I recently got a copy of THE BIG FUNNY in the mail to read and review. It's HUGE! The largest newspaper I ever saw -16" x 23" ! Or, is it because my local paper has now shrunk down to nothing that it seems so big? Anyhow, it's ALL comics. Can you beat that? 48 pages of color comics. Looks like it has about 45 or so contributors, all of whom love to draw comics and want to preserve the history of comics. The best I can do right now, because I still haven't even finished reading it, is to list their names and creations and to clue you in about the BIG FUNNY art show which opens this friday at Altered Esthetics Art Gallery in Minneapolis (7-10pm).“Hey Kids, Comics!” by Terry Beatty
“Little Emo in Slumbaland” by Jesse Gillespie
“Little Miss Mechanical’s Bedtime Amusement” by Diana Nock
“There is a Heppy Plonet” by Mike Sgier
“Captain Kleinbottle” by Jason Sandberg
“Hey Rube!” by Daniel J. Olson
“Army Men” by Kevin Cannon
“Classics Majors…in Love!” by Ursula Murray Husted
“Tommy Chicago and Jimmy” by Brian Bastian and Danno Klonowski
“Oil Painting” by Bjorn Rolvaag
“Banana Republic” by Kirk Anderson
“Citizen Participation in Hell” by Ken Avidor
“The Teenage Ghost Hunting Society” by B. Sabo
“Vis,Croatia: The Ride” by Jenny Schmid
“Residue Comics: Krack-Up” by Roger Lootine
“Middle Management” by Andy Singer
“Mark Droppings” by BIll Prendergast
“Dewey Dawner” by Madeline Queripel
“Post Modern” by David Sandberg
“Flying Boy!” by Lewis Tuck
“Authoritative Expert J. Wiggins” by Bud Burgy
“Squirrels and Pigeons” by Caanan Grall
“Eye of the Beholder” by Adam Wirtzfeld
“Uncle $achs” by Donn Ha
“The Madcap Shenanigans of Randolph & Sir Chirptrude, Esq.” by Lonny Unitus
“Gee, Whizzard!” by Kevin McCarthy
“Nate the Nonconformist” by Stephanie Mannheim
“Rampage!” by Erik Nelson
“Inkwellspring” by Henry Chamberlain
“Laffit Forward!” by Blake Himsl Hunter
“The Further Adventures of Vegan Ninja Cats (Who Ride Bikes)” by Mike Toft
“Living in Filth” by Hawk Krall
“Rocket Steven” by Earl Luckes
“Talewinds: Little Jimmy” by Steve Mason
“L’il Buddha and the Hungry Ghost Realm” by Ryan Dow
“Dear Friends” by Britt Hammerberg
“A Breast Abreast” by Lupi
“Uptown Girl” by Bob Lipski
“Underground Funnies” by D.C. McNamara
“Adventure!” by David Steinlicht
“Bongo the Monkey” by Steven Stwalley
“Pumpkinship” by Maxeem
“Look” by David Paleo
“Pickle-Head” by Paul Fricke
“Ticket to Crickety Creek” by William Ede
Please buy a copy of the Big Funny (it's a steal at $5., plus shipping) and go to the show if you live nearby.
Here are some drawings from Goya's sketchbooks. The top one shows a guy trying to roller skate in 1824. I did not know they even had roller skates back then. Oh, but of course! I love Goya's line work almost better than his paintings. He shows a lot of emotion using simple gestures and classic design. Brushed-in ink washes add volume and light to the drawings. These are from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston where you will find more.
