Thursday, November 5, 2009

My Comical Relationship with the Poet William Cowper

Myself, as pictured on my resident alien card from 1985. William Cowper, as pictured in an engraving from 1785.

What follows is a confession of sorts, a little admittance of delusional self-aggrandizement that began when I was a teenager and quickly took on a life of its own, a dizzying tale I attempted to forge into an extended comic story more than a dozen years ago, but was stopped in my tracks by the one very real aspect of its fevered narrative, namely depression.

I’m talking of the physical malady, not the temporary emotional state associated with sadness. Referring to chemical depression as sadness is akin to calling vertigo a fear of heights, the surface mannerisms of each being read as root cause, both highly erroneous assumptions.
     This is a depression inherited, passed on through paternal DNA, black wings visited upon brother, father, grandfather – and likely back on into the well of generations past – all the way to the man with whom my teenage self found ample solace, the English poet William Cowper, my paternal grandmother having been Elizabeth Cowper.

William Cowper, born in 1731, was perhaps the most popular poet of his time, famous for writing spiritual works like the Olney Hymns, the romantic long poem The Task, humorous, satirical jabs like The Diverting History of John Gilpin, as well as The Negro's Complaint, which, set to music, became something of an anthem for the abolition movement.
     A life-long sufferer of manic depression, Cowper existed on the periphery of life’s carnival, subject to extended bouts of what was then called melancholy, more than once attempting to take his own life, acts which saw him sequestered within various asylums. The torment of these days was perhaps best expressed by one of his last poems, The Castaway, published in 1799.

At length, his transient respite past,
   His comrades, who before
Had heard his voice in ev'ry blast,
   Could catch the sound no more.
For then, by toil subdued, he drank
The stifling wave, and then he sank.

My adolescent affinity with this deeply spiritual ancestor was at odds with the rebellious scorn I held for religion in all its forms, and yet I found myself gravitating to this tortured soul, not so much his writing (which I found tedious at best) but more the mystique of his permanence, the staying power of his transcribed thought, and later – when I began to encounter my own melancholy ways – the travails of his personal life, spelled out eloquently in his abundant and effusive letters.
     It was about this time that I happened upon an engraving of the poet that haunted me, his facial features eerily echoing my own (see accompanying images). I began to question my mockery of such beliefs as reincarnation and the eternal soul, guiltily holding a growing appreciation for the notion of a consciousness running the generations, rising to the surface in every appropriate vessel, myself the latest such portal, one through which the essence of William Cowper was relieving its tragic fate.
     Finally, after years of silently carrying this curious, scurrilous awareness, I decided to give it air, to see if it could sail the waters of my own chosen form of literature, the cartoon.
     This was 1995. I was just thirty-one and only beginning to reckon with my own depression, one which would quickly intensify with the coming years, creating a decade of artistic wheel-spinning, every project started soon aborted, stashed to the shadows of my self-generated despair.
     One such abortion was Squealer!, a planned epic cartoon story designed to tell the twisted tale of Cowper and his defining malady, its persistent journey through the generations, right up to the current day.
     I had chosen to root much of his anguish in the classical repression of earthly activity, the sexual life that Cowper quite clearly had rejoined himself from. Needing a visual metaphor for this curse, I settled upon the mad fury of the insect, the feverish propagation we witness in every buzzing lek of gnat and fly. This was to be the voice of Cowper’s despair, one he would share with his ancestral chain, culminating in what I intended to be a graphic repudiation of all that Cowper held as holy, the binds of his suffocating devotion to God being sprung free in an orgy of sexual madness that would rupture the time continuum, ushering in an age of chaos, man becoming the frantic buzz in the ear of a cosmos awakened.
     Or something like that, anyway.
     As so happened, I managed not quite a dozen pages, before retreating into an acutely emerging self-doubt.

Thus, some nearly fifteen years later, my trajectory still flirting with its stubborn Cowperesque tendencies, I’m attempting to swat away the flies by unleashing these eleven ink-stained paperboards, their all-but-wordless narrative now subject to public discourse.
     I hope you enjoy them, for what they’re worth – a hint of what might have been, and may still be – in some other life – perhaps one waiting on down the line.










Tuesday, October 20, 2009

75% OFF EVERYTHING! A ONE-WEEK ONLY SALE OF MY ORIGINAL ART! OCT. 21 THROUGH TO OCT. 28!

