NEWS...

 

Hey guys! I know it's been quiet on here for about two months but I've got a bunch of news for you. 

First off, starting this coming Monday March 7th I'll be posting ELEVEN weeks worth of brand new monsters! 

Then, in late March I'll begin releasing the first of FOUR brand new zines! The first of which will be Gunsho's Goetia Vol 2, the long awaited follow up to Gunsho's first demon bestiary. 

The other three zines will be mine but I'm keeping them a secret for now. Expect more news on that front soon. 

I'm also going to spend more time cleaning up this blog; removing dead links, removing tags, removing old posts and starting to use it more in depth. I may include write ups about all my monsters and what inspired them. I've been increasingly disappointed with how toxic social media is and I've been slowly extricating myself from it. I don't have a TikTok and I deleted my FB. My instagram is still going but I may use this blog as my main art feed since I've had it since 2010(!)

Let me know if you think more in depth posts sound interesting.

MONSTROUS MYTHOLOGIES NOW AVAILABLE!

 I'm extremely excited to announce that my book of mythological monsters through Lethe Press is now available! CLICK HERE to head over to their website and I'll have copies in the coming weeks!

I'm so excited to people to be able to get their hands on this. It's been a long weird road with multiple covid related delays and to be honest I'd been keeping a little quiet about it because I still wasn't 100% sure it would actually happen. You can imagine my delight when I got my first proof a few months ago and my actual approved copy right before Halloween! Expect me to not shut up about it for the next few years!

Hope you all enjoy it!
GET YOUR COPY OF MONSTROUS MYTHOLOGIES HERE!

News...

 I know it's been a while since I've posted, but I'll have a bunch of cool announcements within the next couple months. In the meantime though I can share this really cool bit of news that I've been keeping under wraps. 

I teamed up with HH Toy Company for their Mythos: Weird Fiction Minifigures line! We chose two of my designs turn into toys (both sculpted by Ryan Bukalew). 

These are two recent monsters from authors that I've recently fallen in love with. The first creep is one of the Long White Creatures from Amos Tutuola's fever dream of a novel The Palm Wine Drinkard.  If you've spent any time on this blog or my IG you know I'm obsessed with Charles Saunders. This semando or mud monster is inspired by his story Jeroboam Henley's Debt that appeared in the collection The Book Of Cthulhu. 

I'm really excited with the way these came out and I hope you guys like them. I also drew the headers and portraits of Tutuola & Saunders for them which I'll be posting later in the week. AND I wrote a little summary of why these authors are so important to me and why I think you should give them a try!

Head over to HH Toy Company this coming Friday to get your set!

NEWS...

 Hey everyone! I know it's been a while since I posted any news but I've been busy working on a bunch of stuff. First off, starting April 5th I'll be posting SIX weeks worth of brand new monsters! 

The first four weeks will be brand new monsters inspired by my favorite author Charles R. Saunders. At the end of those two weeks my next Charles Saunders-inspired zine, Nyumbani Compendium II, will be available!

After that we have a weeks worth of brand new sea monsters inspired by medieval & renaissance maps! I'll eventually be doing a follow up to my Mappaemundi Compendium but not right away. 

Then to close out, we have something a little different. I'll have a week's worth of demons inspired by medieval & renaissance paintings, including Buonarroti, Pacher, Belmonte, Bouts & Mandijn!

And just a reminder there are still a few copies of Nyumbani Compendium I, Lost Colony Compendium I & Earthsea Compendium I in my store.

Lastly! Here's the cover I completed for Matthew M. Bartlett's novel The Obsecration being published by Broken Eye Books!

NEWS!!!

After waiting until the new year to send out zines I'm glad to report that they're starting to arrive to everyone who ordered them! And, surprise!, there was a bonus zine sent out to everyone that bought all four! 

In other news, I very excited that I finished the cover for Matthew Bartlett's novel Obsecration that will be published with Broken Eye Books this year. And the cover reveal will be February 1st!

I'm currently working on a brand new batch of monsters that I'm really excited about. It'll probably be a while until I post them but expect 2 months worth of Charles Saunders creatures in the first half of this year. 

I also have at least 3 new zines printed and ready for sale within the next few months. Expect more details soon.

