Cult cartoonist Dame Darcy appears for music performance and book signing at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle on Saturday, March 14.

Charismatic cartoonist and counterculture maven Dame Darcy will grace Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery with her presence on Saturday, March 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. She will present an acoustical music performance and sign copies of her popular comic book Meat Cake as well as her new graphic novel Gasoline.

Currently in its 17th issue, Dame Darcy’s Meat Cake is a visionary blend of gothic horror, Victorian fantasy, and punk romance rendered with the artist’s singular graphic sensibility. Published by Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books, Meat Cake has developed a devoted following among a dramatically diverse readership. Her recently released graphic novel, Gasoline, is a post-apocalyptic gothic fairy tale of suspense, heartbreak, and redemption.

Dame Darcy has achieved national recognition through her creative associations with counterculture personalities including Courtney Love, Lisa Crystal Carver, Thurston Moore, Tori Amos, and Alan Moore, among countless others. Currently residing in Portland, OR, she remains active in visual arts, comics, video, film and music.

Dame Darcy will perform on vocals and banjo with her acoustic trio, followed by a reception and book signing. Patrons will also enjoy the exhibition of original art by the MAD geniuses behind Harvey Kurtzman’s Humbug. Admission is free. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street at Airport Way S. in Seattle’s colorful Georgetown arts community. Open daily, 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sunday until 5:00. Phone 206.658.0110. This event coincides with the lively “Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack” featuring visual and performing arts presentation throughout the historic neighborhood.

Listing Information

DAME DARCY
Saturday, March 14, 2009, 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Music performance and book signing
All ages. Admission Free.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA 206.658.0110
Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM
www.fantagraphics.com/bookstore

I was out sick yesterday, so here's a double dose:

• Review: The Fort Worth Business Press takes a loving look at Humbug

• Review: The Daily Cross Hatch finds "a lot to love" in the pages of Boody. The Bizarre Comics of Boody Rogers

• Review: The Lighthouse Keeper's Cat says that The Magic Bottle by Camille Rose Garcia is "a great graphic novel"

• Review: Jog takes you story-by-story through Supermen!

• Blurb: The Comics Reporter is somewhat overcome by the arrival of Humbug

• Blurb: Scamp: An Irish Illustration Blog previews Humbug

• Profile: USA Today Pop Candy spotlights Dame Darcy

• Oddity: Exclusive to the D&Q blog: Paparazzi catch A-list celeb in clutch with Ivan Brunetti

• Oddity: Hopey Glass is in Montreal, posting on Craigslist (via The Beat)

In case you missed this part of our Humbug exhibit announcement yesterday:

Don’t miss a special performance and book signing by cult cartoonist Dame Darcy on Saturday, March 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Darcy will perform with her three-piece acoustical combo and sign copies of her wildly popular Victorian gothic comic book series Meat Cake, as well as her new graphic novel Gasoline. This event coincides with the colorful Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts presentation throughout the historic neighborhood.

Listing Information

Saturday, March 14, 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Dame Darcy
Music performance and book signing

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA 206.658.0110
Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM
www.fantagraphics.com/bookstore

DAZZLING REVIVAL OF HARVEY KURTZMAN’S TIMELESS SATIRE MAGAZINE HUMBUG AT FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKSTORE & GALLERY.

Exhibition and Book Launch of New HUMBUG Anthology On March 7 in Seattle.

Four years after founding notoriously seditious MAD magazine for EC comics in 1952, celebrated American satirist Harvey Kurtzman and his crew of incorrigible cartoonists joined fledgling publisher Hugh Hefner to produce two issues of the equally irreverent Trump. When economic setbacks forced Hefner to cancel the new title, Kurtzman and collaborators Jack Davis, Will Elder, Al Jaffee and Arnold Roth pooled their limited resources to self-publish 11 issues of Humbug, skewering American popular and political culture of the Cold War era in unparalleled fashion. Fifty years later, Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books has collected the entire series for the first time in a handsome two-volume slipcase edition. To commemorate this momentous occasion, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery hosts an exhibition of original art and artifacts from Humbug contributors opening Saturday, March 7 and continuing through April Fool’s Day, 2009.

Organized by Humbug anthology assistant editor Jason T. Miles, the exhibition features original illustrations by cartooning legends Will Elder, Al Jaffee, and Arnold Roth together with each of the delicate original issues and related ephemera. The meticulously restored Humbug collection, which includes insightful essays and interviews by Gary Groth and John Benson, will make its debut at the event. The public is invited to preview the exhibition on Saturday, March 7, from 11:30 till 8:00 PM. According to Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman, "Kurtzman has been the single most significant influence on a couple of generations of comic artists." 
With the publication of the complete Humbug, an essential element of Kurtzman’s legacy will be preserved for posterity.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.) in Seattle’s Georgetown arts community. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone: 206.658.0110.

