The Sellout

Sharon Needles, week 3

So, I think we can all agree that the highlight of this week’s episode was the amazing lip sync performance by Dida Ritz. Right?

Otherwise, this week was rather rough–the infomercial challenge was kind of painful, as was seeing some of my favorite queens rip into each other. However, I loved most of the runway looks, even if the theme of “platinum and gold” was pretty tame. But rather than draw all my favorites, I wanted to take more time with just a few illustrations–last week, my art got a little too cartoony, so I wanted to consciously utilize a bit more of the flat, stylized aesthetic that I developed last year.

I loved Sharon Needles’ sleek pompadour look, though I simplified it quite a bit for this piece. I tried to get her “popping the collar” gesture down, but it proved tricky.

It was sad to see The Princess leave–I really love both her edgy style and sweet personality, but I guess in the Drag Race, good girls finish last?

So, season four of the Drag Race has totally floored me so far. They’ve been packing in more and more amazing sh*t into each episode that there’s barely time for all the outrageous challenges, gags, and skits. Not only that, but the queens are all pretty amazing, too! Particularly in their performances–in past seasons, although the acting challenges were typically hilarious, that was generally because half the queens delivered cringe-worthy lines and never could ad lib very well. But the vast majority of this season’s queens seem to thrive on stage, or screen, or… in the wrestling ring.

But of course, the villains always have the most fun, don’t they? I could’t pick between my two favorite pairs of “heels,” so I drew both! I LOVED Chad Michaels and Madame LaQueer as a demented master and slave, whereas the pairing of Latrice Royale’s ginormity and Kenya Michaels’ manic energy was unforgettable.

I felt bad for both The Princess and Lashauwn Beyond–as the more reserved, quiet queens, they had a hard time competing with the others, and it was sad to see Lashauwn go. As an occasionally shy artist, I can definitely sympathize with the difficulty of getting out of your own head and bringing it. Here’s hoping for some more opportunities to see The Princess shine!

Given the outrageous wrestling challenge, this episode’s catwalk seemed almost like an afterthought, but I drew my three favorite looks. I loved the Princess’  mash-up of girly and punk, and I’ve really been digging Madame LaQueer’s kitschy, colorful outfits. Milan’s outfit was pretty simple, but I loved the old school hairstyle, monochrome dress, and her accents of bold red.

Another fascinating thing about season four: the queens seem to be astonishingly considerate and kind to each other, at least compared to past years. If you didn’t watch the extra “Untucked” episode this week, you must go watch it now. Seriously, it’s essential viewing for any Drag Race fan. Especially given the frantic editing of the main episodes, the amount of time you spend backstage with the queens has proven remarkably eye-opening. It was staggering to see the queens try to deal with Jiggly Caliente by helping her rather than just launching into catty tirades. And of course, the special moment with Sharon and her boyfriend was funny, sweet, and surprising. Sharon Needles has clearly emerged as one of the frontrunners and fan-favorites–deservedly so. I wanted to depict her “girly” look above, where she’s blowing a kiss, like she did on the runway. No, she’s not supposed to be strangling herself, even though it kind of looks like it…

Alright! Enough rambling! Thanks for reading all this and checking out my art. Please share it and keep comin’ back! ‘Til next week!

So! The DRAG RACE has begun! After an amazing third season, Rupaul’s Drag Race is off to a great start with season 4, and I’ll be doing weekly portraits of my favorite queens, just like last year. Click here if you’d like to see the poster I made featuring every queen on the show!

Last season, I didn’t offer a whole lot of commentary throughout the season, but this time I figured I’d be a bit more candid about my opinions, as if anyone might care.

The winner of the week! When watching the previews for this season, I had wrongly dismissed Sharon as “the goth queen,” but she also seems to be one of the funniest and most creative, with a wide range of looks. I’m excited to see lots more of her this season.

Wow, what a powerhouse! Big girls have had a rough time in past seasons of the Drag Race—the intensity of the show and its cattiness tends to prey upon the insecurity of most of the curvier queens, but as soon as Latrice Royale showed up, it was clear that she’s bringing a funny, funky, fighting spirit to the show. She definitely has the attitude—I’m hoping she brought enough great catwalk looks to stick around for a long time!