That's all for now. 

NECRONOMICON 2019 WRAP UP!

Well, NecronomiCon 2019 has come and gone and I already can't wait til 2021. This year was the best one since Niels & co restarted it back in 2013. The panels, films, vendors and guests were all stellar. My only complaint was that there was so much cool stuff it was hard to pick what to do and what to skip. Here's a rundown of how spent the Con.

First off, Jeanne D'Angelo and I leisurely drove up from Philadelphia with Justine Jones and Tanya Finder. We stopped at Rosedale Cemetery in Orange NJ to see the graves of tennis champion Althea Gibson and workers rights heroes Quinta & Amelia Maggia.

Once we arrived in Rhode Island we went to the Providence Art Club for the Ars Necronomica art show where Jeanne & I had work on display. Tons of other great artists were represented including Brandon Kawashima, Michelle Souliere, Liv Rainey-Smith,  Matthew Jaffe, Allen Koszowski, Jason Bradley Thompson, Joe Broers, Dave Felton, Ryan Lesser, Mike Knives, Karen Main, Kurt Komoda,  including Seventh Church Ministries collaborators Caitlin McCormack, Sam Heimer & Jason McKittrick!

Clockwise from top left: 

Sam Heimer, Kyla and James Quigley, Cryptocurium, Nick Gucker.

We then hightailed it out of there to see Robert Lloyd Parry perform two readings as M.R. James! He did the Ash Tree and Oh Whistle And I'll Come To You, My Lad with no microphone and lit only by 5 candles! It was fantastic and I'm so glad I got to see the performance.

The next day started with me on the very first panel of the con! It was called Scripturum Obscurum: Remarkable Unsung Authors and I, as promised, blathered about Margaret St. Clair and Charles Saunders. I was a little intimidated because the other panelists were pretty amazing. Fiona Maeve, Gemma Files, Leslie Clinger and Victor LaValle (go read his book The Changeling!) and they all suggested intriguing authors/books. The two most notable: Victor suggested Corregidora by Gayl Jones (about a woman who, after a hysterectomy, begins hearing the voices of her ancestors through the empty space in her abdomen!) and Fiona suggested Tentacle by Rita Indiana (a post apocalyptic epic with a voodoo prophecy and a transgender character that transitions with the help of a sacred anemone!).

After that we did what we came to do, we set up our table! We met two more weirdos that attached to our now mega-table, Stephen Wilson and Christian Degn. The vendor's room was great this year and was filled with spectacular artists: Yves Tourigny and Seventh Church Ministries collaborators Nick Gucker, James Quigley (aka Gunsho), Sam Heimer and Jason McKittrick (Cryptocurium)! Scott Nicolay, Anya Martin and Justin Steele were there at the Outer Dark table as well! He wasn't tabling but it was great to see Craig Gidney as he stopped by the table a few times to chat! 

Myself and Scott Nicolay Photo by Matthew Bartlett

The next day we tabled then I was on another panel, this one about Manly Wade Wellman! Again, an intimidating crew. I was sandwiched between Nathan Ballingrud and Orrin Grey two authors whose work I love and respect. We had a great time and I think we got to shed some light on Wellman's works and adaptations.

Orrin Grey, myself and Nathan Ballingrud

Photos by Kevin Wilson

We also got to see two of the films that were being screened: Aniara, (Sweden, 2019: an extremely depressing space epic) and The Hellstrom Chronicle (USA, 1971: a somewhat faux documentary about insects framed as a horror movie).

But probably my favorite part of the whole trip was hanging out with our carload of crudbags and Phil Gelatt & Victoria Dalpe who hosted us for the weekend. We stay with them every NecronomiCon and there's always the same cavalcade of sweet weirdos. Jordan Smith, Laura Maxfield, Andrea Sparacio (who did the cover and GOH illustrations in the Memento book!), Tim Mucci and Joseph E Dwyer. Usually we just see each other in the morning while chugging coffee or at night before we pass out, but this year we got some quality time and barbecued. Orrin Grey and Joshua Hackett were there and it was great to hang out with them not just on the vendor room floor.


Justine, Andrea, Tim, Vicki & Jeanne during the nerd BBQ!

