DILLERMANIA!

Brad, Brian and Nathan Diller will be at Taylor Books during ArtWalk Thursday evening. Brad will be signing copies of his book, and Brian and Nathan will be providing some great music.  We're going to re-present my recent review of Brad's book, and take a look at a 2010 episode of Radio Free Charleston featuring Brian and Nathan to remind you why you should come out to Taylor's and see what all the fuss is about!

The Neighbors Have Two Flamingos

Charleston native and cartoonist extraordinaire, Brad Diller, has released the first collection of his "Funday Morning" cartoons, "The Neighbors Have Two Flamingos." This nifty spiral-bound book collects dozens of his single-panel cartoons from his Funday Morning.com website.

Single-panel cartoons are an under-appreciated art form. With merely one drawing and one caption to create a humorous situation, the cartoonist has to stick firmly to the rule that brevity is the soul of wit. They have to combine a fresh, offbeat perspective with observations that resonate in the reader. Diller does so in a spectacular manner, with a sense of humor that skews off-kilter enough to be genuinely funny, without being so far gone that you worry about the safety of pets living in the area.

Diller's art is a nice combination of traditional panel cartoon style, with a contemporary sheen. It's slick, but not too much so, with a clean line and a great balance of black and white space. Meticulous stipling and cross-hatching lend a rich organic texture to his drawings that make them stand out without looking mechanical.

Diller got his start producing cartoons for The Charleston Daily Mail, and moved on to be published n Funny Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the now-defunct Nashville Banner, and the Reno Gazette Journal, among other magazines and newspapers. He's evolved into a unique talent, producing a great single-panel strip. Check out the interview with Brad below, then order his book right here.

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Now take a look at RFC 103, from FestivAll 2010...

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