cover photo by Clayton Cubitt

The Art of Molly Crabapple Volume 1: Week in Hell is up for pre-order!  The journey of Week in Hell from crazy idea on how to spend my birthday to mad week long art binge to art book put out by IDW is something that fills me with all sorts of butterfly laden joy.  And to celebrate, I ran a contest asking you to send me your receipts for pre-ordering from both online sources like Amazon.com and from your local comic book store using its Diamond code, JAN12 0483.

Our winner in the online category is Logan Riley and from the local comic book store it’s Steve Mills!

The winners will receive one 11×13″ cut of the original Week in Hell wall!

Thank you so much for your support! I’ll be signing in a few locations in NYC and London after its release, so keep an eye out for those announcements.

cover photo by Clayton Cubitt.

The Art of Molly Crabapple Volume 1: Week in Hell is up for pre-order!  The journey of Week in Hell from crazy idea on how to spend my birthday to mad week long art binge to art book put out by IDW is something that fills me with all sorts of butterfly laden joy.  And to celebrate, I’m doing a contest.

I have two 11 x 13 original cuts I made during Week in Hell, the kind that went for $100.  And I want to give them to you guys.

To enter the Week in Hell Contest, either

1. Preorder The Art of Molly Crabapple Volume 1: Week in Hell on Amazon. Email your receipt to WeekInHell@Gmail.com

OR

2. Preorder your copy of The Art of Molly Crabapple Volume 1: Week in Hell at your local comics store.  It’s in Diamond Previews now, for March delivery. It’s Diamond code is JAN12 0483. Email your receipt to WeekInHell@Gmail.com. Preordering from local stores is VERY important, both because we want stores to carry our weird little art book, and because supporting stores, rather than Amazon, is what keeps the world from turning into parking lots and Walmart

We will be choosing one winner who preordered on Amazon, and one winner who pre-ordered from their local store.  Contest closes on January 31st, and winners will be chosen and notified by February 3rd

Thank you so much for your support!

Thank you to Keith Jenson at Brainwomb for making this gothtastic sendoff to 2011.

Happy fucking 2012, comrades.

Here’s what I did. It’s a bit.

* Me and John spent most of 2010 working on our rococo steampunk dream project, Puppet Makers ,for DC Comics. DC then folded the imprint, cancelled the series, and we thought it would never see the light of day. In early ’11 they dumped it, sans promo, on Comixology. You can get it here.

*Went to Angouleme, the giant French comics convention in a charming, medival town. The professionals hall is in a castle. Vowed never to go to another American comic con. Spent rest of year teaching self semi-fluent French

* kept obsessive sketchbooks drawing everyone I ever hung out with or drank with or admired from afar.

* Spoke at SXSW, The Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, on CNN Money and as a smart-mouth “expert” on Andy Warhol for the Biography Chanel.

* Was shortlisted for the Groucho Award in London alongside Idris Elba and Nick Davies.

* Had friend and muse Buck Angel present me with a Fleshbot Award for my achievements in depraved art

*Inspired by the Box London, started making giant pieces of art, including 5 huge panels for the PEN Literary Festival and a gigantic drawing for Stumptown

*Hosted a documentary about erotic comics for ARTE, the Franco-German TV channel, dubbed into French, against a green screen, in a Judy Jetson micro-mini

* Traveled to Paris (x3), London (x4), Chicago, Portland, Austin, LA

* Wrote Straw House with John Leavitt, our 200 page graphic novel for First Second Books. It’s due out 2013. 2012 is the year I do nothing but draw it

*overcame my hatred of likenesses by drawing sixty six friends and inspirations

*… and followed it up with sixty six historical reprobates

* Did Week in Hell, the project I am probably proudest of thus far. Raised 25k to draw 270 feet of art in 5 days, going nearly mad in the process. If you donated, thank you more than I can say.

* got a deal to publish three art books with IDW

*drew stuff I was proud of

* Occupy Wall Street happened outside my window and took over my art. I drew posters, made my loft into a press-room, sketched protesters, and even had my favorite journalist, Matt Taibbi, rock a shirt with my art

* drank whiskey with old friends, new friends, and people too awesome for me to deserve to know. Thanks John Leavitt, Sarah Jaffee, Warren Ellis, Clayton Cubitt, Laurie Penny, Jen Dziura, Kate Black, Melissa Dowell, Kim Boekbinder, Steve Prue, Quinn Norton and all the rest of yee for being in my life

* Canson made me a brand ambassador, which upped my art game by giving me all the really sweet supplies I couldn’t formerly afford

* I drew alot of shirts for Dirtee Hollywood, which Stoya looked extremely pretty in.

