Small Stakes

Review from Chronicle Books Website:
The Small Stakes -- Renowned graphic artist Jason Munn—the one-man operation behind the studio The Small Stakes—is a leader in modern-day music poster design. Collected here for the first time are over 150 of his iconic posters for various bands, including Beck, Wilco, Built to Spill, the Flaming Lips, the Pixies, and many more. Unique in their conceptual elegance, Munn's silk-screened posters are widely appreciated for perfectly evoking each artist or band's character and distinctive sound. With a foreword by Death Cab for Cutie's bassist Nicolas Harmer, an interview conducted by prolific poster artist Jay Ryan, and 6-color printing that showcases metallic silver and gold, this book is a beautiful celebration of art and music.

Jason Munn creates his award-winning design work from his independent design studio in Oakland, California. His work is featured in numerous exhibitions and is in several museum collections, including the SFMOMA and the Denver Art Museum. 

One of my favorite posters comes from him -

Added bonus, an interview!
 

graphic novels

I have Colin (edit: & Dean) to thank for getting me into graphic novels. Before I met him I attached the "comic" world to awkward gawky boys who traded cards at lunch in high school. But, after being dragged to the comic book store a few times, I discovered the world of graphic novels. The plots went beyond super hero's and science fiction monsters. I fell in love.


Liz Prince is the first artist that I found that I really liked. I loved that she had such personality in her strips, and that they didn't look like something straight out of a Spiderman comic book.

Jeffrey Brown was the next artist that I read. The emotion he conveys in his artwork is really intense and amazing. He doesn't shy away from showing and making the reader experience each emotion with him.

For those interested, I started an Amazon list that I'll be adding to if you'd like some recommendations.