Man, I LOVED Jiggly’s first look. With the hair, the dress, and that lollipop? Geez! Yeah, she might have gone overboard with her apocalyptic look, but she brought it during her performance.

I really, really liked Milan’s first look, in the zebra-print suit. She also has a very expressive, distinctive face, which helped make this portrait my favorite of the week. I dig her energy and style, and since she seems very “Broadway,” I’m hoping she’ll spontaneously start tap dancing and/or singing throughout the season.

For some reason, I was immediately stricken with The Princess. Maybe I just have a soft spot for the edgy, androgynous queens (Lord knows I love me some Raja), but The Princess is also really cute (in and out of drag), has great, kooky style, and she seems to have a good attitude—all of which make her a strong contender.

I really liked my first look at Lashauwn, with his gold armored outfit and towering, geometric hair. I think he’s doing everything that I like about drag—pushing the envelope, embracing excess, etc. But he’s clearly one of the youngest and least experienced queens, so we’ll see whether he’s able to keep up with the others…

Phi Phi is a beautiful queen (and out of drag, he’s downright gorgeous) though I don’t have a good sense of her style, yet. And admittedly, I don’t have her likeness down, either—whereas a lot of the other queens this season are easier to caricature, I haven’t quite pinned down Phi Phi. Not that I won’t keep trying!

I love Kenya’s fiery attitude and smoldering looks. She’s clearly a great performer and will hopefully stick around this season for a long time. When looking at Logo’s site, I was surprised to see that she’s just 21, but seems like a strong contender against the older, more experienced queens. Can’t wait to see how it all pans out!

I really like Madame Laqueer’s kooky sense of style, despite the fact that we didn’t get a ton of time with her in this episode. Both her first look and her apocalyptic one were polished and funny, so I’m looking forward to seeing what else she’s got.

Dida is gorgeous and seems to have a strong personality, but I’ll have to wait and see whether she has the same level of polish and style as some of the others.

What!? A drag queen named Chad? Could this season be any better? Chad Michaels is gorgeous and clearly polished, though I hope he pushes his looks to the same delirious extremes as some of the other queens. You know I’m never happy with just another pretty face!

Willam seems to be the most divisive character of the new season, and I suspect that’s partly his doing, and partly the producers’. Is he the new Shangela? We’ll see. Regardless, Willam makes for good tv, and for good catfights.

Alisa is beautiful and seems sweet, but each season’s first episode tends to weed out the young, inexperienced queens, and Alisa suffered for it. Regardless, she kept it classy. I just wish my portrait captured her better! Ah, well…

So yeah, I know—I’m not getting particularly catty about any of the queens so far. Because there’s plenty of that on the show, and because I genuinely like them all at this point, which is why I wanted to take the time to draw at least simple portraits of each. But I definitely won’t be drawing all the queens for each episode. I’m hoping to take a similar tactic as last season, where I draw the queens and outfits that most inspire me, week by week.

Thanks for checking out my work, and let me know what you think!

I’m excited to share some wild illustrations I did for local author David Erik Nelson‘s Kindle novella TUCKER TEACHES THE CLOCKIES TO COPULATE. It’s a funny, profane, thoughtful tale set in an alternate version of post-Civil War America, where steam-powered automatons fought as soldiers, and are now adrift amidst Reconstruction. I can’t recommend this book enough–it’s exactly the mix of humor, wry observation, and imaginative magic that I love. So go buy it!

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So! I’ve finally collected my Drag Race art into a nifty little art book! It features 30 queens (more or less), is 5.5″ x 7″, and is available to buy online! (Please note: I just sold the last copy of the first run and am hoping to have more copies available within a few weeks. You can still place orders for 30 QUEENS, but they won’t be available for a while!)

Each copy is $5 plus $2 shipping in the US. Orders for 30 QUEENS and Shadow Play can be combined for a flat shipping rate of $2. (However, shipping of 30 QUEENS can’t be combined with the Drag Race prints, given their drastically different sizes and shipping methods.)

 E-mail me if you have any questions!

panjacomics at gmail.com

(One note: I haven’t been able to configure Paypal to combine orders of Shadow Play and 30 Queens, so I’ll just refund the $2 shipping for anyone who orders both individually! I apologize for that extra step, but I’m just a dumb comic artist!)