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.

Yesterday, our friends at Tiny Showcase unveiled their latest print from our own Paul Hornschemeier!

Titled "The Fading Fair," this poignant six-color boardwalk-inspired screen print measures 18" wide by 24" high, with each individual vignette measuring 5" wide by 7" high.

Get yours before their availability, well, fades away!  $10 of every print sold will go to the American Red Cross in support of ongoing Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

I've been totally remiss on telling y'all about this show! VHS Art New Wave launched last month in honor of Independent Video Store Day at Seattle's own Scarecrow Video.

Scarecrow Video is one of those local landmarks that makes me proud to live here: it's the largest independent video store in the country, and is known for their amazing collection of rare, out-of-print oddness.  Their vast catalog was scoured by the editors of our (now out-of-print itself) collection Destroy All Movies!!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film, with help from employees of the store.

Local cartoonist (and Scarecrow employee) Marc Palm curated the show, inviting over 30 artists to contribute their renditions of video box art, including our own Larry Reid, manager and curator of the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery!

That's Larry's box in the center, featuring a shout-out to Carl Barks's Donald Duck! (Sorry the photo is blurry! Larry's box was high up on the wall, and I was literally on tip-toe trying to take a photo of it!)

Lots of local artists are featured in the show, including David Lasky, whose box is in the center of that pic above.

On Thursday, November 22nd, Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia celebrates the release of The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008, and the work of contributor and visual poet Jesse Patrick Ferguson!

Both The Last Vispo and Jesse's solo book dirty semiotics (Broken Jaw Press, 2011) will be featured in an exhibit at the Cape Breton University Art Gallery. At the opening reception, Jesse Patrick Ferguson will present a short talk on the history of visual/concrete poetry and his own practice in particular. 

This event runs from 4:00-5:00 PM, and is free to attend (donations to the gallery welcome). Light refreshments will be served. This event is co-sponsored by CBU's Department of Languages and Letters.

If you can't make it to the opening reception, you'll still have until January 18, 2013 to view the exhibition! Cape Breton University is located at 1250 Grand Lake Road in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

Thursday, November 8th

• Brooklyn, NY: Desert Island presents Lips and Crumbs: Works by Lilli Carré! She'll also be signing her new collection Heads or Tails from 8:00 to 10:00 PM. (more info) 

• Eugene, OR: The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon in Eugene, OR is hosting the exhibit GOOD GRIEF! Original Art from 50 Years of Charles M. Schulz's PEANUTS, and our own Gary Groth will 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. (more info)

Saturday, November 10th

• Seattle, WA: Ellen Forney will discuss her courageous new graphic memoir Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, & Me at the Seattle Public Library Central Branch at 7:00 PM. Her slide presentation in the Microsoft Auditorium will be followed by a book signing. Copies will available at the event. Admission is free. (more info)

• Brooklyn, NY: Visit Fantagraphics at the Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival with our special guests Josh Simmons, Olivier Schrauwen, Tom Kaczynski, and Gary Panter! (more info)

Sunday, November 11th

• Sydney, Austrailia: Peter Bagge will be the guest of honor at GRAPHIC 2012 in Sydney, Australia! Join Pete for an in-depth insight into his darkly comic and hysterical semi-autobiographical work. He'll be discussing Hate and other Neat Stuff at the famous Sydney Opera House. (more info)