Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is pleased to welcome two titans of alternative comix, Chris Ware and Charles Burns, as well as emerging artists Gabrielle Bell and Tom Kaczynki in a lively series of events this Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. This’ll be a blast!
Burns, Bell, and Kaczynski will sign books at Fantagraphics Bookstore, 1201 S. Vale Street, on Saturday, October 20 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. This event coincides with Elysian Brewing's "Great Pumpkin Brew Festival" featuring dozens of pumpkin beers from regional boutique breweries, just up the street at Elysian's Georgetown bottling facility. We'll be serving complimentary samples of the Black Hole-inspired "12 Beers of the Apocalypse," including "Blight" pumpkin ale and a preview tasting of "Omen," not released to the public until the following day. (Burns will appear briefly a block away at Full Throttle Bottles at 5:30 to sign "Apocalypse" bottles to go.) Guests at the bookstore will be the first in the country to receive free copies of our Basil Wolverton Spacehawk sampler to go with other seasonal Halloween treats.
Burns will appear at Elysian Brewing Co. Capitol Hill location, 1221 E. Pike Street, on Sunday, October 21 from noon to 3:00 PM for the tapping party for "Omen" Belgian Raspberry Stout, number 10 in the "12 Beers of the Apocalypse" series. Hang out with the artist in a casual atmosphere in the heart of Seattle’s colorful Pike/Pine corridor.
On Monday, October 22 listen to Burns on Seattle’s NPR affiliate KUOW-FM at 10:00 AM. Then plan to attend "Building Comix with Chris Ware and Charles Burns" at Town Hall, 1119 8th Avenue, at 7:30 PM. Tickets are only $5 and the admission price can be applied to the purchase of any book at the signing following the talk. Ware will discuss his monumental new work Building Stories, and Burns will present The Hive, his anxiously anticipated sequel to X’ed Out. (You can catch the last presidential debate from 6:00 to 7:30 at the Pub at Town Hall for free prior to the event.)
• Chicago, IL: Cartoonist and comics scholar Ivan Brunetti will discuss his work, both in and out of the classroom, followed by a Q&A, at EnergyBBDO offices. This event is free and open to the public! (more info)
• Seattle, WA: The Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is pleased to co-present "Building Comix with Charles Burns and Chris Ware" at Town Hall. The modest $5.00 admission fee can be redeemed on the purchase of any book at the signing following the presentation. (more info)
Another entertaining evening at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery last Saturday for the launch of our EC Comics Library line. Thanks to series associate editor J. Michael Catron and the enchanting Molly Nilsson for providing a focus to the festivities. If you missed it, you have through October 31 to view the display. No better time than this Saturday, October 20 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, when the bookstore welcomes the incomparable Charles Burns with special guests Gabrielle Bell and Tom Kaczynski. Pick up brand new graphic novels by Burns and Bell, and preview Kaczynski's forthcoming Fantagraphics title Beta Testing the Apocalypse.
Speaking of the apocalypse, we'll be serving complimentary samples of Elysian Brewing's Black Hole-inspired "12 Beers of the Apocalypse," including "Blight" Pumpkin Ale and a preview tasting of "Omen" - not released to the general public until the following day. This event coincides with Elysian's "Great Pumpkin Brew Festival" up the street at their Georgetown bottling facility. Taste dozens of pumpkin beers from regional boutique breweries. Yummy. All this plus massive Halloween surprises make this another event not to be missed. See you then.
The freshiest, just cleaned kitten of Online Commentaries & Diversions:
• Plug:TIME Magazine talks about You'll Never Know Book Three: Soldier's Heart by C. Tyler. "The book is as much about empty spaces--in history and on the page--as it is about the details she can fill in." See it in print next week!
• Review:Dal Tokyo by Gary Panter is listed in The Times of UK as one of the essential books for Chris Ware. Ware says "Gary Panter is the William Blake of comics; a true poet who sees and feels what the rest of us can't, and he's done more to expand the power of drawing in the medium thatn probably anyone else alive." Original article here.
• Interview: Cartoonist and creator of Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth Chris Ware is interviewed by Phawker by Rita Book.
• Commentary: ArtVoice visits the Spain Rodriguez retrospective at the Burchfield Penney Center in Buffalo, NY. Jack Foran says,"Rodriguez was a kind of incorrigible rebellious type. . . when abstract expressionism with its two-dimensionality principle was dogma—he was into three-dimensionality, in spades—and his blue-collar employment in Buffalo area manufactories, where the curriculum was the much more interesting subject to him of simmering socioeconomic class warfare."
