ALL-STARS: Episode 4

by Chad Sell on November 15, 2012 at 10:14 am

Okay, I’ll say it: I liked Team Yarlexis. They kicked ass at the cheer-reading challenge, sported colorful, fun outfits for the “girl group” performance, and worked best as a team among all the All Stars. But, yes, they were highly polarizing among viewers, and the whole “she-mergency” debacle totally derailed things. In any case, one last portrait of Alexis and Yara, because I love them, no matter what you say.

Also, I was privileged to join in on a Drag Race discussion at SLATE with Bryan Lowder, so click here for some especially catty commentary on this week’s show.

I thought the overall “girl-group” challenge was pretty great, and although I prefer the focus to remain on the queens, their “celebrity” guests did allow for some good drama, as well as an outsider’s perspective on our All-Stars. (Obviously, the candor with which Chad and Shannel discussed their tumultuous relationship was particularly moving.)

It was fabulous to see the queens perform for live audiences, because these girls know how to work a crowd! I thought all the teams did well–the editing made it hard to really evaluate each queen’s performance. But for me, the standout was Jujubee, who does, indeed, “give good mouth.”

 As we saw last week, this competition is brutal and unforgiving (still can’t believe Latrice and Manila are gone!) and this episode’s lip sync was especially rough–we’ve been dying to see someone push the “she-mergency” button all season, but its debut was a dud. Ah, well! At least we got to see a whole lotta Raven!

As always, I have a million prints of my Drag Race work available here! You can also buy print collections of the third and fourth seasons of RPDR right here!

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ALL-STARS: Episode 3

by Chad Sell on November 7, 2012 at 11:49 am

Well! That was an episode.

Did the queens deserve better than a challenge that left them pleading with passersby on the street? Yes, of course.

But it was interesting to see which queens had that mysterious ability to charm strangers–a skill I certainly don’t have.  My favorite was Chad–how fun was it to see her dancing on the street, trying to lure people in?

I really dug the girls’ runway looks this week. Chad looked like a punky old GI Joe villain, right? In the best kind of way.

 And I was SO glad to finally see Raven’s full geisha outfit after getting glimpses of it from the show’s teasers.

SO. FIERCE.

 

I think both teams Rujubee and Shad have been really good at matching their outfits for effect. However, I think the only team that’s really been working to mix things up and become better than the sum of its parts is Yarlexis. It was obvious with the show’s first photo challenge (“Opposites Attract”) that they were swapping styles and accessories–or in that case, switching identities.

We saw that culminate with this week’s runway looks, with Yara prodding Alexis into edgier territory–to glorious effect! And I think Alexis’ matching outfit helps give some grounding and context to Yara’s even more outrageous wardrobe.

So, despite my utter astonishment that Latrice and Manila were kicked off the show, I wanted to give Yarlexis some love!

I fully expected Latrila to make it to the final episode, especially after Latrice’s luminous lip sync last week. But they’re both superstars, and they’ll be fine. In fact, they’ve already come out with a collaborative music video this week: The Chop!  (Seriously, check it out–they sport some sickening looks!)

And also check out my store, where you can find prints of my Drag Race work–now featuring both Raven and Jujubee!

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ALL-STARS: Episode 2

by Chad Sell on October 31, 2012 at 10:31 pm

Okay, folks, I’ve got some new All-Stars art to share, and I want to do this fast. 

Honestly, this episode’s mini-game tickled me endlessly–how fun was it to watch the teams play InDaButtRu? Besides Latrice and Manila, everyone seemed to know each other on a shockingly intimate level, leading to oodles of enjoyment. I LOVE how well Jujubee and Raven know each other. And that Raven doesn’t wear underwear. Also, that Yara prefers panties.

My life is better because of that.

Was the subsequent sketch comedy challenge kind of painful and awkward? Eh, sure. I was delighted to see Yara shine in her role–both she and Tammie have really benefited from having the spotlight once again. And I was surprised at how great a Madonna Manila proved to be.

In any case, the runway looks were lovely and light and campy and wonderful.

I KNEW that my biggest problem this season would be picking just a few queens to draw each week, even though I seriously love them all.

 

Manila has proven to be even more polished and sickening than in Season 3, though she also seems more emotive and likeable. She may be the queen to beat this time around! I loved her sunny 60′s look! Rock those blond wigs, girl!

I thought Nina and Tammie looked really great this week, too, and I came veeeery close to drawing Nina’s albino glamour realness. But instead, I had to capture the captivating likeness of Ms. Tammie Brown–love her or hate her, she’s got something going on!

Plus, I mean, check out those eyebrows.

 

 

(I’ve hidden two goofy little animations in this week’s work–can you spot ‘em all?)

I do have to wonder about the tactics these queens have been taking with their lip sync performances. Last week, I was astonished that Pandora let Mimi perform for the both of them, as I was this week with Team Brown Flowers.

