transatlantis » Zak Sally http://www.transatlantis.net/blog Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:23:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 A Cat in Minneapolis http://www.transatlantis.net/blog/2009/10/28/a-cat-in-minneapolis/ http://www.transatlantis.net/blog/2009/10/28/a-cat-in-minneapolis/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:27:30 +0000 http://www.transatlantis.net/blog/?p=217 On Saturday (Oct. 24th) John Porcellino arrived in Minneapolis to promote his new King Cat collection, Map of My Heart. He rode in on a weird wind charged with spectral energies. The evening started out at Big Brain Comics, where John Porcellino & Zak Sally held a joint signing. Perhaps the ectoplasmic currents were stirred by the eerie juxtaposition of two old friends publishing work from roughly the same time period. Sally’s Like a Dog and Porcellino’s Map of My Heart exhume old material, reopen old wounds and release the ghosts of the past… ghosts which still haunt both authors… ghosts which haunted the small gathering that convened at the West Bank Social Center to see John speak about his life and work.
Zak Sally roused the poltergeist by a spirited reading of an epic letter (penned by Mr. Mike) from John’s book. As if ordained by malicious spirits, the overpowering sound of a brass band emanated from the floor the moment John took stage to speak. Undeterred he pressed on struggling against the powerful oompa rhythms which permeated the air. I detected a presence in the room… was it the absence of Maisie Kukoc? As he read from the book and illuminated the comics with stories of his health struggles and divorce a change started taking place in the general mood. John no longer labored against the brass cacophony, just the opposite, it became the soundtrack to an exorcism. The painful memories of past struggle transformed via the alchemy of King Cat into a personal lapis philosophorum.
I took only a few pictures. They can be seen in my Flickr stream. Ghost are difficult enough to capture on film. Are digital pixels a better medium? But the presence of ghosts can be detected by the eerie juxtapositions they leave behind.
eerie juxtapostion
At the end of event, we learned that the artists who run the West Bank Social Center were about to embark on a ghost finding experiment by constructing a giant cardboard Ouija Board. I think their efforts were successful.

]]> http://www.transatlantis.net/blog/2009/10/28/a-cat-in-minneapolis/feed/ 0 Dramatic Resurrection http://www.transatlantis.net/blog/2008/11/19/dramatic-resurrection/ http://www.transatlantis.net/blog/2008/11/19/dramatic-resurrection/#comments Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:08:00 +0000 http://www.transatlantis.net/blog/?p=117 The Drama Cover Issue 1 The Drama Cover Issue 2 The Drama Cover Issue 3 The Drama Cover Issue 4 The Drama Cover Issue 5 The Drama Cover Issue 6 The Drama Cover Issue 7 The Drama Cover Issue 8 The Drama Cover Issue 9

I was sad to see the Drama Magazine fold up a couple of years back. I never really got around to writing an obituary… and it looks like I may not have to. Sort of.
This has probably been online for some time. Still, it’s pretty cool: the entire run of the magazine is now available as free PDFs! It was a cool mag, fantastically designed (each issue better than the previous) with a great 2-color comics section. I had the privilege to contribute to the last 4 issues along with such great cartoonists as Vanessa Davis, Zak Sally, Matthew Thurber, Dash Shaw and many others. RIP The Drama. Long live the Drama. Nothing stays dead for long. All that is solid melts into air. Internet immortality and all that…

Still, I’m going to treasure my hard copies that much more. Thanks to Joel & Travis for asking me to contribute and for being such gracious editors.

]]> http://www.transatlantis.net/blog/2008/11/19/dramatic-resurrection/feed/ 0 Hot Ink: Comics Art in Minnesota http://www.transatlantis.net/blog/2008/10/03/hot-ink-comics-art-in-minnesota/ http://www.transatlantis.net/blog/2008/10/03/hot-ink-comics-art-in-minnesota/#comments Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:06:01 +0000 http://www.transatlantis.net/blog/?p=114 minnesota museum of american art photo

From the MMAA:
The Minnesota Museum of American Art is proud to announce the opening of its fall exhibition, Hot Ink: Comic Art in Minnesota on September 28, 2008.
The MMAA will host an opening party on October 3, 2008. The party will open up for MMAA members only at 7pm and open for the general public at 8pm. DJ Justin Olson will spin a live set and complimentary refreshments will be provided.
Admission for this event will be $10 for the general public and $5 for students and MMAA members.
Here’s a list of artists included in the show:
Kevin Cannon
Zander Cannon
Will Dinski
Tom Kaczynski (that’s me!)
Reynold Kissling
Lars Martinson
King Mini
Tyler Page
Evan G. Palmer
Brittney Sabo
Zak Sally
Barbara Schulz
Tim Sievert
Andy Singer
Tom Spence
Steven Stwalley
A bunch of my originals will be on display along with other artifacts and sketchbooks. I’ll be at the event tonight so stop by and say hello.

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The Drama magazine just came out with what appears to be the biggest issue to date. There are interviews with Julie Doucet, Elvis Studio, tons of other art and a LOT more comics than last time. Some of the other contributing cartoonists are: Vanessa Davis, Zak Sally, PaperRad, Travis Robertson, Tom Gauld and tons of others. Oh and one of those comics pages is a one-page comic by me. Should be available in stores now, or get it directly from the publisher HERE.

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