Megan Rath - The Driller Killer by Abel Ferrara

So, The Driller Killer is an independent film about a "starving artist" struggling to make his work and pay the bills. He eventually snaps and starts to go insane (sounds like us during midterms and finals right?) and he starts randomly staking out people and killing them with a power drill. David, you must have known this was right up my alley lol. If anyone has seen American Psycho or Terror Firmer, I am somewhat reminded of those films. We should all watch this when we get stressed for critique.

Robert Crumb

Robert Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded as its most prominent figure. Though one of the most celebrated of comic book artists, Crumb's entire career has unfolded outside the mainstream comic book publishing industry. One of his most recognized works is the "Keep on Truckin'" comic, which became a widely distributed fixture of pop culture in the 1970s. Others are the characters Devil Girl, Fritz the Cat, and Mr. Natural.
n 2009, he published his illustrated graphic novel version of the Book of Genesis.^[8][9][10] The book includes annotations explaining his reactions to Biblical stories. It was reported onNPR in October 2009, that it was a four-year effort and does not rewrite any part of the text. Crumb did extensive research in the earlier language versions of the text to support the interpretations. It contains all 50 chapters of Genesis and comes with a warning on its cover: "Adult Supervision Recommended for Minors."
He was inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1991.
He has a unique style that one critic has described as "not knowing if he was old drawing young, or young drawing old." Another thing I found interested was that he cited LSD use as a contributing factor to his style. He is hailed as a genius by some comic book talents. He also collaborates with his wife at times.
His use of biblical stories and his interpretation reminded me of Trenton Doyle Hancock's mythical method of storytelling .

(Sources: Robert Crumb official website, Wikipedia, and arttattler.com)

James Ensor

James Ensor was a late 19th early 20th century painter and print maker. His paintings were originally deemed scandalous, yet he continued to exhibit his work and eventually became accepted by the community. He has been a heavy influence on expressionism and surrealism.

His paintings often feature skeletons, which he painted from life. He would set up the skeletons in his studio and dress them up in masks similar to the ones his mother sold for carnivals. He was particularly interested in the masks' forms, colors, and psychological impact which allowed him a true freedom to paint whatever came to mind.

Fun tidbits: in 1929 he was named a Baron by King Albert. He was also the subject of the Belgian composure Flor Alpaerts's "James Ensor Suite."

The last image, titled Christ's Entry Into Brussels, which was exhibited in 1889 was particularly scandalous and caused quite an uproar throughout the community.

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His work reminds me of Trenton Doyle Hancock's, or rather the other way around. The line work, distorted figures, and even subject matter (especially the skeletons and mask-like faces) particularly remind me of one another. The first two images, I feel, show the strongest influence or parallels to Trenton's work, with their fast and slightly sloppy sketch-like quality, as well as the decision to add color to only a few key areas.

*All of the facts were retrieved from wikipedia.