New Painting

Painting of tall bike knight:

Metrorian Tall Bicycle Knight

Bicyclopolis Journal

Saw this at Cream City Comics blog:

7) Do you keep a sketchbook? If so, what do you get out of this process? Do you think it's a good thing, in general, for an artist to do?

No! And I know I should. In fact, just the other day I ran into Conspirator Ken Avidor(www.bicyclopolis.blogspot.com) at a parade by my house and his first question was: "Did you bring your sketchbook?" GAH! .... no.... But Ken does the most wonderful, elaborate sketchbooks I know of, and I hope that someday they will be published for the world to see his genius/madness.

I have a detail from an amazing painting Danno did in my journal/sketchbook:



Which brings me to the title of this post... I keep regular daily journal which includes real-life stuff... but lately, I've been wanting to keep a journal about future stuff... like the drawings I've done for Bicyclopolis.

I just got involved with a group of very talented people who keep journals led by my journaling guru Roz Stendahl...here's a picture of Roz from the meeeting last night at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts:

Bicyclopolis Blogged, Typhon and the Altered Esthetic Bike Art Show

Nice mention of Bicyclopolis at the Mpls Does Bike Blog.

The Altered Esthetics Gallery will be having their third Bike Art Show June 5-28. I'll be there at the opening, so say hello and buy me a beer.

Danny Hellman has apparently got around to publishing his Typhon anthology... and I'm apparently in it. I forgot what I gave him.

Plastic Bag Storm

On the journey to Bicyclopolis, Flodge and his guide encounter a plastic bag storm:

Panel from Bicyclopolis Graphic Novel

End of America's "Love Affair With the Automobile"

Lutefisk Sushi C Show

I will be in the Cartoonist Conspiracy's all new Lutefisk Sushi C Show May 2nd.

Great box design by Kevin Cannon:



I did the design for the box 2 years ago and you can see that design and animations based on it HERE.

Andy Singer and Me at the 2008 Mpls Auto Show

From the Pioneer Press:

Ken Avidor and Andy Singer may be the only people who got to the Minneapolis & St. Paul International Auto Show on bicycles.

"I have this thing with arriving at transportation things with a vehicle," said Avidor, a 52-year-old transit and bicycling advocate and cartoonist from Minneapolis.

Despite frigid temperatures, he turned down our offer of a lift Friday to the Minneapolis Convention Center to preview the nine-day car show, which opens today.

"Mainly, I hate being in a car," Avidor said. "It's a canned experience."

"All this space, and there's no bike stand," he muttered as he and Singer wheeled away from the front doors of the convention center to look for a pole to lock their bikes.

"The formaldehyde new car smell," said Singer as we walked into the convention center's biggest event, a half-million square feet of exhibit space covered with gleaming sheet metal.

Singer, a 42-year-old cartoonist from St. Paul, doesn't own a car.

But like Avidor, he knows a surprising amount about them, or at least how to draw them. His book, "CARtoons," is a critical look at the social and environmental impact of the automobile on society.

Avidor's "Roadkill Bill" comic looks at "cars, technology and philosophy from a viewpoint of a frequently squashed rodent." His graphic novel "Bicyclopolis" depicts a car-less "post-petroleum" future of 2076 populated by descendants of bike messengers and Civil War re-enactors.

Read more HERE.

The Bicyclopolis Overpass Picture and 35W

I drew this picture of a collapsed part of route 35W before the collapse of the 35W bridge. It appeared on the back cover of Earth First Journal Volume 26, Issue 2.

It's been showing up in blogs like this one.

The Post-Petroleum Landscape

Metroria Pages in August Issue of Dirtrag

Sorry this is a little late...

5 pages of the bicycle knights of Metroria in issue #130 of Dirtrag.

Tribute to Eric Lappegard

From the Strib:


In late July, beloved Twin Cities cartoonist Eric Lappegard (aka Schmapples) died after complications from a car accident. Lappegard was an active member in the Cartoonist Conspiracy and a vocal supporter of bike riders and vegans. His friends and allies have put together a benefit for Lappegard's family Saturday at Altered Esthetics. It includes work by Lappegard and his friends, a silent auction, a vegan bake sale and the first chance to buy two books created for the benefit: a complete collection of Lappegard's hilarious online cartoon "Schmapples," which he worked on daily for the last six months of his life, and "Alley Cat," a 100-page anthology of comics dedicated to Lappegard, with work by local luminaries such as Ken Avidor and Zander Cannon and national superstars such as Anders Nilsen. The party will be preceded by a bike race around Northeast, starting at Behind Bars Bicycle Shop. For more information, go to: www.myspace.com/ericlappegardtribute. (5-10 p.m. Sat. Altered Esthetics, 1224 Quincy St. NE., Mpls.)

More Bicycle Knights

Chapter on Metrorian Knights Completed

Here's a peek at a page:



Here are two maps. One shows the route Percival Flodge took to get to Metroria and Bicyclopolis. The other map shows the landfill kingdoms of Metroria:



-Ken Avidor

UPDATE: See more of these in August 2007 Issue of Dirtrag.

Bicyclopolis Poster for ARTCRANK

Bicyclopolis art for ARTCRANK Bike Poster Show.

At the ON on One

Opening night April 7th.

Signifer

This guy is with the Metrorian army. He carries the standard which has stuff salvaged from cars etc. This drawing will be part of the chapter about the Battle of Eden Prairie Center.

The Metrorian Knights

I'm working on the Bicyclopolis Project again. I will post more stuff here as I get it done.

Here is an illustration showing the enemies of Bicyclopolis, the Metrorian Knights preparing for battle: