I've been reading woodcut novels lately (many of which were given to me as birthday gifts by regular blog-reader and dear friend JOHN HERTEL), and if you're a comics fan, I highly recommend you pick up a few as well. The precursor to the modern graphic novel, most of these wordless books were completed between the first and second world wars. While they range from emotionally potent to downright corny, on the whole they show a generous amount of inventiveness.
Lynd Ward's work is probably the most famous of the woodcut novelists, and I've read a few of his books, GOD'S MAN, MADMAN'S DRUM and a couple of others, but while I marvel at his technical facility as a draftsman, I find his stories somewhat overwrought, simplistic and occasionally hard to follow.
Personally, I much prefer the work of Frans Masareel. His novels like THE CITY, PASSIONATE JOURNEY and THE SUN read much more like poetry, or even a visualization of music, rather than as prose. I love reading his work--I've never read anything like it before.
His work, along with Ward's, is reprinted in GRAPHIC WITNESS, a compilation of some of the best woodcut novels. Also reprinted in the book are novels by Giacomo Patri (the exceptional WHITE COLLAR) and Laurence Hyde (SOUTHERN CROSS).
SOUTHERN CROSS has also been reprinted in the past year by Drawn and Quarterly in quite a beautiful edition, and it's well worth getting. Like Ward, Hyde attempts to tell a complex and structured story, and while it's operatic in its tone, it actually succeeds in being emotionally potent. I've found his work, and particularly the work of Masareel to be quite inspiring.
I'm pretty sure DC owes me some money, man....
I enjoyed your book when you were talking about LUKE CAGE and stuff, but around page 300
This was my final sketch for the issue of Mike Manley's DRAW! Magazine that I was featured in, several years ago. While the drawing has its problems, most of which were beautifully fixed once BILL WRAY had painted it for publication, I still get a kick out of what I did here. Actually, there's a lot of good stuff going on, from the concept itself, on down to the drybrush technique I managed to pull off using a lousy, worn out Sharpie.
You may have seen this image posted by our friend JERRY BECK on cartoonbrew.com. It's the cover to the upcoming Warner Video DVD release of Hanna-Barbera's POPEYE cartoons from the 70's. 
I should point out that Jackson Publick himself did many of the drawings on the pages posted here, with me inking the final art. Mr. Publick is one of those renaissance men, producing, directing, co-scripting, designing, boarding and voicing each and every episode of the VB saga. How he has time to work with the homeless, teach Muy Thai and cater gourmet lunches every Friday at the producing studio is beyond me, but he manages!
I RETURN, AS SEEN IN THIS KRAZY KARAOKE PHOTO (possibly taken by the lovely SIOBHAN MULLEN). 
