Drew Friedman, comic artist: Get Illuminated! podcast

For the latest edition of the Get Illuminated! podcast, Mark and I talked with artist Drew Friedman. Drew's incredibly-detailed caricatures and biting parodies have appeared in publications ranging from Raw Magazine, Weirdo, and Heavy Metal to Entertainment Weekly, The New Yorker, and the New York Observer. His appreciation for yesteryear's entertainers, expressed in many strips and his terrific book Old Jewish Comedians, is infectious. As the New York Times said of Old Jewish Comedians, "Friedman might very well be the Vermeer of the Borscht Belt." Also this year, Blab!/Fantagraphics published an anthology of Friedman's comix and illustrations titled The Fun Never Stops. It's a real laff-riot.

Mark and I have been fans of Drew's work for years and it was an absolute delight to chat with him about art, comics, and, of course, old Jewish comedians.

While listening to the Podcast, peruse the exclusive sneak preview below of drawings that will appear in Drew's next book, More Old Jewish Comedians, to be published early in 2008. (From left, Joe E. Lewis, Morey Amsterdam, Herbie Faye, Molly Picon, and Jan Murray. Click for larger images.) And for a taste of The Fun Never Stops, visit Drew's online gallery here.