5 (1952).

“The Hands of Don José,” Adventures into Darkness #9 (April 1953).

“The Corpse That Lived,” Out of the Shadows #10 (October 1953).

“Grip on Life,” The Unseen #12 (November 1953).

“Images of Sand,” Out of the Shadows #12 (March 1954), as reprinted/recoloured in Seduction of the Innocent #4.

“The Reaper,” Creepy #114 (January 1980) - story by Archie Goodwin.

Bonus link: Twenty Questions with Alex Toth.

Gratuitous link: “Barney Rooster” with fabulously fluid funny-animal art by the fabulous Frank Frazetta.

Today, ICv2 is reporting that the venerable alt-comics publisher Fantagraphics has acquired the rights to reprint two classic adventure strips: Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant (which Fantagraphics held the rights to not so long ago) and Roy Crane’s Wash Tubbs & Captain Easy. Click here for details…