Tuesday, October 9th

• Portland, OR: Dr. David Seaman will deliver the lecture "From the First Vis Po Anthology (BC—Before Christ) to the Last Vis Po Anthology (AA—After Apple)" at Gallery 214 on the campus of the Pacific Northwest College of Art. They are currently hosting an exhibit featuring work from The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008! (more info)

• San Francisco, CA:  Daniel Clowes and Dave Eggers take the stage at Litquake, San Francisco's annual literary festival! The two will discuss the vagaries of the creative process, their favorite comics, books, and movies, and anything else that might come up. (more info)

Wednesday, October 10th

• Seattle, WA: It's your last chance to view our Gary Panter exhibit at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery! Stop by to see this astounding original artwork in person! (more info)

Friday, October 12th

• Columbus, OH: Poet John M. Bennett will be celebrating his 70th birthday and the release of  The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008 at the It Looks Like It’s Open Gallery! (more info)

Saturday, October 13th

• Seattle, WA: Our latest exhibit The Horror: from the EC Comics Library debuts at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery! Our own Mike Catron will present a short slideshow presentation, and we'll have musical entertainment from Swedish-born, Berlin-based recording artist Molly Nilsson. (more info)

• San Francisco, CA: Join us for the opening reception of Love and Rockets: A 30th Anniversary Celebration at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, CA with special guests Jaime, Gilbert and Mario Hernandez! This career-spanning retrospective exhibition will include more than 50 pieces of original artwork from their groundbreaking comic. (more info) 

• San Francisco, CA: Go bananas with us at APE: the Alternative Press Expo, with special guests Jaime, Gilbert and Mario Hernandez, Jim Woodring, Mark Kalesniko, Justin Hall, and Shannon Wheeler! (more info)

Sunday, October 14th

San Francisco, CA: It's your last day to see us at APE: the Alternative Press Expo! (more info)

We're going ape-shit for APE: the Alternative Press Expo!  Join us this Saturday, October 13th and Sunday, October 14th at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco, CA!

As we reported back in February, we're bringing special guests Jaime, Gilbert and Mario Hernandez, continuing their Love and Rockets 30th Anniversary Tour, and the one and only Jim Woodring!

Well, we're also excited to announce that we'll be joined by Mark Kalesniko, Justin Hall, and Shannon Wheeler! Come meet these fine gentlemen of cartooning!

Saturday, October 13th
12:00-1:30 PM     Mark Kalesniko
12:00 - 1:00 PM   Shannon Wheeler
1:30 - 3:30 PM    Jim Woodring
3:30 - 5:30 PM    Gilbert Hernandez // Jaime Hernandez //  Mario Hernandez
5:30 - 6:30 PM    Justin Hall // Mark Kalesniko

Sunday, October 14th
12:00-1:00 PM    Justin Hall // Mark Kalesniko
1:00 - 2:30 PM    Gilbert Hernandez // Jaime Hernandez //  Mario Hernandez
2:30 - 3:30 PM    Jim Woodring // Shannon Wheeler
4:00 - 5:00 PM    Gilbert Hernandez // Jaime Hernandez //  Mario Hernandez
5:00 - 6:00 PM    Jim Woodring // Mark Kalesniko

We'll also be carrying the following fine debuts:

• The Lost Art of Ah Pook Is Here: Images from the Graphic Novel by Malcolm McNeill
• Observed While Falling: Bill Burroughs, Ah Pook, and Me by Malcolm McNeill
• Barack Hussein Obama by Steven Weissman

• The Cartoon Utopia by Ron Rege, Jr. 
• The Hypo by Noah Van Sciver 
• Is That All There Is? by Joost Swarte [softcover & hardcover 2nd edition debut] 
• Love and Rockets: New Stories #5 by Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez

• Ralph Azham Vol. 1: Why Would You Lie to Someone You Love? by Lewis Trondheim 
• Tales Designed to Thrizzle #8 by Michael Kupperman
• Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Vol. 4: House of the Seven Haunts by Floyd Gottfredson 
• You'll Never Know Book 3: Soldier's Heart by C. Tyler
• Your Vigor for Life Appalls Me: Robert Crumb Letters 1958-1977 by Robert Crumb; edited by Ilse Thompson

