Masked Men

© Jashar Awan, 2008

Click to enlarge.

Soul of Shaolin

"Soul of Shaolin ," The New Yorker, December 22 & 29, 2008
(click to enlarge)

Kung fu comes to Broadway with the production "Soul of Shaolin." Read more about the show here.

This is my latest "On the Horizon" illustration for the New Yorker. You can see an archive of previous ones here (or by clicking the final thumbnail on my website.)

Frost/Nixon

"Frank Langella in 'Frost/Nixon'," The New Yorker, October 16, 2006

I did this one for The New Yorker a few years ago when the play "Frost/Nixon" was being performed in London. It was a particularly fun challenge to balance the likeness between Frank Langella and Richard Nixon. Later this month, Ron Howard's film adaptation will open so this was a good time to dig this piece out.

Here's the movie's trailer:

The Technology Issue

"The Technology Issue," The L Magazine, November 19- 25, 2008

My first cover! I did this for Cecilia over at the L Magazine for their technology issue. This was a fun assignment- I love drawing scenes from the past but I'd never before realized what a blast it is to design the future. It was quite a challenge too- reference is scarce.

XXX

Alternate sketches for "The Wettest County in the World."

The Wettest County in the World

"The Wettest County in the World," The New York Times Book Review, November 9, 2008

Matt Bondurant’s second novel is inspired by his family's bootlegging past. Nicholas Blechman was nice enough to let me choose which sketch to develop into the final illustration. As much as I enjoyed drawing the still and other moonshine paraphernalia, I decided to go with the more dramatic scene mentioned in Lousia Thomas' review.

(Don't worry- he survives his wound by trekking 12 miles to the nearest hospital!)

WFoF Header

If you haven't had a chance to check out Welcome Friend or Foe recently, Emily has been redesigning the blog's look. Drew did the first header for the site and he set the bar high. Tomby followed suit and I decided it was time to join in on the fun.

Happy Birthday, Jordie!

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

The Oedipus Cycle

The Oedipus Cycle, The New Yorker, November 3, 2008

A couple of weeks ago, The New Yorker sent me to see The Oedipus Cycle at the Pearl Theatre. I attempted some life drawing during the play, but the theater was too dark to draw anything coherent. Fortunately, there was time during the intermissions to sketch out thumbnails. It was a great show- I'd definitely recommend checking it out.

an unused sketch with an ink wash experiment

Update 10.28.08- Tomby and I are in the same issue!

27

The Secret Origin of Captain Fish

© Jashar Awan, 2008

Click to enlarge.

Katyń

"Katyn," The New Yorker, October 20, 2008

The Oscar nominated "Katyń" (2007) tells the story of the Katyn Forest massacre of Polish soldiers by the Russians during World War II. This is considered director Andrzej Wajda's most important film- his father was a victim of the massacre. A Wajda retrospective is being shown at Lincoln Center from Oct. 17 through Nov. 13.

Read more here.

Mugshot

The Crime/ The Crime Lab

From 2004:

Signal Watch

© Jashar Awan, 2008

This is the first in a planned series of vignettes featuring characters I've been developing for the past couple of years. I had all of these epic stories written out (complete with timelines and family trees) but, not having drawn a comic in a while, they seemed overwhelming to tackle. I'm using these short installments to get back into working sequentially and to visit different points of the city's timeline.

"Signal Watch" was initially just going to be the title for this scene but I think I might use it as the title for the series...

From the Archives: The Bikers

R.H.

How to not get bumped from a flight

"How to not get bumped from a flight," 2 Magazine, Fall 2008

Michele Sponagle reveals how to not get bumped from a flight here.

See my previous illustration for 2 magazine, "How do we make scheduled sex fun?," here.

Spotted!

From the Jonathan Levine Gallery:

Blind Contour Party

Streetwise

Robert/ Ingrid

Sarah Palin's Speech: The Sparks Flew

"Sarah Palin's Speech: The Sparks Flew," The New York Times, September 5, 2008

This is my first NYT Op-Ed assignment. I was pretty excited to get the call- my brother Jordan is one of their regular contributors and Tomby's done a few for them, too.

The final image is on top with two of my sketches below it.

Read the Op-Ed letters here.

You're having tea with Graham Greene...

Here's a drawing based on the cover of the Graham Greene novel, Shipwrecked. (courtesy of Emily's paperback collection)

From the Archives: Montage series

Day of Wrath

"Day of Wrath," The New Yorker, September 8, 2008

Carl Theodor Dreyer’s “Day of Wrath,” tells the story of a 17th century witch hunt in Denmark. The movie was made in 1943 when the kingdom was occupied by Germany.

Here's the original drawing of the minister's handsome son (as well as a false start to the left). I was happy with how his hair turned out but most of it had to be cropped for the sake of the final composition.

“Day of Wrath” is at the IFC Center through Thursday.

Read more here.

How I spent my Labor Day weekend

Thanks to the Martin family for their hospitality over the weekend!

More Fire Island photos here.