As youâve probably noticed, movie-poster collecting has turned into a Ron Burgundy-sized âBig Dealâ over the past few years: everywhere you look, brilliantly talented artists like Martin Ansin, Tyler Stout, and Olly Moss are joining forces with places like Gallery 1988, IAm8Bit, and the newly-opened Mondo Gallery to create collectible, gorgeously-rendered works of art based on your favorite movies and TV shows, and every time one of these posters dropsâ¦a poster-collector is born.And where do we--the die-hard paper-geeks of the world-- go for our news? For our drop announcements? For interviews with our favorite artists? For reckless rumor-mongering about upcoming events? One or two dark corners of the internet might traffic in the kind of information collectors crave, but we think we can streamline that process a bit (and even if we fail, it is an excuse to ramble on about posters for the umpteenth time, and we never get tired of that). Wanna see what weâve put together? Check out Limited Paper #1 after the jump, folks.What?! A new column devoted entirely to poster-collecting? And itâs not just wall-to-wall Mondo stuff? And thereâll be interviews and drop announcements? A weekly last-minute headâs up for whateverâs being released Thursday/Friday?Thatâs right.  And also? Weâd like you to help us shape it.Thatâs right. This has all been a trick, and now youâre being put to work (heh-heh, sucker). First, weâre inviting you to read through the piece below.  After reading all the way through, meet us at the end of the âThing Worth Getting Excited Aboutâ section to answer a few specific questions and offer your suggestions. Ready? Excellent: get to it! Weâll see ya on the other side. First up, our three âbiggest storiesâ of the week:GALLERY 1988: Gallery 1988âhaving just come off a successful Avengers-themed showâhas spent the past few weeks knee-deep in an all-new print seriesâ¦one based on AMCâs Breaking Bad. The entire series of prints (which is being revealed via a LOST-style ARG headed up by none other than Paul Scheer) got off to a start earlier this month with Daniel Dangerâs My Name is Walter Hartwell White, progressed to Tom Whalenâs Hector Salamanca, and most recently dropped a spoiler-iffic print by Anthony Petrie called Gus (if you havenât seen the most recent season of Breaking Bad, we recommend avoiding this print until you do).
- My Name is Walter Hartwell White (Daniel Danger) 12x36â, edition of 300
- Hector Salamanca (Tom Whalen) 18x24â, edition of 300
- Gus (Anthony Petrie) 18x24â, edition of 300
If youâre interested in keeping up with the Breaking Bad ARG thatâs behind the posters, head on over to breakinggifs.com and start refreshing:Â new posters are being revealed all summer long!
MONDO NEWS:
Last week, Mondo released or announced a slew of new posters, and wallets everywhere took a merciless beating. On Thursday, Phantom City Creativeâs Mole People and Jeff Proctorâs The Hills Have Eyes an online drop, but the Mondo mob was clearly focused on Vania Zouravliovâs 13 Assassins: that one sold out very quickly. Then again, both Mole People and Hills had been available for a few weeks at that point (both dropped during Texas Frightmare Weekend, then became available for pickup at the Mondo Gallery, then they were put up for sale online), so perhaps they just didnât have that new-car sheen that some buyers look for.
Related opinion: whoever passed on Hills will regret it the first time they see it in person (itâs science). Related fact: neither Hills nor Mole People had accompanying variant editions, but picking up 13 Assassins meant choosing between the white, blue, and gold editions. Here are the specs:
- Mole People (Phantom City Creative) 24x36â, $40 (edition of 250)
- 13 Assassins (Vania Zouravliov) 20x36â, $50 (edition of 120 per White, Blue, and Gold)
- The Hills Have Eyes (Jeffrey Proctor) 24x36â, $40 (edition of 200)
Meanwhile, new prints for Fridayâs screening of Rocky 3 (co-presented by the fine folks at Collider.com) and Saturday morningâs Iron Giant screening were announced/released/envied by those living outside of Austin. Jay Shawâs Rocky 3 18x24âprintâfeaturing a bold image choice, to say the least-- was as divisive as Shaw releases always seem to be these days, but everyone here at Collider loved it. Hereâs the specs:
- Rocky 3 (Jay Shaw) 18x24â, $40 (edition of 270)
Laurent Durieuxâs Iron Giant print, meanwhile, seemed to impress virtually everyone that got a peek at it, and had people turning up in droves on Saturday morningâ¦long before the screening even began.  The print isnât actually 24x36ââitâs just under on both sides, but about an inch or twoâbut it is one of the most impressive Mondo releases thus far in 2012, with colors that almost seem to be glowing and bolder patches of red than Iâd expected from the preview pics.
