January 2008

Artists are Mammals: Mammal Magazine by mammalian illustrators/bloggers.

Yesterday was newsy so I’ll keep today’s brief, brief: I was the guest on Moldawer in the Morning podcast again if you want to hear us talk about Edgar Allen Poe’s grave, robots, and tigers. News done.

I knew a pack of boys in college that lived in a ramshackle house called “Sugartown”. They even had the kitschy light-up sign to prove it. The cohabitants of this modern animal house were talented illustrators. They were post ironic before the Brooklyn hipsters even got to ironic. They finished making lascivious video art before Dash Snow ever curled up in his first hamster nest. They were passionate about their art while maintaining a sense of humor and self deprecation. In terms of raw talent they matched R. Crumb, Norman Rockwell, and Frank Frazetta combined. I looked up to them as they worked slumped over on the floor in front of the t.v, in their rooms at a professional drawing table, or at the studio on campus.

They collaborated on this fantastic project called Mammal Magazine. It recently launched. It’s tongue and cheek, clever, witty, ironic, and post ironic at the same time. Each illo and comic is created with fun and aplomb. You’ll just have to see it to get the full picture. To catch Mammal news, subscribe to the Mammal blog.

Here are the boys that made the magic happen:

• Benjamin Marra
• Dan Meth
• Devin Clark
• Jim Cooke
• Matt Dorfman
• Tom Forget