Fantagraphics Starts The Quiet Rrriot with Megan Kelso, Nikki McClure and Stella Marrs at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, July 9th 

Riot grrrl is mainly remembered for the loud rock bands that grew out of it, but as much as it was a musical movement, it was a visual arts and literary movement, too. Drawings, photographs, collages, comics, essays, stories and manifestos poured out from girls all over the country in the early ‘90s in the form of self-published zines, mini-comics, handmade books, album art, and show posters. Girls who saw a show, found a flyer, or read the infamous article in Newsweek about “Riot grrrl” heard that name calling out to them specifically. Riot grrrl was a call to arms for young women trying to find their voices.

On Saturday, July 9th, the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery presents three women who found their voices during that Riot grrrl scene: Nikki McClure, Stella Marrs, and Megan Kelso. Fantagraphics Books Inc. recently reissued Kelso’s long-out-of-print book Queen of the Black Black, an early collection of work from her influential self-published comix zine, Girlhero. Original artwork from those stories, as well as original pieces from McClure and Marrs, will be on display alongside a collection of self-published comix and zines from the Riot grrrl movement. Kelso and McClure will discuss the lasting legacy of the Riot grrrls, followed by a book signing and informal reception.

The work of Stella Marrs predates Riot grrrl, but as one of the design angels orbiting K Records, and as a publisher of multi-media postcards since the mid ‘80s, her aesthetic defined the Olympia look as much as K Records defined its sound. Her sly, often humorous, images critique gender roles and consumer culture.

Nikki McClure and Megan Kelso were in the same year at The Evergreen State College, and both embarked on artistic careers after graduating. McClure’s images are made from black construction paper, cut with X-Acto blades into single, intricate pieces, mounted on white backgrounds. Her subject matter is people working in concert with the natural world.

Kelso’s comics echo both the themes and aesthetics of Marrs and McClure’s work — high contrast black-and-white images telling stories that grapple with issues of work, gender and human relationships.

The opening of “The Quiet Rrriot” on Saturday, July 9th coincides with the colorful Georgetown Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts presentations throughout the historic neighborhood.

The Quiet Rrriot: Visual Artists from the Riot Grrrl movement by Megan Kelso, Nikki McClure, Stella Marrs

Opening Saturday, July 9th from 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Artists talk with Megan Kelso and Nikki McClure at 7:00 PM followed by a book signing.
Exhibition continues through August 31, 2011

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA 98108
206.658.0110
Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM
This event is free and all ages

I hope the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles has a lot of beer in stock, because Tony Millionaire will be in the house on Wednesday, June 29th!

It's the debut of The Andrés Du Bouchet Center for the Performing Arts, a monthly comedy series hosted by comedian and Conan writer Andrés Du Bouchet, and curated by Adam Spiegelman and Fantagraphics friend Scott Jacobson. Starting this week, you can join them on the last Wednesday of every month for an evening of "artistic expression in a safe, supportive environment where people are drunk." Sounds perfect for Tony!

Not only will Tony Millionaire be on hand to screen some exclusive cartoons and clips from "The Drinky Crow Show,"  but you'll also get some comedy from Marc Maron, Tig Notaro, Dan Mintz, and Charlyne Yi, and a musical performance from The Lampshades. 

Tickets are only $8, and are available online here. The Bootleg Theater is located at 2220 Beverly Blvd in L.A.  Sorry, young Maakies fans, the show is 21+.

Move over, Peter, Bjorn & John!  Or, Peter, Paul & Mary, for that matter!

Devin, Gary & Ross is the musical project of artists Devin Flynn, Ross Goldstein, and our very own, Gary Panter! They've been described as "Velvet Underground-era VU meets Alexander "Skip" Spence meets the equally LSD-infused solo output of Germany's Juergen Gleue, only WAY more deadpan."

You can hear for yourself: their debut EP, Four Corners Bounce, is out now on the Arbitrary Signs label, and to celebrate, they're having a Record Release Party this Friday, June 24th at Desert Island in Brooklyn! 

You wouldn't think it to be possible, but it gets even better as Gary will have TWO new books in tow: The Wrong Box and The Land Unknown, both of which were recently published in France, and have been tricky to get in the states... until now!

The psychedelic sonic bliss blasts off at 8:00 PM at Desert Island [540 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY]. Do not miss it.

HOW IS THIS EVENT NOT SOLD OUT ALREADY?!?

Seriously, New York. You'd be a fool to miss this rare appearance from the legendary Lou Reed, this coming Monday, June 27th at The Strand.

Lou will be reading from his book The Raven, a collaboration with Italian artist Lorenzo Mattotti -- and if you ask me, it's a far more thrilling collaboration than that other one making the news right now!

Ticket holders will receive a signed copy of The Raven, your choice of a famous standard-size Strand tote bag, and the opportunity to meet Lou Reed. 

Price of the ticket? $35 bucks. Getting to meet Lou F'ing Reed? Priceless.

The event starts at 7:00 PM in the Rare Book Room at The Strand [828 Broadway].

Well, a black eye you'll want, anyway!