Tonight, Mondo will release Durieuxâs King Kong print during a screening of the film at the Ritz Drafthouse, but the reception to that piece (which included lengthy talks about what some interpreted as Kongâs âman boobsâ) has beenâ¦well, a little chillier than the one that met Iron Giant. Then again, very few pieces get that kind of universal love. Oh, and before you go throwing yourself off a bridge because you still donât live in Austin and missed this one, be aware that the remaining Giants will very likely be a part of Thursdayâs online drop. If you fail to snag one on Thursday? Well, that bridge will still be there! Go-Go Gadget Specs!
- Iron Giant (Laurent Durieux) ~24x36â, edition of 425
DARK HALL MANSION/TOM WHALENâS âYellow Submarineâ
What, you didnât know about this? Dude, come on. Hereâs a quick refresher, from Dark Hallâs website: âTom Whalenâs stunning artwork for these prints draws directly from The Beatles legendary 1968 classic Yellow Submarine and is the first time The Beatles have formally allowed a contemporary artist to reinterpret their classic filmâs imagery within an art print format.â I probably shouldnât make any pre-release declarations about quality here (I havenât even seen all the prints included in the Folio, so take this with a grain of salt), but: this seems like the perfect marriage of artist, project, and subject. Feels like a slam dunkâ¦only question is, can you beat the worldâs Beatles fanatics to the checkout when the prints go on sale?
Speaking of which! Letâs talk details. Tom Whalenâs Yellow Submarine Folio comes in three editions-- $300 for the yellow edition, $450 for the pink variant, $675 for the elite editionâand will go on sale today at 930am (PST) on May 29th over at Dark Hall Mansionâs website. Each folio contains the same five screenprints, but the elite edition (only 68 in that edition, holy crap) is getting metallic inks. Click here to see detailed pics of everything.
Here are the specs:
- Yellow Submarine (Yellow Edition) $300, edition of 797
- Yellow Submarine (Pink Edition) $450, edition of 135
- Yellow Submarine (Elite Edition) $675, edition of 68
*** Rhys Cooperâs still hard at work on the Game of Thrones banner series (you can read about the first wave of prints he released here), and recently Cooper released a look at the newest banner to be added to the lineup, a Lion-themed print (with the expected crimson and gold colors) for House Lannister. A pre-sale has already taken place on the first wave of prints, and a second pre-sale is expected soon for the second wave. At least, thatâs the common belief at the moment.
Look, Iâll be honest: I purchased the first wave of six variants and then promptly stopped paying attention to the future sales surrounding the series. Tell ya what: next weekâs Limited Paper will feature reliable, fact-checked updates on the Game of Thrones sale/second round of sales. Remember: this is the ârough draftâ Limited Paper, so I can totally pawn off laziness as âintentional corner-cuttingâ.
Hey, speaking of âcorner-cuttingâ (OMG that might be the best segue ever), you do know about the difference in variants and regs on this series, right? The photo below shows the regulars, whichâas you can seeâare all the same shape/size, but the variants will actually be cut out to match the shape of the image. Those look really, really snazzy (looked for photos of the variant versions, not coming across any immediately, will toss that onto the to-do pile for subsection âCooperâ, next weekâs Limited Paper).
These really are looking damn good thus far:
*** In other exciting print news, the Phone Booth Gallery has announced a new show for June 23rd called A Distant Winter. At this time, not much is known about the show itselfâ¦but we do know that Martin Ansin, Ken Taylor, and Rich Kelly are the artists involved (and, really, do you need to know any more than that?). Phone Boothâs expected to release more details about the show in the coming weeks, but for now, the following message is all the information we have about the show: âPhone Booth Gallery is proud to announce "A Distant Winter," an ambitious three person exhibition featuring Ken Taylor (whose 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea posterâseen belowâremains one of 2012âs strongest prints), Martin Ansin and Rich Kelly. Opening June 23rd, with all three artists in attendance, the exhibition will feature brand new prints and original work from all three artists. Direct all preview list inquires to phoneboothgallery@gmail.com.â
You can visit the Phone Booth Galleryâs website here.
THE WEEK AHEAD:
Weâre kind of in-between news-cycles/announcements at the moment, but a quick look at the calendar indicates that the week ahead is jam-packed with potential drops, at least one major show, and several screenings that may or may not have limited paper accompaniment. Be aware that most of the following are specific to people in the Austin area, but weâll be including potential drops, screenings, and rumored posters anywhere we hear that they might make an appearance (besides, hardcore collectors already own an âAustin Poster Buddyâ, which is this summerâs hottest fashion accessory).