Saturday, October 13th

• 2:45 PM // Queer Cartoonists Panel: LGBT comics, with a storied history of over four decades, have never been more vibrant. A true renaissance of queer stories is taking place, as they begin to take their rightful place in the comics world and fans increasingly demand more material that speaks to them and represents the genuine diversity in which we all live. It's all happening at the ninth annual APE Queer Cartoonists Panel, with talented, fabulous, and uppity panelists Tara Madison Avery (Dirtheads, Gooch), Tony Breed (Finn and Charlie Are Hitched), Dylan Edwards (Transposes), Steve MacIsaac (Shirtlifter), and Leia Weathington (The Legend of Bold Riley), with moderator Justin Hall (No Straight Lines, Glamazonia). On top of all that, at the end of the panel the recipient of the Prism Comics Queer Press Grant 2012 will be announced.

• 4:45 PM // Using Childhood Experiences to Create Adult Stories: The experiences from our youth are often those that have the biggest impact on the adults we grow up to be, but how do we share those stories with others? Miriam Libicki (jobnik!), Jim Woodring (Jim, Weathercraft), Kraig Rasmussen (monkeygong.com), and Derek Kirk Kim (Tune, Same Difference) explain how they molded their childhood memories into stories aimed at adults. Moderated by the Cartoon Art Museum's Andrew Farago.

• 5:45 PM // Spotlight on the Hernandez Brothers: 30 Years of Love and Rockets: The creators of the acclaimed Love and Rockets discuss the trials, tribulations, and joy that go into writing and drawing a series for over 30 years! Jaime, Gilbert and Mario Hernandez, talk to Andrew Farago (Cartoon Art Museum) about their three decades on one of comics' most popular and acclaimed indie series.

Sunday, October 14th

• 2:30 PM // "Gigantes" Walk Among Us!: Almost 100 years of cartooning takes the stage as APE special guests Jaime, Gilbert and Mario Hernandez of Love and Rockets fame join legendary MAD cartoonist Sergio Aragonés to discuss how their Latino/Hispanic experiences contributed to their amazing comic art. Join moderator Ricardo Padilla (Latino Comics Expo) as we celebrate these unique creators of this American artform.

• 3:45 PM // Spotlight on Jim Woodring: APE special guest Jim Woodring, the creator of the wordless Frank comics, waxes eloquent about his influences, motivations, and career experiences in "Please Stand By," a 45-minute narrated slide and video presentation followed by a 15-minute Q&A session. Topics include Woodring's animation studio work with Jack Kirby and Gil Kane, and the cartoon that irreversibly changed his life. If you have ever wondered what drives his enigmatic work, this is your chance to get the inside dope.

Marketing Director Mike Baehr and I can't wait to see you! Just swing by our usual spot at APE, tables 112-115! (Right by our good friends Jim Blanchard and J.R. Williams at table 116!)

Cartoonist Jem Eaton is messing with our minds in a creepy way! With his Cartoon Jumbles, Eaton is mashing up all of the best comic characters for an upcoming APOPALYPTIC AMERICA show as we mentioned before but this time, its personal. Jim Woodring personal!

To quote Jem, "Woodring’s enigmatic Frank is reborn into the boneyard skin of EC Comics’ The Crypt Keeper, the transcendent meeting the corporal, the material decay of the parochial burial tradition finding itself at odds with the ephemeral grace of the Unifactor, where the notion of 'end' and 'beginning' walk arm-in-arm along fate’s mystical path, lost to each other’s definition, the terror of the Christian resting place illuminated in its absence, the Keeper’s haunted visage set upon his accompanying jiva, itself bound to the skeletal vocabulary of the golgotha, Frank’s animated stride now the dutiful march of the gravedigger’s parade, the earth’s bosom rupturing the toils of his collected trade, the minions of his progressive existence on display, momentary artifacts of entropy’s ever-racing beauty."

The APOPALYPTIC AMERICA exhibit in Seattle, Saturday the 13th, 6-9pm, at One Night Stand Gallery, 6004 12th Ave South, Suite 13A. You can head over there after stopping by the Fantagraphics Store for the THE HORROR: From the EC Comics Library. since it it located in the building RIGHT above the Fantagraphics Store! It's bound to be a frightful night in Georgetown and Seattle!

Our local gals Ellen Forney and Megan Kelso are heading to New Smyrna Beach, Florida for a Graphic Novel Residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts!

While in town, and when not engaging in some Spring Break-style shenanigans, they'll be giving some "Illustrated Talks" that are free and open to the public!

