David Chelsea's Blog, page 15

The Modern Love Podcast: Malin Akerman Reads ‘Elvis and My Husband Have Left the Building’

Another one of my old Modern Love illustrations for the New York Times has been repurposed for the podcast. On this week’s podcast, the actress Malin Akerman reads Liza Monroy’s essay “Elvis and My Husband Have Left the Building,” about a lustless Las Vegas wedding that yields an unconventional partnership. You can listen to the podcast here, as well as on iTunes and other places you might listen to a podcast.

David Chelsea is reading: Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve: What the Numbers Reveal About the Classics, Bestsellers, and Our Own Writing

by Ben Blatt

Malin Akerman

This particular illustration is one of the first I did for the column. It was painted on a nicely textured sheet of watercolor paper from a block I bought at the legendary paper department in the recently closed New York Central Art materials store in New York. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find this particular brand again.

In the Studio Episode Four: Mild Qualms About WILD PALMS

On this week’s podcast, Jacob and David dissect the serialized graphic novel WILD PALMS, the basis for the TV miniseries of the same name, written by Bruce Wagner and illustrated by Julian Allen in the early 1990s. Other topics of discussion include the virtues of kneaded erasers, which writers outside of comics David would like to collaborate with, the virtues of piracetam versus DMT, the gross yet strangely elegant comics of National Lampoon contributor Charles Rodrigues, and the Grid Project, in which illustrator Julian Allen cut his life’s work up into little squares. It’s the lively discussion of comics you’ve come to expect, and so much more!

David Chelsea Is Reading: Ray and Joe: The Story Of A Man And His Dead Friend And Other Classic Comics

by Charles Rodrigues

Just kidding- it’s actually just the lively discussion of comics.

Listen in iTunes

 

Apologies for missing the ARE YOU BEING WATCHED? deadline for this week on Patreon. l will try to have four pages up next week in compensation.

End Strips: The Clerihews

This week I posted my 70th End Strip on Patreon. End Strips are short comics drawn in a vertical format on random strips of paper, usually ones trimmed from larger sheets by my daughter Rebecca for some school project or another. These have tended to fall into a few main groups: drawings of celebrities from my various clippings folders, short strips featuring my characters Sandy & Mandy, drawings of Facebook friends who share the same first name, rhyming song lyrics that happen to have an anapest meter, and clerihews- short comic poems about famous people with my caricature illustrations.

David Chelsea is watching: Black Mirror – Series 1-2 and Special

Eric Clerihew Bentley

From Wikipedia: A clerihew (pronunciation: /ˈklɛrᵻhjuː/) is a whimsical, four-line biographical poem invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley, author of Trent’s Last Case. The first line is the name of the poem’s subject, usually a famous person put in an absurd light, or revealing something unknown and/or spurious about them. The rhyme scheme is AABB, and the rhymes are often forced. The line length and metre are irregular. Bentley invented the clerihew in school and then popularized it in books. One of his best known is this (1905):

Sir Christopher Wren

Said, “I am going to dine with some men.

If anyone calls

Say I am designing St. Paul’s.”

Most of the clerihews I have written are about showbiz celebrities, such as this one reflecting Carrie Fisher’s recent memoir about her affair with Harrison Ford:

You can’t write clerihews about just anyone. The subject has to have a name that rhymes with something, to start with. It took me a while before I came up with one for the actor Paul Giamatti:

It also helps if the celebrity has a face that’s fun to draw, like Steve Buscemi:

It’s not all about showbiz, though. From time to time I have also seen fit to include figures from politics:

A couple of clerihew strips have dealt with my fellow cartoonists. Just because R. Crumb is a personal hero of mine doesn’t mean that I couldn’t find something to kid him about:

Here are links to all the Clerihew End Strips that I have posted so far:

Showbiz: Dermot Mulroney, Ornella Muti, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore

