1. For each of the first 20 people to comment on this journal (or whatever portion thereof), I will feature one of their pictures.

2. If you do comment and get featured here, please do the same in your journal, putting the tagger (aka, me!) on in the first slot. The idea of this is not to get a free feature, it is to spread art around for everyone.

I think we've got as many as we're going to get, so here goes:

1) So I am a big fan of artists can pull off that cartoony grotesque style like, I dunno Crumb or Ed Roth.  Actually, yeah, Itchyscratchy most reminds me of Ed Roth, though you can see a lot of influence from old Harvey-style comics as well.  Well, I don't know if there's actually any influence, it just looks like it.  I like all the grotty little details he includes in his art, veins in bloodshot eyeballs, little flecks of drool at the corners of the mouth, etc etc.  However, I'm going to feature this not-quite-so-gross Simpsons/Batman crossover: [link] : because I generally don't like cross-overs (They're mostly cheap ploys for hits because nerds have an odd fascination for them) but I like this one.  Maybe it's because it feels so right -- Mr. Burns WOULD be the penguin, Martin WOULD be the Riddler. Would Skinner be Two-Face? That's the only one I'm not completely sold on, but still! With a dead-on approximation of Simpsons style and a perfect understanding of the characters, this is what a cross-over should be.

2) asked that I not do them until they've posted more in their gallery so space is left intentionally blank until then.

3) I am in continual awe and jealousy of Bailzzararco's comic-making prowess.  Her comics have that elusive quality where they're both toally original and off-the-wall yet really eay to relate to. "Anime Guy and Dino Buddy," for example, is her new... sort of action hero series? It's difficult to describe, it's the adventures of an anime guy and his dinosaur buddy. Readers are plopped down into a surreal world with little explanation or background, but her world-building is so deft that every bizarre plot twist soon feels like the most natural thing in the world.  Even though I am a huge fan of Bailzzararco's comics, I am going to avoid choosing a comic piece for this showcase because it's not fair to grab one episode out of context. Instead, I am going to choose [link] because it's a perfect example of several things I enjoy about Bailzzararco's work: meticulous inking with great spidery little details, a great eye for costuming, and the uncanny ability to communicate a character's personality in a single image.

4) I feel like, for years, Nate Spigewood and I have continuously circled each other without ever making contact, like ships in the night.  That's so weird. I'm pretty sure that we've seen each other on DA, on Twitter, on Tumblr, on TV Tropes, even on that short-lived fatty wank blog I had.  And yet I think this might be the first time that we've actually interacted? How odd is that.  Anyway, Nate's gallery is full of gag comics, and I like them because they remind me of what I loved so much about comics when I was a kid. Just the chance to tell a quick little story in four pictures.  It's I'm going to feature this strip from Nate's "In a Common Shell" series: [link] partly because it has an armadillo and a peccary and I love armadillos and peccaries. But also because I really enjoy Nate's mastery of the strip artform. It's not easy to get the timing and beat down for a strip -- you need to tell a comlete story from beginning to end AND have it finish on a joke.  A lot of professional cartoonists in the paper can't do this, maybe because they don't care, maybe because they're lazy hacks. Who knows? But Nate's got the right rhythm down pat, so I like that. I'm also rather impressed with his hand lettering, which, while a little cramped, looks really good. That's something I was never able to get right in any of my comics.

5) SO there's a lot to like in this gallery because there are a lot of robots and fat chicks and I like both those things, moreso the fat chicks, but AHEM I'm going to pick this picture of a bird [link] because I have a soft spot for artists working outside their usual genre.  This is traditional media, which is always nice to see, there aren't to omany people who can handle watercolors these days. I tried to once and I just always ended up with shapeless blobs and then the paper fell apart.  I like the subtle wash effect, and also that we've got a nice strong contrast between the warm yellows of the bird and the cool grays of the background. Really makes it pop. I think the bird might be some kind of junco?

6) I said that I always liked cartoonists who can work both cute and grotesque, and Royaljellysandwich is probably one of the best in that field, who can do cute girls and horrible monsters with equal ease. He's one of those guys who can draw in other styles when need be but always puts his own recognizable stamp on a piece. I never dislike a picture with a tasty round lady in it, so it's hard to pick the right one to feature but I think I would have to go with [link] . I'm tickled by the old timey ink blot homage, the manic look in Felix's normally dead pac-man eyes, and the way his arms are stretched out just a tad too long to be right but not too far to notice. That's a thing I like, when artists deliberately tweak anatomy to create a more powerful impact. But I'm also charmed by something ineffable about Sheba's figure there. Maybe the pleasing roundness of the belly was done just right for my proclivities, I don't know. Maybe it's the little details in the face, the slight hint of double chin or the puff in the cheeks, that gives her face a nice round look often forgotten by artists who work in this field.  I don't know, I'm just a guy who likes looking at pictures of fatties, not a guy who thinks up bullshit reasons to justify it haha. All I know is what I like.

7) So I'm going to ignore the top ten lists (as fun as they are) and the chubby girls (as much as I love them) in Chronorin's gallery to instead pick something that I think is a little more indicative of his work: [link] A lot of Chronorin's pictures are difficult to describe, I'd most readily say they're rather Giger-esque. Like Giger's patings, Chronorin's art has that perfect marriage of soft human femininity with cold hard bio-mechanics that creates a dizzying mix of attraction and revulsion in any viewer. Snitch is a good example -- the mask, legs and abdomen are all tough insectoid shell, but you still get a sense of softness from the curve of the back and stomach. And what to make of those ruffs? Are they wispy human hair? Or are they stubbly insect chiton? Then you've got the little details that make it such a joy, that really hold the whole affair together -- like the little nubbly protrusions on the forearms and shins. Chronorin's expert use of colors here, muted purples and salmon, also help contribute to the strange otherworldly vibe of the picture.  It's never easy to know how to feel about his creatures, but I think that's the real appeal here: They defy easy answers.