Dave McKean portrait of me

I met Dave McKean at a seminar a few years back and he gladly signed my Absolute Sandman Vol 1, which I had carted around all weekend in the hope of meeting him – have you ever try carrying one of those Absolute books around for any length of time? I also managed, at a later date, to get Neil and Amanda to add their srcibbles to it too! Dave also did a quick-as-you-like portrait of me in my copy of Dustcovers: The Collected Sandman Covers 1989-1996 – so this is now one of my prized possessions.

Dustcovers is one of my go to books when I'm out of ideas on a project – it's full of astounding images that invigorate the creative juices. Actually, 100 Best Album Covers by Storm Thurgerson, is another great go to for me as well.

Lego Moleskine notebooks

 Two of the greatest creative products together at last – Lego and Molskine – a triumph of style and marketing! It's like a peanut butter and jam sandwich for the soul. Buy here.

BTW today also marks 54th anniversary of Lego being patented.

What I'm reading today...

This gorgeous book arrived yesterday: The Fracture of the Universal Boy by Michael Zulli. Its about time too – I paid for it in February 2011 – but I guess that's one of the downsides of backing something through Kickstarter (the upsides being too many to mention!).

Nearly 10 years in the making, The Fracture of the Universal Boy is a beautifully produced 200+ page, black and white, oversized hardcover graphic novel produced by Eidolon Fine Arts – with a signed  print included. Also, its nice to get a credit as a patron in a book like this.

This is a print handbook

This little handbook is crammed with stuff which designers will find very helpful. Especially if you're a designer. It will cut down on the guesswork that happens when your job goes from screen to print. The handbook is printed with 4 process colours, plus one Pantone spot colour. It includes four different types of paper (uncoated, silk, gloss and the cover) and has a one colour gate folded cover with a foil.

Nice reference for any one who sends stuff to print: a print handbook.com

Meaty-Ores

Here's a great vintage ad, which appears in StarShipSofa Stories: Volume 3, by the very talented Mud! Hit him up at his blog and check out some of his other fantastic work.

Or maybe even pick up a copy of his kids' book – I Need You Blue – a story about a boy, Dewey, and his best friend, Blue (a super cool glob of water). They do everything together. Dewey finds out that friendships aren't all about giggles, sometimes tough decisions need to be made. And its all for charity too folks!

StarShipSofa Stories: Volume 1

Here's a little treat: the full online version of SSSS: Vol 1. Enjoy!

Open publication

StarShipSofa Stories: Volume 3

Head on over to StarShipSofa and pick up a copy of StarShipSofa Stories: Volume 3. A fantastic book, if I do say so myself, featuring words by Joe Haldeman, Peter Watts, Saladin Ahmed, Lavie Tidhar and Will McIntosh amongst others, and images by Ben Green, Mike Dubisch, Thomas Crielly, Richard Case, Peter Snejbjerg, Graeme Neil Reid, Jouni Koponen and a host of other talented artists.