Q: What Do Animals Adore? A: Baby Nightsoil Home Décor

Homes across the the United States have gotten drunk on the high aesthetic that is Baby Nightsoil Home Décor. As the laws of interior design continue to be repealed by terrorists of good taste, more and more people are embracing non-traditional art, adding unique pieces such as Baby Nightsoil throwpillows to tie their home environments together. With the rising popularity of these bold accoutrements, no portion of the population is more thrilled than our friends in the animal kingdom.

In the photograph above, you’ll see a wild yet sharply dressed bear snuggling with a pillow that tells a love story that is open to interpretation. The bear and pillow are in Atlanta, Georgia. Bears have always complimented Baby Nightsoil art and the other way around. The shared worldview of fuzzy peace through loud roars unites them in life and in art.

Even more than bears, Baby Nightsoil has had a long connection to cats- perhaps rivaled only by the connection between Baby Nightsoil and the panda, which is essentially a cross between a cat and a bear. In the picture below, which comes to us from Brooklyn, New York, you’ll see two cats dance the magic dance over a pillow that celebrates centuries of dignified beauty among felines.

Several time zones to the left in Los Angeles, California, we find a cat  warming up next to a pillow portrait of a cat who is a member of at least one Catwoman fan club.

Join these forward-thinkers and stock your home with Baby Nightsoil Home Décor! Your animal friends will thank you, possibly with dead animal friends. Please send pictures of animals enjoying their newly enriched environments and I’ll post them here. The pillows make excellent gifts for cats, bears, dogs, co-workers, ferrets, snails, significant others, birds, planes, speeding bullets, cowboys, aliens, predators, garbage pail kids, alligators, and grandparents. Several other items are available including, but not limited to, duvet covers, shower curtains, mugs, clocks, and tote bags.

亲爱的 Dracula: Series 5 Stickers (including Dragon Con exclusive)

Yesterday I received the Baby Nightsoil Series 5 Stickers in the mail. This batch is even bigger than Series 4, making it the biggest batch yet. A complete set would include 8 stickers. You may notice somewhat a return to pandas in the batch after exploring other critters in Series 4 and Series 3. This series contains a panda tribute to the recently deceased Hot Rod Rowdy Roddy Piper, a throwback from the Super Mario calendar, and some lovely panda ladies. This series also includes a sticker that will only be available for the next four days while supplies last during Atlanta’s notorious science fiction/fantasy convention Dragon Con, a send up of Jim Jones of the People’s Temple and J’onn J’onnz the Martian Manhunter, founding member of the Justice League of America. If you’re interested in any of these stickers and you’re attending this year’s convention, there are two easy ways to track me down: 1) Go to the Art Show between 3pm and 8pm and look for the most overwhelmingly handsome volunteer which will be me. 2) Attend the DC Comics an Cultural Studies panel on Monday at 2:30pm in Hanover F (the Comics track room) at the Hyatt. I like to trade stickers for art, comics, and pictures of cosplayers.

Here’s a look at the Series 5 stickers in all their glittery glory.

Dragon Con 2015: Comics and Popular Arts Conference schedule

With Dragon Con less than two weeks away, the schedule for Dragon Con’s academic side-con has been released and I thought I’d share it with you here. While some events certainly appeal to me more than others, I’ll likely attend as much of the comics programming as my volunteer schedule allows. Quick observations: The schedule is pretty dominated by gender studies stuff. There seem to be a lot more television based panels than last year and most of the comic book stuff is on Monday. Sunday has almost nothing.

Anyway, here’s the schedule:

Friday

11:30 AM Comics, Trauma, and Psychiatric Disorders  (Hanover F Hyatt)

1. Austin Hendricks (Georgia Regents University), “Waiting for Heroes: An Examination of Psychological Disorders, Existentialism, and General Strain Theory in Superhero Films”
2. Kari Storla (University of Southern California), “Superheroes, super trauma: Is trauma in superhero comics a human or superhuman experience?”