The following gallery of art is all for sale, available from Oct. 21 to Oct. 28, for only one quarter of their listed price, at Comic Art Collective, the popular online gallery that exhibits the work of such notable cartoonists as Daniel Clowes, Jim Woodring, Jaime Hernandez, and Kim Deitch – to name but a few.
I have many pieces available on the site, varying greatly in price, some literally going for a song. Have a look and see. And please note that you can use PayPal to expedite any purchase.
Among the some three-dozen pieces of my art presented here are pages from some of my Fantagraphics Books releases, the most recent being my contribution to Mome #10 – as well as art created for bands like Visqueen and Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter. You’ll also find unique collaborations with bestselling writer Chelsea Cain and cartoon visionary Al Columbia, as well as some two-dozen pieces made available for the very first time – some never before made public.
If you have ever been interested in any of my art, now is the time to grab a piece at these incredibly low prices – but hurry, the sale only lasts seven days!
Also, if there is a page, or pages, from any of my more than two-dozen comics and book collections (A Sleepyhead Tale, The Island of Dr. Moral, Sleepy, Whotnot! #1-4, Hump Crazy! #1-2, Busy Girls, A World of Trouble #1-3) that strikes your fancy and isn’t currently available on Comic Art Collective, please contact me and inquire. If available, I’ll be happy to offer any at prices equitable with this special sale.
I hope you enjoy what follows!
Best-
J.W.E.


Meathook Play Poster
This is the art to a poster I was commissioned to create for Seattle’s Open Circle Theater. The original line art is presented here, alongside the final, one-color printed piece.
The art is 11” x 16”, on a 14” x 17” sheet of plate finish Bristol board.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $75.00. Purchase here


Beware the Phantom Caller
This is an original gouache watercolor painting on an inch-thick section of remnant furniture wood.
The art is sized 9” x 8”.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $60.00. Purchase here


Robert Crumb & Dagwood!
Here’s one of the latest in my Cartoon Jumbles series. More of these watercolors can be found at CAC, all available at super-low sale prices.
The art is 9” x 12” on heavy, manila drawing paper.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $60.00. Purchase here



The Attention-Getter
This is a never-before-seen gouache painting.
The art is 14” x 10” on heavyweight watercolor paper.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $75.00. Purchase here


Visqueen Vs. The Kiss Kraken!
This was commissioned by the popular Seattle-based band, Visqueen, for a show held at The Sunset Tavern.
The art is approx. 8” x 11”, on heavyweight copy paper.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $30.00. Purchase here


Earth Day Hippies
This was a cover illustration for the weekly newspaper Alibi.
The art is 9” x 12”, on heavyweight manila drawing paper.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $60.00. Purchase here


Infant Finds a Skull #2
This is the sequel to an earlier piece, still also available at CAC.
The art, pencil and India ink, is 12” x 8”, on copy paper. Matted for framing.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $20.00. Purchase here


A Sleepyhead Tale, Cover
This is the cover art to my 1992 Fantagraphics book, the first of three paperback collections of my weekly newspaper strip, A Sleepyhead Tale.
The art, gouache, ink and colored pencil, is 11” x 13”, on plate finish Bristol board. Matted for framing. Please note this is a just photograph, the art being too large for my scanner.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $175.00. Purchase here


A Bee Sting
This never-before-seen watercolor and ink drawing was originally intended as the back cover to the first issue of my comic trilogy, A World of Trouble.
The art is 7” x 10”, on heavyweight copy paper. Matted for framing.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $35.00. Purchase here



Oscar Templeton, Art Criminal
This gouache painting is one of a series of “art criminals” originally featured in a group showing with David Lasky and Peter Bagge, among others. Other paintings in the series are also available.
The art is 5” x 5”, on heavyweight watercolor paper.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $40.00. Purchase here


Triangle Man Kicked My Ass!
The only remaining sketch from an aborted lunchroom project between Al Columbia and myself.
The art is pencil (me) and permanent marker (Al) on copy paper. Size is 8” x 11”.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $75.00. Purchase here


Krypto to the Rescue?!
This pop-art gouache painting is an unpublished piece from 1998.
The art is 15” x 12”, on the reverse side of a paper grocery bag. Matted for framing.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $50.00. Purchase here


Whotnot! Promotional Piece
This was my contribution to “A Different Beat”, an early promotional campaign by Fantagraphics.
The art is 12” x 10”, India ink on Bristol board. Comes with a colored-pencil overlay, as shown.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $50.00. Purchase here


A Boy and His Dogs
Also referred to as “Two Dogs Fucking”, this is from my God Awful Song series of gouache paintings.
Art is 9” x 12”, on heavyweight manila drawing paper.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $60.00. Purchase here


