The Drunken Pressmen

Valentines Day Card

drew — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 19:47:49 +0000

A year ago my wife and I bought an antique apartment mailbox that was refinished with a hardwood stand-alone shell. In an age of email, we realized we have nothing to leave behind of us as a couple but a cold digital footprint, so we bought the box to send each other letters and gifts through our own private mail system.

For Valentine’s Day, I made a quick print to send her notes for the year.

Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop Bookmark

drew — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 16:40:20 +0000

I was lucky enough to be contacted by the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop to help create a bookmark. The MPWW brings fiction writing, essay writing, poetry, spoken word, oral story telling, children’s literature, fantasy writing, and more to prisons throughout Minnesota.

A reference to an alchemy symbol of the green lion eating the sun (pardon the color shift), which has both themes of violence and spiritual redemption seemed fitting to the project. Being able to typeset the letters with the plate myself was also a fun part of the project, as I’m looking to use the moveable type more and more in the future.

The Agile League

drew — Tue, 28 May 2013 02:36:50 +0000

The Agile League is a great group of Ruby developers out of Atlanta that were looking for a personal way to say thank you to clients after a project’s completion. Having worked with them in the past, I suggested creating a nice 3-color print with their vintage superhero style shield. In thanks, the Agile guys sent me a great bottle of bourbon from the Single Oak Project. Alignment was rough on my little press, but the final cards had a lot of character.

Superman: Red Son

drew — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:30:56 +0000

Comic by Mark Millar, Dave Johnson, Kilian Plunkett, Andrew Robinson, Walden Wong

I’ll be honest: I’m not the biggest Superman fan. He always seemed outdated. A hero for a bygone America upholding dated morals that don’t make sense in the ever shrinking global economy/connected world. I remember DC announcing Sup’s death, fractured rebirth, and subsequent reboots, even renouncing his U.S. citizenship, but it never interested me enough to pick up a Superman comic. What little I heard about him–and why he was great–came from my high school girlfriend. (I moved to small-town Missouri in high school, so I see her Smallville-esque infatuation. I do have a soft spot for the old Christopher Reeve movies. Heck, I even enjoyed Brandon Routh in the cape, as misguided as his script was.)

Red Son swayed me with its interesting premise: What would DC’s world look like if Kal-El’s ship landed 12 hours later? Instead of growing up with Ma and Pa Kent, he grew up in a communist farming collective behind the Iron Curtain in Ukraine? What if the USSR had a god backing its nuclear arsenal? The implications and shifts in characters all spin from this point, crafting a perfect alternate history timeline within the DC Universe. All the classics are here: we have Wonder Woman, Hal Jordan, Lex Luthor, Braniac, a great U.S. sanctioned Bizarro, and Russian Batman with an ushanka (those fluffly ear hats). Jimmy Olsen pops up as a government lacky to Luther. Louis Lane is actually the estranged Louis Luthor working within a dying capitalist-driven news system.

Written by Mark Millar (a veteran writer of Judge Dredd and creator of Wanted/Kick Ass), the dystopian Communist-driven world is perfectly populated. Superman’s ideals and main characteristics are there, driven by good, but with a completely different world view behind them. Millar creates a fantastically ambiguous space for his characters to live in, making each character shine in their new roles.

Perhaps the biggest failing of this collection is the length. The story is so engrossing and worthy of exploration that the main plot seems rushed, needing at least six volumes instead of the three it received. With a massive revisioning of all these known characters, most besides Superman and Lex get simple nods and small panels that hint at a greater story underneath. While this helps cement the world, it also leaves you wanting more.

This is a must read for the curious and a great introduction for those uninitiated into the Superman mythos. Five out of Five!

Dry Fly Washington Wheat

drew — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 17:24:12 +0000

Growing up in Washington, I was naturally drawn to a whiskey from my native land. Dry Fly’s small batch Washington Wheat catches the eye with it’s unique packaging. Playfully screen-printed with phrases like “Whiskey is a man’s attempt at heaven,” and a fun gauge down one side to warn you when the whiskey is running low and it’s time to hide the bottle from friends. This gives the whiskey a nice package to measure its contents with: whimsical yet manly, original and proud of it’s heritage. Dry Fly is also proud of locally sourcing its materials from sustainable Washington farms.

