Michael J. Weller

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Space Opera: The Artist's Book, Michael J. Weller (Visual Associations, 2000)
London's bookartbookshop exhibition catalogue, Mike Weller - the first thirty years, September 2005

Michael John Weller was born in south London in 1946.

Weller designed USA sleeve for David Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World LP (Mercury, 1970), re-released (EMI CD, 1999). As "Captain Stelling" Weller wrote and drew The Firm (cOZmic comics, 1972) - an early British artist's publication inspired by American underground comic book innovations. In 1973, a page by "Stelling" entitled 'Missile Crisis' was made part of Michel Choquette's comic book The Someday Funnies. He followed "Willie D" (Andrew Marr) as featured cartoonist on Chainsaw punk zine (1980-84).

Michael Weller enjoyed a parallel career in the 1980s and 1990s as political writer, cartoonist, activist of the left, and local community organiser based in Penge, south London. In 2006 he became a signatory to the Euston Manifesto.

As 'M.J.', 'Michael John', 'Mick' and 'Mike' Weller - using identity-playing forenames, nicknames and other noms-de-plume - he has produced artists books, zines and small press publications. Between 1990 and 2010 he was associated with London's poetry scene. Launch of Beat Generation Ballads was documented in video by Voiceworks (2011) and his Beowulf Cartoon formed part of a book table display at Saison Poetry Library's Visual Poetics exhibition (2013).

Michael John Weller continues to write, draw, and publish for analogue print and digital mediums.

Bookworks

  • Harriet Staunton: A Victorian Murder Ballad, (Visual Associations, 1999)
  • Space Opera: The Artist's Book, (Visual Associations, 2000)
  • Beowulf Cartoon, (Writers Forum & Visual Associations, 2004)
  • Three-part The Secret Blue Book, (Home'Baked Books, 2005)
  • Beat generation Ballads, (Veer Books, 2011)
  • minimus post ode poem, (zimZalla avant objects/object 021, 2014)

Further reading

  • Word Score Utterance Choreography in verbal & visual poetry, edited by Bob Cobbing and Lawrence Upton (Writers Forum, 1998)
  • a WORD in your EYE,, Steve Sneyd (Hilltop Press, 2000)
  • Below Critical Radar, Roger Sabin and Teal Triggs (Slab-O-Concrete, 2000)
  • Comix, Comics & Graphic Novels: A History of Comic Art, Roger Sabin (Phaidon, 2001)
  • Nasty Tales: Sex, Drugs, Rock'n'Roll and Violence in the British Underground, David Huxley (Headpress Critical Vision, 2001)
  • Comix: The Underground Revolution, Dez Skinn (Collins & Brown, 2004)
  • The Complete David Bowie, Nicholas Pegg (Reynolds & Hearn, 2004)
  • Great British Comics, Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury (Aurum Press, 2006)
  • Complicities: British Poetry 1945 - 2007, (Eds.) Robin Purves & Sam Ladkin (Litteraria Pragensia, 2007)
  • MJ Weller's Secret Blue Book, Stephen Mooney (Readings webjournal Issue 3, Birkbeck University of London, 2008)
  • Fanzines, Teal Triggs (Thames and Hudson, 2010)
  • Any Day Now, Kevin Cann (Adelita, 2010)
  • The Alchemist's Mind, 'a book of narrative prose by poets' edited by David Miller (Reality Street, 2012)
  • Catechism: Poems for Pussy Riot, Mark Burnthorpe, Sarah Crewe & Sophie Mayer, editors (English PEN, 2012)
  • David Bowie Is - Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition catalogue (V&A Publishing, 2013)
  • Artist's Book Yearbook 2014-2015, Centre for Fine Print Research, University of the West of England (Impact Press, 2013)

External links

Entry at David Bowie's Official website

Entry at the National Center of Contemporary Art, Kaliningrad

Entry at Forbidden Planet International

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