Art Department Weekly | Issue 98 Vol. 12

ADW ART DEPARTMENT WEEKLY ISSUE 98 VOL. 12

WHERE WILL THEY

LEARN?

FANTASY ISLAND

THE KIDS DIRECT IN QUARANTINE

Quick Change GOING WITH THE FLOW

MINI BOARD

WATCHING YOU There’s a lot of live entertainment here.

Betty started Kindergarten in a pandemic, so she had both parents sitting with her, taking pictures of her reactions... We backed off for her first real class session.

Meanwhile, Percy, one of our indoor cats, had his eye on a squirrel that decided it was going to loudly get into the bag of bird feed. The squirrel did nothing short of giving Percy the finger.

I don’t have a problem with the squirrel. Whatever’s digging up the grass needs to stop. Luis says it was the raccoon. He saw something bigger than a cat, smaller than a person on the driveway before the holes appeared. —MV

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TREND SPOTTER The toy aisle is Luis’ obsession at Walmart, but right across from empty toy aisles is the empty men’s undershirt aisles. I want one 6-pack of large v-necks. There are some 3-packs of triple extra large and literally one pack of three small crew collar shirts, but no large v-necks from any brand. I have checked on each of my visits for a month. The white T-shirt seems to be a staple in every man’s quarantine wardrobe. The J Crew picture I found on Google is on clearance for $9.50, but, come on, who needs bright white shirts in the bubble? Luis says, “Even though those shirts have been my go-to during wfh, I’d rather have Walmart stock the toy aisle so I can get an AEW Jericho and Cody figure.”

—MV

Art Department Weekly is published by Dinosaur Girly Productions, 184 Bay 26th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11214. The entire contents of ADW are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without expressed written consent of the publisher. ADW accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts and/or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. ADW reserves the right to edit, rewrite, refuse or reuse material, is not responsible for errors or omissions, and may feature same in other mediums for any and all purposes.

REAL CLASSY I might have laughed out loud, but I was more excited to know I wasn’t the only one completely taken by the Breyer’s commercial for this “ice cream lasagna.”

While smooth jazz plays in the background of this shiny black table setting, the classic male voice over tells us, “Breyer’s has created a spectacular dessert called Viennetta.” Unseen guests are scooping the “premium” ice cream out of glass dishes as fast as they can before all coming back for that last slice on a silver server. As the voice over says, “One slice is never enough...”

Somehow Luis had no feelings about this food. I don’t actually even remember eating it—I just remember seeing the commercials and believing that was what rich people ate.

—MV

D R A HE

T R NA

R E V O

I

“I hate touching wings, but, when I do, I guess I prefer them saucy! with a side of 1,000 napkins” -Justine

“Like if all four PS4 controllers broke and the nearest replacement was in Osaka” -Madeline

“I’ll stay 6’4”.

Fuck you, Zac Efron” -Luis

“The vice president’s petri dish” -Nicolle

SURPRISE PROMOTIONS Walmart is full of surprises these days. Once there was an endcap full of baby Yoda toys. Then they were all gone. I was going to get a picture of Lucky Charms mixed with Frosted Flakes, but all those boxes were gone and baby Yoda was there instead. Then there was a Wonder Woman 1984 between electronics and shoes. It seemed to only have old Wonder Woman (and Harley Quinn) merchandise on it. “WW84 was set to be released in July. It’s been pushed to October, but I’m skeptical of that date,” Luis says. It could have gone to DC Universe but all their original content is being funneled to HBO Max—maybe the final home of WW84? “My one suggestion would be to have it premiere on the Max at a premium price of $19.99.”

—MV

“Más muevimiento de Shakira!”

-Announcer

“It’s not a thigh gap. It’s a broken dick”

August 25, 2020 • Art

-Luis

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DREAM RIDE Kal saw my pictures of bees and said he would ride them...

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MADELINE STRUM

I took my macro lens to the backyard to try to capture how busy all the different kinds of bees and wasps were. Last summer I had trouble posing Kal and his siblings for photo illustrations I wanted. This time with Kal’s direction, it took more work to shoot the bees so there was enough detail and wings were positioned for kids to ride them.

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Art Department Weekly • August 25, 2020

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Before the sunflowers blossomed, my kids played outside regularly. I feel like seeing pictures of the bees scared them indoors—making riding bees even more of a fantasy.

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Art Department Weekly • August 25, 2020

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Art Department Weekly • August 25, 2020

Seed weevils were a fun discovery. I thought sunflowers would attract Monarch butterflies and Goldfinches. The first few sunflowers blossoms looked like there were being attacked long before they could produce seeds.

August 25, 2020 • Art

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Third try’s the charm—I came out in the brightest conditions to shoot at the fastest shutterspeed with the smallest aperture to freeze the bees’ wings

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Boom wanted a different job

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I’ve used dried mint to repel flies, but they are completely attracted to mint blossoms.

Sparrows added to our patch of sunflowers by throwing seeds everywhere. I bought the feeder and bird seed so they would stop eating the seeds I planted, and the birds ended up planting flowers for me.

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Art Department Weekly • August 25, 2020

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Flight Instructor Betty’s back-to-school journey started with learning to ride a bee.

May 24

June 6

June 9

Growth Spurt The plants in the backyard gave us a reason to go out but not talk to anyone.

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Art Department Weekly • August 25, 2020

He might open a 5-hour course

July 13

July 22

August 23

Things changed quickly, growing tall and then promptly falling over. Pumpkins are taking over...

August 25, 2020 • Art

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Changes need to be made quickly...

Could the virus be contained?

One day, we are preparing for everyone to attend school on different days at different times.

The next, we are rigging WiFi for four simultaneous video conferences.

By Madeline Vega

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Art Department Weekly • August 25, 2020

LEARN TO

stay safe AND STILL LEARN August 25, 2020 • Art

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School online means not only school at the mercy of WiFi providers but also school with the smell of cat poop and the sound of parents cursing.

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Art Department Weekly • August 25, 2020

I might not be teaching them, but I’m School Foods and tech support now.

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m

o ew

ho

k

m

or ew

ho

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rk ewo m o h

k

or

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After two half days, Betty has announced she might be sick tomorrow...

Kal having no one to high-five I think about sums up how doing well at remote schooling will feel.

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FIVE THINGS NOT KNOW ABOUT CREATORS YOU MAY

OR IN SOME CASES MAY NOT KNOW THEY CREATE COMICS.

DENYS COWAN

One of the most prominent black creators in comics, with an incredible career that includes a long run with writer Denny O’Neil on The Question, Cowan most importantly co-founded MILESTONE COMICS. DC just announced during FanDome that Milestone will be returning in 2021 with Cowan at the helm.

BRIAN STELFREEZE

SANFORD GREENE

A comics artist for almost 15 years, Sanford’s biggest hit came with his mangainspired take on PowerMan and Iron Fist. His pages crackle with a unique energy.

He’s currently working on Bitter Root for Image.

One of the most acclaimed artists in comics, Stelfreeze has been in the industry for almost 35 years. Iconic runs on Batman and most recently Black Panther have cemented him as an all-time great.

TA-NEHISI COATES DAVID F. WALKER

Sanford Greene’s writer on both Power Man and Iron Fist as well as Bitter Root.

They form a fantastic team.

David has worked for the big three comic publishers.

Everyone should follow his BADAZZMOFO blog on davidfwalker.com/blog/

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Art Department Weekly • August 25, 2020

When he isn’t writing ground-breaking novels or guest editing Vanity Fair, Coates has pumped out amazing runs on Black Panther as well a great new take on Captain America and the Falcon. His comic work is bold, epic and significant in every way.