The editors of The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008 will converge upon Bothell on Saturday, September 29th for the "Convergence on Poetics" conference!

Join Nico Vassilakis & Crag Hill at the North Creek Events Center at the University of Washington Bothell [ Campus Way NE ] as they perform a collaged reading of essays at 3:00 PM.

Convergence on Poetics queries the current understanding and practice of poetics within writing communities and the academy. The conference consists of keynote panels, poetics postings, and author performances. All events will be scheduled singularly, so that a conversation of the whole can address, in the words of George Oppen, “the meaning / Of being numerous.”

The conference runs from September 27th through 30th, and you can read more about it here. There is no fee for attending, but registration is required, so click here to make it happen!

Due to popular demand, our author Pat Thomas is bringing Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975 back to London this fall!

Join Pat on Monday, October 15th at the Institute of International Visual Arts, or INIVA, in London. Starting at 6:30 PM, he'll be giving his raved-about presentation, followed by a book signing.

INIVA is located at 1 Rivington Place. This event is sponsored by the University of East London.

Join Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez for a free event at the Philadelphia Free Library! (So much better than the Philadelphia Expensive Library...)

Yes, the Love & Rockets 30th Anniversary Tour rolls on into the library's Montgomery Auditorium on Wednesday, September 19th! Join the Bros for a presentation at 7:30 PM, followed by a Q&A session. After the talk, fans and friends can get their books signed in the Library Lobby from 8:30-10:30 PM.

Note: there is a limit of 5 signed books per person!

The Philadelphia Free Library is located at 1901 Vine Street, between 19th and 20th Streets on the Parkway.

Justin Hall, our wonderful editor of No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics, is just one of many, many guests participating in the Escapist Comics Small Press Fest this week.

On Friday, September 21st and Saturday, September 22nd, there will be live readings and a Q&A, artwork projections, and even musical guests, all gathered to showcase underground comics in the Bay Area! The fun starts at 5:00 PM on both days, so don't be late!

The Escapist Comic Bookstore is located at 3090 Claremont Ave. in Berkeley.

And we mean that in the nicest way!

Peter Bagge will be the guest of honor at GRAPHIC 2012 in Sydney, Australia! Join Pete on Sunday, November 11th for an in-depth insight into his darkly comic and hysterical semi-autobiographical work. He'll be discussing Hate and other Neat Stuff starting at 7:30 PM at the famous Sydney Opera House. Aussies, do not miss this rare opportunity to see Pete speak in person!

Tickets for this event go on sale today, Monday, September 17th -- or, err, yesterday, since Australia is in the future! The Sydney Opera House is located at 2 Macquarie Street in Sydney, Australia. If you live in Sydney, I can't possibly imagine you'll have a hard time finding it.

Tuesday, September 18th

• Baltimore, MD: Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez continue the Love & Rockets 30th Anniversary celebration at Atomic Books at 7:00 PM!  (more info)

Wednesday, September 19th

• Philadelphia, PA: The Philadelphia Free Library proudly hosts Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez for a presentation in the Free Library's Montgomery Auditorium, followed by a Q&A session. After the talk, fans and friends can get their Love & Rockets books signed in the Library Lobby from 8:30-10:30 PM. (more info)

Friday, September 21st

• Seattle, WA: Our friends at the Elysian Brewing Company debut "Blight," the latest from our 12 Beers of the Apocalypse collaboration, featuring artwork by Charles Burns from his weirdly apocalyptic Black Hole series! (more info) 

• Brooklyn, NY: Friday nights may never be the same especially when the avid fans of punk, Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez, bring the house down at The Rock Shop starting at 7:30 PM. (more info)

Saturday, September 22nd

• Brooklyn, NY: Join The Comics Crowd at Bergen Street Comics for an evening of comics readings and panel projections from Michael Kupperman, Gabrielle Bell, Julia Wertz (Drinking at the Movies), Bob Sikoryak (Masterpiece Comics), Lauren Weinstein (Girl Stories), Lisa Hanawalt (I Want You), and Aaron Diaz (The Tomorrow Girl). (more info)

Sunday, September 23rd 

• Brooklyn, NY: The Love & Rockets East Coast Tour will end with a stop at the Brooklyn Book Festival. Gilbert Hernandez will join many other creators on "The Sex Panel: Taboo in Pictures," featuring obscenity, art and the area between the two. Meanwhile, Jaime Hernandez stars on a panel called "Worlds Built Over Time: Panel to Page, Book to Series" on world building and character development in the long term. Book signings will follow each panel discussion. (more info)

How do those boys not have carpal tunnel syndrome by now?! 