It's Black Eye 1: Graphic Transmissions to Cause Ocular Hypertension, a new anthology featuring many Fantagraphics artists packed in those pages, including Al Columbia, Robert Goodin, Glenn Head, Michael Kupperman, Mark Newgarden, and Jon Vermilyea.

(You may remember Black Eye as the anthology that got confiscated on the way to TCAF...)

Ivan Brunetti, Lilli Carré, and Paul Hornschemeier are also featured in this collection, and they'll be signing (along with Paul Nudd and Onsmith) this coming Friday, June 24th at Quimby’s Bookstore [1854 W. North Ave, Chicago]. The metaphorical punches start flying at 7:00 pm!

The Santa Barbara Writers Conference kicked off this past weekend and runs until Thursday, June 23rd.

And on Tuesday, June 21st, join Gary Groth at 4:00 pm for a special Graphic Novel Panel! He'll be joined by a powerhouse line-up of Joyce Farmer, Tim Hensley, and Sammy Harkham.

The Santa Barbara Writers Conference is held at the Hotel Mar Monte [1111 East Cabrillo Boulevard, Santa Barbara, CA], which is an actual hotel, and not the fancy name for Monte Schulz's house.

Delve into the peculiar mysteries of the Unifactor as Seattle artist Jim Woodring unveils the secrets behind his brand new graphic novel Congress of the Animals, released this month by Fantagraphics Books Inc. Congress of the Animals is the highly-anticipated follow-up to last year’s Weathercraft, and in 2010, Woodring was awarded the Stranger Genius Award for literature.

Join us at the Elliott Bay Book Company at 7:00 pm on Thursday, June 30th as Woodring himself takes us page by page through his latest creation, with explanations and anecdotes on his first full-length graphic novel to star his signature character, Frank. Attendees will also get a rare glimpse at sketches and drawings that Woodring left out of his latest tome.

Woodring teases: “I'm going to talk about how I changed the basic formula of the Frank stories with Congress of the Animals, and how I didn't anticipate how strongly those changes would affect not only Frank's world, but mine.”

What mysteries will unfold? What will become of Frank? Will Woodring bring the giant 7’ dip pen??? All these questions, and more, will be answered on Thursday, June 30th at the Elliott Bay Book Company.

Congress of the Animals presentation & signing with Jim Woodring
Co-Sponsored by Fantagraphics Books & The Elliott Bay Book Company
Thursday, June 30th at 7:00 pm

The Elliott Bay Book Company
1521 Tenth Avenue
Seattle WA 98122
This event is free and all ages

* Other People's Publications
** Yeah, You Know Me.

Is it a cheat to spotlight Life with Mr. Dangerous by Paul Hornschemeier? I mean, technically, the book was released last month by Random House/Villard, but we did serialize it first in Mome.

Obviously, I think it still counts, as there's something different about reading Life with Mr. Dangerous collected in this stylish hard-bound edition. Without the stops-and-starts of serialization, I found myself far more immersed in the world of Amy Breis, a lonely 26-year-old stuck in a dead-end job, living alone with her cat, and obsessed with the TV show "Mr. Dangerous."

And, honestly, I love this character, and I love this book. It truly belongs on your shelf, next to your well-worn copy of Ghost World. I was even suspicious of whether "Amy Breis" was an anagram of "Hornschemeier" somehow. Like Clowes, Hornschemeier is able to craft a character who's painfully relatable, and ultimately, well... loveable.

Oh, and whaddaya know! You can pick up a copy and get it signed this coming Saturday, June 18th at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, as Hornschemeier will be here from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Seattle’s own Eroyn Franklin will also be debuting her highly anticipated book, Detained, for an evening of artists with hard-to-spell names.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street in Seattle's Georgetown district. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone: (206) 658-0110. See you there!

I've just been loving all these Fantagraphics fashion posts I'm getting to write lately!  Keep it up, designers!!!

First up is this incredible pair of rare Roberto Clemente sneakers! Whoa. Here's the auction listing for 'em, and at that price, you better not be wearing them on the field!

[ Thanks to Anonymous Works for the tip! ]

Curious about that first pair, I dug around a little online, and came across these beauts, and some more information. Apparently, back in the 1970's, Clemente lent his name to this brand of Super Pro sneakers, sold exclusively in his homeland of Puerto Rico! I propose supplemental material on these shoes in a future Special Edition of 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente.

And I saved the best (in my girly-opinion) for last with these exquisite shoes, inspired by E.C. Segar's Popeye fashionista Olive Oyl. I sure wanna kidnap these handcrafted beauties by Israeli shoe designer Kobi Levi, but oops, looks like they're one-of-a-kind. Kobi, I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a pair of these today?

[ Props to Devlin Thompson and Cartoon Brew for the scoop! ]

Things are gettin' trippy over at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art as they recently kicked off a set of tandem exhibits,  “Us Versus Them” and “Masters of Collective Reality,” curated by Phoenix-based artist Jon Haddock. 

And Haddock's clearly got good taste as the "Masters of Collective Reality" exhibit will feature work from such artists as Rory Hayes, Joe Sacco, Basil Wolverton, and Jim Woodring, whose piece is show above!

Both exhibits run through October 2nd at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art [7374 East Second Street, Scottsdale, AZ].