2:30 PM – Game of Thrones: The Dark Time – (M301-M302 – Marriott)

        CPAC Panelist: Matthew J. Brown (UT Dallas)

4:00 PM – The Wayfaring Gater and Other Traveling Metaphors  (Westin, Chastain FGH)

CPAC Panelist: Richard Scott Nokes (Troy University)

7:00 PM – Of Monsters and (Super)Men (Hanover F – Hyatt)

1. Corey Goergen (Emory University), “’It’s [Not] Alive!’: Disability, Eugenics, Zombies, and Frankenstein’s Creature”
2. Shanna Early (Emory University), “Are Superheroes Monsters: Of Monsters, Superheroes, and the Law”
3. Stephanie Larson (Emory University), “Dial Meow for Murder: The Figure of the Feline in Horror Literature, Film, and Comics”

8:30 PM – Roundtable: History of Gender and Race in Comics (Hanover F – Hyatt)

Comics Scholars: Daniel Amrhein (Independent Scholar), Matthew J. Brown (UT Dallas), Kari Storla (University of Southern California)

8:30 PM – Anime, Manga, and Japanese History  (Location)

1. Yasemin Davarcı (Ankara University), “1904 – 1905 Russo Japanese War in Historical Japanese Manga”

8:30 PM – Hannibal Fannibals– Horror Track (Peachtree 1-2 – Westin)

        CPAC Panelist: Damien Williams (Kennesaw State University

Saturday

10:00 AM – Wonder Woman and Greek Mythology (Hanover F – Hyatt)

1. Daniel Amrhein (Independent Scholar), “Wonder Woman and the Reappropriation of Women Warriors of Greek Myth”
2. Matthew J. Brown (University of Texas at Dallas), “Love and Strife, Aphrodite and Ares – Marston’s Manichean Reconfiguration of Greek Mythology and Philosophy in the Wonder Woman Comics.”

11:30 AM – Hannibal: Brunch (Peachtree 1-2 – Westin)

Aaron Abrams and Scott Thompson dissect Hannibal’s elegant take on the horror genre

CPAC Panelist: Damien Williams (Kennesaw State University)

5:30 PM – Virtual Reality in Japanese Anime

        Panelists: Damien Williams, Michael Bugajski, Carl Dull

8:30 PM – Roundtable: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Contemporary Comics – (Hanover F – Hyatt)

Professional Participants: Kelly Sue DeConnick, Amanda Conner, Laurenn McCubbin

Comics Scholars: Kari Storla, John Flowers, Tini Howard (Cape Fear Community College), Daniel Amrhein (Independent Scholar)

8:30 PM – Sense8 – Is this just another Cluster? (M301-M302 – Marriott)

 Panelists: Matthew J. Brown

Sunday

11:00 AM – CPAC Scholars Forum

Topic: Incorporating Comics and Pop Culture in the Classroom.

7:00 PM – Philosophical Perspectives on Japanese Anime

Scholars Carl Dull and Michael Bugajski discuss the philosophical themes in Madoka Magica and Cowboy Bebop.

8:30 PM – Diversity and Sexuality in Comics (Hanover F – Hyatt)

        CPAC Panelists: Johnathan Flowers (SIU Carbondale), Daniel Amrhein (Independent Scholar)

10:00 PM – Con Culture and the changing face of Fandom (Hanover F – Hyatt)

CPAC Panelists: Molly Dilts (Pennsylvania State University), Kari Storla (University of Southern California)

Monday

10:00 AM – Comics and Feminism (Hanover F – Hyatt)

1. Molly Dilts (Pennsylvania State University), “The “Fake Geek Girl”: Female-Occupied Space and Masculinity in Geek Culture”
2. Tini Howard (Cape Fear Community College), “Thinking Outside the Fridge – Changing Comics with the Subject/Object Problem”

11:30 AM – Kelly Sue DeConnick in Focus

1. Ahmed Younis (Chapman University), “Comic Feminism: Re-Imagining Traditional Perceptions of Heroism”
2. John Flowers (SIU Carbondale), “Captain Marvel and John Dewey’s Theory of Imagination”

Response: Kelly Sue DeConnick

1:00 PM – Comics in the Classroom Hanover F – Hyatt)

1. Elizabeth Perkins (Morehead State University), “Teaching Critical Thinking Skills to College Freshman Utilizing the Portrayal of Crime & Justice in Superhero Movies and Comics”

2:30 PM – DC Comics and Cultural Studies  (Hanover F – Hyatt)

1. Durf Humphries (Independent Scholar), “Discipline and Punish: Foucault and the Suicide Squad”
2. Jessica Dambruch (Old Dominion University), “Rev Up Your Harley: Cultural Constructions of Gender In The Batman Universe”

亲爱的 Dracula: A Sidewalk for Loitering Cats

I’ve been working on a lot of pieces that I’m not sure I want to share online because they’re pretty far out, but also because they’re part of a larger work in progress. In the meantime, here’s a little piece I did that is quite tame in comparison to the weirder stuff I’m currently working on. I’ve been privileged to visit a few natural history museums, aquariums, and the homes of pet owners recently, taking some great reference photos and really playing with this anthropomorphic trip I’ve been working with for the past couple of years. I know I haven’t posted much stuff in a while, but don’t worry- my imagination didn’t dry up.

