FANTAGRAPHICS ATTENDS NEW YORK COMIC CON APRIL 18-20
NEW BOOKS, AUTHORS HIGHLIGHT FIRST-EVER NY COMIC CON APPEARANCE

New York Comic Con, taking place April 18-20 at the Javits Center in New York City, is the East Coast's biggest popular culture convention, and in 2008 Fantagraphics Books — the west coast’s biggest alternative comics publisher — will join the ranks of exhibitors for the first time. Publishers Gary Groth and Kim Thompson will be on hand all weekend, hosting round-the-clock signings for several authors and debuting several new titles at the show.

Authors signing at the Fantagraphics tables at NY Comic Con include:

• Dash Shaw will premiere his new 700-page graphic novel, Bottomless Belly Button, at NY Comic Con. One of the most anticipated graphic novels of 2008, Bottomless Belly Button is a comedy-drama that follows the dysfunctional adventures of the Loony Family. After 40-some years of marriage, Maggie and David Loony shock their children with their announcement of a planned divorce. The announcement sparks a week-long Loony family reunion at Maggie and David's creepy (and possibly haunted) beach house, with each family member stumbling blindly around one another, often ignoring their surroundings and consumed by their own conflicts.

Shaw will also sign copies of MOME Vol. 11: Summer 2008, which will debut at the show and features a new story by Shaw.

• Leah Hayes, hot off the heels of a tour with her band (Scary Mansion) that included a SXSW showcase in Austin, TX, will appear at NY Comic Con along with the premiere of her first graphic novel, Funeral of the Heart. This stylistic tour-de-force feaures a series of short stories illustrated on scratchboard. Hayes creates a world of unease and ambiguity populated by obsessive characters, forlorn animals, and mysterious, inanimate objects; odd occurrences, unnerving deaths and unconventional but genuine love bind these characters and their stories together. Entirely hand-crafted, this unique mix of cartooning and writing will be a surefire favorite of 2008.

• Craig Yoe, the editor/visionary behind Fantagraphics’ ARF series, will premiere his latest volume, Comic Arf, at New York Comic Con and sign copies at the Fantagraphics tables. Comic Arf assembles a slew of oddities, rarities and more from a Who’s Who of comic legends including Art Spiegelman, Seymour Chwast, Patrick McDonnell, Mort Walker, R. Crumb, Bil Keane, Johnny Ryan, Jaime Hernandez, Mike Mignola, Bill Griffith, Kaz, Gene Deitch, Joost Swarte and more, along with old-time greats like Dudley Fisher, Arch Dale, Walt Kelly, and others.

On Sunday at 4PM, Yoe will moderate a special ARF panel in the programming area with several special guests who have contributed to Modern Arf.

• Paul Karasik, editor of the 2007 smash hit I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets!: The Comics of Fletcher Hanks, will sign copies of his book at the Fantagraphics tables as well as participate in a comics discussion on Friday night at 7PM at Williamsburg’s Desert Island Comics, along with fellow cartoonist Mark Newgarden (We All Die Alone). Karasik and Newgarden are collaborating on a book-length edition of their landmark essay “How to Read Nancy” and will talk about this and more.

• Miss Lasko-Gross will sign copies of her 2007 debut graphic novel, Escape from “Special” and show off previews of her second graphic novel, A Mess of Everything, to be published in late 2008 by Fantagraphics.

• Michael Kupperman will appear Saturday afternoon to sign copies of his comic book series, Tales Designed to Thrizzle.

• Kim Deitch will appear on Sunday afternoon to sign copies of his books and comics, including the graphic novel Shadowland and the comic book series Stuff of Dreams.

FANTAGRAPHICS NEW YORK COMICON SIGNING SCHEDULE:

FRIDAY:

3 - 5PM: DASH SHAW (The Bottomless Belly Button, Mome)

SATURDAY:

11AM - 1PM: CRAIG YOE (Arf!)

1 - 3PM: PAUL KARASIK (I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets!)

1 - 3PM: MICHAEL KUPPERMAN (Tales Designed to Thrizzle)

3 - 5PM: MISS LASKO-GROSS (Escape from "Special")

3 - 5PM: DASH SHAW (The Bottomless Belly Button, Mome)

SUNDAY:

11AM - 1PM: LEAH HAYES (Funeral of the Heart)

11AM - 1PM: DASH SHAW (The Bottomless Belly Button, Mome)

1 - 2:30PM: KIM DEITCH (Shadowland, The Stuff of Dreams)

1 - 3PM: GLENN HEAD (Hotwire Comix)

1 - 3PM: CRAIG YOE (Arf!)

