From the Archives: Bordertown Boards and Skulls

When I discovered brilliant Brazilian graphic artist Beto Janz, all I could think of was how easily I could see his recent creation -- colorful skulls made from broken skateboard decks -- exsisting in the Bordertown anthologies. Edgy, beautiful, and creepy, the deck skulls showed up mysteriously in various locations all over the town of Curibita, Brazil, marked with the icon for the local skate shop Ultra Series. People were invited to take them home if they wanted. The whole project was a very savvy form of street advertising for Ultra Series --  and seemed like such a Bordertown way of doing business. I had no trouble seeing Trasher and Deki (in the story "Alison Gross" ) embarking on just such an endeavour to raise money for The Ramp.