Or should it be apocalypi? Sounds grammatically goofy, but so do octopi, cacti, and radii when rendered in the plural form. Nothing to get hung up on at this point, though, as this is all very much after the promotional fact. Words should have been written and posted awhile ago now with regard to our jaunty stab at the old "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" concept, something that has been going on in illustrated circles since... shit, the late 14th century when Albrecht Dürer woodcut them into existence? And the rest is pop-culture history, including but not limited to the entire catalog of Metallica and most every poster that accompanied any of their million-billion concerts, one or two Anti-Hero series, and I'm just gonna go out on a gnarled limb and say at least one seasonal release per year from Creature since that company came back from the grave and ready to party in the early aughts. But enough about everyone else. Let's talk about us! Or me—me me me.
The Four Horsemen from "The Apocalypse," by Albrecht Dürer, ca. 1498 (later re-rendered for a Birdhouse Projects Steve Berra model in the early '90s).
For our purposes, this idea has been lurking about for a long time—like long before Nick and I ever formally partnered up on anything. He first mentioned it to me maybe 15 or so years ago while spitballing the concept as an expansive shoe story theme for Nike SB. Mind you, I wasn't even in the running for one of the Big Four—that was reserved for the likes of say Pushead and three other masters of illustrated reality—but I think I was being bandied about as a possible fifth wheel as the "Seventh Seal" or some other trivial Biblical shit from The Book of Revelations. Nothing ever came of it, though, so who even cares? I'm probably remembering it wrong anyway and Nick will set me straight at a later date and time. Regardless, the idea lingered on and eventually became Nick's own personal pale white whale for many, many years... although I don't recall him bringing it up during the first incarnation of our skateboard company fantasy, but he definitely did once StrangeLove started in 2018. Every year thereafter he was constantly ruminating on a Dream Team of artists for a board series, but we could never get a firm commitment from anyone—up until the end of just last year, that is, when Todd Francis and Matt Cantrell signed on as the third and fourth artists behind myself and Todd Bratrud. But here's where the real divergence happened.
Not to sound all dramatic and shit, but for as much as Nick and I do get along, we don't always get along [1]. And yes, I'll be the figuratively bigger person and say that's generally my fault. For vast psychological depths best not plumbed on a dumb ol' blog, aka blahg, I'll simply say that I have a peculiar need to "ruin" everything I touch. Especially so, it seems, with this particular idea. You see, in a perfectly symbiotic universe, Nick would have preferred four nice, cohesive illustrations of the fabled riders in all their traditional glory. But, for whatever reason, that didn't sit well with me. Maybe because I felt intimidated by the overwhelming amount of stellar work that has already been done to death with these notorious Apocalypse Dudes? I don't know... sure. Why not.
Todd Francis not only staked his claim on Death right out of the gate, but he nicknamed our quartet as the "Four Assholes of the Apocalypse" and, well, the moniker stuck.
Let me be clear in stating that by no means was Nick wrong in his directional wish; however, when reaching out to the other artists, I promptly butted in and asked them all to bring the noise with whatever vibe they are individually known for in their skate graphics lineage. "You be you," I said, "the sky's the limit!" Well, I didn't exactly say that, but you get the gist of my willy-nilly irreverence. I knew Nick wasn't happy about this abrupt detour from his original vision—and it took him a good month or two to outright tell me so—but again, I'm just an overly self-conscious and opinionated jerk who can over- and outthink himself to the point of immobility. That's never my desired end game, of course, as it's anything but productive, but I can't help it that I have a very particular mind when it comes to the ink eked out from my .00 pen when it comes to StrangeLove—again, the mental lot of which I'm better off saving for a session or three hundred with my Analrapist. Sorry, couldn't resist the nod to Arrested Development, but it's also the state of mind I'm doomed to be rooted in for ever and ever. Thank you, skateboarding!
It didn't occur to me until only recently, but Matt Cantrell's depiction of Conquest may just as well be titled "Con Quest." As for my interpretation of Famine, I ran in the entirely opposite direction from emaciated and went with a jovial, fat, fast food bastard.
Anyway, Matt and the two Todd's did exactly what I'd hoped they would, even though we couldn't figure out a way to take everyone's great but disparate work and produce a whole slew of ancillary products other than just the screen-printed decks and customary stickers. I'll take the blame for that, I suppose, and concede that Nick now has one more thing to hang over my head as we continue to live, thrive, and survive through 2025. To be fair, I did do him a solid—or at least I think so—on an upcoming wild ride, but who's keeping score? I barely have a toehold on simple math as it is.
Todd Bratrud went full Half-Baked and summoned Kenny and Buttercup to take the form of War.
What else can I say that I haven't already blathered about on our social media handles? I could expound upon the StrangeLove Curse, I suppose, harkening back to the most noteworthy instance when we graphically referenced the late, great, and what I assumed to be fairly esoteric Georgia Guidestones only to then have them exploded to Kingdom Come just before the release of said deck. Sure, it made for a hell of a great marketing moment, but we've had a few other graphic brushes with fate that have since given us more than a slight complex. So, with the release of these decks mocking the End of Times, will we actually play a cosmic role in hastening the actual Apocalypse long foretold in the The Book of Revelations? I sincerely hope not. That's a lot of responsibility to shoulder; however, even if that does turn out to be the case and it's the Great Curtain Call for humanity, fortunately no one will be left to formally level the mantle of blame upon us. So, win-win! —Sean Cliver
*****************************
1. Is it weird that every so often I yank back the curtain to reveal the two idiots frantically toiling behind? Perhaps, but it just feels right and natural to do so considering my formative writing history at World Industries where Big Brother was one big inside-joke-jerk-off fest—a tradition we had no choice but to carry on with Jackass—and my voice was irreparably warped on a savage Serengeti of our own devise over the course of three decades. Sorry, Nick!
2. There isn't an actual second footnote, but could you imagine—well, if you're of O.A.F.-ish age, that is—the behind-the-scenes laundry of George Powell and Stacy Peralta being aired out in the sporadic Bones Brigade Intelligence Reports? Of course you can't! How wild would that have been? Rest assured, every "dynamic duo" has their power struggles and ego clashes, and believe you me there was no shortage of those going down when I joined the company in 1989. What a surprise it was to walk into that! Want to know more? Read my first book, Disposable: A History of Skateboard Art.