Like so many underground artists, Michael Ogilvie finds inspiration, or at least diversion, in vice. Following the collection of booze-fueled comics he edited for Drunk (2009), Lust to Dust is the bastard offspring of a motley crew of graphic artists given free reign to explore the institution of prostitution in Nevada.
The book begins with a postcard from the grandfather of depraved comics (Stan Lee's evil twin), R. Crumb — a man who made a career illustrating gritty tales of losers and antiheroes. Crumb writes that he would love to contribute to the collection if he had ever been in a Nevada brothel or used the services of a professional sex worker. In some ways this preface symbolizes the passing of the pen to a new generation of experimental artists who will venture even farther into the unlit realms of the human experience. I caught up with Ogilvie, the grand madam of this collection, to shed some light on the story behind the graphic stories in Lust to Dust.
This article appears in Dec 13-19, 2012.