Renowned rock photographer Charles Peterson will be "taking punk to the masses" as he hits the airwaves this weekend on KEXP 90.3 FM!
[Full disclosure: KEXP is my other home aside from Fantagraphics... and, uh, that other building... thingy... where our beds and TV... is.]
Tune in this Saturday, May 7th at 7:00 pm PT as Charles guest DJ's on KEXP's Audioasis, the longest-running local music show in Seattle. He'll be spinning some of his favorite local bands, and talking to host Hannah Levin about his upcoming exhibit "Charles Peterson: Taking Punk to the Masses."
"Charles Peterson: Taking Punk to the Masses" opens Saturday, May 14th at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in the somewhat-noisy neighborhood of Georgetown. Join us from 6:00 to 9:00 pm for a reception with Charles, and a guest appearance from fellow grunge-era icon Peter Bagge.
After the reception, Pete's band Can You Imagine?(featuring another local icon, musician/producer Steve Fisk) will be playing a show around the corner at The Mix. Opening acts include the return of The Capillaries, fronted by cartoonist/musician Matthew Southworth, and Wormburner from Hoboken, New Jersey – who, incidentally, we'll be live on KEXP themselves, performing an in-studio session on May 14th at 1:00 pm PT.
And the great thing about all these KEXP sessions is that anyone can listen at any time, no matter where you live, thanks to the streaming audio at KEXP.ORG!
Fantagraphics is thrilled to be heading across the border for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, this weekend, Saturday, May 7th and Sunday, May 8th! Mike Baehr and I will be on hand, and, yes, it's true... we're bringing The Mouse to Canada! In fact, just look at all the new titles we're bringing with us:
Indeed, we will have The Raven after all, just in time for you to get your copy signed by artist Lorenzo Mattotti, making the trip all the way from Italy for a very rare international appearance! And he's just one of the many amazing artists signing this weekend!
Where can you find all this awesome-ness? Swing on by tables #162-163.
[ click the map to open a larger version ]
And don't forget to take in some of the great panels organized by TCAF! Listed below are the panels involving Fantagraphics artists, but, really, check out the entire schedule, 'cause there are tons of really interesting talks going on! (Mike, for instance, is especially excited about that "Adventure Time" panel!)
Saturday, May 7th
10:15 – 11:15 am // A15: Root Rot Release Featuring: T. Edward Bak, Michael DeForge, Ines Estrada, Bob Flynn, Jesse Jacobs, Hellen Jo, Joseph Lambert, Diana McNally, Robin Nishio, Angie Wang and Mickey Zacchilli Moderated by Anne Koyama Location: Learning Center 1 Koyama Press is proud to announce a launch party to celebrate the release of the Root Rot anthology. Ten of the artists will be in attendance for the book’s debut. Come and meet them! Plus live drawing, signings, giveaways and more!
11:30 – 12:15 pm // A16: Spotlight: Lorenzo Mattotti Moderated by Robin McConnell Location: Learning Center 1 Lorenzo Mattotti is recognized today as one of the most outstanding international exponents of comics art. His books have been translated all over the world. Mattoti, a Featured Guest of TCAF, appears here to discuss his life and his work, including his most recent graphic novels Stigmata and The Raven. Mattotti will be interviewed by the host of Inkstuds, Robin McConnell.
1:00 – 2:00 pm // A4: Creator Roundtable Panelists: Paul Pope, Brandon Graham, and Sam Hiti Moderated by Robin McConnell Location: The Pilot Paul Pope, Sam Hiti and Brandon Graham are creating modern comics built on a wealth of influences. Joined by Inkstuds host Robin McConnell, they will be exploring the tableau of work that inspires them and how that affects the creative processes in work such as Death Day, Tiempos Finales, King City, Multiple Warheads, 100%, THB and more.
Sunday, May 8th
12:30 – 1:30 pm // U2: Illustration Panelists: Lorenzo Mattotti, Jillian Tamaki, Adrian Tomine Moderated by Caitlin McGurk Location: The Pilot Many cartoonists also have a career in illustration. Come listen to four prestigious comics artists and illustrators discuss the difference between creating in a narrative form (comics) and a static one (illustration).
1:15 – 2:00 pm // U13: Print Culture Panelists: Tom K., John Porcellino and Dylan Williams Moderated by Zak Sally Location: Learning Center 1 From Comic Books to ‘Graphic Novels,’ from the Undergrounds to Art Comics, Fanzines to Zine Culture — the names may change, but one thing remains constant: they are all reproduced, on paper. No matter the decade, subject matter, or economics involved, comics have always been linked to print. With physical objects no longer being a necessity (and the book form itself on the decline), what will be the role of print culture in the next decade and beyond?
