Images from the Sanctum Sanctorum West

For those of you who just discovered this blog, I have one of the largest collections of Doctor Strange comics and memorabilia in the world and from time to time feature items from my collection here. These items are housed in a room I call the Sanctum Sanctorum West. Today's post features the poster racks on the Eastern wall. To see the original art pieces in the collection up close, CLICK HERE.

 

 

Lenticular of the day

I've been making my own 3D lenticulars since 2002. This is a recent one I made called "Syd Creeper". It's a digital collage done in late 2009. If you click the image below, you'll see an animated simulation of what the piece looks like in real life:

Sketch from high school

Back in 1986-87, I would hang out in my art class at Windward High School in the afternoons when school let out and work on copying photos of supermodels into my sketchbook. I used to love drawing Paulina Porizkova. She was my favorite. Not sure if the image below is her, but this is definitely one of my efforts from that period.

How I got my original Robert Williams sketch

Robert Williams is the founding father of Lowbrow Art, a term that has been used to describe my work as well. Being a big fan of his paintings since the early 90's, it was an honor to meet the man on a number of occasions. At a gallery opening back in 1999, I ran into him wearing a bright red jacket. Williams looked at me and said "Howard, I love that jacket. Where did you get it? I've been looking all over the place for one like that!" I told him I found it at a suit shop Hollywood and made him a deal: I'd go pick another one up for him and bring it by his house and art studio in the next few days. He can pay me for it then. We agreed and I got his address. When I went to get the jacket, I wondered... Would he do an exchange for a piece of original art? I was almost embarrassed to ask, but figured I had to. Surprisingly, Mr. Williams agreed, and that's how I got the original sketch for the 1997 painting "The Mexican Goat Sucker"! I recently went to a Robert Williams tribute show at Barnsdale Art Park in Los Feliz and wore my red jacket. Williams was there, saw me, and once again commented: "That's a nice red jacket you got there!" I told him: "I know! I got you one just like it about 10 years ago!" He whispered to me: "Yeah, but it looks like mine is in better shape!"

My sketch I got in exchange for a red jacket!

The final painting

Robt. Williams wearing the red jacket

More strange old pictures from my college days at UCLA

This was a series of 5 linocuts done around 1992 called "All The Madmen".

Thanksgiving Prayer 2010

This is a parody of THIS.

To hear an audio version of this, CLICK HERE

To William S. Burroughs 

and hope he is still alive.


Thanksgiving Day 

November 25 2010

Thanks for The Carls Jr.
Six Dollar Jalapeño Burger,
destined to be shat out through
wholesome American guts.



Thanks for a continent of 

Anonymous
 4chan teenagers.
posting gore porn and cp
just for the lulz. 



Thanks for vast herds of noobs
to kill in Warcraft and Call of Duty,
earning you major pwnage.

Thanks for bounty hunters
like Boba Fett.



Thanks for "The American Dream",


a great Love and Rockets song
and the last track on their album Express. 

Thanks for Adult Swim and Comedy Central.



For industrial steampunk goth girls
with customized I-Phones. 

For a generation of crack babies
all grown up, with ADHD

and no jobs.



Thanks for "My Child Beat Up
Your Honor Student" stickers. 



Thanks for stem cell research. 

Thanks for Cialis and Adderall
and weed stores on every corner. 



Thanks for digital social networks and Twitter
giving us all intimate details
we never needed to know.


Thanks for a nation of douchebags. 



Yes, thanks for all the
 memories--

all right let's see 
if you can Triforce! 



You always were a newfag and


all your base are belong to us.

Thanks for the latest and greatest
version 2.0 of human dreams,
soon to be outdated and
in need of an upgrade.

