I find Shannon Wheeler's art hard to resist. When I met him back at MoCCA Fest 2012, I purchased a couple of pieces of original art from him, which is unusual for me. I bought a cartoon rough senselessly rejected by the New Yorker. Even more unusual, I acquired a page of a "Too Much Coffee Man" comic, even though I don't collect comic strip art, and even though I don't read "Too Much Coffee Man," although I do drink too much coffee. As a collector, I find it hard to settle on just one piece of Wheeler's original cartoon art. The fact that it's quite reasonably priced means that I don't have to.
A visit this week to the Etsy shop WheelerCartoons has once again made me a buyer of multiple works of original art. Again I was unable to refrain from picking up a cartoon rejected by the New Yorker, if perhaps not quite as senselessly rejected as the last time around. This time, though, I passed on the "Too Much Coffee Man" art and went instead for some original book illustrations. And not just any book....
The Bible has always provided inspiration to artists--and when I say artists I include cartoonists, of course. God is Disappointed in You is a retelling of the Christian Bible written by Mark Russell. From what I gather, it is an attempt to distill the great book down to the essence of its stories in what I take to be a succinct and humorous yet essentially faithful manner.
Shannon Wheeler has been selling the original illustrations at comics conventions and online. Once again, as with his rejected New Yorker cartoons and the "Too Much Coffee Man" strips, the prices seem reasonable to me. Is $99 a good price for an original book illustration by a New Yorker cartoonist--with a signed copy of the book included? It certainly is if you like the illustration.
"God wants you to be rich." Now there's a caption I can relate to! It's spoken by Amos, a minor prophet from the Hebrew Bible. In the published version, it's expanded to "God wants you to be rich, and by that I mean God wants me to be rich." Thanks for the minor prophecy, Amos. I'll take it.
Here is another original book illustration, "Don't forget the fine print," the fine print being those small rocky fragments that have broken off. It's $150, slightly more than Amos, but Moses, let's face it, should cost slightly more than Amos, plus it's framed, and it too comes with a signed copy of the book. Again, I think it's a good deal for an original book illustration if you like it. I do.
I can't speak to the wisdom of buying gags rejected by the New Yorker, but I do it selectively on occasion and I seldom if ever regret it. In Mr. Wheeler's case, his rejected drawings have been proudly gathered in several published collections. If this one is included in a collection at some point, well, then I'll own a rejected New Yorker drawing which has been truly published elsewhere, and that is of course an even more desirable state of affairs. Even it it isn't published, though, I like the gag well enough, while I acknowledge that it's probably not a great masterpiece. Still, what do you want for $99?
I don't see how anyone can resist a tiny cartoon book, let alone three. Postage Stamp Funnies were published in the satirical magazine The Onion and they are the size of, well, you figure it out.
Note: WheelerCartoons, Shannon Wheeler's Etsy shop, can be found here.
Earlier blog posts about the art of Shannon Wheeler may be read here.
Other New Yorker cartoonists sell on Etsy as well. For example, Carolita Johnson's Etsy shop Carolitaland is here.
Victoria Roberts's Etsy shop is here.
Danny Shanahan is on Etsy too right here as CartoonsbyShanahan.
Corey Pandolph had an Etsy shop once here, but now it's closed, so if you click on the link you'll just be, like God, disappointed.
And let's not forget Beth Nadler Art. Beth is definitely not a cartoonist, but she did marry my brother, so you know she's got good taste. Her Etsy shop is here.
Finally, whenever you may need it, the archives of Attempted Bloggery are full of warm Christmas cheer here.
A visit this week to the Etsy shop WheelerCartoons has once again made me a buyer of multiple works of original art. Again I was unable to refrain from picking up a cartoon rejected by the New Yorker, if perhaps not quite as senselessly rejected as the last time around. This time, though, I passed on the "Too Much Coffee Man" art and went instead for some original book illustrations. And not just any book....
The Bible has always provided inspiration to artists--and when I say artists I include cartoonists, of course. God is Disappointed in You is a retelling of the Christian Bible written by Mark Russell. From what I gather, it is an attempt to distill the great book down to the essence of its stories in what I take to be a succinct and humorous yet essentially faithful manner.
Shannon Wheeler has been selling the original illustrations at comics conventions and online. Once again, as with his rejected New Yorker cartoons and the "Too Much Coffee Man" strips, the prices seem reasonable to me. Is $99 a good price for an original book illustration by a New Yorker cartoonist--with a signed copy of the book included? It certainly is if you like the illustration.
