Love Gorey? Meet Landis Blair

If you enjoy macabre humor, you can't help but be a fan of Edward Gorey. But have you seen the illustrated stories by Landis Blair? I first heard about Blair from a friend who showed me his shop on Etsy where he accepts commissions to draw memorial portraits of your deceased pets. They're incredible and his black and white, crosshatched, pen and ink drawings will immediately make you think of Gorey.

Double Memorial Pet Portrait

Then I saw Blair's illustrations for Caitlin Doughty's book "From Here to Eternity." I loved them.

Image in From Here to Eternity by Landis Blair

It didn't take me long after that to know I needed his works in my collection. Then I discovered he writes and illustrates books! My first purchase was The Regressive Solution to the Progressive Problem. 

The Regressive Solution

It's sort of a follow-up to "The Progressive Problem" and if you don't want to read about dead cats, I suggest you move along. I'll say though that I have five cats and loved the stories despite how sad they are. It's amazing the emotion that can be felt from a few lines of text and black and white drawings.

So, I was thrilled to learn that Blair was publishing a book of nursery rhymes. It's published by W.W. Norton & Company (Blair previously self-published) and I ordered it from a local, indie bookstore. It's called The Envious Siblings and Other Morbid Nursery Rhymes. This little hardcover book will have you cringing in glee!

These delightfully evil children confirm my worst fears and reassure me that my choice not to have children was correct. There are eight short stories in this volume with titles like "The Malicious Playground" and "My Suspicious Sister." The title story "The Envious Siblings" concerns sisters who rip each other apart in a battle of one-upmanship. 

from "The Envious Siblings" by Landis Blair

You'll find grim stories in this collection, but it's all done which such a lightness, you'll find yourself giggling, albeit with a panic look in your eyes. This book is NOT for children. 

In the "Macabre Danse," about the joy bugs have on finding a dead body, Blair writes "It's hard to wait when death is late, But when it comes, the party's great."

Check out Landis Blair's webpage. I love that he posts the contents of his entire collection of self-published books there. And if you live in the Chicago area, make sure you catch him on his book tour- I'm so jealous.