The infamous Strand Bookstore in New York City is known for its "18 miles of books," and on Friday, April 8th, they're devoting at least one of those miles to Strandicon, a celebration of comics!

The Strand will be hosting an afternoon of special appearances (including a 6:00 pm appearance by Dash Shaw), and the evening concludes with a celebration of The Comics Journal, featuring a panel with editors Tim Hodler and Dan Nadel, along with founding editor Gary Groth and longtime cartoonist and TCJ interviewee Kim Deitch.

So, if you live in New York, or if you'll be town for MoCCA, join us at 7:00 pm for what's sure to be a spirited discussion! (Strandicon will take place in the Comics & Graphic Novels Department of the Strand, on the Second Floor at 828 Broadway / 12th Street.)

Peter Does New York!

Comics legend Peter Bagge returns to his east coast roots with a release party at Desert Island on Friday, April 8th, signings at MoCCA that weekend, AND the opening of a new exhibit at the esteemed Scott Eder Gallery!

This exciting exhibition will feature published drawings and works on paper from all phases of Peter's long career in alternative comix and non-commercial illustration, including his album and CD art.

Join us on Saturday, April 9th from 6:00 to 9:00 pm.  (If you can't make the opening reception, you have until May 5th to view the show!) The Scott Eder Gallery is located at 18 Bridge St. #2-I, Brooklyn.

Celebrate Hate with the legendary Peter Bagge on Friday, April 8th at Desert Island in Brooklyn, NY! 

We'll be debuting the latest adventures of Buddy, Lisa, and Harold in Hate Annual #9, AND we'll have hot-off-the-presses copies of the teengirl-sensation Yeah! for Peter to sign for you. Plus, Desert Island will have a stunning seven-color screenprint designed by Peter that you won't want to miss!

And as a special bonus, Peter will be joined by one of our newest artists, Leslie Stein! Pete sez: “Leslie Stein’s comics inhabit a charming and semi-autobiographical (in the most ‘semi’ sense of the word) yet surreal, insular world where her best friend and closest confidant is an acoustic guitar. What’s not to relate to?”

Find out what Pete means with the release of Leslie's first-ever book, Eye of the Majestic Creature, and get your copy signed on Friday night!

The release party runs from 7:00 to 10:00 pm at Desert Island, located at 540 Metropolitan Ave in the lovely Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. See you there!

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

One of the things I like about this writing this column is getting the chance to spotlight some great titles that Fantagraphics didn't publish ourselves.  But, I'm especially thrilled when I get to present books that are self-published, like this week's spotlighted comic, Thunder in the Building #2!  

Admittedly, I wasn't familiar with local artist Margaret Ashford-Trotter until we started carrying her latest comic, that she published herself with funds from the Xeric Foundation. 

Her drawing style reminds me a little of Adrian Tomine, and the storyline was certainly gripping, revolving around a romantic break-up and the terrible secret that becomes revealed in the aftermath... See? You're intrigued, right?  It's an impressive early effort from a talented local artist, and I'm already looking forward to seeing what Ashford-Trotter publishes next!

Thunder in the Building #2, and many other local self-published comics,  are currently in stock at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, 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 soon!  

We're especially knocked out by Giant Robot's upcoming group exhibition, Power Punch, curated by Fantagraphics' artist Esther Pearl Watson, along with Mark Todd!

Esther and Mark gave all the artists identical 8" X 8" panels to work on, and starting Saturday, April 2nd, you can see what fellow Fantagraphics artists Johnny Ryan, Jeremy Tinder and Jon Vermilyea did with theirs.

Actually, we've got a sneak peek from Johnny right here:

"Hey, Lep! Fuck you, lucky charms!"

Power Punch opens Saturday, April 2nd at GRSF [618 Shrader Street, San Francisco] with a reception from 6:30 - 10:00 pm. The show runs until April 24th.

It feels kinda wrong that I'm writing about this, and not our resident Star Wars expert, but anyway...

Comedian Jackie Kashian is the overlord of The Dork Forest, a podcast about comic books, movies, music, and more, that she's been doing for five years now.

And this Sunday, March 27th, she'll be recording an episode at The Vera Project with special guest Peter Bagge, featuring music from his delightful pop-combo Can You Imagine?.

Also on the bill is Eisner Award-winning writer Ed Brubaker, Star Wars collector extraordinaire Gus Lopez, and comedians Paul Merrill and Kermet Apio. Tickets are $8, and you can get 'em online here.

Merci beaucoup! Thank you to everyone who attended the opening of our latest exhibit on Jacques Tardi, "Better Tardi Than Never: How France's Greatest Living Cartoonist Took a Mere 32 Years to Break Through to American Audiences." It was especially wonderful to see our friends from the Alliance Française de Seattle.

Not only did we present the world debut of Tardi's fifth book, the epic "icepunk" tale The Arctic Marauder, but we were fortunate to have Fantagraphics co-publisher, editor, and Tardi translator Kim Thompson on hand for the always-informative and often-hilarious presentation "You Don't Know Jacques. Tardi: 20 Books in 20 Minutes." And you can know Jacques yourself, by watching the entire 45-minute talk below (or on the YouTube page)!

And while supplies last, you can get yourself your very own build-it-yourself Tardi diorama free with a purchase of $100 or more at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. Kim put this one together himself that Saturday afternoon!

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA 98108 206.658.0110
Open daily 11:30 - 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM

This weekend, our friends at Giant Robot kick off a very important exhibit to raise money for the devastation in Japan. Funds will be donated to UNICEF, to help children impacted by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

There are so many wonderful, generous artists involved in this show, including Fantagraphics' own Andrice Arp, Renee French, and Esther Pearl Watson.

And not only will Giant Robot donate proceeds from the sale of artwork, they'll also be donating:

1. Proceeds from the sale of water bottles featuring labels created by artists and signed by celebrities.

2. Fifty percent of proceeds from Giant Robot’s small restaurant, gr/eats, on Saturday, March 19.

3. A percentage of all sales at Giant Robot, GR2, and GRSF during the weekend of March 18-20.

4. Raffles for donated merchandise including designer- and artist-signed items, GR gear, horseback rides, and other items.

5. Cash donations accepted for UNICEF.

On top of all that, Intertrend Communications has pledged to match the first $10,000 raised by proceeds and donations through Giant Robot. 

Seriously... please help Giant Robot reach this goal, and help the children impacted by this terrible catastrophe. Opening reception is this Saturday, March 19, from 6:30 - 10:00 pm at GR2 [2062 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA], and the show runs until April 13th.