excuse me, ghidorah

I’ll go ahead and blaze a trail of ignorance and say that Derek Yaniger’s art has always reminded me of the Sixties — of Jay Ward cartoons and Quisp cereal. In the description for his new book, Wildsville: The Art of Derek Yaniger, Amazon links his style with the Fifties: “Celebrating a retro subculture of tiki gods, hillbillies, and burlesque, this collection of Derek Yaniger’s incredible body of 1950s-style cartoon art is a must for all tiki and Kustom Kulture addicts. The only work devoted to his illustrations for Cartoon Network, Marvel Comics (for which he worked on such titles as Hellraiser, Transformers: Generation 2, and Web of Spider-Man), and more, this book contains more than 150 original paintings and illustrations. Derek’s illustration style, reminiscent of cocktail napkin art of the 1950s, delves into the retro world of beatniks, tiki bars, and Vegas glamour. Original cartoon art collectors, students of cartoon art, and fans of lowbrow artists will all find this an essential reference. …Derek Yaniger publishes in such magazines as Atomic, Barracuda, and Car Kulture Deluxe and does prints for shows such as Hukilau, Tiki Oasis, and the Wild Weekend. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.”

At any rate, Yaniger has nailed a certain style of effervescent lowbrow cartooning and his work is well worth a look. I find the “horny businessman with martini in hand” stuff only mildly amusing, but there’s plenty of monsters, hillbillies, tiki gods and Beatniks, as well. You can find his book on Amazon or at Mister Retro. A selection of his illustrations can be found here, as well.