Tammie did pretty well, really. But, I mean, she was up against Latrice. LATRICE ROYALE, hunty!

Ain’t no one who can throw down like Latrice. And the way she leapt across the stage!

Girl, she rocked my world. And she also inspired what may be my favorite Drag Race portrait ever.

(And just FYI: My prints of Manila, Latrice, and all the other fiercest queens are available to buy right here. Just sayin!)

 

 

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ALL-STARS: Episode 1

by Chad Sell on October 29, 2012 at 10:20 am

Hey girls! You miss me?

Yes, I’m back to illustrate the ALL-STARS, and it’s gonna be SICKENING. I would have loved to pose these new pieces sooner after the first episode aired, but I was a little busy finishing up work on a fabulous new iPhone game called DRAGOPOLIS. Sorry ’bout it! I also did an official All Stars comic for Logo, so this boy has been busy!

Anyhoo! On to the main attraction: the ALL-STARS! Was anyone as thrilled as I was to see these girls gathered together? They were all sporting luscious-lady-looks, but I was dying to draw Manila in her smokin’ outfit. (Seriously, best headpiece in Drag Race herstory!)

For me, a lot of the fun was seeing what dynamics emerged between all these fan-favorites, guessing at the crazy, interweaving histories they all had. And having the girls pick teams certainly revealed some interesting tidbits: Who expected Tammie and Nina to pick each other in the first round? Alexis wanted Shannel as her top choice? Latrice wanted Nina? Sheer insanity!

But still, compelling TV, amirite? Pandora’s pairing with Mimi was rough, providing ample tension and drama for everyone. I felt bad for Pandora, who saw her hopes for the competition dashed, but I also felt a lot of sympathy for Mimi, who was earnestly trying to make the best of things.

(For anyone who wants more Boxx in their life, check out DRAGOPOLIS, in which Pandora Boxx wields a giant sword to take out her fiendish drag opponents. Seriously. COMING SOON! Also starring in Dragopolis? YARA SOFIA!)

The first episode’s main “challenge” was a pair of photoshoots, but it ultimately felt like an afterthought–clearly, the focus was on the girls and their drama, as it should have been. But unfortunately, that deflated some of the stakes during the runway evaluations–it seemed pretty arbitrary which teams were in the top or bottom, but maybe that’s just me. I’m sure, however, that we can all agree that the queens were SERVING IT on the runway, especially Team Ruji!

Ugh! GAGGING!

Honestly, I was hoping Pandora and Mimi would prove to be a scrappy underdog team who would prove everyone wrong about their chances. Sadly, Mimi was matched against Chad Michaels. And hunty, if you’re lip synching for your life against Chad, you’re gonna end up dead.

Be sure to check out my Print Shop to see which of these and other Drag Race images I offer as 11″ x 14″ art prints!

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Summertime for the Sellout

by Chad Sell on June 10, 2012 at 10:18 am

Hey! So! I haven’t been updating The Sellout much since the fourth season of Rupaul’s Drag Race wrapped up, but I did want to give everyone an idea of what I’ve been doing. The past few months have been some of the craziest, busiest ones of my life, and I’m still kind of playing catch-up after all that, and figuring out where I want to go next.

Throughout March and April, I was working with laser focus, finishing up my giant arc of MANTA-MAN and illustrating the Drag Race. I LOVE putting out exciting new work every week, and I’m SO happy with the reception of both those projects, but I was nearly burnt out by the end of it. To pile on top of all that, I was racing to publish MANTA-MAN’s collection Swimming with Sharks in time for a bunch of comics conventions I attended in April and May. Back-to-back, I went to SPACE in Columbus, MoCCA in NYC, and TCAF in Toronto! That was a lot of travelling and a lot of work. Awesome and exhilarating and eye-opening, but still. Right in the middle of that, I got involved in some intriguing new illustration jobs, too, which I hope to reveal soon.

And THEN my brother got married, and I got a new computer, and my birthday came around, and I’m still sending out Drag Race orders, and playing Diablo III…

Anyway, things have been busy. But I’m thinking, hoping, praying that things settle down a bit this summer so that I can get back to making comics again!

Granted, I have been posting weekly comics over at MANTA-MAN, which you should absolutely be reading, but I need some time before jumping back into any of my bigger book projects. The problem is that I have a few too many different comic ideas in mind–the next giant story for MANTA-MAN, finally returning to my VREELAND stories, starting over with my kids’ graphic novel… I need to figure out where to focus my efforts, right? Also, I need to write these damn books, too.

Rest assured that I am working on a lot of cool comics projects and playing around with my style, process, and stories, but it might be a while before I’m able to post anything substantive. That being said, check out some inking studies I did of Sachiko and Dixie–sexy, right? Mmmm, brushwork.

I’ve also been doing some personal commissions, which have been lots of fun. So if you want to hire me to draw nice pictures for you, let me know!

OH! And I’ll be exhibiting at a few more conventions this summer!

 

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