True Detective Print for Bottleneck Gallery

For over a decade, I used to write movie reviews for The All Movie Guide. I don't anymore and now relish the freedom of not being forced to share my opinions. That said, every now and then I guess it's okay to chime in and share my thoughts on something. This time, it's True Detective. I love the series. It struck a deep chord with me. Not since my Mamet obsession have I been this in love with a writer. Not since my DePalma obsession have I fell so hard for a long shot. And watching these real life acting buddies act their asses off made me shed tears and applaud. I love that it's a buddy story. I love that it comes down to a character arc. I love that it's basically two ex-cops storming the Texas Chainsaw hideout at the end. I love that not every plot point is neatly tied up. I love that the cult aspect turned out to be nonsense. I love that the series ducked when we thought it would jive. I loved going down rabbit holes only to figure out that it was all red herrings and that this was just a pure pulp tale. Moreover, I love Rust and Marty.

When the opportunity to be a part of Bottleneck Gallery's When the Lights Go Out 2, the only way to go was True Detective, but I felt I couldn't do it justice until I saw how it played out. From the airing of the last episode to when I left for SXSW, I had two days to complete the art, one of which I had to work at VGKids, my printer and comrades in arms. Thus my breakneck race to do this thing justice that I loved so much began. When you see the print in person, you'll notice some extra graphics laid into the image in the form of a gloss -- that was us trying to push the printing a bit further and add a different type of glow. Though it didn't work out the way we wanted, it does add a sort of mystery to the print that I think fits the series. At least that's how I look at it. For fans of the show, hope you dig it. This one's really for Rust and Marty though. Love those dudes. Love that they're buddies now. Here's to best buds and the roads they travel to get there. 

Prints for sale at Bottleneck start at 12pmEST Friday March 21st here, then in my online store after that.

Print in regular light.

Print in regular light.

Print in the dark.

Print in the dark.

Fangoria Reveals John Carpenter Charity Print + Video for Death Waltz Recording Co.

This just in - Fangoria has revealed my John Carpenter charity print for Death Waltz Recording Co. (click on pick below for the link). Signed prints by John Carpenter will be available at their Assault on Precinct 13 release party at the Beyond Fest in LA and later on their site. Sales from the limited edition charity print will go to the Humane Society of America.

UPDATE: here's a process video of the print, with blacklight & glow-in-the-dark inks by VG Kids (note: the iPhone captures only so much glow).

Tribute to Heavy Metal Horror Print Release

Bang! Media and artist Jeremy Wheeler proudly present this memorial to the heyday of 80’s heavy metal horror with this Tribute to Sammi Curr poster. The 9”x24” print theorizes a massive tribute show to Trick or Treat’s Sammi Curr, who died shortly after being denied a show at Lakeridge High School. Bands from all over were gathered, with none other than New Year’s Evil’s Dianne Sullivan hosting the momentous gig that no doubt drew ire from the school staff, who were pressured by bad PR to host the event. Who knows -- maybe even the ghost of Sammi made an appearance!

Including bands from Terror on Tour, Rock n’ Roll Nightmare, Hard Rock Zombies, Black Roses, Shock ‘Em Dead, Rocktober Blood, Blood Tracks, Monster Dog, Phantom of the Paradise, Slaughterhouse Rock, Rockula, The Gate and Slumber Party Massacre II -- this print is just what the heavy metal horror fan ordered!

Tribute to Sammi Curr is part of Bang! Media’s “Cinema Rocks” poster series focusing on imaginative gigs for made-up movie bands. The series also includes posters for Buckaroo Banzai & the Hong Kong Cavaliers, Brian Slade & Curt Wild,  The Fabulous Stains and many more, the first wave of which will be released throughout 2013. The Sammi Curr print is also a loving tribute to gore artist Putrid (http://putridgore.com/), whose metal illustrations provided a jumping point for the  iconic band logos.

9”x24” (Edition of 60) $15

On sale now here: http://bangmedia.bigcartel.com/product/sammi-curr-poster

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Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter Poster!

Hope everyone dug the Japanese-inspired French Connection poster. Special just for you fine fine folks is another design premiere - the second in my Summer Classics Series. This time, it was time to channel my inner Grimshaw for a special GIMME SHELTER print.



Am still working out the kinks on the printing + distribution on both this and the one for The French Connection, but will alert the media soon when things they can be announced. In the meantime, figured I’d give a sweet peek into an early sketch of the poster. Dig the silly Keith drawing in the bottom right and the magician dude on the left. Methinks I shoulda just stopped right there and called it a day.