Strange Tales custom covers project

In honor of the publication of the first softcover edition of the Doctor Strange Marvel Masterworks Vol. 1 coming out today, I figure I would feature a link to my Custom Strange Tales covers. The immortal Steve Ditko (co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange with Stan Lee) did not have his work gracing the covers of any of the issues in the legendary run he had on that title... except for issue #146, the last one he did. OK, maybe he had some floating heads or half a cover here and there, but mostly Ditko's Doctor Strange gave up the cover space for Nick Fury or The Human Torch. This inspired me to re-create vintage Strange Tales comic covers WITH Dr. Strange on the cover from Ditko's Dr. Strange interior art (and a few covers John Byrne did back in the 80's). Then I actually attached my replica covers to low grade copies of the original comic books. Click below to see the results:

CLICK HERE TO SEE INTERIOR SHOTS AND INNER COVER DESIGNS FOR EACH OF THESE COMICS!

Movie poster of the day

This rare Tron poster came free in the Los Angeles Times the weekend the movie came out back in 1982. I remember taking it to Tower Records in Westwood, CA. to get it signed by one of the guys who worked on special effects for the movie, Glenn Campbell (not the rock star). He wrote: "Howie, don't de-rezz" in the yellow area in the bottom left corner...  Ironically, that signature has all but de-rezzed in this JPEG. Why Tower Records had the animation compositing camera guy signing autographs and not one of the stars of the film there is a mystery that remains with me to this day...

Prints of The Picture Of Everything are now available for pre-order!

Click here or on the image below to grab one! Limited to 420 signed and numbered movie poster sized prints (27" x 39"), available through the La Luz de Jesus Gallery/Soap Plant online store!

Custom made Cthulhu Action Figure

Long before Monsterclix created a Cthulhu sculpture, and Little Gloomys came out with the Carl Cthulhu doll, and various plush Cthulhu figures could be bought with cuddly stuffed tentacles, I decided to make a Cthulhu figure myself from various spare parts and sculpy. I actually won an early contest in Toyfare Magazine for my efforts!

A sketch from Los Bros Hernandez

Back in 1986 I was really into Love and Rockets comics. I went to meet the Hernandez Brothers, Gilbert and Jaime, down at a comic book store on Hollywood Blvd that is long gone. I somehow convinced them to do a sketch with a 15 year old me posing with their characters Maggie and Luba. Here's the results:

Movie poster of the day

A rare (and very narrow) vintage poster for the great John Boorman film "Point Blank", starring Lee Marvin as a film noir unstoppable killer out for revenge to the backdrop of a beatnik psychedelic mid-60's Los Angeles. The movie is based on the Richard Stark book "The Hunter", and Archie Bunker (Carol O'Connor) and Dean Wormer (John Vernon) are in it, as is a very sexy Angie Dickinson. Angie did 2 other movies with Lee Marvin (Death Hunt and The Killers), and he gets it on with her in all 3 of them! This movie was re-made as the Mel Gibson movie "Ransom", and has been recently adapted into a comic book by Darwyn Cooke. The character Lee Marvin portrays inspired me to make a customized action figure, which I blogged about a while back. The poster measures 13 and a half inches by 34 inches and I've never run across another one in this size:

Broof

The online urban dictionary definitions of the word broof are wrong. All of them are Epic Fails. Here is the absolute 100% certified definition, noted by Broofmasters the world over...

BROOF - (BAh-REEE-ouf) - Interjection, verb (used without object), noun
Used as an exclamation of joy, exultation, appreciation, encouragement, or in reference to something awesome happening: I just won a free sandwich! Broof!

Broof on.

Special Thanks To Uric Elf

I wrote a short play this year.

Click here to read it.

Club 33 at Disneyland

I'm one of the very few people lucky enough to have spent their 33rd birthday at Club 33.