Don’t miss a special performance and book signing by cult cartoonist Dame Darcy on Saturday, March 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Darcy will perform with her three-piece acoustical combo and sign copies of her wildly popular Victorian gothic comic book series Meat Cake, as well as her new graphic novel Gasoline. This event coincides with the colorful Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts presentation throughout the historic neighborhood.

A selection of imagery in a variety of formats is available for publication. For additional information contact Eric Reynolds at Fantagraphics.

Listing Information

Humbug
Original art and artifacts from Harvey Kurtzman’s classic satire magazine featuring MAD artists Will Elder, Arnold Roth, Al Jaffee and Jack Davis collected in a handsome 2 volume slipcase edition by Fantagraphics Books.
Public preview and book launch, Saturday, March 7, 11:30 to 8:00 PM
Exhibition continues through April Fools Day

Saturday, March 14, 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Dame Darcy
Music performance and book signing

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA 206.658.0110
Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM
www.fantagraphics.com/bookstore

Esther Pearl Watson
UNLOVABLE
Opening reception and book signing Saturday, February 7, 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Exhibition continues through March 4, 2009
(more event info)

HUMBUG
Original art, artifacts and ephemera from Harvey Kurtzman's classic humor magazine.
Public preview Saturday, March 7, 11:30 to 8:00 PM
Exhibition continues through April Fools Day, 2009
(more about Humbug)

Dame Darcy
Music performance and book signing
Saturday, March 14, 6:00 to 9:00 PM
(more about Dame Darcy)

Jaime Hernandez and Stan Sakai
Original art by two masters of the medium.
Opening reception and book signing Saturday, April 4, 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Exhibition continues through May 6, 2009
(more about Jaime Hernandez and Stan Sakai)

Tony Millionaire
DRINKY CROW
Opening reception and book signing Saturday, May 9, 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Exhibition continues through June 10, 2009
(more about Tony Millionaire)

JASON
Opening reception and book signing Saturday, June 13, 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Exhibition continues through July 8, 2009
(more about Jason)

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street (at the corner of Airport Way S.) in Seattle's Georgetown arts community. Phone 206.658.0110. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM.

• List: I Love Rob Liefeld loves Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw and Ganges #2 by Kevin Huizenga, putting them on the top-10 list of "The Best Comics of 2008" at #2 and #8, respectively

• List: A top-25 "Best Comics of 2008" list from Matthew Brady, with Love and Rockets: New Stories #1 by the Hernandez Brothers at #19, Pocket Full of Rain and Other Stories by Jason at #16, and Bottomless Belly Button at #12

• Review: Reason "briefly notes" Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko by Blake Bell

• Review: ComicMix recommends Man of Rock: A Biography of Joe Kubert by Bill Schelly

• Interview: The Daily Cross Hatch starts a 3-parter with Lilli Carré

• Interview: The Comix Claptrap podcast talks to Andrice Arp and Jesse Reklaw

• Things to see: Photos from Jim Blanchard's art opening at Wall of Sound in Seattle a couple of weekends ago

• Things to see: Photos of Dame Darcy at her exhibit opening in D.C. (with news of an upcoming musical gig in Portland); the D.C. Examiner looks at the exhibit too

• Things to see: Covered blog founder Robert Goodin contributes his version of Wonder Woman #155

D.C., get your D.D. this Friday:

CIVILIAN ART PROJECTS is pleased to begin the New Year with two spirited solo exhibitions: Carole Wagner Greenwood's "Ghosts and Circumstance" and Dame Darcy's "Gasoline." The exhibitions will open to the public January 9, 2009 and will be on view until February 7, 2009. Exhibition hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 12 to 6 p.m. There will be an opening reception for the artists on Friday, January 9, 2009 from 7pm to 10pm with a free music performance at 9pm.

Civilian Art Projects
406 7th Street NW, Third Floor
Washington, DC 20004
202-347-0022

Dame Darcy has some nice-looking brand-new letterpress prints and stationery (and a haunted antique velvet dress) for sale -- see her blog for all the details.

Join Dame Darcy for an evening of comic signin' and banjo pickin' at CounterMedia bookstore in Portland, Oregon on Thursday, December 18, at 6 PM! Details below.

[Read more...]

• Here's photos of Dame Darcy's post-APE appearance at Isotope Comics...

• ...and a photo from J.R. Williams of himself with Jim Blanchard and Daniel Clowes at APE

• Nuvole Parlanti discusses (in Italian) the Ghost World graphic novel and film

• The Chicago Reader has the first review of Lilli Carré's The Lagoon

• Newsarama looks at The Education of Hopey Glass by Jaime Hernandez

• Sometime Comics Journal contributor Noah Berlatsky discusses his favorite parts of the latest issue (#293)