An Alphabetical Ballad of Carnality: A BLAB! Storybook [Hardcover]

David Sandlin (Author), Monte Beauchamp (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2000

A new BLAB! Storybook.

This ABC for sinners spotlights creator David's Sandlin's alter ego, recounting his lurid life in rhyming couplets: a "sintamental education" in 26 easy steps, from Adultery to Zealotry. This is the fifth BLAB! storybook, a series showcasing sequential artists from Monte Beauchamp's annual BLAB! anthology. Each volume is presented in a faux-children's book format, though aimed squarely at adults and young adults.

Sandlin's storybook composes what can best be described as narrative painting, taking advantage of the way in which painting (art) allows the artist to bring together the conscious and the subconscious, the rational and the irrational, the realistic and the dreamlike. Working in the cartoony style he has perfected over the last 20 years—something of a cross between Thomas Hart Benton and MAD magazine—Sandlin delivers hellfire and damnation via a lurid graphic style and hyperbolic rhetoric that strongly suggests sarcasm. But keeping the work fresh and engaging, beyond the sheer visual intensity, is an equally unmistakable earnestness.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Sandlin was born in Ireland, grew up in Louisiana, and lives in New York, NY, where he teaches at the School of Visual Arts.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books; 1 edition (August 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560977310
• ISBN-13: 978-1560977315
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,855,598 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible bent vision of pop religion and mass culture, February 8, 2007

By 

Kevvboy "Kevv" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Alphabetical Ballad of Carnality: A BLAB! Storybook (Hardcover)

David Sandlin is a true East Village artist and has remained true to his neo-punkish-folk-art vision, surfing through waves of commercial trendiness. There is no one who sees the world and language quite like Sandlin. This is a beautiful and thought-provoking book, somewhere in the land between cartooning and social satire with both feet firmly planted in a neon-colored hell on earth.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun, February 8, 2007

By 

Bama Gal (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: An Alphabetical Ballad of Carnality: A BLAB! Storybook (Hardcover)

I keep my copy on the coffee table. It's sparked some very interesting conversations with my adult godchild, my mother-in-law and my republican neighbor. Over the top pictures coupled with iconic themes and provocative allegory get the conversations hopping in a hurry. Highly recommended for those that grew up in the Bible belt but somehow departed the text. Live a little. Discover a great American artist for less than $15 bucks.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wild sticky visions of hell on earth for drunks and aliens, May 11, 2011

By 

C. B Collins Jr. (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Alphabetical Ballad of Carnality: A BLAB! Storybook (Hardcover)

Sandlin's vision is unique and this book is a visual treat. The illustrations are outrageous, fun, creepy, depraved, nasty, and disorienting. Sexuality is depicted as an obsession driven urge fueled by drugs and especially alcohol. When Sandlin depicts the human nude body, it is usually images of middle aged drunks falling all over each other in hotel rooms swimming in alcohol. The text floats on the images, sometimes rhyming or sounding like the lyrics of a country song. There is a central theme or story but it is loosely woven. It appears to be about a middle aged drunk who gets involved in all forms of depravity and adultery and alcoholism who finally through the fear of hell fire finds salvation in the Lord and becomes a preacher man. It is Sandlin's strength that he is able to mix images of sordid stripper-town popular culture with melodramatic Southern decadence and creepy ghost-like aliens that look like sperm. His compositions are crowded with devils and ghosts haunting the living as they engage in all forms of sexual adventures. Despite the contemporary pop culture aspects of his images, hints of Bosch come through. Sandlin's sense of humor is most evident in the wonderful monsters that haunt his hell on earth. I think the book is much fun and the more you look at his images the more witty fun it becomes.