This Great Show includes some of the best and boldest talents working in comix today. Here's a chance to see original art work by Glenn Head, Danny Hellman, Mark Dean Veca, David Sandlin, Tim Lane, Jayr Pulga, Chadwick Whitehead, Sam Henderson, Mary Fleener, Rick Altergott, R. Sikoryak, and Mats!?....

Many of these exciting artists will be on hand to meet you, discuss their work, and their insights into the comics scene. HOTWIRE's contributors have graced the pages of the very best comix anthologies — such as RAW, R. Crumb's WEIRDO, SNAKE EYES, DRAWN AND QUARTERLY, as well as mainstream publications like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Nickelodeon, and The Village Voice.

It will be a terrific show, curated by Scott Eder, who has many cool comic art shows to his credit. Now's your chance to get a good look at HOTWIRE art and it's artists — in person!

Drinks and food will be served, the scene will be mellow, the vibes happening.... This is definitely an art scene worth making the trek to!

Opening reception Friday Feb. 12th 6-9pm

18 Bridge St. #2i
Brooklyn*, NY 11201
*DUMBO 718-797-1100

Visit scottedergallery.com to view all the exhibition artwork (soon!) and to get more information (and directions).

You read that right! Following the Chocolate Cheeks book release/exhibit opening at Floating World in Portland on Feb. 4, Steven Weissman will be trundling up to Seattle for a signing wingding at our flagship Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday, Feb. 6, and it looks like he'll be bringing some artwork & prints & such with him for selling. We'll probably be making a more formal announcement as the date draws nearer, but mark your calendars now!

We hear the event was gangbusters! Here's Gahan signing a copy of the Fifty Years of Playboy Cartoons collection. Strand TV footage will be up on the Strand's YouTube page in the next week, so we'll be sure to bring you that when it's available. Photo by Christina Foxley, courtesy the Strand — click for a larger version.

Photo courtesy one of our local media contacts. Eyeballs courtesy Drinky Crow.

Marketing Meeting, FBI HQ, 1.19.10

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• List: At his blog Supervillain, Sean Witzke posts a massive Comics of the Decade roundup which includes Ganges by Kevin Huizenga ("The third one fucking rules"), I Killed Adolf Hitler ("I read this sitting in the train station in Philadelphia that they shot part of 12 Monkeys in, laughing very loudly") and The Last Musketeer ("Pompous blowhard saves the universe from Ming the Merciless by stabbing and chivalry. Stabbing and chivalry solve everything.") by Jason, and Prison Pit: Book 1 by Johnny Ryan ("Book of ‘09... If the point of comics is fucked up shit happening, this is the best fucking comic ever made.") (via Robot 6)

• Review: "Family histories isn’t a series of isolated events, in Tyler’s mind, but fluid — and sometimes jarring — tapestries of facts, memories, half-truths, and emotional resonances. Her father clearly doesn’t see things that way, and this first part of You’ll Never Know shows a potential rift in how father and daughter understand their lives, and how they think a war should be remembered. I can’t wait to read how this fracture develops, deepens, and perhaps closes up." – Walter Biggins, Quiet Bubble

• Review: "There's much to like here. I sort of assumed MOME would be more like Raw, in terms of pushing the envelope and extreme artiness and so on, but it's much more readable than that. ... Anthologies are always uneven, but this contains fewer stinkers than most, clearly a testament to Fantagraphics's editorial eye." – Hillary Brown, Shazhmmm...

• Review: "Few artistic creations merit the adjective 'lurid.' Strange Suspense leers confidently from the shadows of that small crowd. ... If the infected, deformed teens of Black Hole inspired the reader to linger on each page of that magnificent book, Strange Suspense is worth a look. And for the Ditko-curious, this isn't a bad place to start." – The Typing Monkey

• Review: "The Squirrel Mother is a compilation of stories created by Megan Kelso between 2000 and 2005, that Fantagraphics Books, faithful to its tradition, made a beautiful object, which delights the eye before the mind." – Pedro Cleto (translated from Portuguese)

• Interview: The latest episode of The Comix Claptrap podcast features a chat with Johnny Ryan "about his newest book, Prison Pit, Book 1, his comics process, and rate who is the best fighter in comics."

• Things to see: Kevin Huizenga's latest Amazing Facts and Beyond with Leon Beyond strip

• Tragedy: Oh man, some punk kid wrecked Ellen Forney's '71 BMW 2002

Yes, it's a parody/homage of The Believer, courtesy of editor Ben Schwartz, artist Drew Friedman, and designer Alexa Koenings. Drew provides more background and a larger image at his blog. The book is just off to press and should be out in April.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is pleased to present a remarkable series of exhibitions, signings and receptions on successive Saturday evenings January 30 through February 13. These amazing events will feature both emerging talent and legendary masters of the comics medium.

Fantagraphics Books celebrates the publication of NEWAVE! The Underground Mini Comix of the 1980s with an exhibition, book signing, and mini comix workshop on Saturday, January 30 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. The show will feature original art and graphics by underground mini comix pioneers Jaimie Alder, Jim Blanchard, Wayne Gibson, David Lasky, Wayno, Steve Willis, Dennis Worden, and XNO. NEWAVE editor Michael Dowers will produce and distribute a mini comic on site. This festive reunion also includes live music, a comix jam, and the debut of the NEWAVE! anthology.

On Saturday, February 6 from 7:00 to 8:00 PM, prolific comics creator and illustrator Steven Weissman appears on the occasion of the debut of his latest book CHOCOLATE CHEEKS. The award-winning Weissman explores a peculiar alternative to traditional childhood relationships. Influenced by classic comic strip characters and pop culture icons, this wonderful artist appeals to readers of all ages.

Please join us on Saturday, February 13 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, when Fantagraphics Bookstore is honored to host an art exhibition and reception for living legend Gahan Wilson. His delightfully demented sense of humor is celebrated in GAHAN WILSON: 50 YEARS OF PLAYBOY CARTOONS, an exquisite 3-volume slipcase edition that includes over 1,000 comics and illustrations by the acknowledged master of the macabre. Don't miss this rare opportunity to meet one of America's most incredible idiosyncratic artists.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street, only minutes south of downtown Seattle. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone 206.658.0110. See you all soon.

This is gorgeous.

I showed it to Jason Miles and he said, "This guy's his own Fort Thunder."

I am inclined to agree, but mostly I just want a giant poster of the thing.