Things I Want That Do Not Exist Yet

There are often things that I want to have that unfortunately don't exist. Some of them are probably impossible to ever have (like a fluffy immortal pink kitten or a mogwai that can't turn into a Gremlin no matter how much chicken I give it after midnight) and others are possible yet difficult to obtain. I've always been a fan of art (my mom used to drag me around to museums when I was, like, 5), but it's only been in the recent years of my developing love and knowledge of comics that I realized it is possible to have original art of my own. I'm practicing the hunt for original pieces with my rinky-dink sketchbook, but below are some of the works I'd love to maybe someday hang on my walls.

The Mad Hatter Tea Party
by James Jean

I've always been a fan of the Alice in Wonderland story and imagery, even though in more recent years, it seems like every emo/goth girl out there claims she's totally an 'Alice.' But I've tried not to let that deter my love of the original story. And specifically, I love the tea party sequence, maybe because I was a weirdo only-child who totally had whacked-out tea parties with my stuffed animals and imaginary friends. And the artist whom I would love to see re-imagine this scene would be James Jean of Fables, Umbrella Academy, and My Chemical Romance fame. I don't think anyone would argue that that wouldn't be an awesome painting. The surreal softness of his art in addition to his unique color palette, I believe, would make for a hauntingly whimsical wall-hanging.

Nighthawks
by Brian Bolland

I always loved this painting, and it probably wasn't until middle school that I found out that Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and Elvis weren't supposed to be in the picture. However, I eventually came to understand the Edward Hopper was a genius and that as simplistic as this painting looks, it makes you feel so many different emotions all at once, as does most of his art. As for Brian Bolland, I think he's fantastic. I love his clean lines and stark colors, as well as his tendency to put his subjects in bold, movie poster-esque poses but still stocking their faces full of emotions. I would love to see him place the cast of Doom Patrol into Hopper's 'Nighthawks,' combining regular stoic and creepy with fantastical, anti-hero stoic and creepy.

The Last Supper
by Marc Hempel

I'm really not that big a fan of the original 'Last Supper,' but I do love the iconography of it and people's various takes on it. And the version that I want of it would be famous movie monsters and creatures and whatnot (Freddy, Jason, Wheelers, Alien, etc.). I've been trying to get my boyfriend Rickey to do this for almost a year, but he seems to think he can't (please encourage him to do so). So instead I wish Marc Hempel could do it. I'm really not familiar with any of his work other than 'The Kindly Ones' from The Sandman series, but it's my favorite of the ten volumes and I absolutely love his art. Everything is so pointy with thick outlines, almost cartoonish, yet still very powerful and emotive, and I think that a monster version of a classic religious image would totally be the right medium for his style.

Kissing on VJ Day
by Bryan Lee O'Malley

This is another image that I fell in love with when I was younger (mainly because I thought it was super cool to cover my walls in black and white images - Yes - I was/am a dork). But I still think it's a powerful image in our culture and a great photograph, as well. So the person I would pick to recreate it would be Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley. It's pretty simple. I love his style, everyone is super cute and I would like for him to make me and my Rickey all adorable-afied into this picture. I know it's a little cheesy, but that's exactly why O'Malley's awesomeness would balance it out.


So yeah. There are definitely other yet-to-be-created items that I'd want. I'm sure I will come up with more later. And feel free to make any of the above artworks happen. You know, if you can. :)