I'm a bit late with this, it somehow escaped me until last night, but the fine folks at Giant Robot need your help. Peggy Burns at D&Q already made a better case than I could as to why you might want to do this, so I'll simply direct you to her if you need reasons to help. I wholeheartedly concur with everything she wrote. 

Robert Williams:
Conceptual Realism in the Service of the Hypothetical
February 20 - April 3, 2010

Cal State University Northridge

Neilalien has posted a great Doctor Strange-themed rock poster done by Greg Irons in 1967. (Link via Comics Reporter.)

So, Tuesday nights are band practice. We get together in a seedy old building in Seattle's Ballard district, an old theater of some kind that's been subdivided into a bunch of nonsensical, Winchester Mystery House-style rooms and stairways. The Grunge Era lives on here, where garbage bags filled with empty beer cans are piled in the main "lobby" about ten feet high by at least as wide. The cavernous, pitch black hallways that lead to the restroom can make you feel like you're in an indoor version of "The Blair Witch Project". The bathroom stall is splattered with red paint for dramatic effect. You need a lighter or iPhone to light the way. Walls are routinely tagged, there's new stuff on them almost every week. Imagine my surprise last night when I came upon these faces staring me down in one of the hallways:

Very creepy. I was afraid that Dave Sim was going to come through a door and rape me for not being more manly. I ran back to our room and locked it. We might need to explore a new practice venue. 

I've linked to these jumbles a zillion times, but can't get enough. And now Jeremy Eaton is posting a new one every day. Doctor Doofus!

Legendary Master of Macabre Cartoonist Gahan Wilson Appears at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday, February 13! 

February 2, 2010 - Seattle, WA. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is pleased to host a rare appearance by the incomparable Gahan Wilson. Best known for his grotesque gag cartoons commenting on contemporary culture, the revered artist commemorates the publication of GAHAN WILSON: Fifty Years of Playboy Cartoons with an exhibition of original art and book signing on Saturday, December 13 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.

Gahan Wilson's singular aesthetic with decidedly low brow sensibilities has roots in his adolescent exposure to lurid horror comic books and pulp magazines. ''I was a creepy little kid," Wilson recalls. "I did the whole comic book thing, and then I discovered Weird Tales — instantly homed right in on that around high school, and just loved it." His early illustrations found their way to the pages of the pulps and were later published in prestigious periodicals like Collier's, The New Yorker, and Playboy.

His delightfully demented sense of humor is celebrated in GAHAN WILSON: Fifty Years of Playboy Cartoons, an exquisite 3-volume slipcase edition from Fantagraphics Books that includes over 1,000 comics and illustrations by the acknowledged master of the macabre as well as all of Wilson's prose fiction in Playboy. Don't miss this rare opportunity to meet an American original, one week short of his 80th birthday.

Also on display on February 13 for one night only is a recently completed sculpted portrait of comix legend R. Crumb by Seattle artist Michael Leavitt (pictured below). Commissioned for a private out-of-state collection, this will provide the only opportunity to view the fully articulated wood carved figure — the latest addition to Leavitt's ongoing "Art Army" series.

The reception on Saturday February 13 coincides with the colorful Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts presentations throughout the neighborhood, just in time for Valentine's Day. What better place for art mavens of all ages to observe this romantic occasion than in the enchanting industrial arts quarter of Georgetown.

Listing Information:

Gahan Wilson: Fifty Years of Playboy Cartoons

Saturday, February 13, 6:00 - 9:00 PM

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery

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

ALSO: Be sure to tune in to KUOW 94.9's "Weekday" show from 9AM to 10AM,  on Friday, Feb. 12th, when Gahan will be talking to host Steve Scher about the event and his legendary career.

First day of Angouleme, and Crumb covers the French paper, Libération. 

Marc Maron is an absolutely brilliant comic talent who hosted the morning show on the ill-fated Air America radio network, and I guess he enjoyed that gig so much he's created the WTF podcast to continue to scratch that itch. His latest episode features the always-funny Peter Bagge, taped while Marc was recently doing a set of comedy gigs in Seattle. For some reason, Marc thought it would also be a good reason to have me on, too. The show was recorded at the Fantagraphics Bookstore, and we had a good time doing it. Thanks, Marc! Check out Marc's archives, too, the show is fantastic. 

... Sophie Crumb has an art blog.

Marketing Meeting, FBI HQ, 1.19.10