I got BD Issue 1 in the mail this past week.

Issue 1 is more of a book than a magazine; it is 7.5 x 10.25″ and is 0.5 inches thick, thicker than most of Hemmingway’s novels. It is packed with illustrations for each of the 8 featured artists, plus a handmade Kyle Thomas sharpie drawing on the cover – my copy features a big, toothy skull with swirling psychedelic eyes being gripped, and ridden, by a veined eyeball that has wings and bird claws. Inside I found a colorful sticker by Mat Brown, with an image of a spear wielding, helmeted Roman soldier wearing nothing else but a stylish nylon ammo belt and riding a wild looking gnarl-whale-horse which is being bitten by a crocodile dinosaur, the scene is reminiscent of St. George slaying the dragon, and there is also a buxom nude girl with some sort of snaky vaginal parasite hanging down from her privates and into a stream filled with dinosaur bones.

There are tons of genuinely weird images that play around the theme of the issue, Supernaturalism – way too many tidbits to digest in one sitting, with text and interviews that cut to the point in an earnest and thoughtful way, with each interview centered on the particular artist’s concerns and studio practice. This book is an experiment that pushes the magazine format in a new direction with a shit-ton of energy.

I like to draw with pencils, and there are two awesome features and interviews with artists who work primarily with pencils on paper, Frank Magnotta and David Jien. These two guys use isometric drawing like it’s nobody’s business.

Keep up the great work!!