Hugo’s Blog

Earlier this week, I got my hands on a copy of DOA COMICS, a collection of Jim Osborne's work culled from a variety of underground comix and published in 1976. This book needs to be reprinted, as Jim's work truly deserves more attention. You can see the cover and read a short bio here, as well as some reminiscences of people who knew him here, (thanks for the link, Dexter!) but it may be best to let his work speak for him.

The mind-blowing title page for his story in the UG classic THRILLING MURDER COMICS #1 (1971)

(A bit gets lost in this reprinted version, as the original was printed in black, white, and red. The roses on the lampshade, the blood on the knife and floor, the words "J. Osborne" in a balloon under the title, and the button on Jim's lapel, which reads "LSD", were all originally printed in red.)

A few panels from the same story. Take that, BASKET CASE!

A beautiful page from the story "Hollywood Tragedy: The Suicide of Lupe Velez" (1974)

Jim was experimenting with different drawing styles in the mid-70's; it's really a shame that he abandoned drawing and dropped out of comics soon after.
From "Morning in Mallorca" (1975)

Hey, lookit what I got in the mail today: original artwork from none other than the Krazy Kanadian Komix King himself, dexter_cockburn!

I'm gazing upon this work of beauty and creaming--literally, creaming! And the generous bastard even threw in the title page

Many thanks, Dexter!

This one's about 6 years old*, though it didn't see the light of day until 2008, when it was published in TYPHON, edited by Danny Hellman (who also did the coloring). Thanks, Danny!

3 more pages

You know that feeling when you're too far in with something to abandon it but at the same time you know it's irredeemably fucked up and not worth finishing? I sure do after drawing this. Cunt on a crutch, when will I learn?! I thought I'd left this excessive hatching behind, but no, it's still in my system...and it's the death of this drawing. I do like the girls, but they are almost exclusively line. I should have continued in that style for the rest of the drawing, with solid blacks and just enough shading to indicate form. I intended to move the cobra back (closer to the viewer), but by the time it came to inking it I was fed up and just wanted to finish.

This drawing was inspired by a great collection of sexploitation film title screens that bougieman posted about a month back. I did the pencils back then, but didn't get around to inking it until now.

Been sick as a dog since yesterday morning. Judging from the symptoms, I think it's food poisoning. Feeling a bit better today, but I'm really fucking wiped. I was gonna make a quick little hourly comic detailing all the disgusting events of my day yesterday, but I just don't have the energy. So, in the meantime, here's this

This one is ancient. Probably 12 years old. Christ, what a wasted life!

One of them there ACTION MEMEs, by way of locopuff, who stole it from le_cloitre:

The first seven (7) people to respond to this post will get something made by me.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
- What I create will be just for you.
- It'll be done this year (2009).
- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a mix CD. It may be a poem. I may draw or paint something. I might bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure! [not me either]
- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch is that you have to put this in your journal as well, if you expect me to do something for you.

Bring it!

EDIT: If you've paid even minimal attention to my postings in the last year, you'll probably have a clue as to what I'll send you. Rest assured, it won't be baked goods (my oven doesn't work...I think there's a spider colony living in there by now), and I sure as hell won't write you a poem. Making a mix CD is beyond my abilities. So what does that leave?

Been busy with a bunch of projects, so I haven't been doing much aimless sketching lately. When I do, it's just typical stuff (i.e., faces of ugly and/or desperate types).

cut for size

So, everybody is doing these hourly comic things. And I thought I'd give it a shot, only I don't know the rules for it, so I only did the first hour of my day and then I lost interest. I think you're supposed to draw a panel for every hour, but screw it

The metal plates I'm referring to are those fucking big sheets of metal that they lay down on the road when they do construction. There's two of them on my fucking street, just outside my window. They put them down there on Thursday afternoon and they haven't been back since. Now every time a car or a bus or a truck drives down my block--which is every fucking minute as it's a busy goddamn street--the plates bounce and bang around with a gigantic metallic clang. It is driving me insane. I swear, I'm growing a tumor from anger and aggravation.
And the little cat at the window is Zoe, one of the feral cats from the colony that lives in my backyard. The poor thing got injured on her neck and she's in such bad shape. This cat...I swear, I don't know what to do. I have to help her, but she's such a wild thing, she runs away from me if I get too close, and, truth be told, I'm a fucking pussy---I screw up my courage and prepare to grab her when her guard is down while she's eating, and I fucking chicken out. I choke. Putting aside the practical difficulties of grabbing her and stuffing her into a pet carrier (which are substantial), I just choke. weeblondhooker actually got a hold of her a couple of weeks ago, but she managed to get away. Poor thing. Look at her. She fucking breaks my heart.

Sir Thomas is another cat who steals everybody's food.
So, after the events described in the comic above, I went into the city, got a haircut, which is way too short and makes me look like a narc circa 1953, killed some time at a used bookstore, got some coffee and doodled in my sketchbook, came home and did some drawing, got drunk, and drew the above and here I am, one day closer to the grave. Good night!

This comic will appear in a free comics newspaper called FEAST that'll be available in New Orleans this Spring. Since anybody'll be able to pick it up, I had to do something G-rated, which is always a challenge for me.
My long-time good friend Brad Benischek is one of the editors.