• Review: Rob Clough of High-Low reposted his Seqart post on Megan Kelso and The Squirrel Mother. Cough states, "What makes Kelso one of my favorite artists is her total devotion to the medium and a constant desire to improve. . . Kelso's art is all about the narrative. Every word and every line advances the story; there are no extraneous pyrotechnics. Indeed, Kelso's line is more elegant than spectacular."
• Review:Publishers Weekly enjoys Love and Rockets New Stories #5. "In the 30 years they’ve been writing and drawing Love and Rockets, Los Bros Hernandez have created wonderfully complex story lines and characters. . . This web of superior magical-realistic storytelling involves readers in the perplexed yearnings of a huge cast of unforgettable characters unaware of their own capacity for general self-delusion and occasional self-discovery."
• Commentary: Hannah Means-Shannon contines her SPX coverage with more on the Bros on The Beat. On the "Life After Alternative Comics" panel, Jaime Hernandez and Daniel Clowes spoke about the past and present of their comics-making environment. "Dan Clowes addressed the 'wasteland' of comics in the early 1980’s and the origin of his LLOYD LLEWELLYN series and the strange, often intriguing piles of fan mail he received from readers and prison inmates."
• Interview: Also on Phawker is an interview of Charles Burns, creator of Black Hole. He weaves stories by "paying close attention to the way my brain functions. I sit and write every day and it amazes me how often I repeat myself – come up with the same “brilliant” solution to a plot thread only to discover notes from years earlier where I’ve already clearly laid out the same ideas."
There really is a Great Pumpkin! He's bringing Charles Burns, Gabrielle Bell, and Tom Kaczynski to Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday, October 20 at 6:00 PM. This event coincides with Elysian Brewing's Great Pumpkin Brew Festival - (just up the street at their Georgetown bottling facility) - featuring dozens of seasonal pumpkin beers from regional boutique breweries. The bookstore will be serving complimentary samples of Blight Pumpkin Ale from Elysian's Black Hole-inspired 12 Beers of the Apocalypse series. Our EC Comics Library exhibition, "The Horror," provides the perfect atmosphere for this festive pre-Halloween function. Don't miss it!
Fantagraphics Bookstore Presents Contemporary Cartoonists Charles Burns, Chris Ware, Gabrielle Bell, Tom Kaczynski, and more! (Really.)
Fantagraphics Bookstore is pleased to present two of America’s most celebrated cartoonists, Charles Burns and Chris Ware, together with emerging artists Gabrielle Bell and Tom Kaczynski on October 20 – 22. Burns, Bell and Kaczynski appear on Saturday, October 20 at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, followed by Burns and Ware at Town Hall on Monday, October 22 at 7:30 PM.
Seattle native Charles Burns will appear at Fantagraphics Bookstore to sign his new book, The Hive, the much-anticipated follow-up to 2010’s sensational dreamscape, X’ed Out. Burns’ gripping graphic novel, Black Hole, is set in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood and was serialized by Fantagraphics Books. It is widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of the alternative comix movement. Black Hole inspired Seattle-based Elysian Brewing Company’s monthly "12 Beers of the Apocalypse" series — the latest being "Blight Pumpkin Ale." This event coincides with Elysian’s popular Great Pumpkin Brew Festival at their nearby Georgetown bottling plant, featuring dozens of seasonal pumpkin beers from regional boutique breweries. (Burns will attend the tapping party for the new "Omen" flavor of the "12 Beers of the Apocalypse" at the Elysian Brewing Company’s Capitol Hill location on Sunday, October 21 from noon to 3:00 PM.)
Burns will be joined at the bookstore on Saturday, October 20 by talented young artist Gabrielle Bell presenting her new work The Voyeurs, published on cartoonist Tom Kaczynski’s Uncivilized Books imprint. Kaczynski will also be present with a preview of his dystopian graphic novel Beta Testing the Apocalypse, coming soon from Fantagraphics Books. These two emerging artists will also have an array of small press publications and prints available.
On Monday, October 22 Fantagraphics Bookstore is pleased to co-present "Building Comix with Charles Burns and Chris Ware" at Town Hall. Based in Chicago, Ware is among the most influential cartoonists of his generation. His graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth was serialized by Fantagraphics Books in Acme Novelty Library and brought Ware international acclaim. His complex design sensibilities set new standards for the medium. His latest book is the monumental box set Building Stories, containing 14 diverse works. Together, they demonstrate the artist’s affinity for existential narratives driven by architecture in meticulous, multi-dimensional compositions. Charles Burns and Chris Ware promise to provide an entertaining and enlightening evening. The modest $5.00 admission fee can be redeemed on the purchase of any book at the signing following the presentation. (Due to a scheduling conflict, a previously announced appearance by book designer Chip Kidd had to be cancelled.)
