Wildsville: The Art of Derek Yaniger [Hardcover]

Derek Yaniger (Author), Stuart Sandler (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2008

Celebrating a retro subculture of tiki gods, hillbillies, and burlesque, this collection of Derek Yaniger's incredible body of 1950s-style cartoon art is a must for all tiki and Kustom Kulture addicts. The only work devoted to his illustrations for Cartoon Network, Marvel Comics (for which he worked on such titles as Hellraiser, Transformers: Generation 2, and Web of Spider-Man), and more, this book contains more than 150 original paintings and illustrations. Derek's illustration style, reminiscent of cocktail napkin art of the 1950s, delves into the retro world of beatniks, tiki bars, and Vegas glamour. Original cartoon art collectors, students of cartoon art, and fans of lowbrow artists will all find this an essential reference.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Derek Yaniger publishes in such magazines as Atomic, Barracuda, and Car Kulture Deluxe and does prints for shows such as Hukilau, Tiki Oasis, and the Wild Weekend. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Korero Books (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0955833639
• ISBN-13: 978-0955833632
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 10.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #636,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like, crazy!!, November 15, 2008

By 

Jerry Block (Anaheim, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Wildsville: The Art of Derek Yaniger (Hardcover)

Shag is probably better known. But Derek Yaniger more authentically captures the loose, sketchy, optimistic "cocktail napkin" art that once graced telephone book displays, men's magazines like Playboy, album liner notes, instructional pamphlets, White Castle burger ads and other throwaway ephemera of the 1950s. His work also shows a healthy influence from the great Jim Flora, who designed Columbia Records albums for 10 years beginning in the 1940s. This is very high lowbrow. I first became aware of Derek's work in Tiki Magazine. Indeed, Mid-Century vices like tikis, booze, rock n roll, beatniks, monsters, hot rodding, conventioneering, and tight sweaters provide the themes for his ultra-hipster artwork. The '50s sensibility was often "primitive modern," mixing the atomic age, abstract modernism, and folksy crudeness. You get this cocktail in Derek's work: random layouts, "deep space" backgrounds, bold geometric shapes, uneven edges, flat one-dimensional figures, nervous overlapping lines, single-hue color combinations, skewed cut-out letters, Googie dingbats and arrows, and dotted accents. It's a spacey "spontaneous carefree" approach. I never get tired of this stuff. We get over 100 pages chock-full of Derek's book covers, magazine art, gallery work, clip art, signage, serigraphs, and other wacky stuff he drew just for kicks. Highly recommened.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't be a clyde..., December 8, 2008

By 

Timothy J Walburg (Wyoming, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wildsville: The Art of Derek Yaniger (Hardcover)

... and quit playing backseat bingo and pony up some bread right now for this happenin' tome. You say you like to SHAG? You say Ragnar rocks? Granted these cats are radioactive but they don't razz my berries like Derek Dude does. His scribbles are like fat city man! This book has the cream of Derek's crop and that's the word from the bird. So if you like tiki's, babes, and anything that's a kick you'll scrape together the nuggets to buy, baby, BUY!!! (Ain't no LOWBROW here!)

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book is best enjoyed with a cocktail in hand, March 18, 2010

By 

The Monitor "The Monitor" (Valencia, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Wildsville: The Art of Derek Yaniger (Hardcover)

The previous 2 reviewers nailed it on the head, so no need to regurgitate what they have said. I would like to share how I enjoy this book. Obviously it is not a novel in which one can curl up with at the fireplace, nor is it a textbook which one would read in a sturdy reading chair with a bright light. I enjoy reading it on a cool summer night at the patio with a cocktail in hand --preferably a Manhattan, while Dean Martin is playing in the background. I wasn't born in the 50's, but it sure feels like it when I'm listening to Dino and getting lost in Derek's images. It's not fun to drink alone, but if you have to, bring Derek's book along, so you don't look like an alcoholic. It's also fun to read it in the morning with coffee.