Howard Stern can't shut up about Drew Friedman! From yesterday's show. Starts after about 1:30 of setup. Nice mention of Al Jaffee too. (YouTube link.)

Charles Burns was among a trio of gifted cartoonists to emerge from The Evergreen State College in the mid-1970s. Together, Burns and fellow Evergreen alumni Matt Groening and Lynda Barry altered the course of contemporary comix and left an indelible mark on regional culture. Burns makes a rare return visit to his native Seattle on Saturday, October 30 to celebrate the publication of his amazing new graphic novel X'ED OUT with a slide talk, art exhibition, and book signing at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. His idiosyncratic horror-story sensibility is perfect for the Halloween-eve occasion.

Burns began his career as a fine artist in Seattle while publishing illustrations and his "Big Baby" cartoon in The Rocket magazine, developing his signature stark-contrast rendering style. Burns also composed covers for Bruce Pavitt's seminal Sub Pop cassette fanzine, the forerunner to the celebrated record label. On a visit to New York, Burns came to the attention of cartoonist Art Spiegelman, who subsequently published his work in the influential anthology RAW. The rest, as they say, is history. Spiegelman published the collected BIG BABY on his RAW imprint, and Seattle-based publisher Fantagraphics Books produced his influential BLACK HOLE serial, as well as graphic albums SKIN DEEP and EL BORBAH (in addition to reprinting BIG BABY.)

X'ED OUT continues the artist's examination of the furtive insecurities of adolescence becoming manifested in bizarre and horrific consequences. In a departure from Burns' prior work, the current graphic novel is presented in full color.

The reception at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, located at 1201 S. Vale Street, will feature a brief slide talk and book signing. An exhibition of recent fine art prints will be complemented by Burns' original drawings and related Sub Pop ephemera courtesy of label co-founder Bruce Pavitt.

Please join us to celebrate the lasting legacy of Charles Burns on Seattle's civic culture and the debut of his graphic novel X'ED OUT on Saturday, October 30 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Spooky Halloween costumes are welcome but not required. All ages, free admission.

Listing Information

CHARLES BURNS: X'ED OUT
Slide Talk, Print Exhibition and Book Signing
Saturday, October 30, 6:00 to 9:00 PM

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street, Seattle, WA 98108
206.658.0110
Open Daily 11:30 - 8:00 PM, Sunday until 5:00 PM

Thanks to The Daily Cartoonist for reporting this: CBS recently re-presented the 1999 60 Minutes segment on Sparky and Peanuts in commemoration of the strip's 60th anniversary, available to view online embedded above or in higher-def here.

ALTERNATIVE PRESS EXPO 2009 from chris anthony diaz on Vimeo.

From über-fan Chris Diaz comes this all-star montage of clips filmed at last year's Alternative Press Expo, just in time for this year's show! Among others you'll see Dash Shaw, Frank Santoro & Jon Vermilyea showing off Mome Vol. 16 at our table, Esther Pearl Watson & Mark Todd at their Funchicken setup, and our very own expo expert extraordinaire Janice Headley rocking her Jad Fair glasses.

We'll see you in San Francisco in a couple of days! Get all our APE info here.

Jim Flora doyen Irwin Chusid writes:

"JimFlora.com is offering an open edition fine art print entitled Night-Sky Moonswinger. The image of an overalls-clad boy on a rope swing strung from the moon originally appeared on the back dust jacket of Pishtosh Bullwash and Wimple, Flora's 12th children's book, published in 1972 by Atheneum."

As a lad I would have liked having this on my wall. Click on for more details and purchasing info.

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Love and Rocktober" continues with Sean T. Collins at Attentiondeficitdisorderly: "...[T]he comics in Penny Century look less dense and read that way, too. Maggie and Hopey seem to have settled down, somewhat — no longer careening from adventure to adventure or disaster to disaster, still involved in the lives and schemes of their eccentric friends but no longer completely swept up by them, still romantically (or at least sexually) entangled with one another but not to the all-or-nothing extremes of the past."

• Review: "Released at last, Blake Bell's biography [Fire & Water] devoted to Bill Everett... helps correct an injustice: Giving an author whose importance and personality are not recognized at their fair values a shot at the spotlight. [...] This is not a book that exhausts, by itself, Everett as a subject. But the book is moving (without falling into whining), documented and rich as Blake Bell restores a lot of truths about an author who did not 'merely' create Sub-Mariner and Daredevil." – Xavier Fournier, Comic Box [translated from French]

• Plug: "Wow, does this ever look good: Destroy All Movies!!!: The Complete Guide to Punks on Film, coming soon from Fantagraphics. Somehow this book completely evaded my radar, which is unforgivable of me." – Sean T. Collins, Attentiondeficitdisorderly

The Late Live Show - Ep 102 - Paul Hornschemeier & David McMillin from The Late Live Show on Vimeo.

As Paul (who has returned to the online world from a short hiatus after such real-life activities as getting married and moving... whatever, dude) describes it on his blog, "...you can hear me discuss the origins of my comics as a cum-rag, debate the muse of gay mummies, and perform rather poorly in a game of 'Win, Lose, or Draw.' I take the stage around the twenty minute mark, but roughly half the references I make are about bits from earlier in the show, so I wouldn't recommend skipping it (and I'd recommend watching it mainly because it's twenty minutes of solid comedy from a bunch of talented young comedians)."

We nearly missed these photos of Dash Shaw taken by Seth Kushner (who shot the portraits of Gahan Wilson featured on 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons for us) for L'Uomo Vogue last summer. Oo la la! (Thanks to our own Jacob Covey for the tip.)

• Review: "I like the part where he knocks his eyeball out." – Grace & Cate Miner (ages 7 & 5 respectively) review Set to Sea by Drew Weing [YouTube link]

(On his blog, Drew notes: "I don’t actually endorse Set to Sea as a book suitable for kids, but this is an adorable/hilarious/surprisingly sophisticated take.")

A major exhibit by past and present faculty and alumni of the School of Visual arts, "Ink Plots: The Tradition of the Graphic Novel at SVA" is on now in the school's Visual Arts Gallery and will have an opening reception tomorrow evening 5:30-7:00 PM to be followed by a benefit cocktail party. On November 4 at 7 PM, participating artist Dash Shaw presents a Distinguished Alumnus Lecture at the SVA Theatre. More info on all events at the links.