Sideshow; Tales of the Galactic Midway #1 Paperback Cover 1984

Don Ivan Punchatz made this paperback cover, Sideshow; Tales of the Galactic Midway #1, at some point in his career. There's a looseness here, a feeling of paint moving around, that makes me think of the messiness of artmaking. Check out the figure on the front, lounging, he's got these claw-like hands, resting on the ground. The paint is so expressive here, a kind of controlled chaos that lets you feel the grit and grime of the midway. And that green monster lurking behind, Punchatz's brushwork gives him this cool, almost slimy texture, you know? The colors are lurid but also kinda muddy, which somehow makes it all feel more real, more lived-in. This cover kinda reminds me of some of Basil Wolverton's weirdo comics, that same love of the grotesque and a similar kind of playful approach to mark-making. Art's like a big, messy conversation, always borrowing and riffing off each other. And that's what makes it so damn interesting.