Hashbrown Haus

Love him or hate him, Wes Anderson is an original storyteller. I’ve been a fan of his for years and have much respect for his humor, wit and imagination. I was upset to hear that his short film, “Hotel Chevalier” would not be released with the theatrical screenings of his new feature length film, “The Darjeeling Limited”. The situation improved when I found out it would be released after October 2nd on the iTunes Store. Then it got even better when I found it there, today, for free. If you enjoy Wes Anderson and his films hit up the iTunes Store now to get yours!!!

… a thirty-something hack. Micron on cardboard.

Flight, the comics anthology series created and edited by Kazu Kibuishi, has posted previews of the twenty-five works contained in the new volume which should be on shelves this week. While not technically a “themed” anthology, it is devoted completely to the publication of original comics- that is to say, it’s not like anything you’ve seen before! Check out the preview and more here!

What can I say about Chris Onstad that hasn’t been said already in a thousand other places- this guy practically gets more press (relatively speaking, that is) than Paris Hilton, just for doing a lo-fi webcomic (to be honest, a guy who lives with his mother, and who only washes on Sunday and eats potted meat with a spork should get more press than Paris Hilton). I know I just said “lo-fi” and I hesitated to do it, because in the end there is nothing “lo-fi” about Achewood.

A comic strip that I have previously described as being about the secret lives of house cats and stuffed animals living cognac large- is largely that, and a hell of a lot more. Some have claimed that Mr. Onstad is writing the great american novel in comic form. Others exclaim that his work has no equal and that he is forging a whole new dynamic in literature and art without a comparable work in sight. Myself, I can’t get enough of it. Mostly outrageous, sometimes offensive- Onstad has a voice like no others and a penchant for non-sequiteurs. His humor may not be for all, but is grossly unlike anything else in existence. If you clicked on the image and followed the link you know what I’m talking about. Well, typographers and graphic designers will know, anyways. Then again, that particular strip is only representative of his ranging topicality. Rather than confining himself, or his strip, to any singular pursuit or line of humor, he has multiple voices and varied forms of humor (prank calls to other comic strip characters, philanthropy, drug addiction, and personal hygiene) all espoused by a multitude of analogical characters speaking from what could be interpreted as a very complicated, VERY fractured psyche. Except that it’s pure genius. Onstad is actually channeling the ten or better regular characters and giving them an existence outside of his head. He writes and maintains blogs for each character, and the scary part is that they each read as a separate, distinct and independant voice- they are neither Onstad, nor like one another- they are completely autonomous beings-except they only exist in web-comics, blog postings and, apparently, Chris Onstad’s skull.

The imagery is template based, produced in Illustrator and in spite of it’s “Deliberately Pathetic” Aesthetic it is surprisingly complex and rich in its renderings. For a comic Strip about house cats and stuffed animals, that is. For some reason, given the diverse subject matter being discussed, it fits perfectly. Then you see the merch; posters, stickers, cookbooks and t-shirts, and more, that are generated as companion work to the main body and that’s when the art truly shines. Yeah, he’s trying to make a living from this, wouldn’t you?

In the end, Achewood is an iconoclast amongst the conformists. A giant among men. A speedo and medallion wearing, sunglasses bearing, fat cat amongst the Garfields. This is everything that comics, web- or print-based, could and should aspire to be. Absurd, outrageous, obscure, intelligent and most importantly, unquantifiably hilarious.

One of my earliest artistic memories comes from my parents house in Miami. My dad had converted his garage into a workshop where he spent time on weekends doing carpentry work or building compositions out of stained glass. It was also where he stored his surfboards. In his workshop though, he had a space on one wall that was dedicated to stickers and decals. He had a Birdwell Beach Britches sticker, a Mr.Zogs Sex Wax sticker, a Lightning Bolt sticker, and lots of others. But he also had a couple by the above named artist, Mr. Rick Griffin. I took it for granted then, but have since come to appreciate, love, and recognize Rick Griffin for the master he was.

His range was enormous- from simplistic and funny cartoons, to densely detailed and juicy illustrated travelogues, to album cover and poster art, to fine oil and airbrush paintings- Rick Griffin touched many worlds. At twelve he was making t-shirts for friends. At 16 he was art director for fledgling SURFER Magazine. In his twenties he was heralded by Life Magazine as one of a few premier artists during the Psychedelic Poster Craze of the late sixties. He was a regular contributor to ZAP Comix. He even designed the original mast-head for Rolling Stone magazine. His work has influenced many artists and designers, most notably, Drew Brophy. Sadly, though, with the exception of fanatics like my father (If not for my father’s love of his work, I would probably be ignorant of him as well) and I, he has largely been ignored for being no more than just another “commercial artist”- which is BS, because if you make art and you sell it, regardless of whether it goes in a private collection or mass reproduced- then guess what, schmuk? You’re a commercial artist. But that’s alright, no need to nurse old wounds, no no, because the time has now come and someone has decided to give the late Mr. Griffin his due. While his work has been featured in several shows both during his life and after- there has never been a Rick Griffin solo show or retrospective- nothing that is, until now-

Laguna Art Museum is currently hosting “Heart and Torch: Rick Griffin’s Transcendance” in an effort to recognize one of the greatest unsung artists in Amerikan history. The show runs through September 30th of this year and features 160 pieces of his work as well as a lecture series from family and peers. Much deserved and long overdue respect for a lowly, “commercial artist”. Selah!