Sunday, December 13, 2009

Something for the Xmas stocking...

A great gift idea:
  • STUDS TERKEL'S WORKING is named one of the best Graphic Novels of 2009 by the Village Voice.


  • A brief preview of what you're in for...

  • …and The Comics Journal says…


  • And still available:
  • Lucifer’s Garden of Verses from NBM Books.


  • (...and I actually get royalties for that!)
    Ho Ho Ho, everybody...
    Lance Tooks

    Thursday, November 26, 2009

    The End of Cinema as we know it...


    Just in time for Thanksgiving, a jumbo glazed
  • HAM
  • for the center of your table! Que aproveche!
    Lance Tooks
    (Congratulations to filmmaker Jose Skaf on a job well done!)
    PS… a few kind words from
  • Catch A Vibe
  • about the London art show!

    Tuesday, October 06, 2009

    Should you find yourself in Londontown...

    ...between October 9th and November 10th with time to kill, saunter over to the Swiss Cottage Library Gallery for a terrific art show that I've been invited to participate in!
  • “Grandma said,” a short story inspired by the Hurricane Katrina tragedy will be on display in its unfinished original form (page one pictured below), view the entire finished piece by clicking HERE.


  • Curated by talented cartoonist Paul Peart Smith, it’s a show you won’t want to miss if you’re at all interested in the history of Black comics characters and creators. “The collection coheres around black representations through the imagery and language of the comic book medium: representation as markers of both historical and contemporary struggles. The theme is developed through archival works from the 1930’s to the present-day and culminates with a display of the singular comic art of Patrice and John Aggs, Paul Peart-Smith, Woodrow Phoenix and Lance Tooks.” More info HERE.

  • Thanks, Paul, for including me in this wonderful exhibition!
    Enough chatter... here are a few recent bar sketches, created during some of my weekly nocturnal jaunts to Madrid's Fin Del Mundo pub! Cheers!








    Thanks for visiting, friends...
    Lance Tooks

    Monday, September 07, 2009

    "He's a regular Harry Dean Stanton..."

    ...if such a thing exists!
  • Not long ago I shared a few war stories about my "not so brilliant career" as a movie actor.
  • Well, the plot sickens, as they say, because every time I think I'm out, "they pull me back in!" Among my recent adventures in over-acting were a pair of odd turns in Spanish station IDs for TNT. In the first one I'm a hellfire southern preacher, (sorry Mom, but this is as close as I'm ever gonna get), of course if Tyler Perry's casting any day soon, he should know I fooled the Spaniards pretty good!



    Then I made my small contribution to the de-evolution of Hip Hop with the other spot... I swore I was channeling Ice Cube, but it came out looking more like an unwanted member of the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. (I dare you to Google them if you're too young to remember!)



    Anyway, they were a whole lotta fun to do... many thanks to my friends at TNT and TCM España. They found out about me in the first place after spotting me in a very surreal short film I was in this year, entitled ALBERT WHITE, directed by Jose Skaf.
    The character I presented there could have easily been the illegitimate half-brother of Tony Soprano... he shows up to put the muscle on Pete, played by Dominic Graville (my choice for the next James Bond if Daniel Craig ever gets a hangnail)... the movie's still in the edit room, but it's already a fine piece of work, and I'm grateful to the filmmakers for letting me get my "Guido" on.
    "Speaking of Big Pussy..."





    Don't forget what they say about the camera adding fifty pounds... or was it the linguini?
    Maybe I'll post some videos here one day, once I figure out how...
    Meanwhile, back in the comics world, the web is abuzz with reviews of recent Tooks books.
    Here are a few links that I hope you'll find of interest...
  • A recent look back at NARCISSA.

  • A couple more thoughts about NARCISSA.

  • A most detailed look at Studs Terkel’s WORKING, a Graphic Adaptation.

  • More about WORKING.

  • WORKING reconsidered.
  • WORKING, in brief.

  • A look back at Mark Twain’s A DOG’S TALE (see Reviews).


  • Unrelated to any of this, I wandered over to the Toogle site and fiddled with their search function. Waste your own time playing with TOOGLE, here.


  • So that's my story... what's yours?
    Thanks for visiting,
    Lance Tooks

    Saturday, August 29, 2009

    Still at it...

    I've been asked to submit a few representative images for an upcoming coffee table book on Black Comix... most may be familiar to regular visitors of this blog, others not... but here's my two cents worth. (click to enlarge)






    Thanks to John Jennings and Damian Duffy for including me once again in another of their fine projects.
    Lance Tooks

    Friday, July 31, 2009

    Kindred Spirits...

    (Click to enlarge)

    The Beacon Press has some terrific Graphic Novels coming up… including Jamar Nicholas’ adaptation of Geoffrey Canada’s autobiographical FIST KNIFE STICK GUN, and Carol Burrell’s adaptation of Octavia Butler’s classic KINDRED. A call went out for artists to adapt both books and I applaud the very talented cartoonists chosen. I also took a crack at KINDRED, one of my favorite books, and I’d like to share the results with you. It was a lot of fun to try on for size, and they’re going to be beautiful books.
    I can’t wait to see them.
  • Jamar Nicholas on his upcoming book

  • Carol Burrell’s SPQR Blues












  • Lance Tooks

    Saturday, May 23, 2009

    Sketches from Spain...

    Recently assembled sketches, done in a Miles state of mind...


















    Hang in there, friends...
    Lance Tooks