What's all this, then?

Since I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do with this blog right now, I've decided to post some of the strange doodles and drawings I've kept in boxes, folders, and cabinets these past 30 years. A lot of these things were done while on the phone, or while testing pens, or out of sheer boredom. There won't be any rhyme or reason to these drawings. I'm just grabbing stuff from off the piles, scanning it, and adding it here. Think of it as a game of cartoon Russian roulette. The neat thing about the drawings is that each one has it's own history and background story. There will be plenty of bonus posts and topical additions as the mood strikes. Forewarned is forearmed.

All artwork copyrighted 2007/2008/2009/2010 Martin A. Devine.

Please do not link to or use images or content without permission from the so-called "artist". (So there.)

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Goofy #60 - Gemini



Today's sketch is more of an artsy-fartsy thing. When I was kid I was absolutely enthralled by the US space program. I just loved (and still do love) anything related to space flight. I'd spend hours and hours researching and drawing all the spacecraft. What made that possible is that I built scale model kits of all the various spacecraft, so I got to know them inside and out. This sketch is a study for a larger drawing I did back in 1987. It's a sketch of Astronaut Ed White spacewalking during the Gemini 4 mission.
(Rapidograph pen and marker on sketch pad paper.)

Friday, March 02, 2007

Goofy Bonus #15d - The Kollective Brain



This final bonus sketch is of the band's other founding member and rythym section, Marty Devoid on the skins. Yeah, I used to be that skinny. Through these 45 year old eyes, we don't look quite as cool and hip now as we thought we did back then. At least WE didn't buy our punk from Hot Topic.
(Felt tip pens on drawing paper then photo-stated and pasted-up on board.)

Goofy Bonus #15c - The Kollective Brain



This is the first of two drawings of the founding members of the Kollective Brain. This is Charlie, the lead vocalist and lead guitar player. You could tell we're punks because we're not smiling. The angry young man bit and all that, ya know. We went from being a Ramones/Black Flag/Fear/DK type of band to a Husker Du/Minutemen/X band. Conceptually anyways.
(Felt tip pen on drawing paper then photo-stated and pasted-up on board.)

Goofy Bonus #15b - The Kollective Brain



This second piece of art was a smaller sticker that was better suited to sticking on a shirt on jacket. The "1001 Mega Tons" was the title of one of our songs that never was. This was printed on the same stock and in the same color as the bumper stickers.
(Grease pencil and marker on drawing paper, photo-stated and pasted-up on board.)

Goofy Bonus #15a - The Kollective Brain




A multi-post Friday bonus! Way back in the days following my graduation from high school in '79, my friend Charlie and I decided to start our own punk band. Neither one of us had any musical training, but that shouldn't stop punks, right? While spending many hours trying to come up with a name, Charlie said, "Come on, let's use our collective brain to figure this out." The Kollective Brain was born. We never learned to play any instruments, but we lived off the punk hipness of the-band-that-never-was for quite a few years. Because I worked in a print shop when not at school at the the time, I was able to work on some of the band's image pieces. We printed-up fliers and stickers, and here for the first time in almost 30 years are some of those materials. First is a scan of the original artwork for our bumper stickers. They were printed in a blood red ink on crack and peel stock. Since it wasn't 1984 yet we thought that sounded both cool and foreboding for a tour date.
(Grease pencil on drawing paper, photo-stated and pasted-up on board with Letraset lettering added.)

Goofy #59 - Robber





This sketch was done for one of the school's textbooks about 17 years ago. I think it was for an English text in our High School GED program, but I'm not totally sure. What I can recall is that there was a passage in the book about a bank robbery. I also remember that this was later shaded with Zipatone screens for print reproduction. EDIT: I've added a color version used for online distribution.
(Felt tip markers on drawing paper.)

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Goofy #58 - Alien Goes to the Dentist



Another ol' chestnut! It's very freaky that this particular 'toon was next in the rotation because I just re-watched the original Alien movie on cable this past week. This sketch is a wacky "what if" from 17 years ago, again during my archive clerk days. Those days now seem very "Harvey Pekarish" to me.
(Felt tip on scrap paper.)

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Goofy Bonus #14 - Dave



A bonus sketch since it's Comic Book Wednesday! I made this doodle on my comic book order form about 10 years ago. Valentine's day just happened to fall on a Wednesday that year. Dave, the shop owner, was equally flattered and disturbed.
(Gel pen on comic order form and photocopied)

Goofy #57 - COPS



What if they shot the TV show COPS in Russia? That's the question I asked myself about 20 years ago and drew this cartoon. This was way back in the Commie CCCP days.
(Felt tip pen on scrap paper, xerox copied and colored with design marker.)

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Goofy #56 - 12 Angry Men



Another gag panel. I drew this one back in my archive clerk days. It still makes me laugh. I think I like the guy curled-up on the floor the most. NO YOU!
(Sharpee on scrap paper.)

Monday, February 26, 2007

Goofy Bonus #13 - Finger



Okay, it's official. I'm fuggin' sick of fuggin' snow. I didn't know who to complain to about it this morning, so I flipped the bird towards the heavens.
(Sharpee on scrap paper and colored in Photoshop.)

Goofy #55 - Beer



This sketch I did for a series of advertisements for a local bar. The bar has long since closed, but the drawing remains. On the left is the original drawing and on the right is a photostatic copy shaded with Zipatone screen tints. Old school baby.
(Rapidograph pens on drawing paper, stated and shaded with screens tints.)

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Yow! This has been going on for a month?

Okay, I've done what I set out to do. I've posted dumb ass cartoons to this blog for a solid month. Somehow I don't feel satisfied. Tell you what, I'll continue this goofy dog and pony show for a little while longer, or as long as my archive box of shitty sketches holds out. There are HUNDREDS of drawings in there, so everyone is in for a long and bumpy ride. Don't say I didn't warn ya. Oh, and by the way, click on stuff you see in the margins. These blogs don't grow on trees ya know.

Goofy #54 - Hank the Fetus



Because I love you all so much, a Sunday double. You're welcome! This one is another strip that never was. It was done back when I first started at the office but had a desire to do something comic related on the side. As usual, I did nothing with it. Hank is still one of my favorites.
(Sharpee on drawing paper.)

Goofy #53 - The King and a Baby



Here's a sketch I did for a company project requesting baby pictures. Everyone else submitted their real baby pictures, I submitted this one of Elvis and me as a baby. I used an old piece of board to get the yellowed effect. I have a definite preoccupation with Elvis, as you'll see with future drawings.
(Sharpee and greyscale design markers on old cardboard.)