Stay tuned for more hot action to come.

French Connection Japanese-Style Poster!

Heyya kidz!

So I love me some Japanese movie posters. In fact, I’m kind of an armchair fanatic. You know, not to the obsessive point that I blow dough on the collector’s market, but just intense enough that I’ve got a whole load of books and computer files full of wildly designed Asian poster goodness.

Now I’ve done an ode to Japanese posters before. I’m my own big fan of this SuperBang! poster, using a sweet image from Chip Kidd’s super Batmanga book as a starting point.



But now that I’m starting off a Summer Classics Series for the Michigan Theater, I really wanted to harness that aesthetic again for William Friedkin’s 1971 acclaimed cop action drama, The French Connection. My original inspiration was this killer Bullit poster my man Christian sent to me…



LOVE that poster! Check out all those dynamic angles, with every piece of the design - from the text to the images - all working to give yer eye a seriously pleasing workout. Now I have found a real-deal Japanese French Connection poster, and it’s great. Once again, you have dynamic angles all guiding yer eye to Mean Gene Hackman. Also — those colors are fantastic.



I couldn’t help noticing, however, that as I poured through all of the film’s ad art, it was really hard to get away from that iconic stairwell image.



So right off the bat, I knew I wouldn’t even bother with that. Someday it’d be fun to screw with it, just to see if it could be switched up to seem fresh, but this wasn’t the time.

So along with that poster above, I had a few other posteriffic inspirations that helped keep the creative juices flowing. From Sonny Chiba to Peter Fonda to even Snake Plissken. Check ‘em out and wonder why we don’t have anything nearly as dynamic gracing our advertising these days.









What I really love is the freedom of the design. That Race With the Devil poster is incredible — and EVEN BETTER if you’ve seen the movie. Come on, that tree in the eyeball? Amazing contextual stuff. Plus it’s got shotguns, motorcycles & all sorts of vehicular madness, which appeals to my inner man animal. And that Escape From New York? What’s up with that spotlight? I dunno, but I love it. The other two represent typical outrageous Japanese action poster design. Mix lots of images together + throw images inside of other images (the face+gun inside the blood splatter) — and make that shit pop! And once again, we have those dynamic angles. It’s like the posters are leaning, yet grounded by the prominent horizonal+vertical type.

I had a few more inspirations, but a lot of them were for pink films. Believe you and me, there’s a LOT of smutty Japanese poster designs that all share the same aggressive aesthetics, but almost always feature a whole lotta flesh.

But maybe I’ve typed too much? This was, after all, a post about my new French Connection poster. Yet I really wanted to give people some insight into the world of Japanese movie art — or at least, the kind of stuff I dig on. As for my poster, I’m looking to have them silkscreened, as well as blowing at least one up to 27x40 in time for the Michigan Theater’s shows. More on that to come. For now, enjoy my newest baby. Feel free to click on it and check it out in huge-o-vision.


THING Comic + Another Poster!

Another day — another All Movie comic! That’s right - I finally got that THING comic up and out there. It was kind of a pain since the sizing that I made the original two pieces (for Ferndale’s BIG READ art show) were a bit awkward to translate to the computer screen, but things turned out okay in the end. Am definitely looking forward to people seeing the original pieces, but in the meantime, feast on these…



Look for more LOST IN THE BIND comics coming up. I’ve been reading a LOT of official movie adaptations lately & it’s surprising how DIFFERENT a lot of them are.

Oh, also — here’s a new poster!



Until next time, stay frosty, kidz.

The Rationals Poster

So I haven’t had a home computer in almost two months. It was the one of the only casualties of our move — and I have yet to replace it. Thankfully this sad turn of events turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I’ve been forced to go hand-drawn in my poster-making. I already posted the first two in my newest series (Halloween Bang! & Blue Snaggletooth), but this is the one I’ve been waiting to unleash. It’s probably my best one yet — and really fitting that it’s for a Rationals show, considering I was channeling my inner Grimshaw/Lundgren on it. You can bet on some silkscreens somewhere down the line. Enjoy…



Poster Time!

Heads up on two new posters of mine. First round — the SuperBang!2 poster, with heavy inspiration drawn from Chip Kidd’s Batmanga compilation…



Next up, Ann Arbor’s Tribute to Ron Asheton. First time working with text heavy paths in Photoshop. Turned out pretty well. Might go back to hand drawn next time I approach this style…



Look for BIG things to come! 2009 is starting off with pure insanity & I guess I wouldn’t have it any other way! Stay tuned, kids.

