Author/editor Kevin Avery continues his New York tour with a signing on Thursday, December 1st at the Barnes & Noble Park Slope in Brooklyn, NY!

He'll be signing copies of Everything is an Afterthought: The Life & Writings of Paul Nelson. And it's a great opportunity to learn even more about the pioneering Rolling Stone critic Nelson as the discussion will cover Avery's other collection, Conversations with Clint 1979-1983: Paul Nelson’s Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood (Continuum Books).

The event kicks off at 7:00 PM at Barnes & Noble Park Slope [ 267 7th Avenue, Brooklyn ].

Oh, New York City... I know you've already bought your tickets for this, right? RIGHT?!

'Cause holy hell, you do not want to miss this incredible event.  The legendary MAD Magazine cartoonist Jack Davis will be at the Strand Bookstore on Thursday, December 1st for a discussion and signing for Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture.

How often do you get the chance to hear Jack Davis speak about his extensive and influential career?  And how often are we able to pair him on stage with our one and only Gary Groth leading the interview?

You can either buy the book or a $10 Strand Gift Card in order to attend this event, but I'm sure you've already done that, RIGHT? Both options admit two people.

So, join Jack and Gary for this exciting event Thursday night at 7:00 PM, in the Rare Book Room on the 3rd Floor of The Strand [ 828 Broadway (at 12th St.) ].

And don't forget, Jack will be signing at the Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Fest this Saturday, too, and has an exhibit opening at the Scott Eder Gallery on Friday... Oh, you lucky, lucky city.

For the first time ever, Fantagraphics will be exhibiting at the Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival! Come visit us this Saturday, December 3rd from 12:00 - 9:00 PM for a wealth of debuts, artist appearances, and the great Gary Groth manning the table!

Gary will be joined by a truly all-star cast of artists for our first BCGF:

1PM: Josh Simmons
2PM: Kim Deitch
3PM: Dash Shaw
5PM: Jack Davis
6PM: Michael Kupperman
7PM: Al Columbia

And even more of our artists will be exhibiting at the show, including Gabrielle Bell, Ben Catmull, Charles Forsman, Drew Friedman, Sammy Harkham, Tom Kaczynski, John Kerschbaum, Victor Kerlow, Joseph Lambert, Mark Newgarden, Jesse Moynihan, Gary Panter, Zak Sally, Leslie Stein, and Jon Vermilyea... PHEW! Pick up their books from our table, and then seek these artists out at their own!

Bring a big bag, because you'll also wanna pick up our excellent debuts at the festival!

• Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture by Jack Davis
• 500 Portraits by Tony Millionaire

• Action! Mystery! Thrills! Great Comic Book Covers 1936-1945 edited by Greg Sadowski
• Jason Conquers America by Jason

Where can you find all this awesome? Fantagraphics will be in the downstairs section at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church [ 275 North 8th Street ], at tables 31 & 32:

And finally, make sure you don't miss our artists in these panels!  These will all take place at Union Pool  [ 484 Union Avenue # A ], and the panels are free and open to the public:

1:30 PM // JACK DAVIS Q+A

Legendary cartoonist Jack Davis made his mark producing horror and war stories for EC Comics, before finding his métier in satire as one of the original (and longest running) artists for MAD Magazine. As a prolific illustrator, Davis defined the caricatural style of the 1960s and 1970s—and beyond. In this rare public appearance, Davis will discuss his career with Fantagraphics co-publisher Gary Groth and illustrator Drew Friedman.

[ Jack Davis fans, please note: he will also be appearing on Friday, December 2nd at the opening of his exhibit at the Scott Eder Gallery! Don't miss it! ]

2:30 PM // GESTURAL AESTHETICS

6:00 PM // THE LANGUAGE IN COMICS

The recent embrace of graphic novels by the publishing industry has led to misguided attempts to evaluate comics according to the standards and conventions of literary fiction. The writing in comics occupies a more peculiar place, with its own constraints and opportunities. John Porcellino, Gabrielle Bell, and David Sandlin will discuss the particular demands of writing within a visually-driven form in this conversation moderated by novelist Myla Goldberg.

So, get ready! And we'll see you in Brooklyn this Saturday!

Our friends at the Librarie Multi BD in Brussels launched an exhibit last week spotlighting the great Jason, and his work with Fabien Vehlmann on Isle of 100,000 Graves.

