Here a few books that I got that I think are worth checking out. The Glass Castle and Ham on Rye are both memoirs. In The Glass Castle, we follow the story of Jeannette Walls and her unconventional nomadic family. Ham on Rye chronicles Charles Bukowski’s experience growing up during the great depression. Le Carré Hermès is a coffee table book compiling decades worth of the famous Hermès scarves.
A couple of weeks ago, JAMIE and I were having a discussion about our current favourite running comic books. As you might know, I talked about HELLBLAZER, but she mentioned a series where a western type story would meet a vampire story. It definitely caught my attention and I finally bought the hardcover of the five first issues.
It goes by the name of AMERICAN VAMPIRE and it introduces a new breed of vampires, with different powers and weaknesses, through decades of American history. It’s written by Scott Snyder and Stephen King and drawn by Rafael Albuquerque (the art is amazing):
“[…] follows two stories: one written by Snyder and one written by King, both with art by future superstar Rafael Albuquerque. Snyder’s tale follows Pearl, a young woman living in 1920s Los Angeles, who is brutally turned into a vampire and sets out on a path of righteous revenge against the European monsters who tortured and abused her. And in King’s story set in the days of America’s Wild West, readers learn the origin of Skinner Sweet, the original American vampire – a stronger, faster creature than any vampire ever seen before.”
I won’t tell you more, it really is worth checking out.
I helped out my friend Narcy with the release of his first book. We shot a little video explaining the book and show the printing process of it all. Go pick it up!
“Diatribe of a Dying Tribe is about the jumbled reality of North American life. The destructive components of juxtaposing cultures, the birth of immigrant internationality and the resilient art that comes out of struggle and oppression.
It is the story of four young Arab men who joined forces to create their own representative governing meeting. Excentrik, Ragtop, Omar Offendum & the Narcicyst spent two weeks in California and endless hours on a computer crafting the Fear of an Arab Planet; an examination of the heightened anxiety towards Islam, the Oriental gaze towards the Arab face and the ever-growing paranoia of the ‘other’, all over some bangin’ beats to rock to. As a post-analytical view of the making of an album, this book serves as a document on the burgeoning Arab poetry scene, and how the two mother cultures of a migrant society coalesced through a modern hyper-culture called Hip-Hop. From TSA agents to ABC rappers, The Arab Summit were on a mission to be heard… and that is exactly what happened.
With writing by Suheir Hammad, Omar Offendum, Ragtop & Excentrik
Exclusive Interviews with Cilvaringz, Malikah, Eslaam Jawaad, Members of AK, DAM and Soul Purpose.”
I received a few books over the holidays. My wonderful lady Lea got me a book on Jaime Hernandez. Jaime and his brother Gilbert created the Love and Rockets comic book. They were heavily influenced by Oxnard California where they grew up and the emerging punk movement of the late 70′s and 80′s. I love his work and this book gives us a in depth look at his life and his artistic progression. My friend Audrey got me a book of artworks influenced by star wars. The pieces are amazing and some are hilarious, like the Wookiee Family Portrait. I also got myself the RIS Crew book. RIS stands for Rocking It Suckers and they are a very influential and respected graffiti crew in New-York. They continued bombing trains and hitting up subway stations after the graffiti movement of the 1980′s died and receded to the underground. Some of the members of the crew are Ket, JA, Ghost, Duel, Fuzz One and Noxer just to name a few. I remember going to New-York at 14-15 years old when I didn’t really know anything about graph, and seeing the wall that Ghost painted at the Stussy store and being totally floored.
Basically John Constantine is a man of many talents – a golden-tongued con man, a blue-collar mage, a sneering punk and an absolute bastard. He’s this anti-hero fighting a haunted world of black magic, demons and the ghosts of past mistakes. This is his world, he’s Hellblazer.
You might remember a 2005 movie with Keanu Reeves called “Constantine”, it was an attempt at adapting the comic for a wide audience. Though the movie is not near as good as the graphic novel, it’s what got me into it.Back to the point of the post, the thing is, Hellblazer is Vertigo’s longest running title and many of its issues are out of print. I have an order on amazon that keeps on getting delayed and I can’t wait to continue the story. I had to share this with everyone. I just hope it’s going to ship before the end of the year.
If you’re curious about it, you can read the first issue here.
And remember, as Constantine would say: “There’s more than one road to Hell.”
See you there.
I went to New-York recently and as always I went shopping a little bit. I realised that when I used to go to new york I would buy mostly clothes, but now I’ve been getting less and less clothes and more books. Here are some books that I picked up at the MOMA design store and the New Museum store.
Beyond The Street
This is a book that compiles interviews with the 100 leading figures in urban art. Some of my favorites are: Futura, Martha Cooper & Henry Chalfant, Os Gemeos, Espo, Calma, Ron English just to name a few. I highly recommend it because of the insight it gives on the artists background and the thought process behind their work.
Grotesk
This is a book that shows some of the illustrations that Swiss native, but now Brooklyn resident, Grotesk has done. Grotesk has worked with companies like Alife, Nike, Six Pack and Stussy. His designs are often inspired by New-York and Hip Hop. If you like his work like I do, I suggest you get this book.
A Love Letter For You
Love Letter is a project that Espo (Steve Powers) took on with the city of Philadelphia that consists of doing large murals all over the city. When I first heard about this project i instantly took to it because the murals fill people with joy and hope. He’s now brought the project to Syracuse. This book shows all the complete murals, shows some in as they are being made and some sketches. If you like the project get the book, I will definitely be getting the Love Letters to Syracuse book if they release one.
I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have To Be Destroyed By Me
Amazing book that gives us a little glimpse into the world of military black projects by analysing patches that are given to soldiers. the author makes it clear that this is not a very extensive book, but rather just a small window to this world. The cover of the book is actually a patch that has been glued on.
Calligraffiti
Calligraffiti is a book about the graphic art of Shoe (Niels Meulman) one of the pioneers of the graffiti scene in Amsterdam. This is an amazing compilation of his beautiful calligraphy work.
The Prince of Darkness: Radical Evil And The Power of Good In History.
This is a look through history at the personification of pure Evil. Jeffrey Burton Russel will discuss “In recounting how past generations have personified wickedness, this deepens our understanding of the ways in which people have dealt with the enduring problem of radical evil.” I haven’t started reading this one because I can’t give it my full attention with all the readings I already have for school, but I will get to it a.s.a.p.
