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!

Limber up those drawin' fingers, Chicago! October is the time of The Big Draw, a festival of informal drawing programs, all across the city, all dang month long!

And on Thursday, October 18th, the beloved cartoonist and comics scholar Ivan Brunetti will lead a FREE creative salon! Join Ivan from 4:00 to 6:00 PM as he discusses his work, both in and out of the classroom, followed by a Q&A, at EnergyBBDO offices [ 410 North Michigan Avenue ].  

Stop by after work, grab some snacks and a beer, and listen to and learn from this renowned Chicago artist. An opportunity not to be missed!

What happens when you take two guys from Chicago and shove 'em in front of an audience? Well, find out for yourself on Tuesday, October 9th when Daniel Clowes and Dave Eggers take the stage at Litquake, San Francisco's annual literary festival!

Between Dan and Dave, they have earned the titles of publisher, editor, journalist, cartoonist, philanthropist, educator, illustrator, author, screenwriter, and graphic novelist, as well as former resident of Chicago, The Windy City. The two will discuss the vagaries of the creative process, their favorite comics, books, and movies, and anything else that might come up.

The event starts at 8:00 PM, and will be held at Z Space [ 450 Florida Street ]. Tickets are $15 and are available online here.  Come find out which Chicago hot dog is better: Vienna Beef or Red Hot Chicago. 

The Last Vispo comes first this month at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, OR!

Pages from The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008 will be on display at Gallery 214 on campus starting Thursday, October 4th through Friday, October 26th.

And then on Tuesday, October 9th at 6:30 PM, 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)".

This discussion is aimed at situating visual poetry in a tradition that counters the conventional oral tradition of literature. From Meleager's Greek Anthology to this current exhibition, poets in opposition to the mainstream have chosen to express themselves in ways that cannot be rendered simply with the spoken word. This lecture/discussion will illustrate past examples and evoke the present poetic reality, with insider insights into the visual poetry scene in the U.S., France, Germany and Italy.
 
Also, on Tuesday, October 23rd, our editors Nico Vassilakis & Crag Hill will be joined by contributor James Yeary to perform a collage of excerpts of essays from the anthology at 6:30 PM!

Gallery 214 is located on the campus of the Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) at 1241 NW Johnson in Portland OR.

The flagship Nordstrom store in downtown Seattle is currently hosting The Seattle Music Project, an exhibit of photos and ephemera commemorating five decades of Northwest music, curated by renowned local photographer Lance Mercer!

The exhibit is on display in the Mens Shop, downstairs...

... next to the rounder of plaid flannel shirts...

...and by the escalators, you'll find this photo by Cam Garrett of the legendary Fallout Skate Shop! Can you spot the employees of the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery? Yup, that's our very own Larry Reid and Russ Batagglia above, circa 1985! Fashion icons! 

[ ETA: Eric informs me, "there's also two ex longtime-employees in that pic: Tom Price and Tim Hayes!" Nice! ]

"We love the grunge music..."

The Seattle Music Project exhibit will be on display at the downtown Seattle Nordstrom location [ 500 Pine Street ] through this Sunday, September 30th. 

For more excellent photos and stories of the grunge-era, get yr hands on a copy of Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind! And stop by the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery [ 1201 S. Vale Street ] to say hi to Larry and Russ!

Dean says, “The point of the show isn’t to shun his more popular sports drawing, but to bring attention to his work that may not be as well known to the general public. Visitors may recognize some of these images, but I hope they appreciate the level of detail Davis put into his work. Some of that detail gets lost when the images are shrunk down and printed on paper stock of varying quality. Studying Jack Davis’ crosshatching and brushwork will be a real treat to anyone who’s admired this man’s work.”

The Georgia Museum of Art is located at 90 Carlton Street in Athens, GA, at the University of Georgia. This exhibit runs through January 6th, 2013.

There's a lot to celebrate on Friday, October 12th!

