Back in the Saddle

Drawn during Good Folk Fest.

Drawn during SPX.

After all the hub-bub of my book release, followed by SPX, and then followed in November by hob-nobbing with Daniel Johnston at the Good Folk Fest, I laid low on the front of updating thee olde sketchbook blog, preferring to let the images related to the In Tongues book linger for a while. But I speak to you today as a man with an almost finished sketchbook that hasn't even been scanned from yet (outside of the two above examples), and I'm ready again to rumble.

So there you have it, images drawn while in attendance at SPX/Good Folk Fest. Deep space, old jokes, the song remains the same...

In Tongues Illustrated: 1/250, A/J

In Tongues Illustrated is a signed, numbered limited edition book of 250 copies, in case you didn't know. The first ten copies also are lettered A-J and feature original drawings on the last page of the book. Those copies are priced 100 dollars more than the other copies, so if you buy the book from me one of these special editions is 130, 140 if you're mail ordering it, 150 if I'm mailing it to you overseas. I used the drawings as a way to revisit characters and situations from the book. Above, with the first one, we have Jack's nemesis, after a fashion, born of smoke and pollution, from the "Early Adventures of Jack Lustmord" strip.

In Tongues Illustrated: 2/250, B/J

Misericordia the Misologist gets to the point of it all.

In Tongues Illustrated: 3/250, C/J

Dr. Skull and one of his gang, living the life.

In Tongues Illustrated: 4/250, D/J

Mona cast in the role of the god (turned goddess in this case) Khnum from the "Yes! I Descended into Mona's Madness!" strip, in which Jack also shows up as the king's ka. I lifted this idea from an example in Julian Jaynes's The Origin of Consciousness in the Break Down of the Bicameral Mind.

In Tongues Illustrated: 5/250, E/J

This robotic entity in the employ of Lustmord, Inc. from "The Early Adventures of Jack Lustmord" returns to compute (or not to compute), perchance to dream of his own private cybernetic Mona.

In Tongues Illustrated: 6/250, F/J

The dyslexic veteran of half-remembered wars in "The Ballad of One Hand" returns with a practical lesson in self actualization.

In Tongues Illustrated: 7/250, G/J

Here's another variation on the final, "epidermal epilogue" image.

In Tongues Ilustrated: 8/250, H/J

Here's the character without a name from the "Prologue" to the book. He seems to have something of a Dockery family resemblence to me...

In Tongues Illustrated: 9/250, I/J

Jack Lustmord ponders the imponderables with a classic tobacco cigarette. A little more composed than he appears on the cover of the book. And perhaps a touch thinner. Not unlike his creator (that would be me, not the Lord, but who's keeping score?).

In Tongues Illustrated: 10/250, J/J

Mask or Machine? gives the thumbs up from a distant, four-fingered place.

The Infancy of Misericordia the Misologist II

Misericordia the Misologist will bring it on home, a lamplighter if you please. Due to the disruption in computer activity, I'm a little late in finishing up the In Tongues Illustrated sketches. But I'm ready willing & able to wrap it up soon. Following this post, I'll get all the A-J images up for the world to see, then it's back to Mr. Sketchum business as usual.

Computer Limbo

Thanks to all who made the In Tongues Illustrated book release one heckuva party in Lexington, Kentucky this past weekend.

As for right now, it's off to SPX I go this weekend.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that the home computer is in the shop , and it was not back as soon as it was reported to be, I have been out of the cyberspace realm, and, as a consequence, I am behind on getting the rest of the ITI related images posted. As soon as I do (I'm borrowing a pal's laptop just to catch up on the basics), whenever the hell that is, the first ten copies marked A-J with the original drawings will be up here, in addition to a few more sketches.

'Till then, enjoy the Wallace Wood perennial favorite above.

Oh Yes, She's the Great Procuress

Above is the pencil roughs for blocking out the second page of "The Lives and Times of Mona," which is the third page in a cycle about the Mona character that acts as a prologue to the "Blood Around the Heart" story. The inspiration came from photographs from the Bob Burns collection of a lady in the process of getting her monster make-up applied.

The Infancy of Misericordia the Misologist

The name came before the image this round, so I had to go searching for the man to fit the name.

Rogues' Gallery VI

Move the Blake quote into the word balloon and then one has, "Floppy the William Blake scholar and tumorous dance instructor."

Rogues' Gallery V

First appearance at bottom right of Professor Blankwind, author of My Mother, The Whore.

Rouges' Gallery IV

Amongst the "Endless Pissing," we have he who would be, "Dr. Sellers the iron mask fetishist and arthritis specialist."

Rogues' Gallery III

"Phil-O-Tron the Ancient Astronaut from Florida."

Rogues' Gallery II

He who would become Rupert, "who claims to be the greatest living expert on obscure venereal diseases."

Rogues' Gallery I

The cast of characters that appear in counterpoint to our main man in "Another Day at the office of Mask Or Machine?" are culled from random imagery in sketchbooks. The above mutated into the carnival family.