3 - 4PM: LEAH HAYES (Funeral of the Heart)

3 - 5PM: MISS LASKO- GROSS (Escape from "Special")

4 - 5PM: KIM DEITCH (Shadowland, The Stuff of Dreams)

In addition to the above author events, Fantagraphics will also be debuting several other new titles at the show, including:

• Castle Waiting #11 by Linda Medley
• Amor Y Cohetes: A Love & Rockets Book by Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez
• Mome Vol. 11: Summer 2008 by various
• Most Outrageous: The Trials and Tresspasses of Dwaine Tinsley and Chester the Molester by Bob Levin
• The Number 73304-23-4153-6-96-8 by Thomas Ott

New York Comic Con is held at the Jacob K. Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan. The Javits Center is located at 655 West 34th Street.

Open to the Public: Friday, April 18, 3:00 PM - 10:00 PM Saturday, April 19, 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM Sunday, April 20, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

For more information on the NY Comic Con, visit: http://www.nycomiccon.com/

For more information on Fantagraphics and its books and authors, contact Eric Reynolds.

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKSTORE & GALLERY HOSTS “MARTIN BLAND’S RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS” ON SATURDAY, APRIL 12

Fantagraphics Books’ resident genius will present his recent experimental sound project, “Martin Bland’s Randomized Control Trials,” on Saturday, April 12 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. This event coincides with the colorful “Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack.” The bookstore will also offer a huge “Spring Cleaning Sale” with hundreds of graphic novels marked at 50% off from April 11 though April 13.

Fantagraphics Bookstore employee Martin Bland has an impressive musical pedigree. He was the drummer for Australia’s legendary psyche-garage band Lubricated Goat prior to relocating to Seattle 1992. He performed with Bloodloss and Monroe’s Fur and later joined Fantagraphics alums Mark Arm (Mudhoney, Mr. Epp) and Tom Price (U-Men, Gas Huffer) in the grunge supergroup Monkeywrench, which also featured Tim Kerr (Big Boys) and Steve Turner (Mudhoney). Monkeywrench recently released a posthumous collection, “Gabriel’s Horn,” on the Birdman label.

Martin Bland’s Randomized Control Trials represents a departure from his previous work. “The premise involved using the ‘shuffle’ program on a group of compact disc players running simultaneously to produce unique arrangements of original music,” Bland explains. “All of the pieces followed a few guidelines: the musicians should be recorded separately from one another with little or no idea what the other musicians had played. They would be given a loose theme to improvise on and a rigid tempo to follow. These recordings were transferred on to a computer and cut into short phrases and fragments. Once all of the music for a piece had been recorded, each instrument was then assigned a CD player. The CD players were then played simultaneously with the ‘shuffle’ program activated, thus producing a unique arrangement of the piece each time. Some of the voices were of a ‘found’ nature but none of the music was sampled from other sources.”

The resulting recordings are often stunning and always entertaining. The presentation on April 12 will reflect the random nature of the concept. Featured musicians include Bland, Price, and Arm, as well as violinists Janis Wildy and Tom Swafford, pianist John Wright, and a host of contributors from various musical genres. Examples can be heard by clicking headlines at: http://martinblandsrct.blogspot.com.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery will also be the site of the publisher’s “Spring Cleaning Sale” on April 11 though April 13. Hundreds of slightly marred or damaged graphic novels will be offered at half price. Titles by Fantagraphics superstars including Peter Bagge, Charles Burns, Daniel Clowes, R. Crumb, Ellen Forney, Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, Charles M. Schulz, Joe Sacco, Jim Woodring and dozens more will be featured. And Drew Friedman’s exquisite exhibition of original art “The Fun Never Stops!” remains on display through May 6. The space is located at 1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.) in the heart of Georgetown. Open daily 11:30 – 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone: 206.658.0110 As always, patrons of all ages are welcome, and admission is free.

