Pictures of Match Stick Men V

Don Martinesque II., originally uploaded by mithering.

Walking past The Millstone in the Scientist Quarter of Manchester I spotted a familiar site transplanted from Salford via Mad Magazine. Way back in January 2009 I spotted a sign-writer's appropriation of the work of Don Martin outside The Black Lion in Salford. Well, he has struck again, with this work advertising The Millstone's 'Free and Easy' afternoons. The illustrations and most of the text are pure Don Martin.

It's not the only thing which links the two venues. Like The Black Lion, The Millstone is also a venue at which I have seen a band. This time, though, it was a much happier experience when I saw The Nation of Ulysses (later to be better known as The Make-Up) tear it up in a small room above the pub on a 1990s Bank Holiday evening.

Pictures of Match Stick Men Remixed

Pub Sign based on Don Martin artwork, originally uploaded by mithering.

I posted this picture and two others from outside The Black Lion hotel back in January. Cycling past today I saw it was boarded up with corrugated iron. I used to go in there a few years ago, playing pool and boozing at dinner time with a friend who used to work in the tax office round the corner. Last time I was in there was during In The City, to see The Raveonettes. They were shite, and I was drunk, so I heckled. If I had been them I would have shown me my arse, but they let me be. The room upstairs was good, though. Round, with a high ceiling. Now, it may never see light again. Two years ago it would have been redeveloped into flats, without a doubt, but now? Who knows?

Pictures of Match Stick Men

Pub Sign based on Don Martin artwork, originally uploaded by mithering.

One thing, and I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not, that has come from years of over-exposure to comic book art is an ability to spot an artist's style at the drop of a hat. Or, in this case, the drop of a pint pot. Just before Xmas I was dropped off in Salford and headed across town towards the Irwell (for a quick bout of sneaky bird-watching). On passing The Black Lion Hotel in Salford I spotted an old friend - Mad Magazine's Don Martin. Or, in this case, the Salford version of him on three home made signs outside the pub, welcoming people in.