Without further ado, hereâs what you need to have on your radar this week, potential drop-wise:
*** As was mentioned previously, Mondo will release Laurent Durieuxâs King Kong print when the film screens tonight at the Alamo Drafthouseâs Ritz location (itâs sold out).  Edition size, exact measurements, and cost are to-be-determined.
*** This Thursday, the Drafthouse is holding a Rolling Roadshow screening of Pixarâs Toy Story in north Austin, and the remaining portion of Tom Whalenâs excellent Toy Story prints (regular edition, edition size of 540, 24x36â, $50 apiece) will be sold at the screening. Also at the screening: all you can eat pizza (this event is sold out).
*** This weekâs biggest event has to be Donât Go Out Tonight, the all-Jay-Shaw (aka Iron Jaiden) exhibition which opens Friday night at the Mondo Gallery in downtown Austin. Not much is known about the show itself beyond the fact that itâs Shaw covering the cult films owned/released by Blue Underground, but even that seems to indicate that Shaw will have quite a bit of material to choose from.  The Mondo Galleryâs most recent showâan exhibition based entirely on Adventure Timeâclosed this weekend after a wildly successful run over the past three weeks.  As an up-and-coming artist with a bold style that seems to divide collectors, it will be extremely interesting to see how this particular show plays out (weâre rooting for ya, Jay!).
*** Also this Friday, the Alamo Drafthouseâs Summer of 1982 series will screen Tobe Hooperâs Poltergeist at the Alamoâs Ritz location (sold out for a while now), butâas of this writingâno poster has been confirmed for the screening, but rumors persist that a Jay Shaw Poltergeist print might be unveiled during the show (this would coincide with the Shaw gallery show opening the same night just up the street). Then again, Ken Taylor delivered a jaw-dropping Poltergeist print in 2010, so itâs possible that this will be one of the Summer of 1982 screenings that arrives⦠unaccompanied.
*** On Sunday, June 2nd, the Summer of 1982 series strikes again with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. Some of the people associated with the event (such as Devin Faraci, whose BadassDigest.com is co-presenting the film that night) have Tweeted hints that something special will be happening during the screening, but collectors remain divided on the likelihood that a Kahn poster will dropâ¦if only because Tyler Stout just release a fairly epic Kahn print in March. Will we get two Kahn prints within three months of each other? Stay tuned.
*** And, finally, a headâs up to the entire poster-collecting community: rumors have persisted for months that fan-favorite Tyler Stout might be producing a poster for Ridley Scottâs forthcoming sci-fi epic, Prometheus. While this has not been directly confirmed by Mondo, Stout, or anyone else that might be in the know, itâs worth noting that if such a print does existâ¦it will likely be announced soon, arrive not long after, and would instantly become one of the yearâs most in-demand prints (if the pre-release interest in Prometheus is any indication). Press screenings for Prometheus are taking place through this week in anticipation of the filmâs wide opening on the 8th. Remain watchful, alert, and remember: if you see something, say something.
THING WORTH GETTING EXCITED ABOUT OF THE WEEK:Â MARK ENGLERT
Each week, weâll be presenting a âThing Worth Getting Excited Aboutâ as part of Limited Paper. Sometimes itâll be a print thatâs particularly rare/gorgeous/controversial, sometimes itâll be an artist we think is particularly kick-ass, and sometimes it might be an upcoming event we feel like camping out for. If you have suggestions about a person, place, or thing that deserves TWGEB status, name-check that shizz in the comments section and either me or Steve will take it into consideration for a future column.
But before you run down to the comments section to tell us what a badass this new âTyler Stoutâ dude is, take a moment to hear me out on why I picked Mark Englert as our first-ever âThing Worth Getting Excited Aboutâ.  In fact, why donât you hear Mark out? Recently, Mark was friendly enough to sit down and answer a few pressing questions Iâd been sitting on, and I think a few of his answers will be of interest to this discussion.
First up:Â hereâs him explaining how Der et en slags Ting â his wildly popular screenprint based on John Carpenterâs The Thing-- came to be:
Earlier this year, someone on (art-collecting website) Expresso Beans posted a picture of their wall and their dilemma: they had a bit too much space to hang two prints together, JC Richard's "Fortress of Solitude" and Dan McCarthy's "Hoth". The easiest solution in my mind was to hang a third print, because three prints would look great together... but no prints existed that were the same size or that would fit the theme he had going. So, I made a quick mock up of what would become "Det Er En Slags Ting". People reacted really favorably to something I pooped out in about an hour, so I thought I finally had a chance to make something great that people would buy. I started a process thread so people could track my progress and I was happy to see folks get really invested, offering helpful advice and criticisms. When the print finally got produced and delivered, it felt like a real community effort and I couldn't have been happier with the end product and the vibe of my thread there.
