Once upon a time in the way back when... a ramblin', banjo-playin', bag-a-bones by the name of Buster set out to find his fortune. His scheme was simple but not always on the level. Brian Kesinger's original tale of hobo strummer Buster Bones began in October 2020 as an improvised story written and illustrated with the engagement of over a quarter million social media followers. On October 1st, Buster hopped off a freight train, and by the end of the month, with guidance from Brian Kesinger's most enthusiastic fans, he had become a rags-to-riches success story and a bonafide rock star. Now, Buster's story has transitioned from cyberspace into a good old-fashioned ink-on-paper book. Flip through the full color, lavishly illustrated pages and experience the journey for yourself. It's all a little skeleton could ever want.
Idle Hands showcases a significant amount of Coop's work as a fine artist over the past decade. Using acrylic paint, Coop takes the bold iconography of his past work and re-contextualizes it on a larger scale, examining its individual parts to create a cohesive whole. This book contains everything that Coop's fans love about his work, presented side-by-side with a healthy dose of surprises.
A beautifully produced and richly illustrated book that showcases the day-to-day adventures of independent girl-about-town Victoria Psismall and her pet land octopus Otto. Thirty panoramic, full-page illustrations humorously chronicle the duo's home and social activities that include (among other things) bathing, biking, dating, cooking, playing croquet, and pumpkin carving. Accompanying text explains the "do"s and "don't"s of living with a large land octopus. The book's art is extremely detailed, and each illustration tells its own visual story. The Victorian era characters and period-influenced design elements combine to create a wonderful, collectible art-object for those who still value the classic elegance of ink-on-paper. The hardcover binding is plussed with two-layer embossing and spot varnish, and the interior is printed on extra heavy paper. An exquisite volume for lovers of books, art and pets.
When Beatles tour guide Barry Seddon finds a letter written by John Lennon he unearths a clue to solving the greatest mystery in pop music - the whereabouts of Lennon's first musical instrument which has been missing for over 50 years. But Barry's loose tongue alerts Texan dealer Travis Lawson to the priceless relic. In an attempt to get his hands on the letter, Lawson persuades his beautiful wife Cheryl to befriend the hapless tour guide and win his affections. The race for the Holy Grail of pop memorabilia is on . . .
A lavishly illustrated travelogue through time chronicling the fourth-dimensional journeys of Octo-Victorian history-hoppers Victoria Prismall and her pet land octopus Otto.Tthis scenic follow-up to Brian Kesinger's established classics Walking Your Octopus and Traveling With Your Octopus is sure to delight all manner of temporal adventurer-seekers. A plethora of panoramic, full-page illustrations reveal Victoria and Otto's heretofore unknown participation in famous and infamous past, present, and future goings-on. Readers can experience it all from the safety and comfort of their favorite reading spot any time of the day or night. As with the duo's previously chronicled endeavors, this volume's art is both handsome and compelling, with each illustration telling its own timely tale of the duo's wild brushes with fate and destiny... and tea! As with Walking Your Octopus and Traveling With Your Octopus, this book is a collectible art-object for those who still value the timeless sophistication of ink-on-paper. The hardcover binding is plussed with special processes, and the interior is printed on extra heavy paper. An exquisite volume for current and future lovers of books, art, pets, and the quantum mechanics of time travel.
Brian Kesinger's charming collection of pen-and-ink dragon portraits obliterates winged-serpent stereotypes with its fun and fantastic portrayal of these magnificent creatures at their informal best. There are no cookie-cutter fantasy cliches to be found here... just candid studies of dozens of the world's most wonderful dragons with their individual personalities on display. An authentic and insightful glimpse into the little-known realities of being a dragon. The toned-paper sketchbook format of this handsome volume presents expertly drafted monochromatic drawings of the dragons along with their names and descriptions of their unique qualities. Characters like Fynlar the Daring, Gorüng the Skittish, and So'kee the Vegetarian will delight readers of all ages. The cover of Penned Dragons features head-turning lenticular art that brings Brian Kesinger's sketch of Koga the flightless kite-flying dragon to life, and serves as a nod to his two decades as a contributing artist on some of the world's most famous animated motion pictures.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • For the first time ever—a comprehensive biography of one of the twentieth century’s most innovative creative artists: the incomparable, irreplaceable Jim Henson He was a gentle dreamer whose genial bearded visage was recognized around the world, but most people got to know him only through the iconic characters born of his fertile imagination: Kermit the Frog, Bert and Ernie, Miss Piggy, Big Bird. The Muppets made Jim Henson a household name, but they were just part of his remarkable story. This extraordinary biography—written with the generous cooperation of the Henson family—covers the full arc of Henson’s all-too-brief life: from his childhood in Leland, Mississippi, through the years of burgeoning fame in America, to the decade of international celebrity that preceded his untimely death at age fifty-three. Drawing on hundreds of hours of new interviews with Henson's family, friends, and closest collaborators, as well as unprecedented access to private family and company archives, Brian Jay Jones explores the creation of the Muppets, Henson’s contributions to Sesame Street and Saturday Night Live, and his nearly ten-year campaign to bring The Muppet Show to television. Jones provides the imaginative context for Henson’s non-Muppet projects, including the richly imagined worlds of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth—as well as fascinating misfires like Henson’s dream of opening an inflatable psychedelic nightclub. An uncommonly intimate portrait, Jim Henson captures all the facets of this American original: the master craftsman who revolutionized the presentation of puppets on television, the savvy businessman whose dealmaking prowess won him a reputation as “the new Walt Disney,” and the creative team leader whose collaborative ethos earned him the undying loyalty of everyone who worked for him. Here also is insight into Henson’s intensely private personal life: his Christian Science upbringing, his love of fast cars and expensive art, and his weakness for women. Though an optimist by nature, Henson was haunted by the notion that he would not have time to do all the things he wanted to do in life—a fear that his heartbreaking final hours would prove all too well founded. An up-close look at the charmed life of a legend, Jim Henson gives the full measure to a man whose joyful genius transcended age, language, geography, and culture—and continues to beguile audiences worldwide. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BOOKPAGE “Jim Henson vibrantly delves into the magnificent man and his Muppet methods: It’s an absolute must-read!”—Neil Patrick Harris “An exhaustive work that is never exhausting, a credit both to Jones’s brisk style and to Henson’s exceptional life.”—The New York Times “[A] sweeping portrait that is a mix of humor, mirth and poignancy.”—Washington Independent Review of Books “A meticulously researched tome chock-full of gems about the Muppets and the most thorough portrait of their creator ever crafted.”—Associated Press
"The entire field of film historians awaits the AFI volumes with eagerness."--Eileen Bowser, Museum of Modern Art Film Department Comments on previous volumes: "The source of last resort for finding socially valuable . . . films that received such scant attention that they seem 'lost' until discovered in the AFI Catalog."--Thomas Cripps "Endlessly absorbing as an excursion into cultural history and national memory."--Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
