This is another piece I recently completed for the New York Times that reflects upon the storied, not-always-so-civil discourse between the now defunct sports radio duo, Mike and the Mad Dog. The reporter, Bryan Curtis, doesn’t exactly liken their professional split to a divorce, but he does make some interesting comments about how their on-air relationship was inevitably headed towards pushing its own self-destruct button. The article, for those who are still lamenting their split, can he read here. Below, are the other two options that I submitted which ultimately did not run.

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I’m more than a full month late in discovering this, but the astute (yet anonymous) individuals over at Book Covers Anonymous gave a quick shout out to the cover I designed earlier this year for I Love Dollars. In their compliment, they claim that on account of the wraparound design, their cover jpeg doesn’t do it justice and, by God, they’re RIGHT!

Not that my amateur hack photography can do much better, but anyone who’s remotely curious as to how the design wraps around the spine and back cover can peep the photos below:

SPINE:

BACK COVER:

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Given how lousy, depressed and out-and-out terrifying the housing market is, there’s a substantial amount of guilt attached to how much fun it was to do this piece for the Sunday New York Times. The article, in essence, suggests that the recently approved housing bill (designed to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) is a wretched piece of legislation, but still necessary; Necessary insomuch as that it should be a precursor to ultimately liquidating the two mortgage giants over the long term and letting multiple smaller savings and loan businesses absorb their work.

This illustration was originally spec’d at 6.5″ x 8″ but was clearly, um, augmented. Big ups to Kim Bost at the Times for wrangling the crazy idea of re-working it to wind through the article itself. That’s thinking on your feet.

Included below are two other ideas I submitted before a direction was chosen.

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For those who are about as poorly versed as I am with the vernacular of hedge funds, brokerage firms and the language of modern finance, I learned this week that hedge funds don’t get along so well with big firms like Bear Sterns (R.I.P) and Lehman Brothers. This is primarily because hedge funds (which are smaller and in some respects quicker than the big guys) contributed in some small part to Bear Sterns’ bankruptcy earlier this year.

Now, Mr. Mad Money himself, James Cramer, is suggesting that the same fate could become of Lehman Brothers and its CEO Richard Fuld on roughly similar terms. He explains it in depth in New York Magazine this week and I simplified it in the pictorial warning sign above for the magazine.

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This spot was just completed for one of Kurt Andersen’s Imperial City articles in New York Magazine dissecting how television news media stands to evolve (or devolve depending on how you look at it) in the wake of Tim Russert’s untimely death. Andersen observes that the void that Russert’s balanced objectivity leaves behind is poised to be replaced with many more opinion-heavy commentators. Truth be told, he can explain it a helluva lot better than I can. That’s why he wrote it & I just made the picture. Additional sketches and proposals that were submitted are down here:

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I won’t lie. We’re pretty damn excited about our forthcoming Machismo issue over at Mammal HQ. So much so that we had the fine craftsmen at Kayrock and Crown Prints (respectively) screenprint some beautiful posters for us honoring both the demented spirit of our forthcoming book (above), as well as the raw power of the book’s patron saint, Grace Jones (below). I designed all three of them but the Grace Jones one features a collaborative illustration between myself and Devin Clark, who provided a positively spectacular inkwashed octopus for me to collage and abuse. All 3 posters are 18×24 and will debut for purchase at MoCCA on June 7th & 8th. Online orders will be available immediately afterwards. As an FYI, though the posters do serve as superb wall decoration, we promise no guarantees as to how successfully or unsuccessfully they may serve to harvest thicker chest hair. We’re simply not prepared to make that claim.

Also, for the few who may be deathly curious about the fine print at the bottom of the Grace Jones/octopus poster, here you go:

“If we did not already love Grace Jones for her defiant ferocity, her butch ferocity and the ferocity which she employs to consistently disregard the popular conventions of what it means to be truly macho, we would cower before her and fear her. A lot. As such, like the neolithic early man who seeks to build a wheel, we turn to Grace for guidance and wisdom as we explore the deeper trenches of the masculine soul. As our patron saint, we are humbled before her and we relish her tutelage and her savagery.”