"Late Night to Nothing...The Hand, Ill-Equipped"

Working out the title design for "Blood Around the Heart," apparently, ye olde arthritis was getting in the way. Cha-cha-cha.

Mask or Machine Arises: Part III

Turning to ideas for the first storyline, Jesse Todd further fiddles with "Mask or Machine?" design ideas, especially the skull-masked gang to be foes for He Who Would Be Named (improbably) "Mask or Machine?"

Mask or Machine? Arises: Part II

And on the second day (or maybe it was a few minutes later, hell, I don't remember), Jesse Todd recalled upon the squiggles which begat the face that was to be "Mask or Machine?" and verily raised unto his pencil and squiggled again lines that would form his good work.

Mask or Machine? Arises: Part I

In the maelstrom of a squiggled mass, the face of He Who Would Be Named "Mask or Machine?" appeared. Jesse Todd saw His work. And knew that it was good.

Early Adventures in "the Early Adventures of Jack Lustmord"

Character design sketches from the process of putting together "The Early Adventures of Jack Lustmord" strip from In Tongues Illustrated. I was recently re-reading Ivan Brunetti's interview from The Comics Journal in which he speaks upong the superiority of the initial doodle. I must say the personality of the strange entity in the hat that emerges from the chminey smoke...I relate to him more in the little sketch than I do in the finalized, over-labored version. Oh well, what can one do?

The Origin of "Epidermal Epilogue: the Birth of Jack Lustmord IV"

These are the original sketches, of an ancient mask of South American origin, that would eventually lead to the imagery of the last vignette in In Tongues Illustrated. I no longer have the actual source...I believe I was studying this from someone else's magazine while I was visiting he or she (the memory is dim), an article about new archaeological excavations. The image percolated in my mind and aged in my sketchbook, knowing that I wanted to use it for something. Of course, it would eventually wind its way into the last two pages of my book, altered and incorporated into the character Jack's reality principle.

In Tongues Illustrated Book Release 9/27

When: Saturday September 27th 7-9pm
Where: Morris Book Shop, 408 Southland Drive, Lexington, KY
What: Music by Warmer Milks (http://tombstonegravy.blogspot.com/)

"In Tongues Illustrated is a paper product that, like toilet paper and the Bible, belongs in every home. Buy it and dig it or continue on your dreary way to the mass grave of mediocrity."--Nick Tosches, author of In the Hand of Dante
http://www.myspace.com/nicktosches

"Disorientation is common when viewing scathing white-hot truths such as those contained in Dockery's comics."
--Jeffrey Scott Holland, artist/writer, author of Weird Kentucky
http://www.jeffreyscottholland.com/

In Tongues Illustrated is my fifty page graphic novel meets art book, a signed & numbered limited edition of 250 copies, also including the first ten of which are in addition lettered A-J featuring an original drawing on the back page that can be had for a few extra dollars. The interior is offset printed with a cover that is a combination of offset and letter press (the latter done with artist-printmaker Ben Durham at his Tug & Maul press in Midway, KY), and the book is bound Chicago style, giving it that certain Frankenstein meets rustic primitive visionary essence (and what other essence would I strive for, really?).

In the month of September, I'll be building up the official book release by updating Covertly and by Snatches with examples of sketches that pertained to the development of the In Tongues book, as well as displaying the aforementioned original drawings for the first ten copies marked A-J.

Also tune in to Mick Jeffries's Trivial Thursdays (http://minglefreely.blogspot.com/) program Sept. 25th 7-9AM, the Thursday before the 27th, as I'll be the guest on his WRFL 88.1FM (http://wrfl.fm/) show, talking trash about my book amongst other (ir)relevant flotsam & jetsam, with special guest host Brian Manke.

The weekend of the 27th precedes my sojourn with the book to SPX (a sorta comic convention that's more in line with the underground/alternative/self-publishing tradition than simply the superhero thing) in Bethesda, Maryland (http://www.spxpo.com/).

Lastly, this release party will be bookended on the local Lexington tip with my inclusion in the Lexington Art League's "Comix" exhibition running February 7 to March 28, 2009, with a Gallery-Hop reception on Feb. 20th. If for some reason you can't make it to the release party at Morris Books, keep your dance card open for Feb. 20th.

Cheers.
J.T. Dockery
http://jtdockery.com/

I should go out and honk the horn; it's Independence Day. Instead, I just pour myself a drink.

The title of this post is a quote from Tom Waits. The sentiment is mine.

Anywho, ladies & germs, it's the 4th of July. This same day last year I spent the first night in the first house I've owned with my lady, Jessi Fehrenbach. She's off on some sojourn so this year on this particular anniversary/holiday, I find myself alone, spanking my pud, thinking & drinking.

Often, today, my thoughts have turned to my betrothed. Thumbing through a sketchbook that dates from the 2001/2002 era (the general time of the full flowering of our love, baby), I found several studies drawn in graphite of my lady. So this day I choose to pay tribute to the woman of all women in my life by proffering a couple of such artifacts.