The exhibit also features original artwork from Hey, Wait..., The Left Bank Gang, and Why Are You Doing This?.

The exhibit runs through December 24th at the Librarie Multi BD [ 122-124 Bd Anspach B-1000 Bruxelles ].  And even if you can't make the exhibit, be sure to check out their website for some adorable shots of Jason checking out the exhibit himself!

Remember that Max retrospective exhibition we were telling you about, that was opening in Mexico in November? Hey, it opened! And we've got some photos, courtesy of the artist!

Titled Panóptica, the exhibit spotlights his work from 1973-2011 with 120 original pieces, including posters, childrens books, magazine illustrations, and more.

The exhibit runs through January 22, 2012 at the Centro Cultural de España [ Guatemala, 18 col. Centro Histórico, Ciudad de México ]. If you can't make it to Mexico by the end of January, Max promises to post more photos over at his blog, so check it out!

Today, we're kicking off a new weekly round-up of our Fantagraphics events, on an especially busy week for us! Mark your calendars, and go meet some of our artists:

Monday, November 28th

• Portland, OR: Meet Oil and Water author Steve Duin and artist Shannon Wheeler at Powell's Bookstore at 7:30 PM.

Thursday, December 1st

• Brooklyn, NY: Join author/editor Kevin Avery at Barnes & Noble Park Slope at 7:00 PM for a discussion and signing for Everything is an Afterthought: The Life & Writings of Paul Nelson. 

• New York City, NY: Legendary cartoonist Jack Davis will be at the Strand Bookstore at 7:00 PM for a discussion and signing of Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture with Fantagraphics' own Gary Groth.

Friday, December 2nd

• Brooklyn, NY: Meet Jack Davis at the opening of his exhibit at the Scott Eder Gallery, held in conjunction with the Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival.

Saturday, December 3rd

• Brooklyn, NY: Join Fantagraphics at The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival from 12:00 - 9:00 PM, with special guests Al Columbia, Jack Davis, Kim Deitch, Michael Kupperman, Dash Shaw, and Josh Simmons.  Signing schedule to be announced soon on the FLOG!

Oil and Water continues to spread across Portland, Oregon, in an environmentally-friendly way!

Join author Steve Duin, columnist for The Oregonian, and Eisner-winning artist Shannon Wheeler tonight at the celebrated Powell's Books for a discussion of this powerful book, with a signing to follow! The event starts at 7:30 PM.

Powell's City of Books is located at 1005 W Burnside, Portland.

This coming March, Fantagraphics releases the comics collection Kolor Klimax: Nordic Comics Now... and when the Nords say "now" they mean it, as editor Matthias Wivel has already thrown a "Pre-Release Party" for the book last week in Copenhagen!  You can view more pictures from the party here.

And the fun doesn't stop, as today Friday, November 25th, there will be (was?) a signing at the comic book store Fantask [ St. Pedersstræde 18, Copenhagen ]. Wivel will be (was?) joined by artists Peter Kielland, Johan F. Krarup, Mårdøn Smet and Thomas Thorhauge.

Nordic Comics NOW, indeed!

[Ed. note: Edited to reflect the fact that we may have gotten this posted a little late -- sorry!]

Forget about Black Friday. It's time to get in line for Black Monday, when Lou Reed descends upon Brooklyn on December 12th!

Join Lou at BookCourt [ 163 Court Street ] at 7:00 PM.  He will be signing and discussing The Raven, his collaboration with legendary Italian illustrator and cartoonist Lorenzo Mattotti, based on the work of Edgar Allen Poe.

The last time Lou signed The Raven, The New Yorker was there to report: "Mattotti's illustrations, which were projected in a slide show, saturated the room with a kind of terror and despair. There was also something about the sound and sudden fits of fury in Reed's voice that seemed to mirror Poe's tormented vision."

As if you needed further convincing, this event is free. Don't miss this one, Brooklyn!

Join Michael Kupperman tomorrow night, Tuesday, November 22nd, for the second installment of his new monthly comedy series The Crime Stoppers Club, a collaboration with Kate Beaton!

This month, they welcome special guests Lauren Weinstein, Bridey Elliott, Lizz Hickey and Russell Christian for a night of hilarious abandon and storytelling at Luca Lounge [ 222 Avenue B, NYC ].

Fight crime with The Crime Stoppers Club every month in New York City -- you can follow them here on Facebook!