Not only will it be the release party for The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008, but it's also the 70th birthday of visual poet, John M. Bennett, whose work is featured in the collection!

Join Mr. Bennett and his spouse, artist C. Mehrl Bennett, for an evening of art and music at the It Looks Like It’s Open Gallery from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. C. is also one of four contributing editors of The Last Vispo Anthology. She did research at The OSU Avant Writing Collection, for which John is curator, to research visual poetry to recommend to our editors Nico Vassilakis & Crag Hill, and to help develop her essay in the book. (Profits from book sales will be for the gallery/studio collective’s benefit.)

Work from The Last Vispo Anthology will be on display alongside mail art from The 70 Project, and John will perform his poetry in collaboration with sound artists & musicians: Jeff Chenault, Larry Morratto, Ryan Jewell, Mike Shiflet, and Byron Smith.

The It Looks Like It’s Open Gallery is located at 13 East Tulane Rd. in Columbus, Ohio. 

How did the band Lavender Diamond manage to score the great Ron Regé, Jr. to do their album cover? Oh, I dunno... maybe they asked their drummer... Ron Regé, Jr. Yes, not only is the guy an amazing artist, he's also an amazing musician. Yes, your parents were right: life is not fair. 

The new album is titled Incorruptible Heart, and it is out today on Paracadute Records.  Go stream their awesomeness on their Soundcloud page. For a limited time only, the band is offering a "deluxe package" including an original, hand-drawn piece of artwork from Ron, an exclusive tote bag, the limited edition vinyl (on lavender, natch), and a digital download.

And hey, east coast! Lavender Diamond is heading over for a short lil' tour, so don't miss them!

09.26.12 - Mercury Lounge [ New York, NY ]
09.27.12 - Kung Fu Necktie [ Philadelphia, PA ]
09.29.12 - Glasslands [ Brooklyn, NY ]
09.30.12 - Brighton Music Hall [ Cambridge, MA ]

(Don't forget, Ron will head out solo for the New York Art Book Fair on Saturday, September 29th! Be one of the first to get your lovin' hands on a copy of The Cartoon Utopia!)

Wednesday, September 26th

• Brooklyn, NY: Come see Gary Panter kill it with his band Devin, Gary & Ross at Death by Audio! (more info)

• Los Angeles, CA: It's your last chance to see John Pham's art exhibit at Giant Robot's GR2 Gallery. (more info)

Saturday, September 29th

• Brooklyn, NY: Author Pat Thomas presents his acclaimed slideshow presentation for Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975 at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts. He will also be spinning records from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. (more info)

• Bothell, WA: Nico Vassilakis & Crag Hill, editors of The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008, will perform a collaged reading of essays at the "Convergence on Poetics" conference at the University of Washington Bothell. (more info)

• Long Island City, NY: The good people of Desert Island will host a signing with Ron Regé, Jr. at the seventh annual NY Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1! Be one of the first to get your hands on a copy of The Cartoon Utopia! (more info)

• Asbury Park, NJ: Stephen DeStefano will be a special guest at the Asbury Park Comic Con! Yes, it is being held in a bowling alley, and yes, there will be beer! (more info)

photo credit: Joshin Yamada, Stumptown 2012

Sunday, September 30th

• Vancouver, BC: Peter Bagge will be a special guest at the Word on the Street National Book & Magazine Festival! He'll be signing at the "Authors Tent" at 1:30 PM, and at "The Word Under The Street" on 3:30 PM. (more info)

• New York City, NY: Pat Thomas will be joined by special guest, Aaron Dixon, the captain and founder of the 1960's Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party, at Kim's Video & Music for a signing of Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975! (more info) 

The great Stephen DeStefano will be a special guest at the Asbury Park Comic Con this Saturday, September 29th! Stop by his table and get your copy of Lucky in Love Book 1: A Poor Man's History signed before it sells out!

The Asbury Park Comic Con is being held at The Asbury Lanes [ 209 4th Ave. ] from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Yes, it is being held in a bowling alley, and yes, there will be beer!