Giant Sloth Talks

I've been honored to be on two different podcasts on Boing Boing recently, discussing Giant Sloth (now in the last day of its campaign!), animation, and translating work for (and from) one medium to another.

First, take a listen to RiYL, hosted by Brian Heater. Recording in New York at MoCCA, Brian and I had a great discussion about film, comics and the communication between the two.



Then listen to Tell Me Something I Don't Know, hosted by Jim Rugg and Jasen Lex. We get pretty deep into discussing social media and how it impacts the way I make and consume art. Heavy duty, kids.

Boing Boing, Bolling

Ruben Bolling (creator of the great Tom the Dancing Bug, a lifesaver for me while working a day job back in Columbus, Ohio) gave a nice shout out to Life with Mr. Dangerous on Boing Boing's Gweek podcast! Listen in as two men I respect immensely stuggle with my cumbersome last name.

Go Outside

Go Outside, by Cults from Boing Boing on Vimeo.

This is a solid way to start the week: a song I've been loving for a while set to an incredible video.

Attention aspiring (and established) video directors, if you MUST show the band performing or singing, can you please at least make it this entertaining and inventive? (video via Boing Boing)

The Order of Odd-Fish on Boing Boing

My pal James Kennedy's book, The Order of Odd-Fish (for which I drew the paperback cover), was just reviewed on Boing Boing and I couldn't agree with Cory Doctorow's remarks more:

"This is what Harry Potter would be if its magic world was truly wondrous and magnificent, as opposed to plain reality with broomsticks and funny robes."

Maps of The Fictitious World

Two more curios from the digi-distractionary (both via Boing Boing): Maps on the back covers of books (from Dell Books) and a site dedicated to maps and diagrams of comic worlds and characters (the sort of thing I absolutely lost my mind over as a kid, and still find completely satisfying).


And all of this reminds me to wholeheartedly endorse The Eagle Annual of The Cutaways, which is bursting with nerdy dissections of gizmos and transport. (Thanks to Emily for the amazing gift.)

Balloon and Box

Via Boing Boing: These guys have got it. Whatever it is.

Stephen Worth on Boing Boing

Stephen Worth, who has a wealth of animation knowledge and is the director of the always great ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, is guest-blogging on Boing Boing currently. And he's posting an absolute treasure trove of information, clips, and articles. I wanted to be sure to post a few of my favorites thus far:

This video of Ralph Bakshi talking about being an artist and surviving in tough times should be required viewing for anyone in the creative arts, in any field. That he said all of this without preparation goes to show what a phenomenal mind he has, because it's inspirational, hilarious, and right on the mark:



Gustaf Tenggren's gorgeous Golden Book art is something I've seen a million times, but never attached to a name. Thank you, Mr. Worth, for righting that wrong.


And Mr. Worth points us to one of the weirdest Max Fleischer cartoons ever made. To say it was ahead of its time doesn't do it justice.

Portraits and Their Keepers

It's been a while, but I believe I originally spied both of these on Boing Boing, so a tip of the hat to them:

First (above), portraits of television and film families by the curator of the great book Life of The Party, Kirk Demarais. I think the portrait from The Jerk may be my favorite, but, alas, Paul Sheer already nabbed it. (While you're in the neighborhood, be sure to poke around Demarais' site, Secret Fun Spot, there are tons of amazing things there.)

Second (below), absolute perfect color and stoicism in the form of Guardians of Russian Art Museums, a series of photographs from Andy Freeberg. Of these, I can't decide which one is my favorite. Always a welcome problem.

Vader, Please Don't Hurt 'Em

Will the attendants of this year's San Diego Comic-Con be treated to this type of choreographic display? We can only hope. Regardless, it seemed the perfect opener for the next few days in the belly of the bespectacled, pocket-protected beast. (Thanks to Boing Boing for the clip.)

Everytime at the Same Place

Thanks to a link via Boing Boing, I've been admiring the work of photographer Peter Funch, who takes pictures at a single location over a period of time, then digitally composites figures (of a certain theme) from those various times. A simple concept with gorgeous results.

Covers From Beyond!

Via Boing Boing: an amazing collection of old covers (including the masterpiece above) can be perused to your head scratching delight here.

Between that and other comic/book cover archives, it makes me pine for weirder days in publishing.

The People Tree, Talking (to Yourself) Heads

Boing Boing just featured the above video that's pretty impossible for me to not love. I'm an unabashed fan of David Byrne, and love just about everything Marcel Dzama and Chali 2na have done, so the combination of all three was a welcome union.

Speaking of David Byrne, it reminds me to post this (below) interview I stumbled across a while ago: A bizarre Bryne on Byrne interview that only he could pull off as strangely or wonderfully as he did.

Titles, More Titles, and Cereal

A few semi-related posts I've enjoyed recently: via Boing-Boing, links to a variety of title work for B and Sci-Fi Movies (one of which is above).

From Smashing magazine, a collection of 30 unforgettable movie openings (I haven't seen Lord of War, but had to agree it's an impressive title sequence... and I was glad to see that readers suggested To Kill a Mockingbird, one of my all time favorite opening sequences).

And to pick you up after watching that Lord of War opening: From the Aeron provides the typography and design of 100 cereal boxes.

A Day in the Life(s)

Speaking of work patterns and daily methods: Boing Boing recently posted a link to a great site compiling various discussions of daily routines of authors, artists and others. There's some insightful bits here that all serve to demystify the world of art and literature production.

An example from an interview with Jonathan Safran Foer:

"I try to write every morning, from about nine until twelve. It’s really rare that I would ever write more than that. I know it’s a good idea to listen to music on the way to writing, but I often just can’t quite get it together, for some reason, to do that. I try not to speak to my extended family before I write, because that just clouds everything up."

Digital LIFE

Thanks to BoingBoing for posting this link to Google's hosting of LIFE's photo archives. There are millions of great shots here, including the above photograph of journalists in the City room of the Louisville Courier Journal during the 1937 Louisville Flood.