Listing information:
Charles Burns, Gabrielle Bell, and Tom Kaczynski book signing and reception. Saturday, October 20, 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. 1201 S. Vale Street. Seattle. 206.658.0110 www.fantagraphics.com
12 Beers of the Apocalypse tapping party with Charles Burns. Sunday, October 21, noon to 3:00 PM. Elysian Brewing Company. 1221 E. Pike Street. Seattle. 206.860.1920 www.elysianbrewing.com
Building Comix with Charles Burns and Chris Ware presentation and book signing. Monday, October 22, 7:30 PM. Town Hall. 1119 8th Avenue. Seattle. 206.652.4255 www.townhallseattle.org
Reserve your tickets on-line now for "Building Comix" with Chris Ware, Charles Burns, and Chip Kidd at Town Hall in Seattle on Monday, October 22, co-sponsored by Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. Only $5! This modest admission fee can be redeemed on the purchase of any book by these amazing artists at the signing following the presentations. (One discount per customer.) It promises to be an entertaining and enlightening discussion with three of the most compelling figures in contemporary comix.
Save the visit to the Library of Congress, which will come up later, these are THE pictures and thoughts on Small Press Expo 2012. We honestly were so busy that there was little time to make the rounds to other aisles and buy books or snag pics of our friends at this family reunion of a show. So please accept my apology for no SWEEPING landscapes of the table set-up as it was busy, busy, busy. SPX'sExecutive Director, Warren Bernard, ran a good show and David Michael Thomas could not have been better with convention previews and making sure we were comfortable throughout.
The Washington alt-weekly newspaper or insert covered the special guests of the con including the Hernandez brothers. Love and Rockets tattoos are the ink du jour as you can see along with Jughead hats and SUPER short skirts (even though we all know leggings that look like wormholes or intestinal tracts are really in this year). Drawing by Thomas Pitilli.
The signing at Politics and Prose in D.C. kicked off the 30th Anniversary Northeast Tour. With trusty escorts like Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds, PR Director Jacq Cohen and myself, what could go wrong? First things first though, toothpicks to make sure teeth are clean.
The first book of the weekend AND the first copy of The Hypo by Noah Van Sciver went to Leon Avelino, publisher at Secret Acres.
Chris Wright draws and signs Blacklung on his dedication page to dearly departed friend, Sparkplug's Dylan Williams.
Future Fantagraphics author Charles Forsman and his cartooning counterpart, Melissa Mendes , run their own micro-publisher Oily Comics. You just can't get enough of them or their comics.
Long lines formed for the Hernandez Brothers both days and were chock full of other exhibitors and cartoonists like First Second's George O'Connor.
Fans got books signed, bought drawings and got their SPX convention badges signed.
That night at the Ignatz awards, Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez cleaned up. While humbly accepting their Herriman bricks, they thanked Daniel Clowes & Art Spiegelman for NOT having new stories this year. The Brothers won Outstanding Series for Love and Rockets while Jaime won Outstanding Artist and Outstanding Story for "Return for Me"of Love and Rockets: New Stories #4.
Author Phillip Nel sold his Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss biography to whet everyone's appetite for the Barnaby book. Rich Tommaso sold his The Cavalier Mr. Thompson, a Fantagraphics-distributed book about a 1920s hotel in Texas.
Fans and friends got their signatures and tiny drawings by Tommaso.
Cartoonist TJ Kirsch shows off his Daniel Clowes drawing in Twentieth-Century Eightball.
Despite his dour face, Daniel Clowes genuinely liked Gary Panter's Dal Tokyo while Charles Burns looks on.
John Porcellino (of Spit and a Half, King Cat and Drawn and Quarterly) soaked in the cross hatching glory of Van Sciver's The Hypo. Maybe he was enjoying it too much.
As always, my partner-in-crime Jacq Cohen and I accidentally dressed to match some of our favorite classic books, me with Nancy and Jacq with Peanuts.
Jacq and I ran off after the convention to eat some delicious food with our good friends. Clockwise from the bottom left: Gilbert Hernandez, me, Jaime Hernandez, Tom Neely of Sparkplug, Joseph Remnant of ZAP/Top Shelf, Noah Van Sciver and John Porcellino. Delicious!
And finally, a picture from 2010's MoCCA Fest where I'm handing Jaime minis as a fan. Now we get to argue about baseball uniforms and proper sock height while working the Fantagraphics table. Thank you everyone for coming to the Fantagraphics table to buy our books, talk to our artists and spread more of the convention cheer. See you next year!
Photos by Jacq Cohen and me. Attitude by Fantagraphics.
• 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)