Megan Kelso will be speaking on Monday, October 15th at the University of Central Florida [ Math and Physics Bldg, Room 206, Orlando ], and Ellen Forney will hold court on Thursday, October 18th at the Deltona Library Auditorium [ 2150 Eustace Avenue, Deltona ]. Both events start at 7:30 PM, and both nights will feature a reading from the artists, followed by a Q&A and book signing! Tell 'em we say hi!

Buried in one of the longest threads on TCJ (this year), our commander-at-the-helm Gary Groth released the list of stories to be included in our fourth Carl Barks Library publication. Currently, it clocks in around 240 pages, full-color splendor and as always, a perfect gift book for Disney fans

The next Barks book will be titled “The Old Castle’s Secret” and will contain the following stories:

“The Old Castle’s Secret” (natch)
“In Darkest Africa”
“Wintertime Wager”
“Watching the Watchman”
“Wired”
“Going Ape”
“Spoil The Rod”
“Bird Watching”
“Horseshoe Luck”
“Bean Taken”
“Rocket Race to the Moon”
“Donald of the Coast Guard”
“Gladstone Returns”
“Links Hijinks”
“Sorry to be Safe”
“Sheriff of Bullet Valley”
“Best Laid Plans”
“The Genuine Article”
“Pearls of Wisdom”
“Foxy Relations”
“Wintertime Wager” first appearance of Gladstone Gander
“Watching the Watchman”
“Going Ape”
“Spoil The Rod” helloooo Pulpheart Clabberhead
“Donald of the Coast Guard”
“Pearls of Wisdom”
“Foxy Relations”  

Good on Hugh Armitage at Digital Spy and some other intrepid journalists and bloggers for noticing. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, we've still got all winter to enjoy Walt Disney's Donald Duck: A Christmas for Shacktown.

The Psychedelic Furs dropped by Fantagraphics Bookstore on Saturday to stock up on records and comix ahead of their set at the Showbox. It was amusing to hear Chicago-born saxophonist Mars Williams, a Krazy Kat enthusiast, attempt to explain the decidedly American brickbat humor of the strip to his British bandmates. Mars graciously agreed to a photo op next to Krazy Kat book designer and fellow Chicagoan Chris Ware's Building Stories display. Thanks to the band for putting us on the guest list. Fun show (below).

Johnny Ryan and Monster Worship are proud fathers of these new GLOW-IN-THE-DARK figurines based on Prison Pit characters. These sweet-but-mostly-sour vinyl figures are coming out this weekend at NYCC. Now you can scare yourself at night when you stumble to the bathroom as a luminescent Cannibal Fuckface or Rottweiler Herpes (above) greets you. Want to read the fan-fucking-tastic adventures of CFF and RH? Check out Prison Pit in print or as ebooks via comiXology.

Guess what, L.A. -- horror won't be ending on Halloween night. The terror actually begins on Friday, November 2nd as Johnny Ryan unleashes the beast that is Prison Pit 4! 

Be one of the first to wrap your slorge around the highly-anticipated latest volume in Ryan's sci-fi-prison-planet-gore-fest-slugfest-a-thon serial at Meltdown Comics.

And yes, it's true: Cannibal Fuckface goes to Hollywood.

Ajax Wood IS Cannibal Fuckface // Photo credit: the amazing Jonas Seaman

We're sealing up his crate, plastering those "Caution: Dangerous Animal" stickers on the outside, and sending Cannibal Fuckface to the signing. God forgive us. Chances are, you've heard legends of his performances in Seattle, Portland, and, most certainly, San Diego. Trust us, you do not want to miss what's sure to be another incredible (and dangerous) performance.

Meltdown Comics is located at 7522 Sunset Blvd. Wear a raincoat, and thank us later.

The weekend's newest Online Commentaries & Diversions:

• Plug: The best footnote IN THE WORLD? appeared on Grantland's excerpt of Marvel Comics: The Untold Story written by Sean Howe. It refers to Marvel's idea of hiring Gary Groth. . . Look for footnote 7.

•Review: Johnny Ryan's Prison Pit: Book 4 is reviewed on Nick Gazin's Comic Book Love in #73 and Mr. Ryan himself is interviewed. . . via text. "There's no point in trying to explain Prison Pit. You can only experience it to understand it. Start buy buying all of them at once if you haven't yet. . .  It wears its intentional stupidness and violence on its sleeve while also showing off Johnny Ryan's sophisticated sense of composition and black and white ink prettiness."