Cartoonists: Ted Rall,Jim Shooter, Walt Kelly

Cartoonists: David Mazzucchelli, Julie Doucet, Will Elder

Showbiz: Emma Stone, Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Dylan McDermott

Cartoonists: Jack Kirby, Dan Clowes, Winsor McCay, R. Crumb, Gary Groth

Famous People: Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Aaron Paul, Melania Trump, Meryl Streep

Showbiz: Paul Giamatti, Patricia Arquette, Marisa Tomei

Meanwhile, I have been steadily posting new installments of my continuing webcomic ARE YOU BEING WATCHED? on Patreon. We are now deep into Mugg’s final Reality TV show, in which he is competing with eight other artists to draw a 24 hour comic. Among the other contestants is Sandy, co-protagonist of my Dark Horse Presents comic SANDY & MANDY. Sandy provides an occasion for two sequences which pass The Bechdel Test:

Patreon is a reader-supported site, but all comics content is free. If you like what you see, tell your friends, and $how Your $upport!

24 HOUR COMIC Reviewed

I just read a very favorable and flattering review of the documentary 24 HOUR COMIC, in which I prominently appear, by Elias Savada on the website Film International. Money quote: “There’s also David Chelsea, sporting Harry Potter eyeglasses…. Chelsea’s self-referential idea for his day’s effort is to sketch a reality show comic book about the 24 hour comic event. With him as the host.” Savada also praises Milan Erceg’s direction, and the vivid screen presences of my fellow participants, including my daughter Rebecca. Read the full review here, and watch for news of more screenings and a wide release.

Mr. Chelsea Goes To Washington: The Blog Post and The Podcast

I’m ready to tell all you loyal readers about my trip to the DC Independent Film Festival on Presidents’ Day weekend. I was there for the premiere of Milan Erceg’s documentary 24 HOUR COMIC, in which I prominently appear along with seven other talented artists including my daughter Rebecca. The film records a 24 hour comic event at the comics shop TFAW in 2013.

David Chelsea is reading: Ray and Joe: The Story Of A Man And His Dead Friend And Other Classic Comics

by Charles Rodrigues

It was pretty much fun from start to finish, for me at least. Before and after the screening, Milan and I watched other films in the festival, and hung out with other filmmakers. Here’s a picture of me and Milan posing in front of the backdrop that people take pictures in front of:

Before the screening, Milan was touchingly anxious, worried that no one would show up, or that the movie would not go over well at all, or look insignificant compared to the other fine films in the festival. He was also worried that he was going to lose charge on his phone. Here we see him charging the phone in the lobby. By the way, the screenings took place at the Naval Heritage Center, amidst displays of Naval and Marine history.

The screening itself went about as well as I could have hoped. No, we didn’t get a full house, a standing ovation, or any festival prizes, but the audience laughed in all the right places and asked friendly questions afterwards. Here I am, making an EMPHATIC point at the question and answer session after the screening, with festival director Deirdre Evans-Pritchard:

Milan and I made friends with many of the other filmmakers in the festival. Here I am at far right of an impressive murderers row of moviemakers: Andrea Cicini (A Girl Like You), Alexander Peskador (Discord of the Hyenas), Milan, Philip Ramos, (The Kidnapping of The Fish), and Diego Freitas (Salt)

I had only a little time to see the city. However, I did spend one day with my aunt Anita, cousin Sophia, and Sofia’s fiancé David, visiting the International Spy Museum. Here I am with David and Anita at the Museum. Sophia must’ve snapped the picture:

Milan and I stayed in a guest house owned by Lori Donovan, a friend of the festival. Here is a drawing I did on our final day staying there:

I give a full report of the festival, as well as the Wizard World comics convention I attended in Portland immediately before flying to DC, on a long-awaited third Installment of IN THE STUDIO, the podcast I do with Jacob Mercy (who is also in the film, although he doesn’t like to talk about it). With digressions on The International Spy Museum, the Wizard of Oz comics, and Jack Kirby’s Fighting American, this podcast delivers more of the barbed yet affectionate banter between our two cartoonists which made the 24-Hour Comic documentary such a festival hit!