Washington Wheat has a soft and light-orange color that can fool you into thinking the nose will be the same. It starts with a smooth spice that masks a subtle fruity flavor underneath. Draw in a few more times and you pick up the oak barrels used for aging.

The first sip brings that promised grain that fills the tongue with its mashed sweetness. At 80 proof, the kick is again soft, but lasts as it spreads across your mouth and brings that familiar tickle in the back of the throat. Don’t add too much ice or it dulls the nice wheat edge. After the kick and a few drinks in the taste mellows and you get the fruity undertones with the wheat. It doesn’t go deeper than that, but it doesn’t need to.

I’ll give Washington Wheat 4 and a half cheers out of five. Raise that tumbler and enjoy!

Obsidian Portal Card

drew — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:16:30 +0000

One of my first freelance jobs a decade ago when I was a young pup was creating a logo for a tabletop management system called Obsidian Portal. Not knowing anything about D&D or any tabletop system, I went with a tribal tattoo design for their logo. Wanting to modernize it without losing the decade-old identity, I created another logo, a more rugged beast, which I’ve ghosted behind the full original one.

Obsidian Portal is running a Kickstarter through April of 2013. Help them out if you’re a fan! We’re doing another round of letterpress cards for them as a backer reward!

I worked with a trusty bottle of Dry Fly’s Washington Wheat at my press’ side. More on this soon.

This is one of the darker prints of the ghosted dragon, the majority came about 50% lighter.

I reversed the image to make it right reading, not very truthful to the project, but the Obsidian Portal guys thought it was neat to see.

Viking Postcard–Part 3

drew — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 22:39:18 +0000

Last, but not least, The Striking Viking! Who said the Viking doesn’t clean up, because he’s one handsome fella. I still didn’t solve the ghosting that showed up in the last G on all the prints, but all in all, it’s a nice set of postcards. It was also a good excuse to drink on bottle of whiskey all the way through. I was lucky enough this time to reuse the ink from the viking’s hiking outfit.

Here is in some good company.

Viking Postcard–Part 2

drew — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 21:52:55 +0000

Continuing on from the Biking Viking, I present card number two, the Hiking Viking! I tried to save the inks from the first one, but the cheap containers I purchased turned the ink into a gooey nightmare. Having to remix was fine, but it means the colors will all be slightly off between cards. Past that, my one problem was the ghosting on the ‘g’ of viking, which has happened on both cards. I’m wondering if it’s because of pressure or over inking. If anyone has any suggestions on how solve the issue, let me know!

My favorite part of the card is his crooked, beardy smile.

Viking Postcard – Part 1

drew — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:48:21 +0000

I’ve been trying to step away from my code-based life and have some fun with illustration. To be honest, I’m horrible at it, but still find it damn fun. I designed a set of three postcards based on a simple viking illustration. I made him two colors, using an overlay to make it look like three. Here’s my computer mock-up with a bottle of Dead Guy Whiskey from Rogue, which I’ll be drinking for all three projects.

I used a standard oil based ink and diluted it a bit with solvent to make it less opaque. I printed the lighter color first so it wouldn’t get lost if the blue was too heavy.

He turned out great, with the overlay producing a nice green tint. I had to push the design up on the page to get a good registration on my tiny press, but all in all, that’s one fine looking viking.

Up next: The Hiking Viking!

Spring Wheat Whiskey

drew — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:47:15 +0000

I picked this one up while visiting Missoula over Christmas, and am glad I did. A very sweat carmel smell with a matching taste flowing with fruit, this is one flavorful whiskey. It tastes like what the 303 potato whiskey should be, but without the vodka aftertaste. The wheat mash texture comes on the first taste of the tongue, and the bite is sharp as the oak barrels used to age make their appearance in the aftertaste. If you’re ever up in Montana, pick this one up as a nice gift for your whiskey lovers elsewhere.