Tales
of Woe,
MTV Press, 2010digital
Tales of Woe is written by author John Reed. I completed 5 images for the book, one of 12 artists. My good friend and
comic artist Delia Gable will also be in the book. Their work can be viewed at the Tales of Woe website.
Description: Sin, suffering, redemption. That’s the movie, that’s the front page news, that’s the story of popular
culture—of American culture. A ray of hope. A comeuppance. An all-for-the-best. Makes it easier to deal with the world’s
misery—to know that there’s a reason behind it, that it’ll always work out in the end, that people get what they deserve.
The fact: sometimes people suffer for no reason. No sin, no redemption—just suffering, suffering, suffering. Tales of Woe
compiles today’s most awful narratives of human wretchedness. This is not Hollywood catharsis (someone overcomes
something and the viewer is uplifted), this is the katharsis of Ancient Greece: you watch people suffer horribly, and then
feel better about your own life. Tales of Woe tells stories of murder, accident, depravity, cruelty, and senseless
unhappiness: and all true.
I don't think I need to tell you this isn't children's book illustration! Hint: not child or work safe.