Yes, Markâs first print was âpooped outâ in âabout an hourâ. If this is the kind of quality we can expect from Mark when heâs in âGive No Shitsâ mode, what sort of awesomeness should we expect from him when heâs actually operating on all four cylinders (note: all Englerts come standard with a V-4, but make up for it in trunk space)?!  Well, funny I should ask that. Hereâs Mark talking about what heâs got on the horizon:
I have several prints on the burner.  Two more have been released since: a gig poster for comedian Jim Norton and "They All Float", based off a favorite movie from my childhood. Coming up next is "This is my farm... I'll die here", another gig poster and I have more stuff that I'm anxious to show off once it is further along.
That next pieceâItâs My Farmâ¦Iâll Die Here-- is based on AMCâs wildly popular zombie series, The Walking Dead, and (if the pre-release demand is any indication) itâll sell out even faster than his previous two prints. Of course the artworkâs gorgeous (you can see the regular edition below), but people interested in buying variants are getting more than gorgeous artwork: for every variant sale heâs done thus far, Markâs offered fans some truly unique (and truly awesome) bonuses. Glow-in-the-dark ink, for instance. Might not sound like the biggest bonus ever, but have you seen the miracles this dude works with GID ink? Check out his GID Thing variant below:
Wow, right? Maybe not. Letâs say glow-in-the-dark isnât your thingâwhat could Mark do to get you to consider buying a variant? Well, how about unique sketches on every one of his AP variants?
Yes, Mark took sketch requests from everyone who purchased one of his AP Thing prints, and--over the course of a couple weeks-- he got every last one of âem sketched, tubed, and shipped. Probably earned himself several dozen lifelong fans in the process, too.
Theyâll be back for Itâs My Farm (See the regular below), where Markâs looking to take variant bonuses one step further: a recent pre-sale for the first Itâs My Farm variant offered buyers the chance to have their likeness included in the printâ¦as a zombie. Yes, if you purchased a variant during that drop, Mark was offering to sketch a little zombie âyouâ and include it with your tube. You simply donât hear about things like that happening these days: if anything, artists connect with fans via terse Tweets, halfhearted Facebook posts, orâ¦yâknow, not at all.
Thereâs no telling where Markâs career may take him from here (Who knows? He may stop creating screen prints entirely, take up knitting and start selling super-special variant sweaters), but itâs exciting to see his fame rise in real time, and truly awesome to see him taking such pleasure in both the production of his art and the dissemination of it. There may come a day when Mark runs out of ideas for extra-special bonuses and out-of-left-field add-ons, butâif Markâs as good as I think he isâby the time that happens, heâll probably have enjoyed a long and storied career.
You can reach Mark at tacobelvedere.com (where all his prints will eventually be made available for purchaseâ¦unless theyâre already sold out, in which case youâre screwed), on Facebook, or on the Expresso Beans forums. He may even be in your kitchen right now, making pancakes. Better go check.
OK, folks, this is usually the point where weâd be wrapping up the column, so-- rather than giving you the normal song and dance-- weâd like to throw some specific questions your way about the column itself. If you want your answers to go directly to the authorâor if you know of an artist, a company, some rare posters, orâugh, who knows?!âif thereâs anything print-related youâd like to share, drop us a line at FeedbackMcNasty@yahoo.com (no, seriously, thatâs a real account, set up specifically for situations like this). You can also leave your answers in the comments section, butâas alwaysâwe encourage everyone to engage one another with all the civility weâve come to expect from the internet in the past five years.
First of all, are you an active poster collector? Movie posters or gig posters?
Do you like the idea of having a bunch of stories/announcements from the week indexed on one page? Do you prefer a labeled, bite-size format like the one most of todayâs bits of ânewsâ were conveyed with, or would you have preferred an uninterrupted block of text/photos?  If you read the column regularly, would you probably read the Mondo news, the Gallery 1988 news, and/or whatever the âthird manâ news selection for the week might be? Or would you just skim through the listings?
Can you think of a company/artist/poster series/what-have-you that you would really like to see included here in the future? Let us know, and if thereâs anything else youâd like to discuss, go ahead and toss it into the comments section. We canât promise that weâre going to be able to answer each and every comment, but we are absolutely interested in making youâour fellow poster collectors, poster-collecting n00bs and veterans alike, and anyone in-betweenâa part of Limited Paperâs development , so donât be shy: get involved and make some recommendations before weâre forced to publish the next installment!