"God wants you to be rich." Now there's a caption I can relate to! It's spoken by Amos, a minor prophet from the Hebrew Bible. In the published version, it's expanded to "God wants you to be rich, and by that I mean God wants me to be rich." Thanks for the minor prophecy, Amos. I'll take it.
 |
| Shannon Wheeler, "God wants you to be rich."--Amos Published as "God wants you to be rich, and by that I mean God wants me to be rich." Original artwork for God is Disappointed in You (2013) by Mark Russell, page 120 |
 |
| Shannon Wheeler, "God wants you to be rich."--Amos Original artwork for God is Disappointed in You (2013) by Mark Russell, page 120 |
 |
| Shannon Wheeler, "God wants you to be rich, and by that I mean God wants me to be rich."--Amos (published caption) Original artwork for God is Disappointed in You (2013) by Mark Russell, page 120 |
Here is another original book illustration, "Don't forget the fine print," the fine print being those small rocky fragments that have broken off. It's $150, slightly more than Amos, but Moses, let's face it, should cost slightly more than Amos, plus it's framed, and it too comes with a signed copy of the book. Again, I think it's a good deal for an original book illustration if you like it. I do.
 |
| Shannon Wheeler, "Don't forget the fine print." Original artwork for God is Disappointed in You (2013) by Mark Russell, page 20 |
 |
| Shannon Wheeler, "Don't forget the fine print." Original framed artwork for God is Disappointed in You (2013) by Mark Russell, page 20 |
 |
| Shannon Wheeler, "Don't forget the fine print." Original framed artwork for God is Disappointed in You (2013) by Mark Russell, page 20 |
 |
| Shannon Wheeler, How to Read Books, unpublished |
I don't see how anyone can resist a tiny cartoon book, let alone three. Postage Stamp Funnies were published in the satirical magazine The Onion and they are the size of, well, you figure it out.
 |
| Shannon Wheeler, Postage Stamp Funnies |
 |
| Shannon Wheeler, Postage Stamp Funnies |
 |
| Shannon Wheeler, Postage Stamp Funnies |
 |
| Shannon Wheeler, Postage Stamp Funnies |
|
| Shannon Wheeler, "God wants you to be rich."--Amos Published as "God wants you to be rich, and by that I mean God wants me to be rich." Original artwork for God is Disappointed in You by Mark Russell, page 120 |
Note: WheelerCartoons, Shannon Wheeler's Etsy shop, can be found here.
Earlier blog posts about the art of Shannon Wheeler may be read here.
Other New Yorker cartoonists sell on Etsy as well. For example, Carolita Johnson's Etsy shop Carolitaland is here.
Victoria Roberts's Etsy shop is here.
Danny Shanahan is on Etsy too right here as CartoonsbyShanahan.
Corey Pandolph had an Etsy shop once here, but now it's closed, so if you click on the link you'll just be, like God, disappointed.
And let's not forget Beth Nadler Art. Beth is definitely not a cartoonist, but she did marry my brother, so you know she's got good taste. Her Etsy shop is here.
Finally, whenever you may need it, the archives of Attempted Bloggery are full of warm Christmas cheer here.
0984
Great blog post, Doc. Ah, there's so much to consider, contemplate, chuckle at here. Amos - a mediocre prophet, hahaha, love it. God is Disappointed In You - a negative thought-voice-message that we should forbid to enter our minds according to Vernon Howard - oy. He makes crazy crazier. My daughter just gave me 2 little pamphlet type books by Howard when I complained of being plagued by negative thoughts as soon as my feet hit the floor in the morning. I only drag Howard into this comment because Shannon's work or play reminds me of him. This morning I actually had that thought - God is disappointed in me - and thinking of Howard's advice, immediately chucked it only to minutes later find it here. And then ...,, the first thing my husband said to me this morning was "I'm going to buy a couple of lottery tickets today, it's up to 500 million." Maybe God wants us to be rich. That would make Amos not such a mediocre prophet or maybe it is you that is the prophet speaking through your blog. Hahaha - Moses and the fine print, hilarious stuff here today, I could go on and on about how much I enjoyed this blog and why, but am probably running out of space so I'll stop now. Thanks. Leo
ReplyDeleteI think your husband has the right idea with those Mega Millions tickets. If God wants you to be rich, He can't be all that disappointed in you.
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