Club 33 Wiki Page

Bands I've Seen Live

Abby Travis • Adolescents • A Flock Of Seagulls • Alien Sex Fiend • All • Amanda Palmer • Aquabats • A Tribe Called Quest • Angry Samoans • Babyland • Bad Brains • Bad Manners • Bad Religion • Band of Horses • Bauhaus • Beastie Boys • Beck • Belle and Sebastian • Belouis Some • Big Bad Voodoo Daddy • Big Daddy Kane • Billy Idol • Bim Skala Bim • Blackbird • Black Heart Procession • Black Sabbath • Blink 182 • Blowfly • Blur • Body Count • Book of Love • BP Service • Breeders • Brendan Perry • Brian Jonestown Massacre • Butthole Surfers • Buzzcocks • Cat Power • Celebrity Skin • Centimeters • Chemical Brothers • Chris and Cosey • Christian Death (with Rozz) • Chumbawamba • Circle Jerks • Cluster • Cocteau Twins • Coldplay • Cramps • Crash Worship • Cure •  Curve • Cypress Hill • Dagons • Damned • Dance Hall Crashers • Dandy Warhols • David Bowie • David J • Dead Can Dance • Deathride 69 • DeeeLite • De La Soul • Depeche Mode • Descendants • Devo • DI • Dickies • Don Ho • Donkey Show • Doobie Brothers • Dr. Dre • Dread Zeppelin • Dream Academy • Dresden Dolls • Echo and The Bunnymen • 808 State • Einsturzende Neubauten • Eminem • Emmt Swank • English Beat • Ethyl Meatplow • Exploited • Ex Voto • Extra Fancy • Fear • Fishbone • Foo Fighters • 45 Grave • Frankie Goes To Hollywood • Freshly Wrapped Candies • Fugazi • Fu Manchu • GBH • Gene Loves Jezebel • Gentlemen Junkie • Geraldine Fibbers • Geto Boyz • Gogol Bordello • Godfathers • Goldfrapp • Gorillaz • Grateful Dead • Green Day • Green Jello • Grinderman • Guitar Wolf • Guns N Roses (with Slash) • Gwar • Hadda Brooks • Haunted Garage • Hives • Hole • Hooverphonic • Human Drama • Ian Brown (of Stone Roses) • Ice Cube • Ice T • Iggy Pop • Imperial Butt Wizards • Insted • INXS (with Michael Hutchense) • James • Jane's Addiction • Jawbreaker •  Jefferson Airplane (without Grace Slick) • Jesus and Mary Chain • Jill Tracy • Jimmy Scott • Joan Baez • Keeley Smith • Kids Of Widney High • Killers • Killing Joke • King Missile • Kiss • Kommunity FK • KMFDM • Kraftwerk • Kurt Cobain (short solo set) • Legendary Pink Dots • Let's Active • Lime Spiders • Lisa Gerrard • Live • Living Colour • London After Midnight • Lords of Acid • Love and Rockets • Lucious Jackson • Ludacris • Lumirova • Lush • Luther Vandross • Lydia Lunch • Madonna • Marilyn Manson • Mark Noel Miller • Mary's Danish • Massive Attack • Mazzy Star • Mentors (with El Duce) • Merzbow • Ministry • Mission UK • Modest Mouse • Mogwai • Morrissey • Mr Bungle • Mr Mister • Mudhoney • My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult • Negativland • Neil Young • New Found Glory • New Order • Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds • Nightmare of The Elf • Nine Inch Nails • Nirvana • Niswander • Nitty Gritty Dirt Band • Nitzer Ebb • No Doubt • Nouvelle Vague • NWA (With Snoop Dogg) • Nymphs • Oasis • Offspring • OMD • Opal • Orb • Ozzy Osbourne • Pantera • Parliament • Paul McCartney • Pearl Jam • Peter Gabriel • Peter Murphy • Pet Shop Boys • Pigface • PiL • Pink Floyd • Pixies • PJ Harvey • Porno For Pyros • Presidents Of The United States Of America • Prince • Psychic TV • Public Enemy • Pugs • Radiohead • Rammstein • Ramones • Red Hot Chili Peppers • Red Lorry Yellow Lorry • Red Rockers • Reel Big Fish • Rentals • Residents • Roger Waters • Rolling Stones • Rollins Band • Royal Crown Revue • 7 Seconds • Sex Pistols • Sex With Lurch • Shadowproject • Sinead O'Connor • Siouxsie and The Banshees • Skatalites • Skinny Puppy • Smashing Pumpkins • Snoop Dogg • Social Distortion • Sonic Boom • Sonic Youth • Soul Coughing • Soup Dragons • Spiritualized • Squirrel Nut Zippers • Steel Pulse • Stereo MCs • Stetsasonic • Stevie Wonder • Stiff Little Fingers • Sting • Stone Temple Pilots • Strawberry Alarm Clock • Strokes • Stooges • Sukia • Swans • Tears For Fears • Tenacious D • Tender Fury • Thelonious Monster • They Might Be Giants • Thievery Incorporated • Third Eye Blind • Thompson Twins • Tin Machine • Tipsy • Toasters • Tom Waits • Toy Dolls • Trash Band • Tricky • TSOL • Tupac Shakur • TV On The Radio • Unextraordinary Gentlemen • Until December • U2 • Vandals • Veruca Salt • Violent Femmes • Waldo The Dog Faced Boy • Wallflowers • Warlocks • Weather Girls • Weird Al • Ween • Weezer • White Stripes • Whitney Houston • X • Yeah Yeah Yeahs • Ziggy Marley