Regrets? You bet. There are tons of people I only got to see for seconds like Paul Tremblay, John Langan, Simon Strantzas and Matthew Bartlett. And I didnt even get to say hi to Silvia Moreno-Garcia or  Molly Tanzer (who's work I love). And of course I was super sad that Marcelo Gallegos, Skinner and Michael Wehunt didn't make it out.

On the way back we managed to stop at Ender's Island, a beautiful Christian retreat that offers art classes and recovery treatment. They also happen to have the mummified arm of St. Edmund on site!

I had an absolute blast this year and I'm honestly sad that it's over. I was filled with inspiration and hope. Thank you to all the organizers and volunteers that make NecronomiCon go. Extra thanks to Niels Hobbs and s.j. bagley who are great people (and the organizers I personally know haha!). Also super special thanks to my amazingly talented, inspired, inspiring and supportive partner Jeanne D'Angelo who had her own amazing zines for sale but also talked to people about my work and calmed me down when I was stressing out about dumb stuff. She's also an excellent navigator. 

PS-I sold out of a lot of things, but not all.
Stories From the Borderland III will go on sale in the Yog-Blogsoth store on Friday September 13th at 11AM EST!

News....

Hey everyone! This is the first of two news posts. I just wanted to give you a heads up about two anthologies that I did the covers for. 

First up is Broken Eye Books' Lovecraft themed anthology Welcome To Miskatonic University! It includes stories from Kristi DeMeester, Gwendolyn Kiste, Matthew M. Bartlett, Brandon O'Brien, Marcus Chan,  Liz Schriftsteller, Elliot Cooper, Bennett North, Gina Marie Guadagnino, Scott R. Jones, Brenda Kezar, Nate Southard & K.G. McAbee. If that publisher sounds familiar it's because did interior illustrations for the Broken Eye Books anthology Ride The Star Winds. 

Next up is the David Cronenberg-themed anthology from Weirdpunk Books titled The New Flesh! This anthology features stories by Brian Evenson, Sara Century, C.M. Muller, Leo X Robertson, Max D. Stanton, Emma Alice Johnson, Cody Goodfellow, Bruno Lombardi, Katy Michelle Quinn, Jack Lothian, Mona Swan LeSueur & Fiona Maeve Geist, Madeleine Swann, Charles Austin Muir, Ryan Harding, Alex Smith, Gwendolyn Kiste, 

Brendan Vidito, & Sam Richard! If this publisher looks familiar it's because I did the cover illustration for their anthology Zombie Punks Fuck Off!

I'd highly recommend either of these collections since I've worked with both publishers before and I'm familiar with most of the authors involved.

Stay tuned because I'll be posting NecronomiCon news within the next few days!!

News...

I know it's been a while since I posted new monsters but this coming Monday I'll be posting two weeks worth of new creatures inspired by the work of one of my favorite contemporary authors, Nnedi Okorafor! 

Her Binti series, a space opera rooted in a futuristic Africa, got me hooked and since then I've read Who Fears Death (which is currently being developed into an HBO series produced by George R. R. Martin) and it's prequel The Book Of Phoenix, Lagoon (a parable about environemental and societal corruption) and the Akata Witch series (imagine Earthsea but set in an alternative modern day Nigeria). 

The Binti series is a shining example of fiction that makes me work on this blog. Reading it, I had to draw the beautiful, bizarre and alien creatures described in it. As I was reading I was tracing the lines of the Meduse in my head, working out how the jellyfish-people differ and imagining the colors of the ntu-ntu bugs. If her writing wasn't so compelling I'd have put the book down right then and there and started to draw. But her writing is compelling. It's down to earth while being set on Mars. It's got big picture issues told through the lens of a personal experience. I love her work so much and hopefully I'll inspire some of you to read her stories if you haven't already. 

NEWS!!!

Hey everyone! I know this February was filled with monsters but I had to take a break from March until now. Mostly because I was working out the details of a very exciting upcoming project. I was keeping quiet about it but now I can announce...

Lethe Press will be publishing three books of monsters that I've illustrated! Lethe Press has  been a stellar publisher of weird/horror fiction having released Tom Cardamone's Pumpkin Teeth, Anya Martin's Sleeping With the Monster, Livia Llewellyn's Engines Of Desire and T.E. Grau's The Nameless Dark.