DO NOT DAWDLE! Janeane GarofaloANDMichael Kupperman?! Are you kidding me?!
Left-wing political cartoonist David Rees hosts these monthly comedy shows in NYC, and this month's line-up is quite possibly the best one yet. And I'm not just saying that because it features a fine Fantagraphics artist and a comedian who's championed Fantagraphics on "The Daily Show" ... *cough*
The fun goes down tomorrow night (Thursday, May 5th) starting at 7:00 pm at the Luca Lounge. And did I mention, it's FREE? I meant it when I said you shouldn't lollygag.
As the saying goes, they like 'em big in Texas, so it was surely appropriate that Jim Woodring brought the giant pen to Houston for its first public demonstration outside the Seattle area! (Was it brought as a carry-on??)
The appearance took part at the opening night of Walpurgis Afternoon, a joint art show with Mike-Baehr-doppelgänger Marc Bell at Houston's Lawndale Art Center. We've got some pictures from the show, thanks to attendee Alex Barber. Check out his entire set of photos on his Flickr set.
The internet says a "walpurgis" is, "the eve of May Day, observed in some European countries and in some Scandinavian communities in the United States in celebration of spring and marked by music, singing, and bonfires." ...And giant pens.
Jim, keeping it kid-friendly.
Jim invites Marc up to draw.
Marc, inking a drawing of liquid paper.
Jim invites the crowd up for a go. (You can see Marc's finished liquid paper drawing here, too!) [Update: The man wielding the pen here, Jason Willis, has stepped forward on Twitter to identify himself. Thanks Jason! – Ed.]
This Wednesday, May 4th, our own Ellen Forney will be the life of The Reading Party! Join Ellen and fellow artist Derek Erdman as they lounge about the Fireside Room at the Sorrento Hotel, starting at 6:00 pm.
The Reading Party is a monthly soiree, organized by our friends at Seattle's weekly alt-paper The Stranger. (As you'll recall, Lust is a collection of Ellen's past illustrations for their personal ads section!) It's a free event, the special is a $4 Manhattan, and apparently, everyone is invited to read! But, don't be surprised if everyone just wants to hear Ellen.
Gahan Wilson signing at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, Jan. 13, 2010
If you live in the Boston area, make plans now to attend the 2011 Boston Comic Con, this Saturday, April 30th and Sunday, May 1, at the Hynes Convention Center! We're excited to announce that the legendary Gahan Wilson will have his own table there, and will be signing all day, on both days!
Yes, three. Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons features not only every cartoon Wilson drew for Playboy, but all his prose fiction that has appeared in that magazine as well.
If you were at MoCCA a few weeks ago, you saw how quickly this set sold on just the first day! (Only one remained on Sunday morning, and as soon as Gahan sat down for his signing, the first person in line snatched it up!)
And, if you were at MoCCA, you got to see first-hand what a hilarious and delightful fella Gahan is! He is an absolute treat to meet, and I urge all you Bostonians to get over to the Hynes Convention Center this weekend to find out for yourself!
* Other People's Publications ** Yeah, You Know Me.
It's sub-titled "A Love Story," but somehow Mister Wonderful still managed to depress the heck outta me. Such is the power of the one and only Daniel Clowes!
Mister Wonderful was originally serialized in the New York Times Magazine back in 2007-8, and it was such an exhilirating weekly ride, that I'm glad someone collected it into a nice little hardbound book, complete with extra bonus material.
If you didn't read the online strips a few years ago (I can't even imagine...), the "Mister Wonderful" in question is Marshall, an unemployed divorcé, who's been fixed up with Natalie, a woman with some romantic baggage of her own.
I don't wanna give away the ending for anyone who didn't read it on the NYT website (Really? You didn't?? Sorry, I just...), but somehow, the open-ended conclusion just left me feeling bummed out. I guess we're meant to feel hope for this budding couple, but c'mon... This is Dan Clowes we're talking about.
Mister Wonderful, and tons of other Clowes titles and accessories, are currently in stock at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, 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. See you there!
... And by that, I mean, I had threeBurgerville Northwest Cherry Chocolate Milkshakes in the two days we were in Portland, Oregon for the 8th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest. They even put espresso shots in my milkshakes. God bless Burgerville.
The calm before the Stumptown storm!
So, WOW! Thank you so much to everyone who came by our booth at Stumptown this year! Mike and I had a blast! Hate Annual #9 flew off the racks, with Jason's latest Isle of 100,000 Graves also selling out quickly.
