The Original Art of Basil Wolverton


The hilarious spaghetti-and-meatball style caricature art of Basil Wolverton has been a huge influence on such art luminaries as Robert Crumb, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, Robert Williams and Drew Friedman. This publication of The Original Art of Basil Wolverton represents the very first time that the art of one of comicdom's major legacies will be presented in a fine art tome. The entire book is photographed in full color from all original artwork to retain the authentic look of the black-and-white graphics and reproduced at the highest quality available to date. The majority of the work has never been published before. The book is comprised of the collection of Glenn Bray, the premier Wolverton collector. The book includes essays by Bray, Basil's son (and artist in his own right) Monte Wolverton and art writer Doug Harvey.

"I hate this cliche, but it's true: Basil Wolverton's work BLEW MY MIND!!! He's the main inspiration for me to do what I do AND the first to appreciate the beauty in ugliness... I even love his name!" -artist Drew Friedman

About the author:
Glenn Bray met Wolverton in the early 1970's and in the following few years bought most of his stock of unsold original art from the 1920's through the 1960's. He then commissioned him to do new cartoon work, which later brought Wolverton, at the age of 64, back into the spotlight as an artist when PLOP! magazine was published in the mid-1970's.

Price $35.00
www.lastgasp.com

The Comics Show - New Documentary


The writing and drawing of comic books in New Zealand is the subject of a documentary at this year’s Film Festival. The Comics Show will have two screenings at the Academy Cinema as part of the Auckland season – on Saturday 14 July at 1pm, and on Monday 16 July at 1pm. In the Wellington Festival, the film screens (by itself) on Wednesday 1st August at 12.15 and at 1.45 pm, in the NZ Film Archive theatre at 84 Taranaki St.

The Comics Show surveys the history of local comics (including Eric Resetar, the 1950s anti-comic panic, and the arrival of Strips) then focuses on a number of contemporary artists (including Barry Linton, Karl Wills, Chris Knox, Jared Lane, Robyn Kenealy, Coco and Pretika, Jason Brice, Tim Bollinger, Grace Campbell, and Cornelius Stone, among others). It visits comic shops (such as Cherry Bomb and Gotham), websites, events (such as Armageddon, Craftwork and the Eric Awards), and groups (such as Funtime in Christchurch). It looks at comics’ links with animation (such as Ant Sang and Bro’Town) and with music (from Flying Nun to hip hop). It also takes a trip with Dylan Horrocks to the comic shops of Paris, confirming that comics from New Zealand have a growing reputation in the land of la bande dessinée.