Listen to IN THE STUDIO #3 on iTunes.

And links to some of the things Jacob and I talk about:

Watch the trailer for 24 HOUR COMIC on YouTube

My Call Slip comic about WE TOLD YOU SO: COMICS AS ART, the Fantagraphics Books history.

Wizard Of Oz comics collection from Sunday Press

The International Spy Museum

Jack Kirby and Joe Simon’s FIGHTING AMERICAN

Wizard World- One Day Only!

Well, it’s come to be that time of year again– February, when I make an appearance at Wizard World Comics Convention. My appearance will be briefer than usual this year, because of a schedule conflict– the premiere in Washington, DC of 24 HOUR COMIC, the documentary in which I appear along with seven other accomplished cartoonists: Paul Guinan, Sera Stanton, Tom Lechner, Jacob Mercy, Pete Soloway, Rachel Nabors, and my daughter Rebecca, at the DC Independent Film Festival.

Therefore, I will be in Artists Alley at Wizard World only on the first day, Friday, February 17, from 5 PM to 10 PM, signing copies of my books and meeting the public. I’ll have two books that weren’t available last year: SLEEPLESS, my second collection of 24th Hour Comics, and SNOW ANGEL, my all-ages superhero collection.

David Chelsea is watching: Black Mirror – Season 1

Wizard World Portland 2017

Oregon Convention Center

777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd

Portland, OR 97232

Friday, Feb 17, 2017 – 5:00pm – 10:00pm

Saturday, Feb 18, 2017 – 10:00am – 10:00pm

Sunday, Feb 19, 2017 – 10:00am – 4:00pm

(David Chelsea present only Friday evening, though many other notables will be there the entire weekend, including Lou Ferrigno, Montel Williams, Alan Tudyk, Nichelle Nichols, Jason Mewes, and Kato Kaelin.)

By the way, I now have a definite time and place for the 24 HOUR COMIC screening:

3:15-4:45pm 24 Hour Comic (USA)/2016/69mins)

Monday, February 20th

Naval Heritage Center

701 Pennsylvania Ave, NW

Washington, DC 20004

(202) 737-2300 ‎

I hope to see you there!

Modern Love Podcast: Seeing the World Through My Mom’s Eyes

Modern Love Illustration for the New York Times.

Another of my old illustrations just went up on the Modern Love Podcast website. On this week’s podcast, the actor David Oyelowo reads “Seeing the World Through My Wife’s Eyes,” about a man whose other senses become heightened after he loses sight, and whose spouse helps fill in the details he can’t discern.

The 2006 Modern Love essay was written by Ryan Knighton, an author whose work often describes his experience of blindness. You can follow him on Twitter.

Mr. Oyelowo recently starred in the film “A United Kingdom” and is known for his portrayal of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in “Selma.”

David Chelsea is watching: The Scarecrow (Broadway Theater Archive)

Starring Gene Wilder

David Oyelowo

This illustration was particularly fun for me, because I got to cast my mother as the fading starry image of Knighton’s wife. I used one of my favorite photographs of her, taken in the early 1960s by graphic designer and family friend Joe Erceg (Joe is also the father of Milan Erceg, who directed the 24 HOUR COMIC documentary I was recently in- suffice it to say, Joe’s family and mine go way back).

 

Lolita Celsi, early 1960s. Photograph by Joe Erceg.

l also used this photo as the basis for a decorated envelope sent to my mother when she was getting her ESL degree in Hawaii:

Also, today is the last, or next-to-last, day before an ARE YOU BEING WATCHED? page drops on Patreon. Three new characters appear for the first time, contestants in the 24 HOUR COMIC Reality TV show, and if you hurry, you can help name them (provided you’re a sponsor of my Patreon page):

“Hello, you wonderful Patreon subscribers. Let me tell how thrilled and overjoyed I am to be the youngest competitor on David Chelsea’s 24 Hour Comic Reality Show. I have never drawn comics before because my meticulous stipple drawing technique takes me far too much time, but I am determined to meet and surpass this challenge. My beloved guinea pig Brewster needs cataract surgery to save his eyesight, and the prize money will help me realize my dream. In the original comic, my name was Sun Luk Chow, but you can call me anything you please. Just post your suggestions.”

