Wolverton's Bible

Basil Wolverton is a legend of over-the-top cartooning but he also dedicated himself to reverently inking hundreds of illustrations depicting the Old Testament and Book of Revelations for the Worldwide Church from 1953 to 1974. A tricky project to compile and present with the elegance the work deserves, the illustrations are of wildly varying size and shape but must run in the order of the original biblical text (which runs along the page footers).

[Interior images to come.]

Supermen! The First-Wave of Comic Book Heroes, 1936-1941

POW! Title says it all. Edited by Greg Sadowski; Foreword by Jonathan Lethem.

Robert Pollard's Town of Mirrors

"Robert Pollard is the singer-songwriter who was the leader and creative force behind the legendary indie rock group Guided by Voices, one of the most influential bands of its generation (SPIN magazine recently named Pollard one of “The Top 50 Rock & Roll Front Men of All-Time”)." Town of Mirrors collects his collage art for the first time.

Cover is 4c glossy with arlin spine. The title is created from old letraset transfer lettering and torn from sticker sheets. This is printed as a 2c sticker (which was the closest thing to collage that we could budget for).



Sample spreads from interiors. This was a unique experience in that Pollard's philosophical approach to the art making process managed to loosen up my own way of working. The text is not tied to a grid but responds to the layout of the images. Also, song lyrics appear throughout, sometimes typeset in the computer, sometimes scanned from the artist's own handwriting, and at times manipulated on the photocopier with a fluxist unpredictability (such as the warped text in the bottom spread, above).

I can't help but say how impressed I am by the openness to experience with which Robert Pollard works. It's intimidating and rewarding to be a part of.

BEASTS! Book Two Hardcover

BEASTS! Book Two hardcover. BEASTS! is my personal project, published by Fantagraphics Books: A two-volume collection of 180 international artists depicting mythological and folkloric creatures. Original art was created by artists working in the fields of rock posters, comics, animation, children's book illustration, magazine illustration, and the gallery arts. Accompanying descriptions tell the story of each creature, pulled from historical sources.

Foil stamping on paper with cloth spine. Silkscreened silver page ends and 4c+silver throughout.

(*Terrible photos don't show stamping well.)

BEASTS! Book One Paperback Edition

The paperback edition of BEASTS! Book One features 5c on glossy stock, with 8 inch flaps that fold out as a wraparound detail of Jordan Crane's Lestrigonian print. In spite of the ostentation of the hardcover, the paperback has been favored by many. Lesson learned.

E.C. Segar's Complete Popeye

AWARDS:
2008 Print Magazine Design Annual
2008 Communication Arts Annual
2008 How Design Annual

Series design for 11x14" hardcover collection of the 1920s-30s comic strip. Pure 100% and 50% CMYK color combinations punch through the cover with a 1/8" diecut.

Popeye Volume 1 cover photo; Popeye Volume 1 cover, flat; Popeye Vol. 2-3.

Mr. Chip Kidd called this "masterfully designed," which is flattery that I can't help but mention.

The Wham-O Superbook

Wham-O is the definitive pop culture toy maker, having brought the world everything from the Frisbee and Hacky Sack to the Superball and do-it-yourself bomb shelter. Tim Walsh has written an in-depth biography of the company and its remarkably lively history. Above are my proposed cover design (left) and the author's concept that was eventually decided upon (right), as well as spreads from the interiors.

826 Seattle: In Our Hood

Another book of writing from students of 826 Seattle, this time collecting plays.


Above are three different proposed directions. I still prefer the last one, with its emphasis on "plays that you can perform in any place." The kids just liked the faux graffiti lettering...

Turns out more than a few of them also didn't know what a typewriter was. So much for that trope...

Bottomless Belly Button

Dash Shaw's 720 page graphic novel is topping many Best-Of-the-Year lists (including Publishers Weekly). Cover is 2 color (white and black) on chipboard. The story revolves around the dissolution of a long-time marriage. Since the printer was printing the covers 2-up I asked them to do two different covers: One of the mother and one of the father.


Top photo by Ryan Muir.