The first book will focus on creatures from world mythology and folklore, tentatively titled "Monstrous Mythology: Illustro Obscurum I" we're aiming for a release by the end of this year! Here's a quote from the Lethe press release: 

"The ancient myths bears their fangs in this illustrated book by artist Michael Bukowski. As a child, the artist read the works of H.P. Lovecraft and discovered how that weird fiction author name-dropped a veritable who's who of gods and creatures from ancient folklore. Before long, Bukowski began sketching how he imagined Apollo and Circe as frightening entities."

"Paperback, 96 pages, featuring full-color art throughout!"

So for those of you who haven't been able to grab one of the extremely limited hand made zines, I'll finally have a mass market version available. You should also expect some gods/creatures never before available and some reworked or completely redrawn monsters!

I'm extremely excited about working with editor Steve Berman and Lethe Press! Keep checking in here or on Seventh Church Ministries or Lethe Press for updates!

News...

Hey all, as you may have noticed, this week's Manly Wade Wellman creatures have been postponed. I had a commission and attended the Black Flags Over Brooklyn fest so I didn't have enough time to finish them all up. However, they are scheduled to post starting this coming Monday February 4th.

News...

Hey everyone! I hope you're enjoying these new monsters. So after this two weeks of Margaret St. Clair creatures we're gonna mix it up a bit and I'll be giving you two weeks of creeps based on the works of Manly Wade Wellman! 

In the meantime, I thought I'd post my top "10" list from 2018 so you can get a little insight into what I listen to while I work. These are (in no particular order) all songs that either came out in 2018 or were written earlier but I heard them for the first time in 2018.

1-Crow Call-Your Ghost

Crow Call (2014)
Jeanne got me into Ellie Bryant's solo work and this, her band with Peter Ruddy.

2-The Guests-Watching the War
Popular Music (2018)
I fell in love with Philly-based socialist goths The Guests after seeing them live this year.

3-The Guests-Boots On the Ground
Red Scare (2018)

Like I really fell in love with them.

4-Sisters Of Shaddowwe-Sisters Of Shaddowwe

Sisters Of Shaddowwe (2017)

More goth!

5-Dame-Bubble Baby
Charm School (2015)

Another band I was lucky enough to see live this year.

6-Grýlurnar-Sísí

Mávastellið (1983)
Jeanne and I discovered this Icelandic band when we were in a museum in Reykyavik last spring. They were active (and hugely popular locally) in the early 80s and their name translates to The Witches!

7-Dúkkulísur-PamelaDúkkulísur (2007)

Another Icelandic band I found after researching Grýlurnar!

8-Planet Y-Der Er Intet Håb

Planet Y (2016)

Danish punk in the vein of Masshysteri or Burning Kitchen!

9-Melanin-Marching Orders

Not Your Target (2017)

Fast paced punk that reminds me of early Dag Nasty.

10-Exotica-Depresion

Musique Exotique #01 (2016)

Raging Brooklyn-based hardcore. 

11-Body Pressure-Man Meat

Demo (2015)

Angry hardcore from Austin TX.

12-Provoke-Our Mothers Cry

Fragments

More angry hardcore, this time from Oakland CA.

13-Krimewatch-ゴキブリ 男

Demo (2016)

Even more angry hardcore, this time from NYC....seeing a pattern here?

14-Dēmodex-Psychosis

Padded Cell

Philly locals that I got to see put on an amazing, energetic show this year.

15-Mass Arrest-Pass Me the Dossier

The Savage Season Continues (2017)
Self described as "Black Liberation Hardcore" Mass Arrest hail from Oakland.

16-Open City-City Of Ash

City Of Ash (2018)

Another Philly band with an "former members of" list as long as my arm.

17-Soul Glo-27

Tour Tape 2K18 (For the Homie)
Even more Philly (this city is cool)! Chaotic and crazy their live shows are just as intense as their music!


18-Hirs-Yøu Can't Kill Us
Yøu Can't Kill Us (2018)
Philly locals (yup, again) made the national news as NPR covered the collective's intense newest release.

19-Heavy Temple-In the Court Of the Bastard King

Riff-laden doom in the vein of St. Vitus...and guess what...they're from Philly!