We were thrilled to be joined by editor Patrick Rosenkranz. While we weren't able to make his panel on the underground comix movement, we could tell from the fans attending his signing that it must've went great! One fellow came by with a huge stack of Zap Comix in hand, including a rare copy of the first printing of #1!
Speaking of successful panels, T. Edward Bak had several of his attendees dropping by the booth, grabbing fistfuls of Momes! Here he is, showing some of his original artwork. Mike pointed out that you can always tell which issues of Mome T. Edward is in by looking for the black pages on the fore edge! (And yes, we had to consult Google to figure out what the sides of a book are called.)
Mome contributor Jeffrey Brown was signing with our booth neighbors Top Shelf, and leaned over for a chat with T Edward. Note: this happened on the next day from the other picture posted above; it's not like T Edward brought two sets of clothes. He's not Lady Gaga.
[Speaking of Jeffrey, here's one of my favorite overheard quotes of the weekend -- girl, on cellphone: "Hello? Mom, I gotta call you back. I'm standing in front of Jeffrey Brown."]
[My second favorite overheard quote of Stumptown comes from our own Customer Service Representative Ian Burns, who was trying to unload his leftovers from lunch: "It is really hard to give away meat in Portland."]
Speaking of Mome, we're always delighted to have the multi-talented Andrice Arp join us. Not only was she signing copies of Mome (including Volume 15, which features her cover art), but she also brought mini-paintings and a totally awesome flip-book she designed, inspired by the A-ha video for "Take On Me." Yeah, that's right.
And finally, editor Jacques Boyreau joined us, engaging customers with his collection Portable Grindhouse. Jacques is always great to talk movies with, and a former French film critic even stopped by to discuss cult classics! And who's that to the left in the pic above? Why it's Monster Parade artist Ben Catmull!
Ben had his own table this year at Stumptown, featuring his award-winning 2001 comic Paper Theater, and some freakin' insane letterpress prints, both of which you can acquire straight from the gentleman himself.
The biggest buzz of the weekend was over the move from the old location (The Lloyd Center) to the much-larger Oregon Convention Center. And yes, while I missed the windows and nearby park of The Lloyd Center, I've really only got one word: Burgerville.
You can check out lots more pics from our Stumptown adventures on the Fantagraphics Flickr page here. And the fun don't stop, as Mike and I are now gearing up for TCAF! Hope to see you there!
Last weekend, local museum The Experience Music Project kicked off their brand new exhibit "Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses," and oh, hey, Fantagraphics just happened to publish the companion book Taking Punk to the Masses, in association with the EMP.
See that incredible logo at the top of this FLOG post? Designed by our one and only Jacob Covey, seen here with his lovely lady, Liz. It's hard to get Covey out these days, so SEATTLE, I HOPE YOU APPRECIATED IT.
I love what Seattle Twist wrote about our own Larry Reid so much, that I just wanna quote it here: "Mister Larry Reid — Seattle's own kulture chaos kingpin, curating/instigating collisions of art and xcitement in this town for the last three decades, and still ready to kick some 'sick-up-the-butt' art establishment attitude for years to come."AMEN.
And here's Larry with his wonderful family. As previously mentioned, Larry has always been a major presence in the Seattle counterculture scene, and is quoted in the book Taking Punk to the Masses.
You can check out more photos -- including some can't-miss shots of Krist Novoselic's shirt -- over at SeattleTwist.com! And if you missed opening night, don't worry, you have until 2014 to view the Nirvana exhibit at the EMP.
And on May 14th, we'll be hosting our own exhibition from renowned local photographer Charles Peterson at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. Fellow 90's icon Peter Bagge will be signing copies of Hate Annual #9 and the Yeah! collection, followed by a performance with his band Can You Imagine? featuring Steve Fisk on keyboards.
An egg-cellent* fundraiser is happening this Easter weekend at the KGB Bar in NYC!
[* Yeah, I went there.]
It's the very first benefit for The Sequential Artists Workshop, a potential new school for cartooning in Gainesville, Florida, founded by Tom Hart and Leela Corman and others.
Leslie Stein will be reading a brand new story titled “Brown Heart” at the event. (That's a page from it, below.) And John Kerschbaum will also be participating!
A $5.00 suggested donation this Sunday will help them raise funds for the 2012 opening of the Sequential Artists Workshop.
The benefit is this Sunday, April 24th at 7:00 pm in the Red Room at KGB Bar Upstairs Theater [85 E. 4th Street] in New York City’s East Village. Hop to it!
