Arbogast On Film has posted an interview with yours truly concerning the artwork that’s escaped from the flea market and ended up here the past few weeks. I’ve been in a noir kind of mood recently, so it was a kick to break out the wash and try my hand at ol’ Martin Balsam. He’s a tough one to get a hold of. It seems like those eyes would be a cinch, but they’re very elusive.

Between this and Suzanne Pleshette, I’ve been giving Hitchcock’s victims a lot of thought. The death of Marion Crane was probably Hitchcock’s most surprising kill, but I think Milton Abergost is a contender for second place. He’s a character we’re all familiar with, the competent detective who’s seen it all, but he’s wandered into the wrong movie. This is like nothing he’s ever encountered. The usual rules don’t apply. And therefore the events are like nothing he, or the audience, can hope to anticipate.

Ain’t It Cool News shows off a kick ass fan poster for Grind House which you can see on the right. The poster on the left is from Hell’s Belles, and was obviously used for reference. Hey, this is the grindhouse. If you’re looking for originality, you’ve come to the wrong place.

As I’ve mentioned once before, I count the days using a calendar courtesy of Cinema Sewer magazine, a publication published by cartoonist Robin Bougie that deals with all sorts of trash, from horror to porno to roller derbies and everything else your fevered little mind can imagine. The calendar is great, and I was looking forward to picking up the 2007 edition, but it looks like I’ll have to get a calendar with Ziggy instead. Illustrator Danny Hellman ponders the reason why the calendar isn’t being made over on his blog.

Bad news from the Bougieman: owing to Tower Records’ recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the plug has been pulled on the Cinema Sewer calendar for 2007. I’m not sure exactly what kind of arrangement Robin had with the folks at Tower; perhaps they were funding the print run, or maybe their distribution was key. In any event, Tower has pulled out, and the calendar is kaput.

The various illustrations can be found on various artists’ blogs and sties. Here’s the rundown.

The cover, a Christmas-themed page showcasing Santa Claus moonlighting as a vampire hunter, I Love Maria, Ichi The Killer, Lady Snowblood, Blood Freak, Klaus Kinski, The Foul King, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, Majin, Rock N’ Roll Nightmare, Suburbia, and Sex and Fury.

I received my copy of The Criterion Collection’s Jigoku today, and tucked away in the case was a postcard promoting their upcoming release of Divorce - Italian Style. I was so taken by Jaime Hernandez’ artwork on the postcard that it took me a second look to realize how macabre it actually is.

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I went through a bubblegum card phase as a kid, and one of my most prized sets was a horror hodgepodge that included films like the remake of The Fly and Pumpkinhead, but I would have flipped if there had been a set of straight-up zombie cards. Answering my prayers, Bubblegumfink has cranked out yet another one of his spectacular faux-bubblegum card sets, this time setting his sights on the original Dawn of the Dead by George A. Romero.

David Cronenberg is helping curate an exhibit on Andy Warhol at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto in a few weeks. The AGO blog has an interesting quote from the director on Warhol’s influence.

“Andy was making underground films when I was making underground films, and I was more inspired by him than by Hollywood. He created himself: He was an outsider, a Slovakian, Catholic, gay, an artist, poor; an outsider in his own family, a triple outsider like Kafka, with his nose pressed against the New York window. And, he became the ultimate insider, the center of his own world, and drew people to him. He became a huge example of the invention of an identity.”

I may be passing through Toronto around the time of Cronenberg’s lecture. It might make missing The Woods screening at Fantasia easier to take.

The art blog Drawn has the goods on The Graphic Imperative, a poster exhibit devoted to sociopolitical causes such as awareness, tolerance and civil rights. They also seem to have an odd appreciation for giant movie monsters.

The image encourages reconciliation between two “giant” nations, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., symbolized by Godzilla and King Kong. The poster was designed to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. It was included in the “Images of Survival” exhibition project organized by the Shoshin Society, Washington, DC.

Wait a minute. Which one is the U.S. and which one is supposed to be the U.S.S.R.? And why is Japan getting the shaft here? The Cold War was so confusing.