Tarzan & Hobbes!
This is the pencil sketch for an aborted Cartoon Jumble. See CAC for other sketches.
Art is 8” x 11”, graphite pencil on copy paper.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $10.00. Purchase here


Obama Spells Victory
This was the cover to the Election Day issue of The Portland Mercury.
Art is 8” x 11”, gouache on heavyweight watercolor paper.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $100.00. Purchase here


P.C. Misogynist, Pg. 1
This is the first page to my unique collaboration with bestselling author Chelsea Cain (Heartsick, Sweetheart, Evil at Heart), which originally appeared in Fantagraphic’s Dirty Stories anthology. Pages 2-6 are also still available.
Art is 8” x 13”, India ink on Bristol board.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $30.00. Purchase here


Jesse Sykes, The Gentleness of Nothing
This is the art to Seattle-based musician Jesse Sykes’s latest EP, The Gentleness of Nothing.
Art is 8” x 8”, gouache on heavyweight manila drawing paper.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $75.00. Purchase here


Fairy Tale Factory Emblem
This is an emblem, based on an old design, created for Amy Morgan’s writing workshop site, Fairy Tale Factory.
Art is 8” x 7”, gouache on heavyweight watercolor paper.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $40.00. Purchase here


Comic Cut-Up #1, Hot Stuff!
This is the first of a series of cut-paper and ink impressions of old comic book panels. Three others in the series are also available.
Art is 9” x 5”, on plate finish Bristol board.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $30.00. Purchase here


Bubble & Squeak
An unpublished children’s comic from 1998.
Each page is 8” x 11”, watercolor dyes on copy paper. Line art is a reproduction.
Both pages can now be had, for the low sale price of $75.00. Purchase here


Art Criminals – The Understudies
This is a group of early trial paintings in my Art Criminals series.
Each is 5” x 5”, on heavyweight watercolor paper.
Each can now be had, separately, for the low sale price of $30.00. Purchase here


Hump Crazy! #2, Pg. 16
A page from the second issue of my humorous erotic comic series. Other pages are available also.
Art is 10” x14”, India ink on plate finish Bristol board.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $65.00. Purchase here


Yankee Comics #1
An unpublished cover dummy to an aborted comic series from 1996.
Art is 8” x 11”, colored pencil on reproduced line, on copy paper.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $30.00. Purchase here


The Red Dollar
An experiment in defacing federal reserves.
Art is the size you might expect, gouache on “minted” linen.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $15.00. Purchase here


Captain Molecule, in the Abstract
An unpublished piece from 1997.
Art is 8” x 12”, watercolor and India ink on copy paper.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $20.00. Purchase here


Cowboy Death Ranch
An unpublished gouache painting.
Art is 17” x 12”, gouache on copy paper. Matted for framing.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $75.00. Purchase here


Slipless in Seattle
An illustration commissioned by Seattle Weekly in 1989.
Art is 9” x 6”, India ink on plate finish Bristol board.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $10.00. Purchase here


Animal Carpentry
This is the art to a rare promotional mini-comic published by Fantagraphics in 1992, to promote my Whotnot! Comic series.
Art consists of two pages, each 13” x 7”, India ink on Bristol board. Note that each comes with hand-colored overlay (as pictured) plus two layers of Rubylith film, cut for the printer – an artifact of pre-computer production.
Both can now be had, as a set, along with a copy of the actual comic, for the low sale price of $100.00. Purchase here


The Heart of Roses
This is one of my illustrations created for Fairy Tale Factory. Others are also available.
Art is 5” x 4”, gouache on heavyweight watercolor paper.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $40.00. Purchase here


Winchester Cathedral
This is a page of panels from my short comic story, Winchester Cathedral, which appeared in Mome #10. Two other similar pages are available.
Art is 9” x 12”, India ink and ink washes on bond paper.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $15.00. Purchase here


Mr. Magoo in Myopic
This is a cel from my Mr. Magoo film parody. Another cel is available, along with pencil and ink pre-production art.
Art is 9” x 11”, acrylic paint and printed line on acetate transparency.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $30.00. Purchase here


Santa Claus
Father Christmas himself, in a painted design for a Christmas card.
Art is 5” x 5”, gouache on heavyweight watercolor paper.
It can now be had, for the low sale price of $10.00. Purchase here


Thursday, October 15, 2009

Romancing the Television: My Thirteen-Year Affair with The Hump

This is a screensaver created for a 2006 promotional campaign. Please feel free to drag it to your desktop and use it yourself!

