Jay Howell Designs Limited Ed. Ghost In The Shell T-Shirt For P.G.C. Surf

We love Jay Howell. Best known as the original character designer of Bob’s Burgers and the co-creator/art director of the Nickelodeon cartoon, Sanjay And Craig, the Los Angeles-based artist has established an instantly identifiable aesthetic that translates so well into so many different usages and mediums. Over the years, Jay has continued accumulating a wide array of clients ranging from Playboy and GUCCI to Chipotle and Vans, with which he formed a tight relationship, creating designs and animating the interview series, Vans Classic Tales. Jay‘s work is a natural fit for skateboard graphics and he has designed many decks for companies like Consolidated, Creature, Birdhouse, and CCS, not to mention Slimeballs wheels and grip tape. He even spent a portion of last year traveling across the country to major hard rock and metal music festivals where he was paid to have his original art used for flyers, backdrops, and banners. Plenty of notable companies have tapped Howell for his talents, but as someone whose roots are in self-published zines, skatepunk, and DIY culture, some of his best work is the stuff he releases by himself. His project P.G.C. Surf is one great avenue for him to do that.

I’m a fan of Jay‘s original character designs, but I equally appreciate seeing him filter existing people, characters, and imagery through his distinct style. The last time we saw him, he offered to draw a portrait of my son, Ronin. During the quick session, Ro was wearing Stance socks from the Willy Wonka collection that Howell was hired to design. “The Howellman” is also a tattoo artist, so he was in town doing a guest spot at a local shop. The last pair of tattoos I got from him were of characters from 2 of my favorite films: Harmony Korine‘s Gummo (1997) and True Stories (19856) by David Byrne. Jay has a unique ability to interpret characters in a way that retains their essence while reflecting his unmistakable style; not unlike the way that celebrities are often “Simpsonized.” His Instagram account (@PunksGitCut) is one of my favorite to follow, partially, because I can always tell what is currently catching his interest. There is always a steady supply of wily, debaucherous punkers, street toughs, and hooligans that populate so much of his work, but sometimes his references will get much more specific. There was a period when Howell was diving into the Shogun section of the Criterion Channel, which resulted in drawings of characters like Lone Wolf & Cub and Lady Snowblood pouring into his IG stories. At the same time, he informed me that he was reading Destroy All Movies!!! The Complete Guide To Punks On Film and trying to watch everything it referenced. Sometimes, he’ll be reading a random graphic novel or exploring the works of Junji Ito and I love that whatever he finds interesting or is into at the moment there’s a good chance that he’ll try and draw it.

A little less than a week ago, Jay posted an image of a new shirt design he’d created, stating that he was planning to print a small batch of them because he wanted one for himself. The mock-up featured a large graphic paying tribute to the tech-noir cyberpunk anime, Ghost In The Shell (1995) directed by Mamoru Oshii and based on Masamune Shirow‘s manga series of the same name. I’ve been closely monitoring this development and the shirts just popped up for sale on the P.G.C. Surf website. 

Along with the Ghost In The Shell design, P.G.C. is offering a black shirt depicting a skeleton eating some “BIG FOOD” all rendered in the loose and energetic Jay Howell style. If there’s anything else you can expect the SoCal artist to post on his social media it’s images of all of the foods he devours at his favorite local establishments or places he visits on his travels. 

Both of these shirts, as well as other designs, can be purchased on PGCSurf.com by clicking HERE.

I can’t say for sure how the phrase “limited edition” should be interpreted, but my guess is that there will likely only be a single run of these things. If you want one, you’ll probably want to jump on it sooner than later.