Chicago Poster Downsizing -- Oh My!!!

Life sure is nuts sometimes. & not the bodacious kinda nutz with a ‘z,’ but the kind of nuts where yer constantly wondering what the fuck is gonna come around the next corner. I’ll say this, working for a big ol’ corporation makes me nuts — especially when they pick a random Wednesday out of nowhere & start sacking people around you. Next thing you know, tears are shed, tempers flare and nothin’ much seems to make sense.

Good time to escape for an extended weekend, innit? Indeed! That’s why Miss M & I are off on the Megabus tonight to the Windy City, our home away from home. This time, it’s for the first installment of Three Tough Guys — a wing dinger of a thumpin’ night that I’m throwin’ with our best buddies Miles & Louis. Expect much slammin’ funk, library rockers & the usual party goodness that people have come to expect from us. & who knew that fate would step in and take away Isaac Hayes just as we were about to throw a party in his movie’s honor. Anyhoo, this one’s for you, dude…



Other than that, this summer has steamrolled over everyone, it seems. Time to say goodbye to some near & dear to the ol’ heart, while ushering in yet another schoolyear filled with packed houses @ the Bang! along with the always obnoxious marching band practicing down the street! It’s a trade-off, I guess.

Still we continue to barrell through, smiling whenever we can even as the suits pull the rugs out from under our collective feet. It might not be a pretty way to pay the bills, but it works for now. Time to plan the takeover — for real. Everyone who’s with me come to Three Tough Guys & we’ll plan. Those that can’t make it, we’ll brainstorm at the Boogie Bang! next weekend.



Until then, stay strong, be well, laugh lots & thank crap you’ve got a place to crap.

Chicago Poster Downsizing -- Oh My!!!

Life sure is nuts sometimes. & not the bodacious kinda nutz with a ‘z,’ but the kind of nuts where yer constantly wondering what the fuck is gonna come around the next corner. I’ll say this, working for a big ol’ corporation makes me nuts — especially when they pick a random Wednesday out of nowhere & start sacking people around you. Next thing you know, tears are shed, tempers flare and nothin’ much seems to make sense.

Good time to escape for an extended weekend, innit? Indeed! That’s why Miss M & I are off on the Megabus tonight to the Windy City, our home away from home. This time, it’s for the first installment of Three Tough Guys — a wing dinger of a thumpin’ night that I’m throwin’ with our best buddies Miles & Louis. Expect much slammin’ funk, library rockers & the usual party goodness that people have come to expect from us. & who knew that fate would step in and take away Isaac Hayes just as we were about to throw a party in his movie’s honor. Anyhoo, this one’s for you, dude…



Other than that, this summer has steamrolled over everyone, it seems. Time to say goodbye to some near & dear to the ol’ heart, while ushering in yet another schoolyear filled with packed houses @ the Bang! along with the always obnoxious marching band practicing down the street! It’s a trade-off, I guess.

Still we continue to barrell through, smiling whenever we can even as the suits pull the rugs out from under our collective feet. It might not be a pretty way to pay the bills, but it works for now. Time to plan the takeover — for real. Everyone who’s with me come to Three Tough Guys & we’ll plan. Those that can’t make it, we’ll brainstorm at the Boogie Bang! next weekend.



Until then, stay strong, be well, laugh lots & thank crap you’ve got a place to crap.

Crazy Catch-Up...

Hooo-wee! Where the hell did the first leg of summer go?!? I dunno, but so far, it’s been a b-l-a-s-t! From fantastic fun on the big screen to wild nights out on the town to highly satisfying creative output, I’d say that this summer is off to a fine & genuine start. But enough of my babble – onto the goods…

NEW POSTERS

First up, a few Bang! posters to feast yer peepers upon. The first one was for the third installment of our super-live Physical Bang! series. The night was nuts. One of those rare packed summer gigs that remind us why we throw these ridiculous parties in the first place. Loads of sweaty, beautiful people all smiling & dancing to outrageous sights + soundz. If you were there, I thank & salute you. As far as the poster goes, it’s one of those rare horizontal jobs that I save for only the most special of prints.



Up next is our July Bang! – a rare no-theme party that managed to please half our crowd & piss off the other half. It’s funny how you never know how people will react to this stuff. The good news is that we’ll still be decking the joint out with insane decorations, as well as feature the return of one of our most beloved stage sets, so the kids can look forward to that on the 19th. Poster-wise, I was happy to not have to play into this or that theme, even if the final product does give off a certain “wet” vibe (not helped by my “hydro-sexual” choice of words). Ahh well, if people come in sexual raincoats, more power to them! Maybe I’ll bring a super soaker. I’m sure the Pig would LOVE that.