The following expansive archival gallery consists of images and artifacts taken from my thirteen-year (and counting) run on William Steven Humphrey’s weekly column, I Love Television, starting with a crop of recent favorites, then dipping back into history to reveal the circumventive path it took to reach its current form. This tenure has seen me create almost 700 illustrations, drawing my red-haired, freckled TV-shirted caricature of Mr. Humphrey (generally known as The Hump, or simply “Hump”) in a wide and bizarre array of situations – picturing him waterskiing with Jesus and Mr. Rogers, courting Miss Piggy as a Nazi, to rapping as Shakespeare – with a hundred images of his infamous “honey-baked ham” sandwiched in between – not to mention all of the images featuring monkeys (one of Humphrey’s more keen fixations) – which could easily fill a gallery of their own.
This massive armory of images on a theme surpasses the output of any other regular feature in either of the papers originally associated with the absurd and hilarious column – Seattle’s The Stranger and The Portland Mercury.
However, my illustrations currently only run in Portland, The Stranger having dropped them with the Christmas 2008 issue. If you miss it in the print edition of that paper, or on their website, please contact the editor here and let them know you’d like it to return.
Also, if you’d like to peruse a more expansive selection of TV art, simply click here for a handy slideshow presentation.
And please note that many of these illustrations (in the original black line art) are available for purchase. Just ask! You can reach me at postjwe@comcast.net
Meanwhile, I hope you might enjoy this unearthing of TV-themed curios – many not seen in well over a decade!

The latest TV illustration, The Hump as Jughead, appearing this week, Oct. 15, in The Portland Mercury.

The following eleven illustrations are some recent favorites, all from 2008 and 2009.












And here's how it all began:


In early September, 1996, I was asked by William Steven Humphrey and Stranger art director Dale Yarger, to come up with a character to embody the wacky humor of Humphrey’s column, I Love Television, which had been utilizing drawings by cartoonist Tom Hart. These were my first quick sketch ideas.


The next stage of sketches – with a more refined character coming into focus.


From Sept. 26, inked versions of the character, as faxed to Humphrey.


From the 27th, Humphrey and Yarger’s comments in reply to the initial designs.


My revised character, based on the editorial feedback. I still had yet to illustrate my first column. That would come the following week, after it was decided not to go with the TV character I’d created. I’ve never quite been sure what happened, but I imagine there was a lack of editorial agreement on the whole approach and the idea was simply shelved. I was told to proceed by illustrating elements specific to each column.


Alan Alda, star of the very first I Love Television illustration, from Oct. 5, 1996 – drawn on hotel stationary, while I was traveling on the East Coast. Note the absence of The Hump. The trademark character didn’t appear until late the following spring.


Bob Dole gets all G.I. Joe on Bill Clinton – from early 1997.


From Feb. 1997 – the beginning of the unexpected birth of a character.


March 27, 1997 – a response to some suggested tonal changes by Humphrey. Again, a character is being slowly refined before unsuspecting eyes.


The next week saw this – the third appearance of what was now clearly becoming the regular character the meeting back in September had failed to produce. Note the TV logo now appearing in an emblematic fashion.


The following installment saw the first usage of the TV logo T-shirt, which was soon to become a constant staple of the column. Yes, that’s Jerry Seinfeld wearing the halo of whiteout.


During his first year of existence, The Hump was still struggling to find his proportional dimensions (unlike Tommy Lee).


Here, Hump is proportioned like a child from an old Maurice Sendak book. The red is a tissue overlay, indicating color for the art department, as I was still two years away from owning a computer and sent all of my line art via fax, along with color guides. I’m sure that sounds somewhat hard to believe for some of you, but that was the process just a few short years ago.


From June 1997 – a drawing that was used as a sticker to promote the column at a newspaper industry convention.


Look familiar? This was a two-dimensional wooden recreation based on the sticker drawing, created by an artist for use in the window of a pop culture emporium located in Seattle’s Pioneer Square district. Interestingly, I knew nothing about this until walking by one day and seeing it – a long and nasty legal battle ensued. OK, I’m lying. I actually was put in contact with the artist and we had a cup of coffee.


From Nov. of 97 – an illustration meant to look like an old Scholastic Book cover, featuring a familiar super heroic statue in the background. Note: this is merely the black line art to what was a colored drawing, as is the case with many of the older pieces presented in this gallery.


