Merch Madness: Justin Russo

Every once in a while, we here at SideQuesting like to put the spotlight on those artists and entrepreneurs on the fringe of the video game industry. Be they musicians, artists, businesspeople or even just indie developers, Merch Madness is here to tell their story and bring it to you, via written words and podcast specials. If you're a fan of fine art and video games, you may have heard of Justin Russo. You may recognize his work from this month's SideQuesting logo or from his successful Kickstarter project which was featured on Joystiq a while back. Mr. Russo has pushed far beyond his original Kickstarter project and now has a successful storefront website of his own, PressXToJustin. Justin's minimalistic style and often whimsical approach to geeky art certainly capture the imagination. Oftentimes, his subtle references to classic games, films and television tell the viewer that they know a lot more about their favorite franchises than they ever realized. Be prepared to chuckle (or scream) when you realize that you can recognize Nathan Drake purely by his half-tuck. However, Young Russo's talents aren't limited to just the nerd chic variety. Justin also does a lot of work for businesses in need of some fresh, new artwork. He's done some very impressive work for the AbleGamers Foundation, a site dedicated to disabled video game lovers. He designed the logo for their recently announced Adroit Switchblade controller which promises to be the most versatile and accessible controller on the market for disabled gamers. Justin has also garnered quite a bit of attention for his work on the "My Brother, My Brother and Me" show on the Maximum Fun podcast network. Nothing captures the adventurous humor of the show quite like one of Russo's prints. Furthermore, Mr. Russo has recently begun letting his fans help decide what he does next. A new program allowing art lovers to vote on the subject of his next piece has entered beta testing on his Facebook page and has already produced some fantastic results. Be it business or pleasure, Justin Russo's artwork is highly evocative and original. Whether you're a nerd, a fan or just in need of some snazzy artwork for your business, you cannot deny Justin Russo's style. Justin Russo and his artwork can be found at pressxtojustin.com, justindrusso.tumblr.com, Justin D. Russo on Facebook and Press X to Justin on Red Bubble. You can also either follow Justin Russo's personal profile on Twitter at @TheRooStarr or @PressXtoJustin for his site's official Twitter profile. Subscribe and rate us via iTunes or, click here for the direct feed: http://sidequesting.podbean.com/feed