any volume will do. your eyes will thank you.

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Product Description

Fueled by the front and back cover paintings of Mark Ryden, the outsider art movement's leading contemporary painter, Vol. 11 broke new sales records for our preeminent anthology of the graphic arts. BLAB!'s list of contributors past and present reads like a Who's Who of the contemporary visual art world. Vol. 11 earned raves from both Print and Graphis magazines. BLAB! is edited and designed by five-time New York Festival of Advertising award-winner Monte Beauchamp. Under his guidance, BLAB! has grown from a fanzine begun almost 20 years ago to an annual coffee-table showcase of impeccable production values, wild experimentation and master craftsmanship. BLAB! is an objet d'art that has become a standard-bearer in the world of professional graphic arts.

This volume features leading contemporary cartoonists and illustrators like Gary Baseman (creator of ABC's Teacher's Pet), Christian Northeast, the Clayton Brothers, New York Times art director Steven Guarnaccia, Zap artist Spain Rodriguez, Richard Sala, Jonathon Rosen, Peter Kuper, Doug Allen, Drew Friedman, and many others. Vol. 11 and also include a feature on the popular Krampus devil cards that comprise the accompanying Fantagraphics title The Devil In Design (also edited by Beauchamp). Fully illustrated throughout with 42 pages color.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #635712 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 120 pages

From Booklist
The latest edition of the roughly annual anthology Blab is always welcome. Originally an elegantly packaged showcase for alternative cartoonists, Blab now includes cutting-edge graphics of all forms. New-to-Blab talents--notably the Clayton brothers and cover painter Mark Ryden, all known for their appearances in the alternative-art magazine Juxtapose --appear alongside Blab regulars, who are among the brightest luminaries in the comics-as-art world. Standout contributions include a droll story by American Illustration Award-winner Greg Clarke, David Goldin's tale of nautical child abuse, and disquieting visual fairy tales from Blanquet and Pamela Butler. Strong contributions from relative traditionalists Richard Sala, Peter Kuper, and Spain Rodriguez prompt regret that Blab has largely turned away from its comic-strip roots. Letdowns include a one-page toss-off from Drew Friedman and an inconsequential prose story by illustrator Lou Brooks (such occasional prose pieces are Blab' s Achilles' heel). Editor Beauchamp's contribution is an assortment of vintage German postcards depicting Krumpus, a Satanic anti-Santa who punishes wicked children. Sharply designed and attractively assembled, Blab belongs in libraries' graphic novel and fine-art collections. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Cutting-edge graphics of all forms....Sharply designed and attractively assembled. -- Booklist, Gordon Flagg

Eclectic, collective artwork...puts to shame Liechtenstein and those other arty shysters who rip off comics. -- The List, Miles Fielder

It is, simply, a great book. -- Chicago Tribune Magazine

Like The New Yorker for mutants. -- Los Angeles Reader

Neither periodical nor book, BLAB! is quite obviously a work of art. -- Comics Buyer's Guide

Since the demise of Art Spiegelman & Françoise Mouly's RAW, BLAB! is the leading showcase for contemporary cartoonists. -- Booklist

The latest edition—Vol. 11—is perhaps the most fully realized to date in terms of its scope and sumptuous visual presentation. -- Print Magazine

With superior printing, an overwide magazine size, a perfect-bound spine, and eclectic content, BLAB! pushes the limits of the form. -- Print

About the Author
Monte BeauchaMP edited The Life & Times of R. Crumb from St. Martin's Press. His work has appeared in Print, Communication Arts, American Illustration, and the New York Festival's Annual of Advertising. He lives in Chicago, IL.

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Customer Reviews

blabfest
you can judge a book by its cover. i sat and stared and sat and stared at this amazing BLAB cover, before summoning up the aesthetic gumption to peek inside; i was not disappointed. this is MAD magazine for adults, designed wonderfully, chockful of comic and artistic surprises. i even went back and bought blab 10. yeah, i was regressing. hats off to monte. a graphic tour de force--and fills a void where RAW left off.

Let's start a new book category and call it BLAB!
BLAB! sets a new standard in printed art media. One most often finds this beautifully crafted book displayed along with comic books and comics anthologies, graphic novels, etc,...when in fact, it's obviously none of the above. BLAB! exists in a realm beyond these other categories of which I am also an avid connoisseur. It's an amusement park ride that I'll savor to take upon my first glance at a new cover when it appears at a local bookstore! But what makes BLAB! truly special, aside from the highest degree of artist/writer talent, is it's remarkable eccentricity in design and conception. Blab! is the definitive wunderbook! Congratulations, Monte!

Zany illustrations and art deco
The black and white and color cartoons of the social commentary/cartoon book presentation Blab are presented in an oversized, eye-catching publication. Zany illustrations and art deco illustration make for a hard to describe yet appealing presentation.