RIP, Dear Moebius.

Hunter, by Jean Giraud, aka Moebius.

Much influence upon my formative years was wielded by this man.

Much.

Every new issue of Metal Hurlant, or Heavy Metal as it was known here, was eagerly awaited, poured over and savored over and over and over again… and I could never get enough.

Never.

Jean Giraud helped make me what I am today. And for that I thank him.

May you travel safely through all the incredible journeys you so well imagined with new ones every day, good Sir.

To learn more, visit this very nice obituary.

Peace.

Micah Hanks On The Cryptozoological Art Of R. Crumb.

As readers might deduce from perusing these pages, I have long been a fan of the legendary artist R. Crumb. His visions have had a lasting influence upon what makes me who and what I am.

Crumb has tackled innumerable issues and fortunately Fortean concepts sneak in there every once in a while, with a nice chunk of cryptozoology.

Bigfoot, aliens and even our pals the Reptilians have been featured.

Here’s a pic of a Reptilian combined with religion from his book The Book of Genesis, which took him four years to do…

The inspiration for this quick post is a fine piece I’ve just read on exactly this subject by WATT’s friend Micah Hanks over at his most excellent blog, called The Gralien Report…

Read it all >>> at Crumbs of Cryptozoology: The Fortean Art of R. Crumb!

RIP Frank Frazetta

Oh dear, another childhood hero has taken to soaring amongst the stars… yes, the genius of Frank Frazetta has passed on.

This man’s art was, from the very second I first saw it… and remaining so to this day –  a very powerful influence on yours truly. He helped shape and amplify my sense of wonder, my quest for truth.

He ripped the blinders from my mind in a way that still stops me dead in my tracks whenever a Frazetta appears within eyeshot…

I will miss you Sir.

Richard Metzger, a friend of WATT, who lives over at Dangerous Minds, has posted an excellent quote that I will repeat here, because, well, it’s true…

Jason Louv says, “Deep down, all that (even nominally straight) men really want to do is kill everything that moves and then fly away on a badass wyvern with all of the naked barbarian maidens in sight, likely while “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin plays in the background. This was the great revelation that drove Frank Frazetta, god rest his soul, to the top of the world of fantasy art. His style has been imitated by every fantasy book cover artist and prison punk trying to draw some art to trade for cigarettes since. For his work perfectly captured the pure essence of the teenage male libido in as unvarnished of a form as “Dirty Dancing” did for the teenage female libido. Jah bless.”

Mr. Frazetta’s obituary in the LA Times.

Esref Armagan, A Most Extraordinary Man.

This video is a treat. You owe it to yourself to see this. It will fill you with amazement and maybe even hope for mankind.

This man, Esref Armagan, is a painter. A really excellent painter. He hails from Ankara, Turkey. Medical scientists dote over him. Why would medical scientists, in particular perception and cognition psychologists, clamor over and voraciously study a Turkish dude who paints at every available opportunity? 

Elementary! They, very simply, cannot comprehend what he is able to do, you see. They cannot comprehend what their instruments so faithfully tell them is happening. I love it.

Esref is blind. Yes. Blind. But, not just blind… Mr. Armagan goes well beyond that… in that he doesn’t have any eyes at all! That’s thanks to a rare genetic impropriety.

And yet… he paints fabulous pictures. As one artist to another… they’re really damn good. With great use of light, of shadow, of color… and of perspective. All perfect. Perspective is what gets most folks. Esref says that he sees and plans the picture out completely  before even starting to paint or draw. And the results are… there for you to see.

At the end of this video you’ll watch as he becomes the first man in 600 years to complete a certain task… set up for him by the aforementioned medi-boffins. Just absolutely amazing. And so wonderfully Fortean. Enjoy and wonder!

Visit Mr Armagan’s website!