Listing Information

Martin Bland’s Randomized Control Trials
Saturday, April 12, 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street, Seattle
206.658.0110
Hours: Monday – Saturday 11:30 – 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM
www.fantagraphics.com

"THE FUN NEVER STOPS!" WITH DREW FRIEDMAN AT FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKSTORE & GALLERY IN SEATTLE, OPENING MARCH 27.

Drew Friedman is among the most notorious illustrators and cartoonists in America. According to Entertainment Weekly, “He holds a marvelously warped lens up to crusty politicians and debauched celebrities. A good-natured misanthrope with an obsessive style and a sardonic tongue, Drew Friedman is one of the country’s sharper political artists.” Friedman will appear in Seattle for the first time at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery for a book signing and exhibition of his original artwork on Thursday, March 27 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM.

“The Fun Never Stops!” exhibition features 17 portraits meticulously rendered in Friedman’s singular style. Included are political figures such as “McCain as Popeye,” “John Kerry’s Inauguration,” and “Really Rich Rudy” as well as pop culture icons like Frank Sinatra, Woody Allen, and Alfred E. Newman. In addition, Fantagraphics Books produced a limited edition silkscreen print featuring George W. Bush as Slim Pickens in the apocalyptic finale to “Dr. Strangelove.” Friedman’s portraits are alternately savage satires or reverential renderings – and frequently both, as in his series of “Old Jewish Comedians,” recently published in two volumes by Fantagraphics Books.

Friedman’s illustrious career has included comics work published in Art Spiegelman’s RAW, R. Crumb’s Weirdo and MAD Magazine, and frequent illustrations in National Lampoon, The New York Times, The New York Observer, among countless other publications. He was the recipient of the 2001 Reuben Award for newspaper illustration. Friedman’s work has been collected by Seattle’s Fantagraphics Books in The Fun Never Stops!: An Anthology of Comic Art 1991 - 2006, Old Jewish Comedians, More Old Jewish Comedians, and Warts and All.

“The Fun Never Stops!” begins with a reception for the artist on Thursday, March 27 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM. Admission is free to the public of all ages. The exhibition continues though May 6, 2008. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street (at the corner of Airport Way S.) in Seattle’s historic Georgetown industrial arts district. Open daily 11:30 until 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone: 206.658.0110. A selection of images in a variety of formats is available for publication. For additional information, contact Eric Reynolds.

Listing Information

DREW FRIEDMAN: THE FUN NEVER STOPS!
March 27 – May 6, 2008.
Opening Reception and Book signing
Thursday, March 27, 5:00 – 8:00 PM

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA 206.658.0110

Open Daily 11:30 – 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM

DREW FRIEDMAN AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS:
MORE OLD JEWISH COMEDIANS • MARCH 29th

WITH BEN SCHWARTZ & SPECIAL GUESTS

WHO: Drew Friedman
WHAT: Discussion, Q&A and book signing
WHERE: Skylight Books
1818 N. Vermont Ave. • Los Angeles, CA 90027 • 323.660.1175 tel.
WHEN: Saturday, March 29, 5PM

“Drew Friedman isn't just a brilliant artist. He takes you to a place. He takes you back in time. He makes you smell the stale cigarettes and cold brisket and you say thank you for the pleasure.” — Sarah Silverman

Join cartoonist DREW FRIEDMAN along with BEN SCHWARTZ and other special guests (TBA) for a special discussion and booksigning to promote the release of More Old Jewish Comedians.

This all-new sequel to 2006's wildly popular Old Jewish Comedians, which earned raves from Jerry Lewis, Howard Stern, The Believer, Entertainment Weekly and many others, includes the famous (Woody Allen, Joan Rivers, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Soupy Sales, etc.), the less-famous (Jerry Stiller, Zeppo & Gummo Marx, Larry Storch, Zero Mostel, etc.) and the largely unknown (Molly Picon, Herbie Faye, Jan Milton, etc.). The Reuben Award-winning Friedman presents a thorough visual history of the 20th Century's greatest Borscht-Belt comedians in 28 full-page, liver-spotted portraits.

MORE OLD JEWISH COMEDIANS
By Drew Friedman; Introduction by Larry Gelbart
$16.99 Hardcover
36 pp., black-and-white, 10” x 10”
ISBN 978-1-56097-914-2

A selection of images in a variety of formats (and ratings) is available for publication. For additional media information contact Eric Reynolds.