RADA THE CAT MINI COMICS FOR SALE!!!!

I'm not sure how this will work out, being if this blog will be the best way to showcase my material. Well, time to put my best foot forward and see what happens.

These two mini comics are for sale $2.50, each (include .5o cents for shipping and handling) My email is jakekujava@gmail.com, for more information or purchase.

The Crumbbums, 2008

This was my second attempt on the comic strip, the first was two years ago. This edition was far different than the wordless strip, darker and maybe over the top than I care to admit.

Bring out your inner Animal.

Rada, the second mini comic will be printed this weekend, which I think is the best comic that I ever did. Later this week I would like to sell these two comics on this blog, maybe display his first two stories on this site.

Where should I go next? I always wanted to do a 300 page graphic novel of the life and death of the Rada the Cat. I've been working on drafts, changing his image (look he's got shark teeth) and playing around with the page format. These comics will be broken down by chapters and sold as mini comics. When the process is over, it will take me at least three years.

The Chair

Here's page 2 of the book, The Chair. I like good, curvy but sturdy chairs. After i drew this picture mostly from my head, I always keep my eyes wide open for a design such as this. If anyone knows of a model of sort, please let me know.

Does creativity come from a series of shocks?

That was written inside of my front cover, here's the first page of the book, "The Drink". I was never a big fan of taking pictures maybe because I draw so much that I have a hard time editing the image into the lense. I do remember being in a bar in Madrid, and was big fan of artwork of Dave Mckean.

When 2 becomes 1?

I have about 12 images from my Europe trip, done in the time of late 1999. This is one of the few books that survived, (I was robbed in Dublin a week later). Originally they were going to be paintings when I got back home to the states, but everything that needed to be said was spoken in the drawings.

I think I was in Dublin at the time, such rocky stones.

John Locke

In the first season of the show (Lost), John Locke (picture) is introduced as a mysterious, intellectual and stoic character who is in touch with the earth. His stoicism and mystical outlook dominate his character and are the basis for many of his relationships and interactions in the show. However, in the subsequent seasons, he becomes less stoic, begins to show more emotions and has varying moods.

Apart from that he is my favorite character and in honor of my bald buddies, here he lies in all my graphic glory.

Lost

Lost is my favorite TV show, ever. I say this for the simple fact that after the show ends next year, I might just stop watching TV.

Here's a scene from episode 5.16, The Incident. Who is Jacob (picture on the right)? What does he want? Where did he come from? Why is he seemingly invisible? Why is he so powerful? And why does this man want to kill him?

The Jacket

I'm quite fond of wearing green jackets.

Hugh Laurie

He frequently plays upper-class and dim-witted English characters except for his well known House character. He lives in LA with his wife and three kids. The image is from A Rolling Stones interview where he talks about his manic depressive. I really like this guy, not because of the roles that he plays but of his honesty. Here's some of my favorite quotes.

When asked if living in America would make him any less pessimistic or miserable: Oh, I hope nothing would ever do that. I won't let go of my roots.

I admit I can't shake the idea that there is virtue in suffering, that there is a sort of psychic economy, whereby if you embrace success, happiness and comfort, these things have to be paid for.

[on raising his daughter] Girls are complicated. The instruction manual that comes with girls is 800 pages, with chapters 14, 19, 26 and 32 missing, and it's badly translated, hard to figure out.

This is one of my favorite paintings.

Children's Images

My friend Karl, had a children's idea for a cd. He asked me to illustrate the songs. Here are two of the images. I can't remember why this concept failed to take off on the ground or the name of the songs but i did enjoy working on this. We were such big dreamers that we planned on making a record, until we looked at the production costs.

Rada the mini comic #2

I have two more pages left and maybe if everything goes well it could get finished. Here's the front and back cover to the book.

Michael Caine

Here's a couple of pieces from the actor, when he was acting in the late 60's. I always like his strong cockney accent.

Richard Avedon

1. Land of Confusion

2. Richard Avedon piece

3. Portrait of Ian Mckellen

Richard Avedon was always interested in how portraiture captures the personality and soul of its subject. I used to enjoy his work as a kid, bringing his books back from the library. His portraits are easily distinguished by their minimalist style, where the person is looking squarely in the camera, posed in front of a sheer white background. Avedon would at times evoke reactions from his portrait subjects by guiding them into uncomfortable areas of discussion or asking them psychologically probing questions. Here's a couple of pieces my work done in college as a homage for the man's work.

I come to a sense other than common sense

I had this image lock into my head today, working the Kafkaesque warehouse vault of US Bank. I'm looking out for future directions but not into the present moment.

Personal Jesus

Frank Miller was going to do a comic of Batman fighting Osama Bid Laden, bringing back the propaganda comics. Don't worry there's a good chance that it won't see the light of the day. Here's was my take of Jesus as a super soldier working for the Bush administration. Now that we have Obama as pez, I need to find a new angle for Captain Jesus. Any ideas?

Wandering

The World is in my Head. My body is in my world. Paul Auster

I think we all need a wake up in this world, letting us realize when we are stuck floating in our air bubble.

DareDevil #43

1. DAREDEVIL #43, 1968, inked by Joe Sinnott drawn by Jack Kirby

2. Jake Kujava's take of the cover

Jack Kirby, was the Pablo Picasso of the comic world. Apart from being an excellent storyteller, a brilliant deigner of craft and substance, he could take a simple object such a food and give it a larger than life touch. But for myself he was always a great abstract artist. Here's a cover of Dare Devil #43, 1968, inked by Joe Sinnott. The two main characters fill out the cover, the legs, arms and postion of Captian American's body is out of proper relation between his body parts. No other artist could get away with this. It's mashes together but flows at the same time.

So here's my take, bringing out my inner punk, I stylized the two images, giving Captain American six fingers for his bigger than life image. The background was filled with EC segar's background faces that he used in Popeye's boxing panels. It was going to used for a web page called Covered, but was rejected because it wasn't what he was looking for.

The Feel Good Ghosts

My favorite of the three, I never understood a muppet, (a mop mix in with a sockmonkey)? The image is the king in Crumbbums strips, looking like he feasted himself on cow milk for six hours.

The name was taken from a Cloud Cult album, it was my take on cartoon paintings. The layers of colors was fun and I wanted to avoid black on the images but i did on some pieces. There was four images total but i can't locate the last one, well no great loss.

Six Illustrations

1. I always enjoy art deco from Hollywood from the 1920's, very simple and direct lines that seems like a lost art in today world.
   
   
   2. Listen to Stan Getz's song Get Happy, a great jazz cover from the 1950's, as for adding the cigarette it was my way of mocking the fashion photography.
   
   
   

   
   
   
   
   

   The Tunnel is one of my favorite pieces, the detail in the hair took a long time but was worth it. I was thinking of cave dwelling and the female is Jenny Lewis a indie rock singer and child actor from Salute Your Shorts on Nickelodeon.
   
   
   
   

   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   These were work on after a break from the paintings in mid 2008. Most of art was done with Indian ink and a brush, a very long process which most cartoonist swear away from. The finer details were finished by a pen, on a 8 by 11 inch cardboard paper. I say this for the fact that the Indian ink would bleed onto the other side making it look that the sheet had the same quality as toliet paper.

The crumbbum strips part 2

Here's the last bits of the comic strip, most of what i had to say was written on part 1.