meltblog

What makes Shawn Mortensen?

The same thing that makes any man sin.  A lust for knowledge.  The need to see something new.  The wish to do something big.  Through the eye of Shawn Mortensen the world is reflected in harrowing yet familiar shapes and supernaturally saturated color.  The bleak and the undone are countered with ultimate positivity, leading to new views of familiar subjects and a balance in theme and composition that is rarely attempted with such spirit.  Is it luck or cosmic confluence that places the artist and the subject on intersecting paths?  How else would one explain the abundance of unique, primal and prescient images that Mr. Mortensen has been able to capture?

Summer brings with it the opportunity for exploration of new art, new places, new relationships and perhaps most importantly the sun on your face and a positive vibe.  Melt Gallery mixes the heat of summer’s day with the neon fevered iconography of Mr. Mortensen in a party and exhibition on Thursday, June 21.  Please float on by the gallery where you’ll find drinks, music, oversized prints, signed copies, unsure humans, confident animals, structure, chaos, stories (perhaps yours), bargains, waste, good times and Shawn Mortensen himself awaiting your splendid presence.

Sometimes you don’t have to know anything to do something.  This is free.  Come say hello.

OUT OF MIND
A book by Shawn Mortensen
A party at Meltdown
JUNE 21 – 7 PM

7522 Sunset Blvd LA CA 90046
323.851.7223 www.meltcomics.com

News from WizardWorld Philly: Steve Wacker (original editor on 52) will be taking over Amazing Spider-Man, which will now ship three times a month. Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Sensational Spider-Man will be cancelled.

More details from Comic Book Resources:

“In a response to a question about structure, Quesada assured the audience that ‘One More Day’ would indeed be self-contained, and Brevoort used that subject to segue into perhaps the biggest announcement of the panel: ‘Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ and ‘Sensational Spider-Man’ will be ending, and in their place, ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ will now come out three times a month. This new era for Spider-Man publishing will be fittingly entitled ‘Brand New Day’.

Jokes were made about how this arrangement allowed Marvel to technically avoid doing a weekly series, as new Spider-Man editor Steve Wacker had just come off the weekly ‘52′ series for DC Comics. Quesada indicated that details about the ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ creative team and the precise format of the book would be forthcoming at the San Diego Comic Con. As to the reasoning behind this shift, Quesada explained they felt it was better to have one title and one continuous story coming out 3 times a month, rather than be faced with a situation where readers felt like they didn’t need to pick up books such as ‘Sensational’ and ‘Friendly’ as long as they were getting ‘Amazing’.”

And from Newsarama’s interview with Steve Wacker:

“The new creators have laid out about a year’s worth of story arcs for Peter Parker and the cast. Over that, they’re coming up with stories that will move the uber-plot along, so that each story has the same writing and art team and no one is left writing Part 3 of some else’s story.

In other words, if I gather where you’re headed…it’s not the same way 52 was set up with everyone essentially working on every issue.

…I was skeptical, but the numbers bear it out that Amazing is the ‘main’ book to most readers and the feeling is that the important Spider-Man stuff happens between its covers. Certainly history backs that up too, from Peter Parker to Team-Up to Web of…… No matter how good the creators and stories might be on the supporting books, when forced to choose, most readers lean towards Amazing.”

Thanks to The Beat.

Neil Gaiman tells an interesting story on his blog today about the vagaries of Hollywood and an upcoming new old book he wrote with Michael Reaves.

As he says: “Things — particularly things to do with movies — happen oddly, when they happen, and they never happen in the way you expect.”

Image by James Jean:

McSweeney’s is facing a potentially company-ending loss of $130,000 due to their distributor going bankrupt. Unless we help. They are currently holding a huge sale and auction in an attempt to raise back the lost funds and stay afloat.

This is a publisher that deserves to be around next year.

Full details here.

Newsarama reports that fans may be able to see the fourth season of the now-cancelled CW show Veronica Mars. On the comic page.

Yesterday Eximious Press posted a preview image of my upcoming comic story with Noel Tuazon, artist of Elk’s Run fame. The tale will be appearing in the upcoming anthology Dear Santa, Let Me Explain…

Check it out!

Something Awful sometimes features comic covers in their Photoshop Phriday contests. The results can be pretty funny:

Check out more of the offerings here and here.

Sometimes a simple thing is the easiest thing to do when you want to do something in a large fashion.  Pioneer graf artist Galo “Make” Canote has brought together the largest collection of artists, inspired minds, mentalists and malcontents ever to be exhibited in the Melt Gallery.  The idea is plain as water – take a pair of geta and modify them as you see fit until your art is expressed.  But just as water can take many forms we see a full spectrum of ideas and ideologies represented in the work on display at Melt Gallery this Thursday, June 14 at KARAN KORON – A Geta Art Exhibition.