* Collaborated like mad with beloved Kim Boekbinder. She wrote a song for me. We’re almost done with a short film, animated by Jim Batt

* Am so fucking grateful to my assistant, creative coordinator, Dr. Sketchy’s manager, and whipmistress, Melissa Dowell. In real life, assistants build the galleons, and artists just draw their own faces on the flags. Not 1/10th of this list would have been done without Melissa. Melissa, thank you.

Have been spending the last few days drinking cocoa, sketching, plotting for 2012. What a fucking year its been. Thanks for being with me through it.

Honored to have art in this amazing anthology from N+1 (alongside contributors like Angela Davis and Slavoj Zizek).  All royalties are donated to Occupy Wall Street.

I am so honored and kinda shocked that I’m on this list. Only non-UK person too, I think

The Groucho Club Announces Maverick Shortlist

The shortlist for the 2011 Groucho Club Award – announced today – reflects an
unprecedented year which has seen major global shocks and shifts in the world of media,
politics and finance.

Featured amongst the six shortlisted ‘mavericks’ are the campaigning journalist who
uncovered the News of the World phone-hacking scandal; the MP who spoke out about it;
and the artist who used her work as an activist to support Wall Street Occupy.

The shortlist for the 2011 Groucho Maverick Award is:

Molly Crabapple
An artist and activist, Molly began her career doing covers for the pornographic
newspaper, Screw and earlier this year designed the murals for nightclub, The Box in
Soho. Also this year she has made her art political though her use of art to protest at
Wall Street Occupy

Nick Davies
The Guardian investigative journalist whose relentless commitment to the truth led to
the uncovering of much of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal

Idris Elba
The talented British actor who went to America to find work and became an
international star in The Wire. He has now returned to the UK to star in Luther and
continues to campaign for a greater diversity of roles for black actors

Hilary Lloyd
An artist who, in films and installations, shows the world at its most ordinary and
boring – underpants, tower blocks, glossy fashion mags – and flips the meaning to
make it suddenly menacing and strange.

Caitlin Moran
The outspoken Times journalist, Caitlin is the author of How to be a Woman, the
book which everyone’s reading, in which she redefines feminism and proves that
women can be as funny as men

Tom Watson
The Labour MP who, by asking questions no one else dared ask in the House,
bought much of the phone-hacking scandal into the public consciousness

—–

Launched in 2010 as ‘the antidote to other awards’, the Maverick Award celebrates
people who have broken the mould in their own particular field, by challenging and
making a significant contribution to our culture in the past 12 months, either in the UK or
internationally.

Hey comrades, I’m starting to schedule commissions for the holidays. If you wanted me to create something custom for you, and you want it in time for you to give it as a gift, now is the time to get in touch.

Email me at molly@mollycrabapple.com with your ideas.

I live half a block from Liberty Park, the homebase and nerve center of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

British journalist Laurie Penny files copy on Occupy Wall Street

I’ve been going down almost every day I’ve been in town to drop off books, tarps, and blankets for the protesters. While the media caricatures the protesters as a group of ne’er do well hippies, its actually hundreds of people of all ages, colors and walks of life.

Before a march, a woman shows the crowd the Lawyers Guild phone number on her stomach.

The occupiers have built a temporary city (library! medic! childcare! free clothes! a kitchen!) committed to caring for eachother.

A young man plays ukelele for the occupiers

Here are some faces I’ve seen down at Liberty Park. I’ll be updating as often as possible on my tumblr

masked protester

Week in Hell is over.  I’m free from my undisclosed ink prison, after drawing 270 feet of squids, girls, pity parties, tentacles, high horses, and madness.  I have to thank my third sponsor, Dick Blick

Dick Blick provided 200 of their amazing, double barreled Blick Studio markers .  Despite the true marker-tortures I subject them to, these markers were valiant, did not get ragged, and took many many feet of wall to run dry.

Thanks so much to Dick Blick for helping rig me out during Week in Hell!

Photos by Steve Prue

The gothtourage says hello

photos by Steve Prue