i am illustrating: Ruth Gwily

After driving from one Bookmans to another, with three boxes of books, a large framed portrait, and two paper bags of wooden toys, blocks, charms, a coin purse, and other collected, or hoarded, items, I finally made an intimidating $30.00. Oh man. I was on top of the world, until Kyle called me and told me he had just made $37.00 selling some records and books like it was nothing. For a second, I was put to shame, and for another second, I imagined we were on a show called Bookmen, where a bunch of hoarders, music collectors, and librarians spend their days hitting up all the Bookmans in town while being filmed. At the end of the show, our sales and profits and trade and cash and all of that would be totaled, and the winning Bookman would be rewarded with a thank you speech during the end credits. That winning Bookman will always be Kyle because nothing I own or am willing to give up is valuable enough, but stay tuned for that show because I'm pitching it to TLC after the new year. Or maybe A&E.

Two trade credit slips later, I found some Christmas presents for a friend and some family, and I browsed the comics. I found a large red, yellow, and black book with the text, "Dead Herring" printed diagonally through the cover, and I realized I was holding one of the Actuc Tragicus comic collections. Composed of five Israeli comics, Actus puts one of these bad boys out every year, and in 2004, they publishes "Dead Herring" with Top Shelf.

This post isn't about Actus, although maybe I'll do one when I acquire more than one book by them. It's about some of my favorite illustrations I've ever seen. Some day, I hope to be as cool as Ruth Gwily. I'm not even going to say half as cool because I have big dreams, guys. Big dreams. Of a beach in the sun and a rainbow and some gold and some alcohol.

This first drawing (pictured above) is the first and most memorable piece I saw by Gwily, but her other illustrations are just as charming, attractive, dark, and really funny... da perfect man... I'm pretty sure she has published drawings of some of my favorite things in the world.