Medellin: day... uh...

Okay, we're still on day one. But the evening. Mark and Vivi had us all over to their rooftop for a barbecue, with baby potatoes, masa cakes and all sorts of juicy little bits of meat to dip in various sauces. So good. this is as we arrived: Santiago, Karol, Fran Lopez and Sarah Glidden

Below: Santiago Garcia who was really fun to banter with re: whether Frank Miller or Alan Moore was a better writer in the 80's. The last night in Medellin he and I had a little on-stage talk about topics closer to home, including, to my surprise, my dad's house and how to draw skateboarders on a Mac in 1986.

This was the roof before the sun was all the way down.

And Sarah appreciating the evening sky.

Some shadows on the wall from the futbol field across the street.

A very difficult to read image of the spread, with Karol and Fran Lopez.

The faceless figure on the right is Jesus Cossio from Peru, who had a lot of great questions at my talks, and probably did more drawings of the city than anyone (possibly excepting Sarah?).

It started raining shortly after the food had been eaten (good timing) and we all went downstairs into the apartment. Below are the ghosts of Fran, Joni B, Santiago and Truchafrita.

Hosts Mark and Vivi are on the left.

Mark with the very-hard-to-photograph-black-cat.

The very-hard-to-photograph-black cat.

The last night in Medellin Sarah and I ended up getting drinks with Mark and Vivi in Poblado after my talk (Vivi did simultaneous interpreting... what?). They're the best. It's a great sign when you go to a comics festival and can spend a whole night discussing art and politics, education and city planning, the importance of libraries and public transport, place and family ties.

Colombia Sketchbook: Medellin

The streets of the Poblado, faces from the Metro, the table at Zorba, Joni and some guys at Plaza de Botero.

Marie-Florentine Geoffroy

I met Marie-Flo last Fall at Pierre Feuille Ciseaux in France. In the hubbub of strong personalities she might have gone almost unnoticed. Tall and thin, all in blacks and grays, with close cropped hair and news-boy cap, she was quiet, with a serious affect that gave way suddenly to an infectious smile in conversation. Her work was quietly brilliant, as was her eye. With her passing the world is poorer. She had more work to do.

The First Day in Medellin

I arrived in Medellin, Colombia Saturday night for the Entrevinetas Comics Festival. To get from the airport to the city we drove through what were clearly some pretty dramatic mountains, but it was pitch black, so we couldn't see much. The next day we got a treat. The city is beautiful.

On the way to the metro we came across the clothes drying method of the guy who lives under the overpass.

From there our hosts took us on the tramway, which was recently built as an extension of the metro transit system, up the side of a mountain to one of the highest points in the city.

In the neighborhood at the top of the tramway it felt like some sort of street festival. But it was just Sunday afternoon. Everyone and their mom and their three cousins was out hanging out, riding donkeys, shooting target practice with a BB gun, and running around in the little 3' bowl with the sleeping dog next to it. It was awesome. I thought about coming back to skate the bowl later, but the word was that that area might not be so safe on one's own on a weekday. Alas. Anyway it was a pretty long trip from the hostel.

Above: Fran Lopez, Jesus Cossio, Santiago Garcia, Sarah Glidden, and me.

Burro rides!

Lilli Carre has been busy this summer

I arrived in Medellin, Colombia Saturday night for the Entrevinetas Comics Festival. The city is beautiful. I'll post some pictures and things soon, but I just saw this little tidbit of a preview from something Lilli Carre's been working on this summer, and thought I'd share it quickly this morning before I go hang originals at the Medellin Aquarium.

Pre-history part 4

Some comics, a revolutionary anarchist bowler and some rock stars for good measure.

Prehistory part 3

Below are a few of many many skateboarding drawings. My dad got a little beige Apple MacIntosh in maybe 1987. I spent a lot of time drawing stuff like this first piece in its bundled program 'MacDraw' that year (impressively the machine was still working – and in use – until just a couple of years ago). Below that are drawings of mid-west skater icons Neil Blender and Jesse Neuhaus, and 'studies' for a semi auto-bio comic I was planning (there was a lot more planning of comics than there was actual drawing of them when I was a kid). The last few drawings I'm pretty sure were heavily influenced by Love and Rockets and Rocketeer.