BOODY: The Bizarre Comics of Boody Rogers

Collecting work from 1948-1950, Boody Rogers made some of the most hyperactive comics ever.

4c, matte coated. Front cover hand-lettering by Eric Reynolds.

WILLIE & JOE: The WWII Years

Slipcase collection of the WWII war cartoons of the Pulitzer-Prize-winning Bill Mauldin.



1. Slipcase: Silkscreened canvas and stickered info. (Photo by Ryan Muir.)

2. Book covers, black stamped canvas. Introduction page design shown, a faux poster in the style of WPA war posters. (Photos by Mike Baehr.)

3. Sample spread from the introduction pages. Made, of course, in the style of declassified documents of the time.

UPDATE: It's an honor to have this book design featured on the homepage of the esteemed Print Magazine. James Sturm says in his review: "Anything that Jacob Covey does is worth looking at."

Love And Rockets Paperback Series

A repackaging of the pioneering alternative comic book, Love and Rockets. Collecting many stories from its 25 year history, these paperbacks are redesigned for a more modern presence in the manga-infested bookstores.

Covers are 4c on matte coated stock.

Peanuts T-shirt Designs

The brief was to make retro modern t-shirt designs for the classic American strip.

Krazy & Ignatz: The Kat Who Walked In Beauty

AWARDS:
2008 Print Design Annual
2008 Communication Arts Design Annual

A collection of early newspaper comics from George Herriman's daily Krazy Kat strip. Silver foil stamping on Black arlin cloth over 3c uncoated paper spine. (Second printing in orange.)



Flat view of the cover (first printing in green); closing spread, featuring the greatest cartoonist portrait ever photographed.

Petey & Pussy

A classic cat and dog buddy story from John Kerschbaum.
5c on matte coated paper.



Cover layout; the flaps which are offensive only when folded together.

Photos by Mike Baehr.

The Pin-Up Series

Edited by Alex Chun and me, these books collect the obscure cartoons of old men's humor magazines. Taken from b/w, the art has been recolored with a spot color to mimic the treatment given to the art on the cover of the old pulps. Blown-up details, photocopies, and original art is interspersed to break-up the reading experience and engage the reader.

1. Four of the six books in the series.

2. Sample layouts of "The Pin-Up Art of Dan DeCarlo." DeCarlo is the definitive Archies comic artist who happened to moonlight as a pin-up gag cartoonist. (Essentially drawing Betty and Veronica in lingerie and provocative situations.)



3. Example of how the books are designed to be displayed as a stagger on store shelves with the full title only revealed when placed next to another in the series, back out.

Art of Modern Rock Exhibit Design

In 2006, I was responsible for the development of exhibition branding, logo design, and graphics for The Art of Modern Rock show exhibited at the Bumbershoot music festival and then the Experience Music Project. The Art of Modern Rock is the bible of modern rock posters written and edited by Paul Grushkin and Dennis King and published by Chronicle Books.

Co-curated with the industrious Jacob McMurray, Gabe Kean, and Dennis King.

BEASTS! Book One Hardcover

AWARDS:
2008 Print Design Annual (Book One)
2008 Communication Arts Design Annual (Book One)
2008 Communication Arts Illustration Annual (for Art Direction, featured on the cover)
2008 How Magazine Design Annual

ABOVE: Cover of second edition hardcover with foil stamping on cloth spine and silkscreened gold page ends. 4c + Gold throughout. Photo by Ryan Muir.

BEASTS! is my personal project, published by Fantagraphics Books: A two-volume collection of 180 international artists depicting mythological and folkloric creatures. Original art was created by artists working in the fields of rock posters, comics, animation, children's book illustration, magazine illustration, and the gallery arts. Accompanying descriptions tell the story of each creature, pulled from historical sources.




Back cover; interior art spread; front matter spread.

826 Seattle: This One Time

A collection of writing from the students of Hamilton International Middle School. Published by 826.

Photography, lettering, and design. 4c.


In 2005, when Teri Hein decided to expand Dave Eggers' 826 Writing Center to Seattle I happily agreed to create low cost Grand Opening materials for their cause. "This One Time" is a small format paperback collecting writing from students of that writing center in 2007.