亲爱的 Dracula: Series 4 Stickers

Series 4 stickers are available now. This series is special for a number of reasons.

1) It’s the biggest batch yet. If you want some, contact me at waynexiaolong-at-gmail.com. They’re not exactly for sale, but I’d love to trade them for help/collaboration on some of my projects (coloring, modeling, writing, etc.)

2) They sparkle in the sunshine, but don’t worry- it’s still 亲爱的 Dracula, not 亲爱的  Twilight.

3) No pandas….what?!? This batch honors some of my other favorite critters in the animal kingdom.

4) Several feature cat erotica. By fateful coincidence, I was visiting one of my favorite friends the same weekend I picked up these stickers. I had totally forgotten my friend was a cat erotica enthusiast! Maybe the next batch will have some sexy gentlemen in them…

5) Some are cut to look like creepy polaroids in a 1970s animal kingdom pornography basement.

亲爱的 Dracula: Touch Live Fake Money

I think both of these pieces came out pretty well, each creating a distinct scene. In the top one, I hear a soundtrack that crosses the soundtrack of Silence of the Lambs- that bit where the Buffalo peacocks- and Edward Elgar’s Pomp of Circumstance march, livening up the percussion crew Mickey Hart employed to score Apocalypse Now, perhaps with bass powerful enough to shake lava out of distance volcanoes despite being a distance fatally far from the ears of someone who might sympathize with your screams. It would be a party. Le génie de Mal, my dear friends. Or as the Lizard King, not a far cry from the Macho King, once said: “This place has everything. Pills, girls, grass. C’mon, I’ll show you.”

 

This one’s shooting more for a tranquility in passing, the half-smile from a stranger that feels like a Valium or when you hear a violin played underground- this music would be much softer, but no less intense- David Borden meeting up with  Francisco Tarrega in a zen garden in the year 5000 where the lines between analog and digital, man and woman, life and death have been blurred so harmoniously that prayers and giggles set an unpredictable beat- so unpredictable anyone can follow along.

亲爱的 Dracula: If We Don’t Sell The Space Ship

Here are a few drawings I did last week. Two pandas and two cats.

亲爱的 Dracula: Two Burnt Holes in A Blanket

Here are a couple of recent panda pics.

The coloring of the bottom one is intended to less-than-subliminally provoke thoughts of the Bahamas and in turn, compel the audience to act more like James Bond.

Craft Action

The World’s Second Greatest Detective was the proud recipient of a number of creative and practical items from one of our talented friends. Like me, he likes to cover lighters in pictures and glue, but he also works with a number of other materials. He gave us three light plates, which I brought to Wonder Root. The one pictured above can be found in the rear washroom. The one below can be found right outside the Darkroom.

One of the light switches in the Ceramics Studio didn’t have a light switch cover at all. Luckily the Joker swung in to save the day.

Additionally, there were lighters.

All these very thoughtful gifts were bestowed upon us at our Spring Festival party where we introduced Sichuan Hot Pot (火锅) to our friends who proved themselves worthy of our friendship by eating a lot. We held the party on February 8, 2014 (aka 2/8/14 Green Lantern Day) so the Green Lantern lighter was especially appropriate. As everyone knows, however, Green Lantern stuff is always an appropriate gift, so we ran into each other again last night at a friend’s party. He and his wife gave my wife and I some buttons (not hand-crafted, but hand-selected)-

Yeah, the cat one are pretty cute.

A Fistful of Fists

Not much to say here, just a picture dump from some old stuff and some new stuff. The old stuff is in color while the new stuff is in black-and-white, just another example life imitating art. Childhood was a rainbow while the present is grey and the future will be too unless you put the effort in to color it. Who really wants a rainbow anyway? Maybe the rainbow of your childhood was actually rivers of blood, lava, urine, antifreeze, toilet cleaner, and boxed wine sprayed from a sprinkler over your body, paralyzed by the venom of an exotic spider, as you lay in a bowl of spoiled milk and Fruity Pebbles. Childhood can be rough. Rainbows walk a rocky road.

 

One of my favorite people in the world is named Danger and I’m kind of mad at Anthony Weiner for tarnishing his name.