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My dad once said, “the harder I work, the luckier I get.” As it happens, April & May have been christened as heavy-duty production time on the Mammal book for the past two years running. As such, we took my dad’s sentiment to heart and as a result, cooked up a labor union t-shirt to celebrate the 2 months out of the year when we’re in full-bore production mode. It’s available for purchase in the store right now, but if you plan on swinging by the MoCCA festival/fundraiser at the Puck building on June 7th/8th, you can buy from us directly and even get in on the secret union handshake. Dog not included, regrettably.

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The above is a recently completed illustration for the Asian branch of Time Magazine in Hong Kong. The article that the image pertains to addresses speculation and uncertainty of how China’s economy will perform in the wake of the upcoming summer Olympics. Upon giving me the assignment, deputy art director Nilanjan Das suggested that a bear might make a good representation of a brutish economy. As it happens, I have a love of bears born primarily out of wonderment and fear. This wonderment and fear should not be confused with the mania personified by Timothy Treadwell in Herzog’s Grizzly Man documentary. I’m not like that. I like to observe bears but I wouldn’t want to live with one. Regardless, for the purposes of this project, our course was set.

The assignment happened to come to me right before taking off for a decidedly lost weekend with my brother, so working quickly was of the essence. The final sketch was approved Friday afternoon and the final illustration was delivered the following Monday evening with my brother’s and my fantastic voyage sandwiched in between. It was quite a ride.

The article can be read here, and the quick-as-nobody’s-business sketches that Nilanjan and his editors graciously entertained before landing on our final are included below:

1. Loose Change – Notice the lack of bear.

2. Bear Tunnel – The Olympic torch lights the way into the bleak void that is a bear’s salivating jaws.

3. Bear as Socio-economic Superfreak.

4. Bear vs. Olympian in a heated battle for the governance of China!

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Mammal was representing hard at the New York Comic Con over this past weekend. As a promotion for our in-the-works second issue devoted to the concept of machismo and the exploration of the masculine identity, mastermind Devin Clark asked those at the con who stopped by our booth to ask themselves whether they considered themselves to be tough or not tough. Black and white wood placards were provided so that those who were asked could choose and wear their designations proudly. Asking someone whether they consider themselves to be tough or not tough proved to be a far more significant reveal into the minds and hearts of those attending the con than any of us would have anticipated. Our biggest surprise was Lou Ferrigno, pictured above, who despite being built like a one man war machine and spending a few quiet years as the Incredible Freakin’ Hulk, was unafraid to share his inner vulnerability with us. You want tough? Here’s a virtual superhero brave enough to share his true self to a group of erstwhile strangers. That’s tough.

More photos of those who were ready to confront this pressing issue and pose for the camera can be seen here.

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One of my uncommissioned pieces of the past year was recently selected as a part of the forthcoming American Illustration 27 volume that will be published this November. Given the bleary and exhausted state I was in upon receiving the news earlier this morning, this was about an ideal a hangover cure as I’ve ever had.

I’ve been awestruck by the work I’ve seen in AI for years (my good friend Ben Marra’s work included therein in previous volumes) and I’m thrilled beyond reproach to be included in this year’s volume. Thanks guys!

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These two illustrations are more grist for the veritable mill that will soon comprise the second issue of Mammal. ‘Machismo’ is the new issue’s theme and jumping-off point for the forthcoming issue and my fellow contributors have been cranking out some wildly inspiring work that I encourage the three people who read this blog to go and check out.

These two images were not produced with specific messages in mind, but they do invoke a few ideas about gender politics, food, objectification and how much butch is too butch.

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What began as fun on a xerox machine after work this past Friday became a full-blown preoccupation on Sunday. I work at a record company so on some days, I worry about my job security. Machine guns can work just about anywhere so lucky for them, they have no such concerns.

Tangentially on the criss-crossing subjects of music and machine guns, the title of this post, ‘Huge Gold AK-47′ was first a song title on the the Blood Brothers’ Young Machetes album, which expertly showcases the band’s finest examples of their particular brand of damaged and fearless and fuck-all rock and roll. Highly recommended.

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