“As a boy I became obsessed with marginalia, and began looking for reading authors who were known for making notes and doodles in the margins of other people’s books: Poe, Coleridge, Melville, Plath,Twain, and Wilde. I filled the margins of his own books with little drawings: characters responding to and commenting on the stories and the shapes of the letters in the paragraphs. I recently received an inheritance from an uncle I barely knew, but had sent copies of some of my artwork. Taking this unexpected bounty as a sign, I quit my job as dishwasher at a popular breakfast hangout and am using my money for groceries and rent as I re-invent myself as a comic book artist. My premiere comic, “Marginalia Misfits,” is a series of origin stories for five characters who find themselves in the margins of books, all arriving through different means from different universes. My favourite book is my copy of the great Indian epic The Mahabharata, and ! aspire to emulate its grand scale in my story lines. I lives alone with my ferret, Twerple. ! enjoy chocolate covered coffee beans.”

“Well, they saved the best for last, obviously. As an established cartoonist with a wide following for my sexually frank online strip WETCOMIC, I am looking to leverage both my experience in the field and natural charm to win 24 HOUR COMIC. Coming into the contest with a history of success and a loyal following make me an obvious target, but that experience will serve me well in the competition. The first page I appear in drops tomorrow- give me a name, already!”

Sounds like fun? Just go to my Patreon homepage, and sign up as a subscriber, then follow these links to propose names for individual characters.

Stipple Artist

Marginalia Misfits Artist

Wetcomic Artist

 

24 Hour Comic, The Documentary World Premiere!

I promised to keep you blog readers updated on any future screenings of Milan Erceg’s documentary 24 HOUR COMIC, and I am as good as my word. I am pleased to announce that the film will have its world premiere at the DC Independent Film Festival on Monday February 20, Presidents Day. Milan and I will be present at the screening. You can have a preliminary look by viewing the trailer at the official website here.

David Chelsea is watching:Death At A Funeral

starring Chris Rock.

A 24-hour comic is a 24-page comic book written, drawn, and completed in 24 hours. As I have mentioned before, I believe myself to be the World Record Holder in number of 24 Hour Comics completed, seventeen so far. My sixteenth 24 Hour Comics session was in May 2013 at Things From Another World in Portland, which was recorded for posterity by Milan (who in a prior life served as assistant on my book PERSPECTIVE!).

Milan Erceg

The film features an appearance by 24 Hour Comic originator Scott McCloud, who started it all back in 1990:

Scott McCloud

By the way, you can read my comic from that 2013 session, ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT, on my Patreon page, starting here. It is a slightly self-referential story about drawing a 24 Hour Comic, and it serves as the basis for the second part (that I haven’t finished drawing yet) of the webcomic currently serializing on Patreon and Tumblr, ARE YOU BEING WATCHED?

The other subjects of the film are worthies all: Opal Pence, Rachel Nabors, Paul Guinan, Tom Lechner, Jacob Mercy, Pete Soloway and my daughter Rebecca Celsi (she’s kind of not that much in the trailer; blink and you’ll miss her).

Opal Pence
Rachel Nabors
Paul Guinan

Paul Guinan’s thoroughly brilliant comic from the session featuring his steampunk automaton Boilerplate is available in minicomic form at his website.

Jacob Mercy and Pete Soloway
Pete Soloway
Rebecca Celsi

DC Independent Film Festival takes place from February 15-20th in Washington, DC. I don’t have a final schedule or the venue for the showing of 24 HOUR COMIC, but I will post again as soon as I know.

Call Slips Reach Critical Mass!

