Duncan Youngerman's Dick Strip

Here is a work from 2001 that I just remembered while documenting some art of mine. It is "Covers" work Nr. 36 --- ink and gouache on paper. 21 x 15 cm / 8.25 in x 6 in. Dated August, 2001. "Duncan Youngerman's DICK STRIP." Price "20K x 10¢." In the company box: "Pan-a-Logue." The images and lettering are based on those of Chester Gould, a comic strip artist and author both Duncan and I admire, the creator of Dick Tracy. Even my signature is in emulation of his. It has 4 panels forming an abstract comic.

This was done for my friend, the wonderful French and American contemporary music composer Duncan Youngerman. We did several things together, particularly an exhibition and concert in 2001in Espace Lhomond in Paris, France. His compositions were dedicated to superhero comic artists we both admired. My works in the show were as well. We both merged them with our more experimental concerns. It was wonderful. I made a large painting of this as well on a roll-up projection screen, so he could have as a backdrop for when the works were played. When I think of it now in 2019, I realize it prefigures my current Dr Great Art work!

Free PDFs of my current work

Some updates from me, for those that don't follow me on social media...

My current Abstract Comics project 'Too Dry To Rot' involves me drawing over pages, and then redrawing over them again, using my earliest Intercorstal pages as their starting point. Have just completed 'Phase 5', during which the project got twice as large due to a printing error, and has produced two comics.

The first, 'The Exploding Mess', was created with my daughter, my nephew, and my son, helping in different amounts on both art and story. You can download the PDF of it here, it's a lot of fun: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lHY-cN1ZzsznW5ceu6n0bbIK6cGvrpxX

The second comic is as yet untitled, and is made up of pages that didn't fit in with 'The Exploding Mess'. I still have work to do on it by adding text, but since that's undecided and I have other comics to make, I've released this already: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1L9hE-aOTW1R3GNrhzcUMQRIErL4_Wi9q

Finally, last year I made an abstract autobio comic that dealt with my grief at having lost an old friend of mine whilst also acting as a love letter to my family. David Hine, of Bulletproof Coffin fame, called it 'profoundly, brilliantly original' which was nice. It came out via GOOD Comics, and can be bought at the link below, but specially (and secretly, so ssssh) for the Abstract Comics blog, here's the first chapter, in full: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1abXN_bVLHg9b2ALmwK82djPuvD5jjvvj

You can buy Petrichor here: https://www.goodcomics.co.uk/product-page/petrichor-by-gareth-a-hopkins

"Enough", Mark Staff Brandl Painting Installation Comic

 

A semi-abstract, painting-installation-comic in an outdoor exhibition space in St.Gallen Switzerland. Titled Enough, it is my “anti-animal-factory” work. The pink one appears totally abstract, but is a realistic painting, but enlarged, of ground pork. The yellowish painting is sequential of someone walking away, an homage to a sequence by Steve Ditko I did upon receiving the news of his death. On the floor are about 100 sausage plates, with pigs painted on them as they really are stuffed together in those horror “farms.” More Details and site shots.
 

Stripsody - graphic score

these are pages from Cathy Berberian's composition Stripsody. She gets primary composing credits, but it was drawn by Italian comics artist Roberto Zamarin. The sounds seem to be quotes from published comics. Cathy was a classically trained vocalist, renowned for her ability with extended vocal techniques.

You can hear her performance, accompanied by the pages of the score, here. If you like the sound of that, you might have a different reaction to Serge Gainsbourg's Comic Strip song, with sound effects by Brigitte Bardot.