• Review: Rick Klaw at RevolutionSF flips through Dungeon Quest 3 by Joe Daly ". . .rousing adventure and ass-kicking action — all staged in front of fantastic backdrops replete with strange vegetation, ancient ruins and steampunk imagery."

• Review: The School Library Journal is nuts (or ducks?) for Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge: Only a Poor, Old Man by Carl Barks. Peter Gutierrez says, "The brilliant storytelling, easy-to-read lettering, and compelling themes hidden just under the breezy exteriors are just a few of the reasons why I wish every classroom library at elementary had a volume of Barks on hand."

• Review: Rob Clough of High-Low picks up The Squirrel Machine, which is being reprinted in soft cover next spring, by the creeptacular Hans Rickheit. "Rickheit's stories tend to take place in a more upscale, reserved and even Victorian setting, which befits his delicate, sensitive line. . . Rickheit strikes at the heart of what it means to be human: connecting with other emotionally and physically, seeking to express oneself through art, investigating the world around us--in other words, to be emotionally and intellectually curious."

• Review: Chad Parenteau reviews Hans Rickheit's newer Folly on We Got Issues. "Rickheit clearly wrestles with the meaning and purpose of his work with every page he creates, as other artists do. Hans might be consider rude for speaking so out loud about it if more people hung around long enough to listen. Me, I’m so ensconced in his Underbrain, I’m taking notes." 

• Review: Comic Impact soaks up The Crackle of the Frost by Jorge Zentner and Lorenzo Mattotti.  John Mueller states, "Frost is a sharply written book that takes the reader deeper into a character’s psyche more than any other comic in recent memory. Still, as well-written as the book is, what will undoubtedly get people to pick it up is the sensational art by the acclaimed Mattotti. . . the styles of the art can jump from impressionism to expressionism, symbolism to Hopper-esque realism often within the space of just two panels."

• Review: Bookgasm  reviews The Crackle of the Frost by Jorge Zentner and Lorenzo Mattotti. JT Lindroos thinks,"THE CRACKLE OF THE FROST is realistic in a manner very few graphic novels are, pinpointing a phantasmagorical and poetic vision of human relationship in its naturally nonlinear movement. It’s also a perfect example of a work that might appeal to someone not customarily interested in comics"

 • Interview: The Chicago Tribune talks to Chris Ware about life, comics and Peanuts. "When he was a child, Ware connected deeply with Charlie Brown, he said. He remembers connecting so deeply that he sent Charlie Brown a valentine." Fitting that Fantagraphics has published work by both.

• Plug: Speaking of Charlie Brown, Robot 6 is excited about the printing of a Charles Schulz rarity in our Charlie Brown's Christmas Stocking.

photo credit: Patrick Rosenkranz

• Review (audio): The boys on the Comic Books are Burning in Hell podcast talk about nothing other than Jaime Hernandez, Gilbert Hernandez and a litthe something called Love and Rockets. Enjoy! 

• Commentary: Hannah Means on The Beat comments on the SPX Ignatz Awards. "The presence of the Hernandez brothers at SPX this year brought a great deal of energy, and often hilarity, and the Ignatz awards were no exception."

 

The Bros, circa 1982! // photo credit: Carol Kovinick Hernandez

Thirty years ago, those three badasses you see above created the most influential comic of the alternative age. This Saturday, October 13th, we raise a toast to the Hernandez Brothers!

Join us for the opening reception of Love and Rockets: A 30th Anniversary Celebration at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, CA! This career-spanning retrospective exhibition will include more than 50 pieces of original artwork from their groundbreaking comic. 

From 8:00 to 11:00 PM, there will be food and drink from local vendors, live drawing events, and, of course, Jaime, Gilbert and Mario Hernandez, in person!

Tickets On Sale Now!

Admission for the event is on a sliding scale, from $5 to $50, with guests encouraged to donate whatever they can to support the Cartoon Art Museum. Guests who donate $20 or more will receive an exclusive 30th anniversary print!

All proceeds from this reception will benefit The Cartoon Art Museum, a non-profit educational museum dedicated to the collection, preservation and display of original cartoon art in all its forms.

The Cartoon Art Museum is located at 655 Mission Street in San Francisco. Don't miss this very special event!