This is the first of a group of illustrations showcasing various attempts at breaking the ink and computer color look of the column’s visual appearance, this one utilizing cut paper, gouache, artificial fern fronds and part of an old sock, substituting for one of Humphrey’s favorite obsessions – Tom Selleck’s “booshy” moustache.
This is probably the strangest of the unorthodox representations of Hump – unless I count the evening at the Rendevouz Bar, at a roast celebrating Humphrey’s departure to Portland to begin The Mercury, where I was urged by the audience to draw the Hump character on Humphrey’s posterior. If that wasn’t funny enough, the next day I received a frantic call from Humphrey, asking what kind of marker I’d used, as the drawing had failed to come off in the shower! It was, of course, a Sharpie – indelible to the end! I meant to leave my mark in this world.


A gouache illustration, from some point in 1998, featuring one of Humphrey’s old irregular characters, a duck who went Quak!


From 1999 – Hump as Rodin’s The Thinker, envisioned in grey ink washes.


Here’s a weird one. The Olsen twins, portrayed with photos from an old toy catalog, of a roller-skating Troll doll (I kid you not). The resemblance was uncanny, don’t you agree?


From 2001 – one of a brief series of gouache paintings that emulated the look of the standard inked line art.


“The Incredible Hump”, from 2000, shown in his three stages of transformation – from pencil sketch to inked line art to grey tone wash.


Another grey tone variation, this one captured by printing out a computer-toned drawing, onto manila paper, then adding ink shadows.


From 2003 – Hump celebrates the almighty dollar. Graffiti on the bill portends the upcoming 2004 election. I actually drew on the dollar and may still have it somewhere – an odd little souvenir of an odd little career.


This one was accented on the computer with a bold showcase title, emulating picture postcards from classic vacation spots. It utilizes cut paper and magazine pages.


From 2002 – Hump pursues Ted Turner, created using charcoal pencil on watercolor paper.


From Dec. 15, 2005 – Hump plays God, with a pet pig. This was one of my earlier uses of a fully-realized background, utilizing color holds.


Quak! the duck appears again, this time in a Thanksgiving triptych.


Here’s the first appearance of Hump’s whitebread cousin, Chet, who tried to steal Hump’s thunder with his own lame column.


From Jan. 16, 2006 – White Jesus battles Black Jesus! I told you this column was wacky.


From 2002 – a little boy Hump in an alphabet of some of his favorite things.


Here Hump battles Bradley Steinbacher, a past editor at The Stranger. This one illustrates their long-running feud over Aquaman, a super hero Hump loves to loathe.


From Dec. 2, 2005 – a bizarre holiday illustration. This was about as busy as I ever made a TV spot. I was actually asked to restrain from using too much detail after this one.


Hump loves his TV Nazis! Especially those who date Muppets.


Pencil sketch art of Superboy and Robin, two teenage super heroes, sporting boners – a favorite image of the column (OK, I admit, of mine too).


Hump with a log up his ass – a favorite image from early in the century. And, yes, there are more than a few ass-themed columns in Humphrey’s repertoire.


Alan Alda, star of the very first column I illustrated, finally gets his – courtesy of The Hump!


Hump’s telly-lovin’ British cousin, from Aug. 10, 2006.


From 2003 – Hump showing off his much-beloved posterior, which Humphrey calls his “honey-baked ham”.


From 2000 – Hump as a hillbilly slot machine. And why not?


A pencil sketch of The Hump as everybody’s favorite cartoon warrior, He-Man.


Hump as Lex Luthor, from Oct. 26, 2006.


Hump shoots off his cannonballs! Pencil sketch and inked art.


Hump as Gene Simmons in a wedge of cheese. Pencil and ink versions for a Halloween column from 1998.


Another one from 1998, Hump as an evil magician.


The super hero theme is prevalent. Here’s Hump as the “shirtless wonder”, from Jan. 18, 2007.


Pencil and ink versions of an older favorite, showing just how wonderfully ridiculous the column can be. I wonder if even Humphrey can recall what this one was all about.


Hump, as Ricardo Monteban, welcomes the year 2000, along with his “mini-me” Herve Villechaize.


Another favorite from the end of the last century, a moonshine Hump wrecking the Teeveemobile for the umpteenth time – be it in pencil or ink, the man shows no mercy behind the wheel.


Hump’s afro-sportin’ cousin, taking it to the streets for the CW. From Feb. 2, 2006.


And, finally, from 2000, The Hump has had enough, letting it all go – in glorious Technicolor (well, you can imagine, anyway).