Little Rock Getaway (pre-launch)

This will be our next limited edition fine art print. Little Rock Getaway is an undated Flora tempera that reflects his mid- to late-1960s color schemes and contours. It will be released soon in an edition of 25. Floraphiles can pre-order via the linked title.

The Sweetly Diabolic Art of Jim Flora

A lengthy gestation period: our new book, conceived two years ago, is today born. Fantagraphics, with godlike dominion, declared July 29 as the official publication date of The Sweetly Diabolic Art of Jim Flora, our third anthology.

Purchase at: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or from Fantagraphics. Doesn't matter to us. Buy it. Here's what you'll discover:

Like its two predecessors, The Mischievous Art of Jim Flora (2004) and The Curiously Sinister Art of Jim Flora (2007), this anthology celebrates a visionary whose work is steeped in vari-hued paradox. Flora's figures are fun while threatening; playful yet dangerous; humorous but deadly. His helter-skelter arabesques are clustered with strangely contorted critters of no identifiable species, juxtaposed amid toothpick towers and trombones twisted into stevedore knots. Down his streets lurch demonic mutants sporting fried-egg eyes, dagger noses, and bonus limbs. Yet, despite the raucous energy projected in these hyperactive mosaics, a typical Flora freak circus often projects harmony and balance — an ordered chaos.

The Sweetly Diabolic Art of Jim Flora features paintings, drawings, and sketches from the 1940s through the 1990s — many never previously published or exhibited; more artifacts from the artist's 1940s tenure in the Columbia Records art department; and vintage newspaper and magazine illustrations. Several galleries feature never-before circulated children's book drafts and abandoned concepts that pre-date Flora's commercial success as an avatar of kid-lit.

Footnote: Any online description that says the book contains "a 1984 interview with award-winning graphic designer Robert M. Jones, who offers priceless insights," is erroneous. We had planned to include the Jones interview at the time we were obliged to provide a far-in-advance book description for the distributor's catalog, but decided to save the interview for a future book. The Fantagraphics site has the most accurate book description.

Our new book. Our new book.

Longtime friend, music collector, and fellow Floraphile David Burd reports a first sighting:

The new Flora book is in stores today! I just picked up my copy.

We expected the book to hit streets in mid-August. That's what happens when you work with a niche publisher—they surprise on the upside. (Note: Amazon.com lists a release date of July 29, 2009.)

Illustration of celebratory Benny Goodman (above): not in this book. It appeared in our second book.

Our new book. Not our new book.

We never claimed our favorite artist was a religious figure.

Their book costs $1,500. Ours will be more "competitively priced."

Left: one of several early 1940s Flora sketches of the Crucifixion, entitled Descent From the Cross, subsequently developed into a refined pencil drawing (published in our second book, The Curiously Sinister Art of Jim Flora). Flora also rendered the work as a pen and ink with tempera during the 1990s.

HT: Don Brockway

Flora exhibit at A-D Gallery, New York

If you're planning to attend the above June 10 exhibit — you're 66 years too late. However, by historical accounts Flora's first New York City gallery show, held in 1943, was fabulously successful.

A few months earlier, Flora had been named art director at Columbia Records, replacing the man who hired him, Alex Steinweiss (at left with the artist in photo below). The whereabouts of the inscrutable petroglyphs on the wall? All will be revealed in our forthcoming book, The Sweetly Diabolic Art of Jim Flora, scheduled for August publication by Fantagraphics.

Venice to Rome (pt. 2)

Tempera and pencil on paper, early 1960s. Another element of a large (16-1⁄2" x 13-3⁄4") work partially glimpsed here, and fully revealed in our forthcoming omnibus, The Sweetly Diabolic Art of Jim Flora. Above detail represents about one-sixth of the complete work.

Sweet, diabolic, done

An advance copy of our forthcoming third Flora anthology was delivered yesterday via FedEx courier from the printer. It's quite lovely (the book, not the courier or the printer) and brimming with visual mischief. A street date has been announced by the publisher, Fantagraphics: first week of August. The book can be pre-ordered from Amazon.com now.

Sweetly Diabolic features hundreds of rare and previously unpublished images from the Flora archives. The cover was designed by the godlike Laura Lindgren. It's the same size (10" x 11"; 180 pages) as our previous volumes (TMA and TCSA), and as a bookshelf companion will require just an additional 3/8" of spine space.

Sherwood's forest

Tempera illustration from Sherwood Walks Home (1966), part of the James Flora Papers in the Kerlan children's literature collection at the University of Minnesota. A chapter in our forthcoming Flora book will be devoted to images from the collection (the above is not included) and a profile of Dr. Irvin Kerlan, patron saint of tot-lit. We've previously posted several drafts and sketches discovered in the Kerlan vaults.

temp job filled

The services of this formerly out-of-work conductor (name: "Barlow") have been retained for our next book, The Sweetly Diabolic Art of Jim Flora, scheduled for August publication by Fantagraphics. Barlow has been hired as the volume's Gallery Guide. As such, he will stand sentinel-like at the beginning of each book section, with dotted lines emerging from his torso indicating chapter titles orbiting in close proximity. He earned the nod over six competing spot illustrations, who sulked away disappointed and simmering with resentment at the lucky Barlow.

In a former life, Barlow was a famous Columbia recording artist. He is seen above posing for a full-page ad in the June 1942 edition of Stadium Concerts Review, wearing the fashionable goalie mask for which he was renowned on the podium.

The Depot Fire

Detail, The Depot Fire, tempera on paper, 1963. This is about one-third of the entire work, which will be fully reproduced in our forthcoming book, The Sweetly Diabolic Art of Jim Flora. We reviewed printer's proofs of the pages this week, and the book is on schedule for publication by Fantagraphics in August or September.

Vaya Laredo

Detail, Vaya Laredo, pen & ink, 1998. Full work to be reproduced in The Sweetly Diabolic Art of Jim Flora, scheduled for Fall 2009 publication by Fantagraphics Books.

exuberance or chaos?

Detail, The Day the Cow Sneezed, tempera draft, 1957, courtesy the Dr. Irvin Kerlan Collection, University of Minnesota. A gallery of early Flora roughs and overlays from the Kerlan collection will be included in our next Fantagraphics book, The Sweetly Diabolic Art of Jim Flora (target publication date September 2009).

Sorcerer's Village

Pen & ink drawing, mid-1990s. This work was later adapted for a large colorful acrylic canvas. Both undated works reflect Flora's mid-1990s techniques and media. The painting was recently photographed and is being considered for reproduction in our next anthology.

Satan's sugary spawn

Our next Flora compendium is being compendicated. Target publication: September 2009, by Fantagraphics. Cover design by Laura Lindgren.

UPDATE (1 June 2009): Publication announced first week of August.