20-Myrkur-Måneblôt
Mareridt
Ethereal Danish black metal with alternating screamed and clean vocals.

21-The Coup-The Guillotine
Sorry To Bother You (2013)
The Coup's anti-capitalist anthem is more relevant than ever now.

22-Kendrick Lamar, SZA-All the Stars

Black Panther Soundtrack
I love this song and love this movie. I only wish they didn't rip off Lina Iris Viktor's work for the video.

News II

Hey everyone. I thought it'd be a good idea to talk about what I plan on doing with this blog and my artwork in general in the coming year(s).

First off, H.P. Lovecraft will play wayyyy less of a part on this blog. I've worked my way through every creature and god that he ever mentioned in his fiction (with the exception of one that will post earlier this year), which was my original goal. There will be a few redrawings here and there but for the most part, this blog is moving on. And it's important that I do so.

Lovecraft drew me in with his nihilism, cosmic indifference and monsters but his racism, misogyny, homophobia and classism have always turned me off. And his racism is undeniable, all you have to do is read Medusa's Coil, Shadow Over Innsmouth, Two Black Bottles or The Horror At Redhook (honestly it's hard to find a story that isn't blatantly racist) to see HPL held horrendous beliefs. It's woven into the themes and plots of his stories. What makes it even harder is that his contemporary defenders have turned into apologists and deniers, digging their heels in rather than just acknowledging his shortcomings and discussing how they inform his fiction. They tend to glorify the man rather than the fiction even though he seems to me to have been a tedious, bigoted bore.

Anyway, what this means is that we'll be seeing some weirder monsters on this blog. Because, while I have my problems with HPLs work, it was my gateway to weird/horror/science fiction in general. Because of the mythos I started reading connected works by Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. I discovered the psychedelic adventure stories of C.L. Moore and dingy, urban decay fiction of Campbell and Ligotti.

Most importantly, I've discovered contemporary authors working to make the mythos their own, or even just making their own worlds and mythologies influenced by the mythos. Victor LaValle, Laird Barron, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Cassandra Khaw, Gemma Files, Priya Sharma, Paul Tremblay...the list goes on and on.

Lovecraft, specifically doing this blog, made me fall in love with reading. From his work to the Big Three, to the Lovecraft Circle, to the wider Weird, to contemporary Weird, to horror, science fiction and fantasy in general the steps are easy to follow. But it's time to let his work fall away and embrace the present. Lovecraft was never the be all end all in Weird Fiction and he shouldn't be considered that now. Let's explore the wider weird. Expect citations from JY Yang, Nnedi Okorafor, N.K. Jemisin, Laura Mauro, Manly Wade Wellman and, of course, Margaret St. Clair.

News...

Hey everyone! I know it's been quiet here since the Hoard Of the Gibbelins went up for sale (only 3 copies remain!) but I haven't been idle. I've been working on the very last Lovecraftian monster I have left to draw....that's right AZATHOTH!!! 

"Outside the ordered universe is that amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the center of all infinity—the boundless daemon sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time and space amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes."

-H.P. Lovecraft, The Dream-Quest Of Unknown Kadath

If you're wondering why this one is taking so long, it's because it's the most complex and largest creature I've ever drawn for this blog. So, what I'll be doing is posting progress shots. From sketch to pencils, from inked to flat color, all the way to the final rendered piece. 

In other news, I'll have a new zine coming out in August. It'll be Stories From the Borderland II collecting the 6 essays and 7 monsters from my project with Scott Nicolay! 

I'll also have a very exciting item up for sale at the same time.....Seventh Church Ministries t-shirts!!

Stay tuned for more details on both and for progress shots on Azathoth! 

News...

This week my Manly Wade Wellman themed monster zine will go on sale! Limited to 20! I'll be posting a monster from the zine Monday-Thursday before the sale!

AVAILABLE THIS FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15TH 11AM EST

IN THE YOG-BLOGSOTH STORE!
LIMITED TO 20!

Also if you didn't make it out to NecronomiCon you can listen to our live presentation of 

Stories From The Borderland on The Outer Dark. Click here and jump to the 1hour 26minute mark to hear myself, Jeanne D'Angelo, Scott Nicolay and Anya Martin talk about this cool project!

There's also a youtube slide show you can watch along with our talk that you can get here!

NECRONOMICON 2017 WRAP-UP!

This year's NecronomiCon was, by far, the best yet. So many amazing speakers, talented artists and genuinely kind-hearted friends. 

I got to meet/hang out (and sometimes see read) with authors/editors Craig Gidney, Scott Nicolay, Anya Martin, Livia Llewellyn, Simon Strantzas, Justin Steele, Sam Cowan, Nnedi Okorafor, Peter Straub, Michael Wehunt, Matthew Bartlett, Peter Rawlik, Cody Goodfellow, Gemma Files, Nadia Bulkin, Scott R. Jones, Robert Levy, Jeffrey Thomas, Scott Gable, Mike Griffin, Paul Tremblay, Kij Johnson and the legendary Ellen Datlow.

Then there were the amazingly talented artists like Richard Stanley, Skinner, John Kenn Mortensen, Yves Tourigny, Nick Gucker, Liv Rainey-Smith, Karen Main (aka Dogzilla), Kyla, Sage & James Quigley, Josh Yelle, Dave Felton, Todd Chicoine, Brian Elig, and so many more.

(To give you an idea of the scale of this thing, I didnt even catch a passing glance of Stephen Graham Jones or John Jude Palencar. I love both their work and tried to see them!)

I want to thank my Seventh Church Ministries siblings Jeanne D'Angelo, Justine Jones, Stephen Wilson and Marcelo Gallegos (and occasionally Cameron Higby-Naquin) for making our table the coolest/loudest/most sprawling in the vendor room! I want to also thank Victoria Dalpe, Phil Gelatt and Roman for letting us stay in the their house and stink it up with farts with Jordan, Laura, Joe &. And lastly the friends/organizers Niels Hobbs, s.j. bagley, Farah Rose, Catherine Grant for tirelessly planning an impossibly amazing convention.

BUT, if you couldn't attend this fantastic gathering and you still want one of or all three of the zines I released then good news! I'll be putting them up for sale a week at a time starting next week. To make it easier, I'll be starting with a three pack.



You'll be able to grab, Volume 1 of Stories From the Borderland, Mappaemundi Compendium & Appalachian Compendium
ON FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 1st AT 11AM EST
IN THE YOG-BLOGSOTH STORE!
 

News...

I know it's been a slow year at Yog-blogsoth so far, but I promise things will pick up. One of the reason's things have been so slow is that I've been working on a few commission pieces. Here's one that I just got the go-ahead to reveal. It's the cover for a horror-fiction anthology titled Zombie Punks Fuck Off! Here's a quote from the publisher:

"As you may know, I run a press called Weirdpunk Books. Well, we are hard at work on our next project, Zombie Punks Fuck Off, edited by the brilliant Sam Richard. Here's the cover by the rad Michael Bukowski. This won't be out until the fall, but you can preorder now at http://freaktension.storenvy.com/. And yes, you can use the discount code."

I've also been slowly getting ready for NecronomiCon 2017! That means printing business cards, stickers and getting new zines ready! I plan on debuting a bunch of new zines at this years 'Con including a mini-Illustro Obscurum based on the works of Manly Wade Wellman, a collection of the first series of Stories From the Borderland with Scott Nicolay and finally...after a lonnnng time Volume IX of Illustro Obscurum!

Check back in to get additional details like cover reveals and where my table will be at NecronomiCon.

News...

Sorry for the silence this last month, but I've been super busy with commission work. I just finished the cover for Scott Nicolay's translation of J.-H. Rosny aîné's The Xipéhuz! 

I also just finished an overhaul of my illustration website. You can find more info on my cover for The Xipéhuz, as well as years worth of archives, at the new Last Chance Illustration site. 

I'm also excited to say that I only have a single H.P. Lovecraft creature remaining to complete my Illustro Obscurum project....and it's a biggie! Expect it soon, along with a few redrawings of older dudes. As to the future of this blog, don't worry. I'll continue to illustrate monsters and gods from other weird fiction authors once Lovecraft is finished. 

 

News...

