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- Dec 31, 2017
- 10 min
Illustration History Gets the Care and Attention It Deserves
Ten years ago, Rick Poynor pointed out in Print that “One thing illustration has always lacked, compared to graphic design, is a strong critical framework by which to assess it.” He went on to note that, “Apart from Steven Heller … one would be hard pressed to name a single highly active writer, an expert, primarily identified with illustration as a subject.” Well, all that’s about to change, in a major way. Enter the Douglas B. Dowd Modern Graphic History Library. Mac Conner
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- Aug 17, 2017
- 2 min
Divine Intervention
God exists differently for each of us, which means there are hundreds upon thousands of interpretations. At 86, R.O. Blechman is still trying to figure it all out. In God: 48 Famous and Fascinating Minds Talk About God, compiled by Jennifer Berne and illustrated by Blechman (Running Press), the artist writes: “I’m not really a believer, so I may be the wrong artist. But then I thought, well, art, when it’s honest, has something to say to people, has a spiritual aspect. And wh
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- Jun 21, 2017
- 4 min
Ink Tank Fills an Archive
It is great news to know that R.O. Blechman’s Ink Tank archive will have a home within the D.B. Dowd Modern Graphic History Library at Washington University. R.O. Blechman I asked Douglas Dowd: How did this come about?
As it turns out, The Daily Heller had a hand in it! As you know, last fall the MGHL was renamed in my honor by a wonderful endowing gift from Ken and Nancy Kranzberg of St. Louis. The Daily Heller ran a great story on the D.B. Dowd Modern Graphic History Librar
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- Dec 28, 2016
- 10 min
13 Best Graphic Novels & Books About Comics from 2016—A Designer’s Guide
You survived 2016 without having your head explode. So congratulations: You deserve at least one book by and about artists of comic strips, comic books and graphic novels. And here are some recommendations for designers who may also be animation addicts, history and/or biography fans, the politically and/or satirically oriented, the internationally inclined, eggheads, and/or just oddballs. And again: This was the oddest of oddball years, wasn’t it? See you in the funny papers
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- Nov 3, 2016
- 14 min
Picturing Famous Comics Artists and Animators, at Ease
By: Michael Dooley Photographer Greg Preston is a good-natured, low-key guy. There’s an ease about him that enhances his subjects’ comfort amidst their already-familiar surroundings. It’s visible enough in The Artist Within, a handsome, generously-sized hardcover from 2007 with roughly a hundred “portraits of cartoonists, comic book artists, animators, and others,” as the book’s subtitle has it. He’s captured a broad spectrum of extraordinary talents, from Al Hirschfeld, Jule
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- Sep 16, 2014
- 1 min
Through Me You Go To Everlasting Pain
When Vice President Joseph Biden said,“When people harm Americans, we don’t retreat. We don’t forget. We take care of those who are grieving, and when that’s finished, they should know, we will follow them to the gates of hell until they are brought to justice. Because hell is where they will reside. Hell is where they will reside,” he raised a few eyebrows with his punishing rhetoric and literary references. Dante’s Gates, as described below, have tickled image-makers and wo
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- Oct 9, 2013
- 2 min
Nervous Line, Confident Concepts
R.O. Blechman‘s life’s work is on view in “The Masters Series: R.O Blechman” at SVA’s Chelsea Gallery, the most recent major retrospective representing illustrations and editorial cartoons, animations and graphic novels. The exhibition, which is open from October 2 through November 2 at 601 West 26th Street, New York City. This is a must see, and this is a must read. Blechman’s trademark squiggly line has given nervous energy, charm and understated humor to his art for the pa
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