Monte Beauchamp

This volume of BLAB! features a cover by Jonathan Rosen, and: the BLAB! debut of popular artist Shag!; a full-color tribute to Bazooka Joe; Sue Coe and Judith Brody's "… And Not a Drop To Drink," an exploration of the destruction of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast by angry gods of wind and water against a backdrop of war; Greg Clarke's "The Pungent Gaul," a surprisingly harrowing story of a frenchman who smuggles illegal cheeses from his homeland into the United States and sells them on the black market; Michael Dougan's four-page color story about homeland security, paranoia, technology, international intrigue, and anxiety; "Nine Lives," Peter Kuper's story of the various ways he's almost died; more "Fetal Elvis" from Mark Landman; "Max Vesta, Matchbook Artist," the true story of the art and life of the unsung and little known (except to a few collectors and connoisseurs) master of the matchbook cover; Lou Brooks invites us into his "Garden of Tongue-listing Twimericks"—your mouth will never be the same; Peter and Maria Hoey's "Out of Nowhere," the story of Coleman Hawkins and Django Reinghart's years in pre-WWII Paris; plus stories by Tim Biskup, Gary Baseman, Fred Stonehouse, Marc Rosenthal,Spain, Mats!, and Sergio Ruzzier.… (altro)

Ok, first off, we ooh and ahhh at the fabulous Mark Ryden cover. OOOOOOOOOHHHHH. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH.

Ok, now on to content. I like Blab, much as I like most comics journals, like McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, because I like finding artists and storytellers that I didn't already know, or didn't know I knew, or who just make really interesting and different artwork. And like all of these, there are some works in Blab that are derivative of a number of other artists. But there are always some that really surprise and tantalize. Issue 11 is really good, even aside from the cover. I've heard Blab described as a printed form of Liquid Television, and that's pretty apt.… (altro)