I’ve been lucky enough to see some of the artwork as it is being assembled and hung at the gallery and I am amazed at the range of emotion and imagination that is being represented in a pair of wooden sandals.  Some artists have made the most minute of changes to the geta showing a purity of form and a classic line.  Others have rendered them dangerously unfit for feet but show astonishing craft in their carvings, etchings and inky blandishments.

During the opening festivities those in attendance will be pleased to find live art by Mandoe-MAK and Vyal, music spun just for your ears by DJ Japson, DJ Yotah and DJ Ichi, live performance by Koji Iijima and his Tetsu Inu, a Shodo installation by JC Brown and a live music performance by Jean Paul Yamamoto.  I do believe we have placed too much on your personal party platter, but I’m sure you’ll manage.

No matter your personal taste you will find beauty, wonder, strength and soul in these simple sandals shown in superior style.  If you doubt my patter, check the lines and links below and tell me if that isn’t just a splendid list of genius.

Alex Kizu   Alex Chems Shinohara
Angrywoebots  www.armyofsnipers.com
Asylm  www.asylm.sh
Axis  www.stylepig.com
Baki Baki  www.yamaokohei.com
Bene/XBX  www.xbx.jp
Besk  Big Pranks  Cab-LOD  Dave Kawano
Dash  www.dash2000.com
DEZ  www.dezeinswell.com
DMD Dyal-EYOS
Doc43  www.docdesigns.net
EGR  www.egrart.com
Felipe Smith  www.felipesmith.com
FreddiC  www.freddic.com
Fuco UEDA  www.geocities.jp/uedafuco
Fudemae  www.fudemae.com
Gajin Fujita   Gaku Shinohara
JIRO www.jirotat.com
Kenta TOKYODRIVE www.KentaOgawara.com
King157   KLovich
Kofie  www.keepdrafting.com
Koji Iijijima  www.kojiijima.com
LUN*NAH  www.lunnamenoh.com
ManOne  www.manone.com
Mandoe-MAK   Matt   Monster5
Mari Inukai  www.mariinukai.com
MHAK!  http://continuation.jp/ak
Miki Amano  www.mikiamano.com
Minchi  www.minchi.info
Nana Satake   Newz
Nathan Spoor  www.nathanspoor.com
Oeil  www.oeil.jp
OG Abel  www.ogabel.com
OGI  www.ogigraphics.com
Oscar Magallanes
179  www.onesevennine.com
Patrick Martinez  www.patrickmartinez.com
Peque-VRS   Prime-K2S  
Johnny Quintana  www.johnnyquintana.com
Relic-STN   Rinka Sato
Retna  www.marquislewis.com
Saeko Takagi  www.saekotakagi.com
Sano   Sense   Sergio Robleto
Scribe-DF  www.scribeswalk.com
Shohei Mizuguchi  www.k4.dion.ne.jp/~ophrys/index.html
Sherm  www.shermgrafik.com
SizerOne   Tsukuru
Slick-K2S  www.dissizslix.com
Suiko1  www.suiko1.com
SUKE  www.suketattoo.com
UAMOU  www.uamou.com
Usugrow  www.usugrow.com
Vivienne Kick  www.kick-n-roll.com
Vyal  www.vyalone.com
Yoskay Yamamoto  www.yoskay.com
Yuki Miyazaki  www.yukistuff.com
and if we can find a square inch of space…MORE! 

MELT GALLERY AND LOVEGALO PROUDLY PRESENT
KARAN KARON    A GETA ART EXHIBITION
Thursday, June 14    7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
MELTDOWN  7522 Sunset Blvd  L.A., CA  90046
www.meltcomics.com   www.makestn.com
Exhibit runs from June 14 to June 17 so don’t sleep!
Sponsored by Yaegaki    Asahi    Tokyodrive.tv    Calpico
Popkiller    Garou Garou

“VISUAL FUTURIST: The Art & Life of Syd Mead,” takes you where no other film has been before. Exhaustive interviews with some of the greatest minds in design share their experiences working with Syd Mead in automotive, industrial, and film design. Listen to Syd Mead recall his influences and life tales of working on some of the largest projects the world has ever undertaken. Travel through the film projects such as Blade Runner and TRON with those who made the dream a reality behind the scenes. Director Joaquin Montalvan has created a brilliantly crafted documentary of Syd Mead that has left audiences all over the globe celebrating his crowning achievement.

Winner of the “Audience” Award for BEST DOCUMENTARY at Dances With Films 2006 with the Highest Rating in the festival’s 9 year history.

$29.99: Available now at Meltdown/Hollywood

For those of you in the LA area, comics professional Nunzio De Filippis will be teaching a UCLA extension course titled Writing for Sequential Art: Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels. Nunzio is both a good guy and a good writer who has worked in many different formats.

Sign up for this course if you can, and be sure to check out my Making Good interview with Nunzio and his writing partner/wife Christina Weir for further practical insight into the process of writing comics.