Matt Blairstone
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mattblairstone.bsky.social
Matt Blairstone
@mattblairstone.bsky.social
1.1K followers 400 following 260 posts
Publisher/Founder @tenebrouspress.bsky.social
Shirley Jackson Award-nominated editor.
Illustrator of slimy things.
Devotee of comic books & guit-fiddle music of every stripe.
OPEN for both editing & art gigs.
He/him
Portland OR
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mattblairstone.bsky.social
The only thing burning Portland down is my hot riffs
Hot riffs
October 23, 2025 at 2:36 AM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Pullbox-plus pickup today 🖤☠️
Comixxxxx
October 18, 2025 at 8:41 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Gift from @alexwoodroe.com bought at the @crucialblast.bsky.social table based purely on vibes.

And, based purely on vibes, she nailed it; late 70s lo-fi scuzz-punk by The Mentally Ill, that sounds like it was recorded in an insane asylum🤘
Record on the turntable; jacket art for The Mentally Ill, featuring a photo of John Wayne Gacy and Rosalynn Carter
October 18, 2025 at 5:52 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
brush pen sketch of Ace Frehley from 2016
October 17, 2025 at 8:47 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Keep on rockin, Ace, you fabulous lunatic👾👾👾🖤🖤🎸🎸🎸
My thoughts on Ace Frehley on the Tenebrous Discord: "On a human level, KISS have always been a bunch of monstrous jack-holes, there's no denying it. But my personal fondness for Ace-Frehley-as-space-alien runs bone deep. I have long been smitten with his utterly ludicrous over-the-top personality, his dirt-simple but sneaky amazing guitar playing, his cant-sing-for-shit singing voice, his bombastic laughing, his solo albums, his Rock Soldiering. I've never given a fuck about seeing KISS live, but I've seen Ace solo numerous times in numerous cities. I have a comics series pitch I've been working on for years which tells the story of why Ace (or as close as possible to him without getting sued) really quit KISS: because he was summoned through an intergalactic portal to go fight an interstellar war. And now he's back on earth with his alien girlfriend, pursued by alien bounty hunters, pissed that KISS ripped off his gimmick and threw it on a revolving door of stand-ins, and he's out for revenge. Rock and roll revenge. Anyway, I absolutely love Ace Frehley the Myth. I hope he's off rocking with the Space Invaders right now."
October 17, 2025 at 8:42 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Ozzy was the best Sabbath singer; I'm not crazy. Black Sabbath's first four albums are their best four.

But this is their fifth best.
Cover art for Black Sabbath's DEHUMANIZER, featuring an electro-reaper zapping some poor dude
September 8, 2025 at 10:12 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Metal thrashin’ Sunday🤘
Vinyl of Forbidden: Twisted into Form Vinyl of Vio-Lence: Eternal Nightmare
August 31, 2025 at 10:16 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Full #coverart wrap & design for @chinckleys.bsky.social's THE BLACK LORD, published 9/23 by @tenebrouspress.bsky.social

All illustration & design by me; art direction by @alexwoodroe.com

#authorsky I'm OPEN FOR COMMISSIONS! Need something that'll make your work stand out on bookshelves? DM me.
full wrap of THE BLACK LORD; yellow background, looming birch trees, and a hulking black monstrosity of a tree that overshadows them. THE BLACK LORD in a "folk horror"-y hand scrawl. Plus back cover copy. Same, minus the trade dress just the front cover
August 28, 2025 at 9:52 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
I am also available for all your photo reference needs, but I ain't cheap.
me looking alarmed and possessed me learning to count me...preparing to heave an invisible bowling ball? me reaching for superstardom
August 27, 2025 at 10:17 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
20 pages in, a Japanese punk band battles zombies onstage, mid-gig. THIS ROTTEN WORLD reads like all the best movies streaming on Night Flight.

I’m biased, so if you’re only gonna read one @jacymorris.bsky.social book, read WE LIKE IT CHERRY.

But if you want gonzo fun, this is the stuff🖤☠️
THIS ROTTEN WORLD in my hand
August 27, 2025 at 2:30 AM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Proof-of-concept book cover art for a friend using original illustration & design work by me, with 19th-century public domain photography.

I'm open for commissions, and I'm down to work with your budget! DM anytime.
cover art for a story called LORD OF DOORS; photograph of late 1800s Northeastern fishermen flanks an illustrated picture frame containing a series of psychedelic shrinking eyeballs
August 26, 2025 at 10:47 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Also this guy’s pretty cool🖤☠️
August 24, 2025 at 9:19 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Also this guy’s pretty cool🖤☠️
August 24, 2025 at 9:19 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Hey Ho #booksky !

Need cover art? Unique, human made, w/no AI in sight? Something that won't break the bank?

My commissions are open!