And, boys, lemme tell ya: Get yerself a leggy woman. Not only is Miss Kitty Twister stacked up top but down below her legs are long & strong. My gal is red hot; your gal ain't doodley-squat.

A shrine to woman. Mary Magdalene. Hot tamale.

A Weekend's Meditation from Uncle Heraclitus

As I step forth, one foot at a time, into the weekend, I offer this humble bit of ink and paper and what all. As Jerry Lee Lewis would probably say, "Think about it, darlin'."

What a Difference a Discombobulation Makes

There's holistic and then there's just holes. I've liked this page from a recent moleskine sketchbook spread. But the elements just didn't seem to warrant a scan as a whole. You got the "cheese" gal, who is sporting the most Dan Clowes-ian mouth I've ever attempted to bestow upon a character.

Then you got this guy above, who seems to be my own personal meditation on decapitation and manifest destiny, if you will.

This arty head, which serves no practical purpose.

And then this guy, I don't even wanna think about too much.

But when you separate these images out and then put 'em back together again, the chemistry seems to coalesce into some kinda sparity as opposed to disparity. I mean, maybe.

Schematics For Today's Man

These guys seem prepared. Or maybe just self-deluded. There's bio mechanics and then there's the rest of us.

Anger! Guilt! Money! Monsters!

These are just a few of what I call the "wondrous compulsions." Witness, and smell the gnosis. Or, as Hasil Adkins put it, "Be that chicken."

Rebirth Yourself

I think about outer-space. Both as a reality, and as a metaphor-like. Sometimes I think about the tv show, Lost in Space, too (or three). When I was a kid, I used to watch it in syndication on Sundays, if I was lucky enough not to have to go to church, that is. "Rebirth yourself," was a phrase I caught from some redneck talking about drug rehabilitation, "You got to rebirth yourself," he said. It can be a fine line between poets of the ages and babbling moe-rons.

The Unabashed Interiority of It All

Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers did a bang up version of "Goody, Goody." Putamadre is a naughty word in Spanish. Carley provided the vocabulary lesson.

JFK

I've done betrayed my mission statement. Naw, this ain't from a sketchbook. What it is, is a portrait of JFK for a friend of mine. Or, to be more specific, a friend of mine who is dating an Irish. And that mick's mother back in the old country wanted a picture of Kennedy, emphasizing the assassinated former commander-in-chief's potato eating lineage. I was happy to oblige. Something about the visage of John "Jack" Fitzgerald Kennedy that's beyond iconic. I used to have a Kennedy head pencil sharpener. You'd stick in the pencil in the top of Pres's head, and rotate the skull around the pencil.

Narcotic Lull of William Blake & the 1930s

My mind often turns to William Blake. He shoulda had his own comic book. Well, he sorta did, didn't he? The list of pre-code 30s pictures was doodled out whilst watching a documentary about pre-code Hollywood. Some of 'em I've seen, a few I haven't, but it's been long enough even for the ones I've seen that I'd like to re-visit 'em. I'm just ones of God's children, like Blake, or Jean Harlow...hey, what the hell does that one guy have on his head anyway?

Cosmic Crusaders and Crackpots

I had a dream about the guy in the lower right hand corner last night. The sketch already existed, but the dream was, rather, about a comic book character that I based this drawing on, even though the drawing was done months ago. Oh well, who am I to judge or speak authoritatively about what rattles around in my skull? Only that, with the dream of last night, it seems the appropriate note that I should post this today.

The Little Notebook: Unitarians vs. Film Noir

I got this smaller notebook that I rarely draw in. It's more used for lists of things, reminders, definitions of words, and various things that need not be strictly drawn. It's a handy book to have around when I'm not necessarily carrying around my bag, a sketchbook that's pocket-sized. But sometimes, such as when going to the Unitarian church with my honey, I trail off and do such things as doodle, or, in this case, sketch the early 20th century historical figure from a photo on the day's program book whilst the minister delivered a sermon on early women in the church.

Then, other times, such as this one above, I just gussy up my lists a bit. These are four film noirs I wanted to see but are technically out of print. Since then, I got to see Act of Violence (if anybody out there in tv land hears of the others being easily obtainable, drop me a line). I may run some more tidbits from the little sketch/notebooks in the future. Thanks for tuning in.

Larry

Another page in which I was beginning to think about character design from the aforementioned Spud Crazy collaboration with Nick Tosches. Nothing like a guy in a bathrobe, a Hindu loin-cloth, and a potato-esque growth on his side to dazzle the crowds.

Apes Speaking, Symbolic Marriage, Ya Know...The Usual

The ape makes me think of Peter Boyle as Frankenstein's monster in the comedy Young Frankenstein when he makes the intelligent speech after having been transplanted with Dr.Frankenstein's intellect. I don't know what else to tell you. Sometimes I just think about things. Other times the ink pen just tells me what to do. And I speak to you now sans premeditation.