Following an action-packed Ignatz-carrying appearance at the 2012 Small Press Expo this past weekend, Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez will continue the Love & Rockets 30th Anniversary celebration at Atomic Books on Tuesday, September 18th at 7:00 PM! 

Love and Rockets: New Stories #5 features a letter from Atomic Books' Ringmistress, Rachel Whang, who will also be available for signing.

This all-ages event is FREE and open to the public! Atomic Books is located at 3620 Falls Road in Baltimore, MD. 

And stay tuned as the Bros continue their 30th Anniversary Tour down the east coast this week!

photo courtesy of KVAL.com

Happiness is an art exhibit honoring the work of Charles M. Schulz, and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon in Eugene, OR has just that!

Exhibition curator Ben Saunders has chosen 25 originals spanning all five decades of PEANUTS that he hopes will allow the viewer to take in the origins, maturation, and final years of this great American masterwork.  

Our own Gary Groth will make a visit on Thursday, November 8th to discuss the importance of Charles Schulz's work within the larger tradition of newspaper strip comics. This event begins at 5:30 PM, and is co-sponsored by the UO School of Journalism.

And on Tuesday, October 23rd at 5:30 PM, Saunders interviews Jan Eliot about her experiences with Charles Schulz and her own career as the artist of the nationally successful newspaper strip "Stone Soup."

Don't be a blockhead and miss this exhibit! GOOD GRIEF! Original Art from 50 Years of Charles M. Schulz's PEANUTS runs through December 1, 2012. The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located in Eugene, Oregon on the western side of the University of Oregon campus next to the Knight Library.

Join Fantagraphics this weekend for the 2012 Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland! On September 15th & 16th, we'll be filling the Marriott Betheseda Conference Center with some dazzling debuts, panels, and signings! Come meet your favorite artists and get your books signed:

Saturday, September 15th
11:30-1:00 PM     Lilli Carré // Noah Van Sciver
1:00 - 2:00 PM    Daniel Clowes // Phillip Nel
2:00 - 3:00 PM    Mark Newgarden
2:00 - 3:30 PM    Steven Weissman // Chris Wright
3:30 - 4:30 PM    Kevin Huizenga // Rich Tommaso
4:30 - 6:30 PM    Gilbert Hernandez // Jaime Hernandez

Sunday, September 16th
12:00-1:00 PM    Lilli Carré // Steven Weissman
1:00 - 2:00 PM    Gilbert Hernandez // Jaime Hernandez
2:00 - 3:00 PM    Phillip Nel // Rich Tommaso
3:00 - 4:00 PM    Chris Wright
3:30 - 4:30 PM    Noah Van Sciver
4:00 - 5:00 PM    Kevin Huizenga
5:00 - 6:00 PM    Gilbert Hernandez // Jaime Hernandez

Fantagraphics will be located at tables W40-W44, as seen in the map excerpt below! For a larger version of the complete floor map, please click here.

It's mind-boggling how many debuts we're bringing -- and many of these books won't be in stores until October or November! Check out more details here.

• 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 

• Blacklung by Chris Wright
• Came the Dawn and Other Stories (The EC Comics Library) illustrated by Wallace Wood; written by Al Feldstein et al.; edited by Gary Groth 

• The Cartoon Utopia by Ron Rege, Jr. 
• Corpse on the Imjin! and Other Stories (The EC Comics Library) by Harvey Kurtzman, et al.; edited by Gary Groth
• Naked Cartoonists: Drawers Drawing Themselves Without Drawers by Various Artists; edited by Gary Groth

• Heads or Tails by Lilli Carré 
• 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

• Prison Pit: Book 4 by Johnny Ryan 
• Ralph Azham Vol. 1: Why Would You Lie to Someone You Love? by Lewis Trondheim 
• 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 

And click here to see a schedule of programming featuring our fantastic Fantagraphics artists!

It's gonna be an incredible year! See you at SPX!

The Brooklyn Book Festival is coming up, and our own Michael Kupperman has organized a "bookend" event to kick things off with hilarity! Join The Comics Crowd on Saturday, September 22nd for an evening of comics readings and panel projections!

Mr. Kupperman will be joined by an all-star cast, including Gabrielle Bell, Julia Wertz (Drinking at the Movies), Bob Sikoryak (Masterpiece Comics), Lauren Weinstein (Girl Stories), Lisa Hanawalt (I Want You), and Aaron Diaz (The Tomorrow Girl).

The crowd will gather at 8:00 PM at Bergen Street Comics [ 470 Bergen Street, between Flatbush & 5th Avenues ]. Festivities are free and open to the public! Don't miss it!