Late last year I did a blog post about the series of End Strips I’ve been posting lately on my Patreon page- vertically formatted, phone-friendly short comics drawn on strips of paper trimmed from larger sheets, usually for one of Rebecca’s school projects. I also included a nod to a related series of very short comics about material I’ve taken out of the library. These are drawn on another type of random scrap paper- call slips, those little white strips of paper stuck into material on the hold shelf to identify which library member it is being held for. For years, those slips have come in handy as bookmarks, but once a book was finished my habit was to throw them away- until now!

David Chelsea is reading:In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown

by Amy Gary

Call Slips in their natural habitat

I’ve now posted around fifteen or so, enough of a critical mass that they now have a folder to themselves on my computer. Looking over the ones I’ve posted, I notice that over half are about DVD material rather than books, like this one reviewing the Albert Brooks film DEFENDING YOUR LIFE:

A smaller number review audiobooks or print books, like the graphic novel PATIENCE by Dan Clowes:

Here are links to all the Call Strip comics currently on Patreon:

Superman, The Unauthorized Biography

Purity

The Peanuts Movie

Enough Said

Disturbia

Wild Palms

Batman 66

The Nice Guys

The Fury

Pnin

The Meddler

Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!

Defending Your Life

Grunt

Girl with a Pearl Earring

Patreon is a reader-supported site, but all comics content is free. If you like what you see, tell your friends, and $how Your $upport!

The Return Of ARE YOU BEING WATCHED?

After a hiatus in which I was running pages of my latest 24 hour comic, WIPER WOMAN, I am back to posting pages of my continuing web comic ARE YOU BEING WATCHED? on Patreon. The setting for this week’s sequence is a Reality Show in which our hero Mugg and his fellow contestants have to draw 24 hour comics, hosted by the all-time champion 24 hour comics artist David Chelsea:

David Chelsea is watching: We Told You So: Comics As Art

by Fantagraphics

Most of these two pages are taken up with a list of “theme ingredients”, that the contestants have to use as inspiration for their stories:

If you’re feeling a bit at sea, I have thoughtfully posted a recap of the story so far on Patreon. You can also read the entire comic up to now, archived on Tumblr.

Also on Patreon, I have posted some model sketches of various characters who have yet to appear in the story: Mugg’s fellow contestants, crew members, etc. I am hoping that my very supportive Patreon subscribers will be inspired to propose names for these characters which we can vote on. You can easily become one of those subscribers yourself- levels start at a dollar a month!

Here are descriptions of a couple of the characters, in their own words:

“Greetings. I am happy to compete in this 24 Hour Comic Challenge. My personal beliefs do not allow me to depict human or animal characters, but I find abundant material in the world of mathematics. I am best known for my romance comic POLYHEDRAL PASSION, which is about a left-handed snub cube in love with a right-handed pentagonal icositetrahedron. Since they cannot be true duals without sharing orientation, the snub cube must deform to a small rhombicuboctahedron and then reform in right-handed form. l won’t spoil how that happens. In ordinary social dealings, I am nameless, but for the purposes of this reality show, I am required to have a name. Can you provide me with one?”

“Thrilled to be part of this 24 Hour Comic Challenge, though I don’t like the word “compete”. We’re all winners! I consider myself an American Manga artist. I know some people have a problem with that, but I just say, you don’t have to be Japanese to draw Manga, just like you don’t have to be French to make French toast! Now, I don’t like my real name, and I’m trying to choose a professional alias. If you wonderful Patreon people can think of any, please post them as comments, and when we have enough of them, we’ll vote on a winner, even though I think we’re all winners!!”

Sounds like fun? Just go to my Patreon homepage, and sign up as a subscriber, then follow these links to propose names for individual characters.

Manga Artist

Boom Mike Operator

Polyhedron Artist

Hostess/Announcer

Production Assistant

Alt-right Cartoonist

And keep watching my Patreon posts– I’ll be posting new character sketches in the coming weeks. I have a bit of a cushion before any of these characters actually appear in the story.