Yes, Budapest!

The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008 features 148 contributors from 23 countries on five continents, and on Thursday, November 29th, the book will be celebrated at the Petőfi Literary Museum!

Join contributor Márton Koppány for a discussion about the book at 5:00 PM. It's sure to be a very special event!

Viva Las Vegas! 2012 ain't over yet, and we're not done celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Love and Rockets!

Join Jaime & Gilbert Hernandez in Sin City on Saturday, December 1st at Alternate Reality Comics. The signing runs from 3:00 to 6:00 PM, and don't take a gamble and get there late -- they'll have a special, limited edition commemorative print for sale for only $15.00! (Limited to only 75 copies!)

As if that weren't inticing enough, all Love and Rockets comics and graphic novels will be 20% off! Complete your collections! Buy holiday gifts for your stupid friends who don't already own these landmark comics!

Complimentary beverages and snacks will be served. Alternate Reality Comics is located at 4110 S. Maryland Pkwy. #8, at the Maryland Pkwy & Flamingo intersection, behind Long John Silver's, arrr.

Turkey smurkey. It's a holiday weekend -- put down that comic book, get off the couch, and come buy more comic books!

Thursday, November 22nd

• Salvador, Brazil: Max launched his retrospective exhibition, Panóptica, at the Instituto Cervantes de Salvador! Check out the FLOG for pics and reports from previous stops on this exhibit's tour! (more info) 

Friday, November 23rd

• Seattle, WA: The Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery has extended our exhibit for Noah Van Sciver's The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln and Frank M. Young & David Lasky's The Carter Family: Don’t Forget This Song to today! Beat the stampedes this Black Friday, and support independent shops! (more info) 

• Vancouver, BC: It's a Horror Hangover thanks to Robin McConnell of Inkstuds with this group show featuring Fantagraphics' staffers Jason T. Miles and Jen Vaughn, Mome veterans Malachi Ward and Jim Rugg! Plus, check out that poster illustration from Al Columbia! (more info)   

Saturday, November 24th

• Seattle, WA: Join us at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery for the book release party for The Last Vispo Anthology, edited by Northwest literary artists Nico Vassilakis and Crag Hill.  Their work will be feted with an exhibition, readings, and a musical performance from Lori Goldston (former Nirvana and Earth cellist, and recent Stranger “Genius Award” recipient) performing with former Black Cat Orchestra bandmate Kyle Hanson. (more info) 

• St. Petersburg, FL: Meanwhile, the Eve N Odd Gallery will be hosting a launch party for The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008, as well, with prints from the book on display! (more info)

• Vancouver, BC: You'll be horrified if you miss the last day of Horror Hangover, hangin' at the Hot Art Wet City's Pop-Up Gallery! (more info)

Sunday, November 25th

• Vancouver, BC: And the celebration continues for The Last Vispo Anthology at the STAG (Strathcona Art Gallery) Library with unscheduled pop-up readings and performances by: Jim Andrews (Vancouver), Judith Copithorne (Vancouver), Crag Hill (Idaho), Donato Mancini (Vancouver), Gustave Morin (Windsor), Michael V. Smith (Kelowna), Nico Vassilakis (Seattle) and possibly more! (more info)

As Jen mentioned earlier this week on the FLOG, the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery recently launched an exhibit spotlighting two graphic novels that bring history to life: Noah Van Sciver's The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln and David Lasky's The Carter Family: Don’t Forget This Song! It was originally scheduled to run through today, but Larry now tells me that on Friday, November 23rd, the exhibit will be, well, history, so check it out while you still can!

If you missed our opening reception, then dang it, you missed a truly awesome time. The great Jim Woodring was droppin' some science, although Marketing Director Mike Baehr seems dubious. Local cartoonist Tim Miller pledged his undying love to Noah. (Just kidding about all of that; I have no idea what was going on...)

I also have no idea what's going on in this awesome photo Lasky took of me, Mike, and local cartoonist (and Short Run Small Press Fest organizer) Kelly Froh. But it makes me laugh.

[ Check out more of David's photos at his Flickr page here! ]

David and Noah's exhibit of original artwork will be on display through this Friday, November 23rd, so stop by -- you'll be thankful you did! We even still have a few signed copies left of each title.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street in Seattle's Georgetown district. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. CLOSED on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, but OPEN AS HELL on Friday, November 23rd. Phone: (206) 658-0110.

This Sunday, November 25th, the STAG (Strathcona Art Gallery) Library in Vancouver, BC will host a book launch party for The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008, edited by Nico Vassilakis and Crag Hill.

Running throughout the evening from 7:00 - 10:00 PM, there will be unscheduled pop-up readings and performances by: Jim Andrews (Vancouver), Judith Copithorne (Vancouver), Crag Hill (Idaho), Donato Mancini (Vancouver), Gustave Morin (Windsor), Michael V. Smith (Kelowna), Nico Vassilakis (Seattle) and possibly more.

