Delving into city records, saints' hagiographies, old photographs, maps, and history books, Walker emerged with what he calls a “loopy valentine to the City of the Angels.” Playfully borrowing from various artistic genres - from illuminated manuscripts to comic strips - and encased in a sumptuous gold cover, All the Saints of the City of the Angels combines meticulous research with creative inspiration to depict in paint and ink Angelenos both historical and contemporary.

San Julian Street, where the city's homeless and the clinics serving them gather, was named for a saint who wandered the earth before serving and sheltering other wanderers. Tiny, forlorn Santa Clara Street (right), southeast of Downtown, mirrors that saint's vow of poverty and humility; and the sweatshops on her street complement her patronage of embroiderers. So it went, street by street, for eight years, as J Michael crossed the City of the Angels, neighborhood by neighborhood, uncovering and revealing each one:

Proud, defiant, thoughtful, and at times melancholy, the street-saints in J Michael's sumptuously designed people's history of L.A. reveal unique visions of transcendence and, in doing so, challenge traditional notions of what it means to be blessed - and how the blessed are depicted. Populated by portraits of the famous, the forgotten, and the invisible; filled with stories, secrets, and insights from every age; this beautifully offbeat volume peels back layers of Western history to reveal the humanity underneath - and within us all.