Moving on, here’s the newest poster for the ongoing 42nd St. Drive-In film series @ the Emagine Novi. Hmmm, I’m noticing a similar choice of blue colors in this & the last poster! Well, why not. The only important thing to me is that I keep the colors limited – plus, the blue goes with Blue Sunshine – just one of the fabulous double features on tap for this installment. Can’t wait to see this sucker in all it’s 27x40 glory – soon to be up on Miss M & mine’s wall sometime soon.



Finally, here’s the newest bit of hotness – the poster for the first of what could be a series of parties @ the best place in town, the Elks. Ever since that first fashion show – shit, nearly two years ago (!) – I’ve been waiting to be involved in a party there. Well the time has come & needless to say, this weekend, it’s gonna get H.O.T. down there! Poster-wise, I’d been looking to use the pink on red lately & was surprised how well it fit into what was to be a stripped down b&w piece. Hopefully in the future, I’ll take that color scheme to the next level – for now, they can happily coexist in this steamy flyer.




PICTURES

So I’ve got my own Flickr account now. Feel free to add me to your friends list – or not. Either way, this’ll be a good spot to dump my own stuff, after managing The Bang!’s for a few years now. So, perfect speed-round style, here’s a few sets that are worth checking out (click the pics for the galleries)…

G-Fest 2008

What’s better than a non-stop July 4th party visit to Chicago? Why, the 16th Annual Godzilla Convention, of course! Genius stuff. Extremely hardcore in the best of ways. Only got to spend a few hours there, but that was enough. Little Ultramen. Lordi metal dudes. Tons of toys. Great company (LP+Deafula). SPIDER-ZILLA! What more could you ask for?





Novi Comicon 2008

This stuff’s taken a while to get up – and for that, I’ve got no excuse. What kills me is that our buddy Kile has about 3x as many sitting somewhere in his camera back in GR! Gotta love the pics of Gibner getting’ down @ Saturday night’s karaoke dance party, plus the after pic of us beat down to the ground hungover on Sunday. Add in Gibs’ pompadour paintings & slick Rick Weed in his Elvis sunglasses & you’ve got another fantastic year of comicondom (whoa! Why hasn’t anyone thought of that yet!??). News Flash – The Bang! is set to throw the official party for next year’s Motor City Comicon with the 501st. Believe it!



My AMG Cube

And since I’m throwing around Flickr sets, here’s one of my ever-expanding cube @ AMG — itself, a constant source of inspiration & distraction while I grind away for my copy-protection overlords. It’s also the spot that most tours stop at while the suits chuckle to themselves and wonder what the hell kind of company they got themselves into. Ahh, how good it is to be interesting in a bland world of khakis and denim shirts!





Well, that’s just about it. Tune in later this week when I divulge my award-winning entry in a big movie art contest! Oh, how good it is to be randomly awarded for your hard work. But then again, that’s life, innit? Till next time, kiddies…

New Poster + New Illustration + New Craziness!!!

Ey yey yey!

Where is the time going? Where has the time gone? Where am I? Oh, that’s right — in big business-owned hell, that’s where! That’s why it’s time to tack the reigns on life and DIY it up once again @ my once-a-year haven in the geek world — the Motor City Comicon! Yeah, I’ll have a table AND something very new for folks to buy! That’s right — give me your money. All of it! More news on when you’ll pass of your loot to me soon. Get excited. Go crazy go nuts.

In the meantime, pop your peepers on the new Bang! poster — this one’s for the secret DIA gig that I’ve been hinting at, but haven’t yet spilled the beans on. Yup, The Bang! is headed to Detroit for a special night — so special we’re sharing the bill with a boxing ring, complete with LIVE boxing and lucha libre mexican wrestling (!!!!!). For real. This thing should be downright silly. Add in the Museum surroundings and we’ve got the recipe for tasty outrageous deliciousness!



But that’s not all, folks! Nope, why would it be? Life is too short, just like mini-ponies (even if they are cute). So, before I overstate my welcome, here’s the long-awaited color version of my newest Vault of Midnight masterpiece. Catch it in my newest comic — coming sooner than soon and later than it should.



Til next time — xxoo y’all lots. Lets eat BBQ together real soon!