The launch will also feature a window installation of visual poetry by Gustave Morin, and an exhibition of prints drawn from The Last Vispo.

The STAG (Strathcona Art Gallery) Library is located at 826 East Pender Street, Vancouver. BYOB, BC!

Who says Halloween is the scariest holiday? When you can't bear the sight of dirty dishes and leftovers, when the parents have worn your last nerve, or when you can't seem to button your jeans anymore, it's time to head to the Horror Hangover in Vancouver, BC!

(Yeah, I know Canadians celebrated Thanksgiving in October -- it's been a helluva hangover.)

This group show was curated by Robin McConnell of Inkstuds, who explains, "Horror Hangover is a chance for cartoonists to work on some conceptual ideas for visions of times mostly terrible, some exhausting, with a couple of positive examples." Sounds perfect for the holidays to me!

Not only does the show feature Fantagraphics' staffers Jason T. Miles and Jen Vaughn, but you can also find work from Mome veterans Malachi Ward and Jim Rugg! Plus, check out that poster illustration from Al Columbia!

The opening reception is this Friday, November 23rd, from 7:00 to 11:00 PM, and your last chance to see it is on Saturday, November 24th from Noon to 6:00 PM. Hot Art Wet City's Pop-Up Gallery is located at 752 E. Broadway. 

This Saturday, November 24th, the Eve N Odd Gallery hosts a launch party for The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008!

The event runs from 6:00 - 9:00 PM, and there will be prints on display, at the Eve N Odd Gallery, located at 645 Central Avenue #11, St. Petersburg, FL.

This Wednesday, November 21st, preserve yourself internally with some fine Elysian beer, and then get mummified! It's time for the next event in the 12 Beers of the Apocalypse series, our collaboration with Elysian Brewing Company!

This week, they'll debut "Mortis," a Sour Persimmon Ale, available on draft, and in exclusive 22 oz. bottles with labels featuring the artwork of the great Charles Burns from his weirdly apocalyptic Black Hole series.

The official tapping begins at 4:00 PM, followed by a survival demo by Bryan & co. at 5:30 PM, and then from 4:00 to 7:00 PM, you have the opportunity to "get mummified."  

Come by and collect the next stamp in your Apocalypse Beer Survival Guide. Fill your book with survival item stamps at our Apocalypse events throughout the year for an outstanding experience at our final End of the World Celebration on 12.20.12! 

The Elysian Brewing Company is located at 1221 E. Pike Street in Seattle. Can you believe the end is almost here? And the end is BEER!

Party in the city where the heat is on.
All night on the beach til the break of dawn
Welcome to Miami (bienvenido a Miami)

Ain't no party like a Miami Book Fair International party, which kicked off this past Sunday, November 11th. Yes, they party all week long when it comes to books! And, things get even hotter this weekend as our Fantagraphics artists take the scene for the Graphic Novel programming!

Saturday, November 17th

This past Saturday, the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery was proud to co-present an event at the Seattle Public Library Central Branch as Ellen Forney debuted her brand-new graphic memoir, Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, & Me, out now on Penguin Books' Gotham imprint. Thank you to everyone who came out!

Comics readers are more good-looking that regular readers.

No surprise to anyone, Ellen gave a fantastic, and brave, performance. Marbles is her graphic memoir about being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She told the audience that she had hid this from her friends when she first found out, so for Ellen to talk about it years later in front of a packed auditorium filled with strangers was truly inspiring!

Ellen had "Club Van Gogh" membership cards printed up for us to hand-out! (We still have some at the store, if you missed out.) Alas, it does not get you free miles on Alaska Airlines flights, despite what Larry might have told you!

Speaking of Larry, his introduction for Ellen was especially sweet. He reminisced about the days when he was the PR Director for Fantagraphics, and Ellen came to the office saying she wanted to be a cartoonist!

After her amazing presentation, Ellen headed out to the lobby of the Seattle Public Library to sign books...

...the line wrapped around the corner!

Local artists David Lasky and Greg Stump stopped by, seen here with the lovely Leeann Bowen! Megan Kelso was also in the audience, but I didn't manage to get a snap of her.

Back in the now-empty auditorium, Larry chatted with local arts activist Cathy Hillenbrand, who will surely enjoy her new copy of I Love Led Zeppelin!

Thank you so much to the wonderful staff of the Seattle Public Library, who are always a joy to work with!  And thanks again to everyone who made it out for the event. There are more camera-phone-snaps of the event at the Fantagraphics Flickr page!

If you couldn't make it, Larry will have signed (yes!) copies of Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, & Me at the store later this week. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street in Seattle's Georgetown district. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone: (206) 658-0110.