Poets Critics Lin Main Large





Poets, Artists & Madmen

The case could be made that 2017 was the year that art in Atlanta fought back — literally and figuratively.
Just look at what happened when City officials tried to exert undue control over murals being painted on private property: Local artists weren’t having it, and a group took the matter to court and won; that’s a literal fight.

On the metaphorical side of the equation, our fair city’s assemblage of creators — perhaps in an attempt to stem a seemingly growing tide of homogeneous “art” that many fear comes with big-money development — broke with established entities, took their work to more nontraditional spaces, and stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight in a big way.

The hope is that this creative clap back is more of a movement than a moment. In coming years, the ATL is only going to get more affluent and less-diverse in terms of population. But we’ve got faith that the work done by the Poets, Artists and Madmen highlighted in this edition of CL’s Best of Atlanta will set the tone for our cultural progression as a city for generations to come.


— Carlton Hargro


Featured



Best Comic Book Writer BOA Award Winner

Year » 2017
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2017 » Poets, Artists, & Madmen » Critics Pick
Van Jensen
VAN JENSEN started out his career in comics nearly 10 years ago writing off-kilter indie comics, but it didn’t take long for him to snag assignments writing big-time superhero comics for the mainstream publishers. This year, however, he made a return to his offbeat roots with a handful of choice gigsmore...
VAN JENSEN started out his career in comics nearly 10 years ago writing off-kilter indie comics, but it didn’t take long for him to snag assignments writing big-time superhero comics for the mainstream publishers. This year, however, he made a return to his offbeat roots with a handful of choice gigs from a gaggle of comic houses: the science fiction series Fallen Suns (out this month), a graphic novel adaptation of the James Bond classic Casino Royale (to be released in October), and the Deep South crime thriller Two Dead he’s creating with March illustrator Nate Powell (coming in 2018), among other projects. He also carved out time to direct his first short film, titled Pisser, about a guy’s mission to take a spatter-free, well, piss. And, on top of all that, the guy even works with local schools, teaching kids how to make their own comics. So, while he may not being writing about spandex-clad heroes at the moment, he’s banging out a superhuman-level workload — and we’re all better as a result. www.twitter.com/van_jensen. less...
  • 1
  • 2 (current)
  • »

Browse by Category

After Dark
After Dark
Cityscape
Cityscape
Consumer Culture
Consumer Culture
Index
Index
Oral Pleasures
Oral Pleasures
Poets, Artists & Madmen
Poets, Artists & Madmen