Abstract Comics: The Blog

Sunday, May 15, 2016

The Intercorstal: 683 (Kickstarter launch)

A few months ago I posted a sequence of images from 'The Intercorstal: 683', an anthology comic, albeit with ever page completed by me. I've just launched a Kickstarter campaign to get it printed, which can be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/grthink/the-intercorstal-683

I'm incredibly proud of '683', and early reaction from proof readers and reviewers has been really positive. Here's a few of the preview pages, from sequences 1, 3 and 5 respectively.

Abstract Comics on Album Covers: The Brian Eno Edition

1978-1982 - Brian Eno / Harold Budd / Laraaji - Ambient 1-4 (covers combined)

Cover Art by Brian Eno

1983 - Brian Eno - More Music For Films

Cover Design by Andrew Day

1991 - Brian Eno - My Squelchy Life

Cover Re-boot: Leg-Salad / Original Cover Concept: Anonymous / Artwork and Design: Nick Robertson

Photography: Rolf Engel, Nick Robertson and Roland Blum / Flying Art Pieces: Brian Eno

1992 - Brian Eno - The Shutov Assembly

The cover art is an image from the video painting "Egypt" by Eno and Greg Jakobek

1993 - Brian Eno - Neroli

Cover by Brian Eno and Nick Robertson

2003 - Brian Eno - Bell Studies for the Clock of the Long Now

Design, Layout: Sam Blunden / Art Direction, Cover Illustration: Brian Eno

2006 - Various - Compounds + Elements: An Introduction to All Saints Records

Images: Brian Eno

2010 - Brian Eno - Small Craft on a Milk Sea

Design, Art Direction and Photography by Nick Robertson

Photography: Tim Eves, Full Stop and Nick Turner

2012 - Brian Eno - Music For Films (Album originally released in 1978)

This cover redesign by C. Chamberlin, 2012 (Read more here.)

...and here, if I may indulge in some personal nostalgia on this post, is a drawing I made way back in high school while listening to Eno’s Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks and is perhaps a precursor to my abstract comics:

Previously in this series:
http://abstractcomics.blogspot.com/2016/04/ac-on-ac-4.html

Thursday, April 28, 2016

collaborative graphic novel: illiterature. issue v.

these 2 pages are from illiterature. issue v. the graphic novel. (Puddles of Sky Press, 2015).

It's a collaborative graphic novel with original work provided by 15 artists or poets (Nelson Ball, Gary Barwin, derek beaulieu, Amanda Earl, Claudio Ghirardo, Faye Harnest, Gene Kannenberg Jr, Mark Laba, Mark Laliberte, Chris Piuma, sven staelens, Lin Tarczynski, andrew topel, Dale Tracy & Nico Vassilakis), & a lot of engineering by the editor, Michael e. Casteels.

Only some of the pages are strictly abstract. It's an unusual reading experience, which I'm still working with. Some pages require more than one way of reading: A frame full of text, then some visual poetry made of stacks of letters, then some asemic symbols, abstract shapes or small pictures. A seasonal poem at the beginning of each chapter adds further food for thought.

Unlike a kick in the eye (in which Lin & Nico also took part), in this project, some artists' pages were cut up & rearranged by the editor.

Another collaborative graphic novel which I should mention, which is not abstract, is Nelson, by 54 UK artists. Creating a sense of unity with so many styles is an interesting challenge.