Looking at... Rare French Gorillaz Advertisement

One of the coolest pieces in my Gorillaz collection is an obscure French ad from 2001 promoting the Clint Eastwood and 19-2000 singles. While this may seem unremarkable at fist glance, what makes the advertisement notable is the extremely rare artwork spanning it's front - a piece that, besides the extremely low quality version pictured to the right, exists nowhere else on the web. In fact, my version is different from the "Rasputin Music" equivalent; Murdoc being a briny green on my copy, while theirs shows a tan skinned take on the character. How strange is that?

Some suggest that it may be a green overlay on the photo, while others think it could come down to a difference in how certain monitors and cameras pick up colors. You'll notice 2-D's hair is noticably lighter in the Rasputin image, while on mine, it's a bit more purple. Based on the Rasputin image being a digital version with mine a physical, I'm assuming there was, in fact, a green hue added to my version of the artwork; as further suggested by Noodle and Russel's greyer skin, and the general darkness of the colors.

A later version of the above image

Astute fans will notice that this art was conceptually reused during Gorillaz' second marketing phase, with each character replaced by their updated designs; though, the second version appears to be an entirely new drawing, simply sharing a similar structure. No other versions of this artwork exist, making it exclusive to Gorillaz' first two eras; though, unsurprisingly, countless artists have taken it upon themselves to fill in the blanks.


The ad is printed on glossy cardstock, and is a big larger than your average paper, suggesting to me that it was a sort of "flyer" available perhaps at record stores or similar shops. I recall similar ads were listed by the person I bought mine from, which further supports my theory. From what I've translated, it boasts of the singles' success, as well as what radio and television stations will be airing the accompanying music videos. Very interesting to jump back to a time before some of the most famous of Gorillaz content had been realized.

Having reintroduced the artwork to fans years ago, it's awesome seeing it become a common image among the following; once all but unknown, now respected and loved by many - I've even seen fully animated incarnations made! As small as my relation is, it's great to have made a small impact by rediscovering this neat little image. 

The Corona Chronicles - They've Come To Save Us, The Space Invaders

What's this? A followup post to an entry made over three years ago?!

An empty WalMart aisle; ignoring one odd stack of plates

That's right - another natural disaster has fallen upon us; this time not a hurricane, but a horrible, world-spanning sickness! Coronavirus - How nice.

International travel has been barred, supplies are running out fast, and people - broadly speaking - seem to be driving directly into a wall of panic; perhaps rightfully so. I'm a bit of a "don't believe it until you see it" type when it comes to mass chaos - I've seen enough world-ending disasters tumble by to grow totally unphased by yet another black death. Anyone remember Swine Flu?

Occam's Ashes' "PigBus"

Still, as I mentioned, there might be a bit of legitimacy to this round of hysteria. Enough mass gatherings and everyday services have cancelled to the point where the economy is taking a hit. Even my job, a shipping gig, seems to be taking a hit; with only one very sparsely packed truck coming in this week, rather than the usual two or three.

That said, though, not much has particularly affected me. I'm still coasting along my odd, dreary life - bouncing between drawing, writing, and haunting around the local soon-to-be-gone Macy's.

It's interesting how the slow decline of Macy's has closely paralleled not only the concluding days of my authoring of Fate, but also the end of my life in Florida; the store's dwindling shelves and disappearing furnishings mirroring my fading regard for what many experiences I've gathered here; from long-lost friends, to sullen experiences, to sights and sounds of days passed. MidLife itself retells my life as an unwilling Floridian - unbelievably fitting that it finally reaches birth as I prepare to abandon the state in which it was conceived. Things always make sense in hindsight; as I've always strongly believed, everything happens for a reason.

Only seven days left until the store finally closes it's doors. I've only bought one thing thus far... a clipboard. Hey, I needed one anyways. I really wanted to buy one of the huge fiberglass leaves taken from the store's pillars-turned-palm trees, but sadly, I don't think it'd be all that worth it when I'm weeks from a nation-crossing move. Still, very neat pieces of obscure history. Guess that shows what'll happen to the store's huge entry display, itself a sized-up version of the aforementioned palm trees.

There really isn't much else of interest, unfortunately. Loads of branded shelves, some random brand iconography, but nothing all that unique. Even the clothes themselves aren't that enticing - I think the core crowd, as of now, are just above the thrift store types. A little too proud for Goodwill, but not quite above Ross. In other words, the Bealls Outlet society.


Surprisingly the store, as well as the attached mall itself, isn't all that quiet in the midst of the Corona scare; probably because we all have little else to do, bored out of our minds without work, school, or any other viable time wasters. Odd time to be alive, isn't it?

Also, I drove by the seemingly abandoned "chocolate factory" I discovered a few posts back, only to discover it is finally back in business! Glad to see things are going well.