Hey everybody! So Scott Nicolay's essay for the Xipéhuz edition of Stories From the Borderland is now live! AND we've announced that we're partnering with Dim Shores to a print run of Scott's brand new translation of the story including my illustrations as well as a brand new wraparound cover and interior illustrations!

I've also got the tentative 2017 lineup for Seventh Church Ministries! Artists tend to have busy and slow commission periods so many of these zines may not come to fruition and some may come ahead of others. As of right now we're looking at: 

Illustro Obscurum secret benefit zine (bonus prints by Caitlin McCormack, Brad Omen & Kati Driscoll)
Paradise Lost by Dave Felton (bonus print by Alex Eckman-Lawn)
The Yellow Wallpaper by Jenn Woodall
Panchatantra by Anoop Bhat
Unnamed zine by Ana Armengod
Unnamed zine by Ketch Wehr inspired by James Tiptree Jr.
Unnamed zine by Justin Gray illustrations of Doc Savage villains
Illustro Obscurum Volume IX

BIG NEWS

Hey folks! I just wanted to interrupt this month of monsters to give you a heads up on what's going on.

This last week of August/first week of September, I'll be returning to H.P. Lovecraft's writing for a group of Gods In Human Form from some ancient religions. Here's where things get interesting. As I've stated, my original goal was to illustrate every single creature/god Lovecraft mentioned in his works. Well, I'm down to the last 13 gods!

But don't worry. I may be getting close to being done with Lovecraft, but that doesn't mean I'm done with this blog. Drawing monsters based on the writing of weird fiction authors has become a bit of a habit for me, so I'm just going to shift focus. If you've been following this blog, you'll notice I've been delving into more obscure authors and works. That will continue to happen. Right now my goal will be to focus more on the other two authors of the "big three" (Robert E. Howard & Clark Ashton Smith) as well as try to introduce you to some lesser known authors from the pulp hayday, the 80s horror boom and  contemporary powerhouses.

So, just a summary of what's going to happen. I'll be posting the last 11 Gods In Human Form in the next few months (as well as a few redrawings of some older Gods/creatures). Then there is one remaining avatar of Nyarlathotep from HPL's writings I have left to draw. Lastly the final creature I will be illustrating from Howard's work will be the mad god Azathoth. The timeline is a bit loose but we should see Azathoth by Jan/Feb of 2017!

Expect new, weird things from Yog-Blogsoth and Seventh Church Ministries in the future!

News...

Hey folks, just a quick update and some cool news. 

First off, I know monster posts have been a bit slow this year but I've been inundated with commissions (cool problem). However, I'm consciously taking less the second half of the year so I can focus on the final 11 HPL gods left in this project. 

On the monster note, Scott Nicolay and I are gearing up for a third installment of Stories From the Borderland and the tales he picked for this round f*cking bonkers! These are, by far, the weirdest stories and creatures I've read. We were also privileged enough to have Weird Fiction Review online repost our SFTBL focusing on Margaret St.Clair! 

I've also been working hard on 2 pieces for a split gallery show called Growth//Decay. It's a collaboration between Antler Gallery in Portland OR and Paradigm Gallery here in Philly. Each gallery picked artists from their city, then each artist was tasked with making a piece based on the concept of growth and one on the concept of decay. All the growth pieces will be displayed at Paradigm (June 24th) and all the decay pieces at Antler (June 30th). Other artists in the show include these uber-talented nerds plus many more: Paul Romano, Caitlin McCormack, Alex Eckman-Lawn, Jeanne D'Angelo & Jeremy Hush.

For my growth piece I was inspired by William Hope Hodgson's The Voice In the Night, and for my decay piece I chose Arthur Machen's The Novel Of the White Powder. So, get ready for some gloop and some spores!

Lastly, I was interviewed by the show Articulate With Jim Cotter back in November for a segment on H.P. Lovecraft and this yog-blogsoth/illusto obscurum project specifically. Well, it finally aired last night! You can check it out on their site. The HPL segment starts at the 6 minute mark. 

Michael Sakamoto, H.P. Lovecraft, Brandon Ballengee, George Fu - See more at: http://whyy.org/cms/articulate/michael-sakamoto-h-p-lovecraft-brandon-ballengee-george-fu/#sthash.OMFqyYT2.dpuf