Pictured: a recent piece for @nwreader.bsky.social

I'm game to work w/you to get you something you can be proud of. DM anytime.
Illustration/cover art for Truborn Press, a cross-hatched ear with the Devil lurking within, alongside the final cover art (I did not design the final cover, only the illustration; though I'm happy to do design work too!)
August 18, 2025 at 7:52 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Hey #writersky !

I know all the roadblocks that indie authors face. Getting good cover art shouldn't be one of them.

I'll work w/you to craft something unique for your manuscript that you can be proud of, 100% human-made & free of the scourge of AI. Without breaking your budget.

DM, let's talk.
Front cover art illustrated by me, a python coiled around a tree, in various greens, browns and yellows.
August 16, 2025 at 4:49 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Hey #writingcommunity

I've been working w/some author buds to put proof to concept for book cover art that is unique & easy on your budget.

Don't go the soul-sucking, artist-thieving AI route; get something human-made you can be proud of.

Let me help you bring your book to life. DMs are open.
Book Cover art, by me; Black and white and gray tones; a ratty food truck in an apocalyptic acid rain storm, a silhouetted figure grilling beneath a collapsing shelter top. The title reads "HOMEGROWN"
August 15, 2025 at 7:54 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
I saw somebody opine yesterday that Therapy?’s CLEAVE is their best album; and while they’re dead wrong, it’s still pretty fuckin’ great.
Album cover; photo of a chair in flames sits on the shore, a hand holding a laughably useless glass of water to the left
August 15, 2025 at 2:39 AM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Was reminded today: mebbe not so wise blowin up my art portfolio on IG merely because M*ta is a horror show.

Lesson learned. So:

#indieauthors! Indie presses! I'd love to work w/you ON A BUDGET on cover art, logos, illos, whatever you need.

Avoid the theft-scourge of AI! Hire a human.

DMs open.
This is Fishtopher, alternative logo for Tenebrous Press, designed by me. He's a savage lanternfish, aqua and purple, loads of needle-sharp teeth and starin' right atcha, the Tenebrous skull & laurel where is glowy bulb would be. He can't be yours, but something equally awesome could be.
August 15, 2025 at 12:29 AM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Fire in the Mountains-bound with @beardedbetts.bsky.social & @rynstonecowboy.bsky.social in our rental, the Black Sab-bus🖤☠️
July 24, 2025 at 3:35 AM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
worked on a new song with my guitarist tonight
C.H.A.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid American Dipshit)
July 4, 2025 at 5:34 AM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Need Human Art for your book/shirt/band/life in general? I'm open for commissions!

Holler:
1.) DM me
2.) email mattblairstone at gmail dot com
3.) mattblairstone.carrd.co

Recent client work:
@brandenburgdm.bsky.social @shortwavebooks.bsky.social @nwreader.bsky.social @tenebrouspress.bsky.social
Book cover art (Wonka-style miscreant circled by a robotic centipede) + retractable banner art (a slobbery were-beast in a hoodie against a checkered ska-tone) for author Matt Brandenburg Artwork for Shortwave Publishing, white on black and black on white, a radio tower atop a stack of books, for use on both a shirt and tote bag Illustration/cover art for Truborn Press, a cross-hatched ear with the Devil lurking within, alongside the final cover art (I did not design final cover, only the illustration) Cover art wrap, sans text, for BRAVE NEW WEIRD Volume 3; a Weird breakfast table and various sordid goings-on
May 22, 2025 at 8:10 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Some folks think Motörhead only did one thing, that all Motörhead sounds the same, but they’re dead wrong.

There’s decent Motörhead,
There’s great Motörhead,
And there’s best Motörhead.

This is best Motörhead.
Motörhead’s album 1916. Their mascot Snaggletooth with blood spilling from its mouth, flanked by a biplane and the flags of many WWI-relevant countries.
May 9, 2025 at 1:49 AM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Now watching to celebrate the day 🖤☠️
Movie poster for THE CHURCH “You haven’t got a prayer”
May 9, 2025 at 12:13 AM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
Back in pre-Tenebrous days, I did a lot of indie comics shows; I made this print for one of my fave Argento films, DEEP RED.
It's fun breaking down a scene like this.
*Hint Hint I'd sure be keen to illustrate a one-page comic from your book or movie too COMMISSIONS OPEN🖤☠️**
mattblairstone.carrd.co
A scene from Dario Argento's PROFONDO ROSSO/DEEP RED, illustrated in sequential form; black, white and red colors. A windup puppet enters and distracts the protagonist; while he heroically slays the puppet, the real killer enters, smashes the protag's teeth into a table (gross, tooth trauma!), and stabs him through the neck (eh, I've had worse)
April 17, 2025 at 5:52 PM
mattblairstone.bsky.social
LUUUUUUUTTTTZZZZZ—!!
Me, screaming and shaking my fist at a squishy stress-book with an illustrated author pic of Justin Lutz on it
April 9, 2025 at 5:44 AM