1600 comic books

Movie poster of the day

The legendary Revenge of The Jedi poster. Got this at a poster store in Hollywood now long gone. Probably 1500 of these still exist, although bootleg versions are out there. This one's the real deal:

Details from The Picture of Everything

The "Cosmic Snowflake"

My favorite audio books of 2010

"Stranger In A Strange Land" by Robert Heinlein
This was an excellent book that I had never read but was always told that I had to read. Since the local library had it on CD, I couldn't pass up listening to it this weekend as I worked on turning The Picture Of Everything into a 3D lenticular. A beautiful story that can be as applicable today as it was back in the early 60's. I can definitely see how this perpetuated some of the free love hippie philosophy, and shudder to think about how many wannabe Valentine Michael Smiths this book has spawned since then. Not that I don't think the message presented here was profound, but just thinking about how many orgies were spawned by people wanting to be someone's "water brother" is not easy to grok.

Grok... I FINALLY Grok where this cultural reference comes from. I Smurf it as well.

As a messiah parable, it's one of the best I've read. Very thoughtful and forward thinking. Not much seemed dated in the nearly 50 years since its publication. Maybe the mention of a typewriter, but something tells me that even in 2010, Jubal Harshaw would probably insist that one of his secretaries writes on one. I liked Harshaw as a character and can now see he was the inspiration for Hagbard Celine.

This would be a great movie. Why hasn't anyone made it yet?

My Sandman collection

The Sandman was a DC/Vertigo comic book that ran for 75 issues. It was written by Neil Gaiman and featured personifications of Dream, Death, Delerium (formerly Delight), Despair, Destiny, Desire and Destruction. These 7 "Endless" were siblings and the oldest things that exist in the universe. It's a fantastic series, and rather than tracking down the original comic books, I decided to collect something much rarer: the hardcover first printings of the graphic novels. These books are much harder to track down than the individual issues, especially the Seasons of Mist one and the 2 Death miniseries hardcovers. Included with the Sandman books are a few more softcover trades (all first printings) which were never released as hardcover editions. These include other books either by Neil Gaiman or within the Sandman mythos:

I have the collection on display surrounded by a giant reproduction of Hieronymus Bosch's "Garden of Earthly Delights". (Thanks go out to my pals Erich Orser and Rebecca Roka for helping me convert a dart board cabinet into a beautiful reproduction of that amazing work!) 

The books are flanked by the ultra-rare large sized Sandman bookends and two porcelain mini figures of Dream and Death:

To finish off this post, here's a photo of me, Jesse, and Sandman author Neil Gaiman at Sundance back in 2005: