Provocative American Cartoonist and Animator Dash Shaw at Fantagraphics Bookstore
April 4, 2013 - Seattle, WA. The experimental work of accomplished contemporary cartoonist and animator Dash Shaw will be featured at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery with an exhibition opening Saturday, April 13 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, followed by a film screening, discussion, and book signing on Saturday, May 4 at 6:00 PM.
Shaw is the creator of several highly regarded comix and graphic novels including Bottomless Belly Button in 2008. Among the critical acclaim, New York Magazine observed "Bottomless Belly Button has become the graphic novel of the year, combining youthful exuberance, sage storytelling, and visual experimentation." The artist followed that success with The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D., a collection of short stories combined with documentation of his dazzling animated shorts for IFC.com.
"Dash Shaw: Stories" at Fantagraphics Bookstore includes 14 original artworks. The opening on April 13 will mark the debut of his recent comic book collection 3 New Stories from Fantagraphics Books. This event coincides with the lively Georgetown Art Attack featuring challenging visual and performing arts throughout the historic neighborhood.
The artist will appear on Saturday, May 4 at 6:00 PM to discuss his work and screen animated short films including Seraph, which premiered at the recent Sundance Film Festival. He'll sign copies of another new Fantagraphics title, New School, an ambitious hardcover graphic novel. May 4 also marks Free Comic Book Day, a national promotion intended to expose new audiences to the joys of comix. Fantagraphics Bookstore will issue an exclusive 16-page minicomic featuring local cartoonists including Max Clotfelter, Eroyn Franklin, Kelly Froh, Aidan Fitzgerald, Ben Horak, David Lasky, Tim Miller, Pat Moriarity, Marc Palm, Darren Schuler, James Stanton, Tom Van Deusen, Max Woodring and more. Free to the first one hundred patrons.
Listing information:
DASH SHAW: STORIES Opening Saturday, April 13, 6:00 to 9:00 PM Exhibition continues through May 8, 2013
Friday, April 19, 7:00 PM Lucy Knisley presents Relish: My Life in the Kitchen Reading, book signing, and tasting
Saturday, May 4, 6:00 - 8:00 PM Dash Shaw screening animated shorts and book signing May 4 is Free Comic Book Day. Drop by for an exclusive minicomic by local cartoonists
• Seattle, WA:Well, read the sign! Jen Vaughn, our most marvelous Marketing/PR/Outreach Fiend, is teaming up with her best friend Nomi Kane for a comics art show at Chocolati Cafe [ 1716 N. 45th Street ]. Join them for the opening reception tonight from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, but even if you can't, you'll still have until Friday, May 3rd to see their exhibit! (more info)
• Brooklyn, NY: It's your last day to check out A Little Knotty, an art show by our own Dave Cooper showing at the Cotton Candy Machine! Take in the original watercolored drawings, inkings, new prints and fun merchandise while you can! (more info)
• New York City, NY: And it's your last day to visit us at MoCCA, at tables B64, B65, C80, C81 -- right in front as you walk through the main entrance! (more info)
Fantagraphics is excited to be attending the 2013 MoCCA Arts Festival on Saturday, April 6th and Sunday, April 7th at the Lexington Avenue Armory in New York City!
We've got so many beautiful debuts in store for you -- in very limited quantities, so make our table your first stop:
You can also join Bill Griffith for a panel on Saturday:
Saturday, April 6th // 1:00 - 2:00 PM Guest of Honor Bill Griffith in conversation with Paul Di Filippo [in the Programming Room in the Lower Level]
Where will all these wonderful books and artists be, you might be wondering? Why, tables B64, B65, C80, C81 -- right in front as you walk through the main entrance! (See a bigger version of this map here.) Our PR/Marketing duo of Jacq & Jen will be happy to see you at MoCCA!
The tallest seedlings of Online Commentaries & Diversions:
• Review:ForeWord looks at Dash Shaw's New School. "Like its predecessors, New School is unlike everything else out there.…It’s a startling, yet aptly mundane vision of one man’s future, made all the more believable by Shaw’s expressive, cartoony drawings and generally solid scripting…ultimately, it’s an entertaining and thoughtful graphic novel," writes Bill Baker.
• Review:Paraphilia Magazine covers the two Malcolm McNeill books about his collaborations with William S. Burroughs. "Observed While Falling is an invaluable addition to the library of any Burroughs fan…Having shed light on a previously dark corner of the Burroughs legacy, will hopefully provide vital research material for critical analysis of this gravely neglected work produced during a largely overlooked period in his career," writes Edward S. Robinson. The Lost Art of Ah Pook enchants, "Mc Neill’s images – they’re more than mere illustrations – are rich, complex, and often very strange indeed. Disturbed and disturbing…Mc Neill’s large-form images are remarkable works of art…throughout the quality of Mc Neill’s draftsmanship is of a rare standard."
• Review:Comics Worth Reading recommends Pogo Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 by Walt Kelly. "These upscale volumes collecting the classic Pogo comic strip are archival quality, beautifully reproduced and a pleasure to look upon…Pogo is well-loved for a reason. The strips are beautifully drawn and keenly observent of human nature."
• Interview (audio):Janet Hamlin is interviewed by Anna Maria Tremonti on CBC Radio show, The Current, about working on Sketching Guantanamo and being at the courtroom trials. "What I'm working on that day is determined by whatever activity is in court…"
• Review (audio): Brian Heater is a guest on Bullseye with Jesse Thorn and brings up Peter Bagge's Other Stuff. Heater gabs, "…the iconic underground cartoonist of the 90s, anything depicted a slacker or the grunge era was probably by Bagge. Other Stuff has an overly cartoony look that is nicely juxtaposed by true-to-life stories…"
• Interview (video):Ed Piskor is interviewed by Jared Gardner during his Columbus Museum of Art Residency and speaks on his life through comics and Hip Hop Family Tree. "I grew up in just a hip hop environment, my house was the nucleus between three parks in town you could go to any given one and see some hip hop going on, rudimentary stuff …a few slabs of linoleum and a boombox," answered Piskor.
• Review:ConSequential reviewed The Hypo by Noah Van Sciver recently. "Van Sciver’s depiction is sufficiently sympathetic as to make the reader really root for him as he struggles against rival suitors, Mary’s family and his own anxious temperament. …the fact that it’s endearing, engaging and an all-round good read should make it your kind of thing as well," writes Lucy Boyes.
• Plug:Our Man in Boston profiles David Wojnarowicz and 7 Miles a Second. "Artists James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook vividly depict David Wojnarowicz’s life and struggles in a much improved edition…" says Robert Birnbaum.
• Review:Grovel reads Beta Testing the Apocalypse by Tom Kaczynski. "Anyone that likes the exploration of ideas, particularly the relationship between humanity, geography, architecture and technology, might get a kick out of reading something different, especially presented in such an unusual form," writes Andy Shaw.
•Review:MetroPulse checks out the EC Library Comics from Wallace Wood and Harvey Kurtzman. "EC had no fear of getting political, long before comics 'grew up.'…Fantagraphics’ EC Comics Library is a must-own for anyone who considers themselves a serious comics fan."Corpse on the Imjin! is "Thoroughly researched and meticulously detailed, Kurtzman’s stories are grim stuff in an era when most Americans believed their country could do no wrong… Grade-school boys reading these dark tales at the time must have had their minds completely blown." Meanwhile, Wally Wood's Came the Dawn! "The tales here are mostly crowd-pleasers with the sort of twist endings that would later become a Twilight Zone trademark."
• Review:Everything is an Afterthought by Kevin Avery is examined in Caught by the River. Andy Childs says, "it becomes apparent that when the history of rock’n'roll is ever written as it should be then he, Nelson, will take his place as a pivotal and hugely influential figure…Kevin Avery does a masterly job in re-constructing Paul Nelson’s reputation and after the enthusiastic critique in the first half of the book the examples of his work in the second half do not disappoint at all."
What's this? Oh, just a stack of Dash Shaw original artwork from his upcoming release New School!
And if you're in Brooklyn, or if you'll be in town for MoCCA, you can see this stunning artwork in person at Desert Island on Friday, April 5th!
Join Dash from 7:00 to 9:00 PM for the unveiling of this exhibit of original pages, plus beat the crowds at the Armory to get a copy of New School before it's even in stores!
Desert Island is located at 540 Metropolitan in Brooklyn. Dash will also be joining us at the Fantagraphics booth at MoCCA, so come by and say hi!
And don't forget: Dash will be taking New School all across the country this Spring! Check out all the details here.
The creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Bottomless Belly Button and Bodyworld hits the road in support of his new graphic novel, New School, as well as the one-shot comic book, 3 New Stories. At each location, Dash Shaw will be signing copies of his new books before their wide release, often with a gallery full of original artwork and presentations of his animation works (including the Sigur Rós video, "Seraph"). New School is a full-color, classic coming-of-age story that encapsulates the current generation, both trapped and enthralled by pop culture. Shaw dramatizes the story two brothers, one moving to an exotic country where an ambitious new amusement park recreates historical events and the younger one who goes to find his brother after years of little contact. New School is unlike anything in the history of the comics medium: at once funny and deadly serious, easily readable while wildly artistic, personal and political, familiar and completely new.
Here's a trailer for the book with art and animation by Shaw, killer music by Lily Benson and Doron Sadja.
Dash Shaw lives in Brooklyn, NY. He is currently writing and directing an animated feature film.
"A former student of the genius artist-seer-cartoonist Gary Panter, Dash, it's fair to say, is something of a genius as well." - Chris Ware
April 5th • Desert Island, Brooklyn, NY. 7-9PM
April 6-7th • MoCCA Festival, NYC. 11AM-6PM
April 13th • Hub Comics, Somerville, MA. 7-9PM
April 18th • Atomic Books, Baltimore, MD. 7-9PM
April 20th • Carnegie Library Comics Conference, Pittsburgh, PA. 10AM-5PM
April 20th • Copacetic Comic, Pittsburgh, PA. 7-11PM
April 27-28th • Stumptown Comics Festival, Portland, OR. Sat 10AM-6PM, Sun Noon-6PM
May 2nd • Floating World, Portland OR. 6-10PM, Presentation at 7PM
May 4th • Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, Seattle, WA. 6-9PM
May 11-12th • TCAF, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Sat 9AM-5PM, Sun 11AM-5PM
May 21st • Light Industry, Brooklyn, NY. 7:30PM
Complete Venue Information:
Desert Island 540 Metropolitan Ave Brooklyn, NY 11211 718.388.5087
MoCCA Festival, NYC 69th Regiment Armory 68 Lexington Avenue between E. 25th & E. 26th Street New York, NY 10010
Hub Comics 19 Bow St Somerville, MA 02143 617.718.0987
Since Fantagraphics and comiXology shook hands that fateful weekend last summer, the hits just keep a-galloping through the gate. Here are the books we have kickin' around in our digital stable ready to be rode hard, combed down and fed oats (in the form of your high-star ratings).
Here's a run-down of the digital comics we currently have available to read on your tablets, iPads, eReaders, myPads, ThinkTouches and more. Click on titles to be taken to their page at comiXology.
Memoirs of the artist's misspent youth. Raunchy, hilarious, and often violent as hell, an unsentimentally nostalgic trip to half a century ago — the anti- Happy Days, set to a true rock ’n’ roll beat. - See more at: http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.php?keyword=cruisin%27+with+the+hound&search_type=titles&Search=Search&Itemid=62&option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse#sthash.zYJMZj3B.dpuf7 Miles a Second by David Wojnarowicz, James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook.
Note that most of these books are available at your local comic book store or our website in print form but we know you have to save that shelf space. Every Wednesday we have 1-2 new digital releases, sometimes same-day releases as the book. Buy a book for yourself or someone you love today.
• Minneapolis, MN:Dash Shaw will be a special guest at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design! This lecture is open to the public. (more info)
Saturday, March 9th
• Seattle, WA: Join us at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery for a book signing for Geneviève Castrée's Susceptible, along with a presentation and art exhibit of originals from her graphic novel debut! Ashley Eriksson of LAKE will perform music. (more info)
Sunday, March 10th
• San Francisco, CA: It's your last chance to see the Love and Rockets 30th Anniversary Celebration exhibit at the Cartoon Art Museum! Of course, you've already been! Go again! (more info)
Join him at Auditorium 150 at 1:00 PM as he discusses his comics and cartoons, and debuts new material! This event is open to the public, so come one, come all!
The best looping GIF of Online Commentaries & Diversions:
• Review: Publishers Weekly gives a Starred Review to Messages in a Bottle by B. Krigstein. "Krigstein’s stories are sometimes epic and sprawling, sometimes compressed and confined…His mastery of chiaroscuro, and his dramatic composition and layout, applied across a very wide range of subject matter, are what make this gorgeous collection so essential."
• Review:The AV Club also shows extreme love for the comics of B. Krigstein in his new collection Messages in a Bottle. Noel Murray writes, "Krigstein treated each assignment as a chance to put theory into practice, and even among EC’s formidable roster of stylists, Krigstein stands out as one for whom the words around the pictures almost don’t matter, because the art’s so mesmerizing that it’s hard to pay attention to anything else…"
• Review: The Advocate warms up to the reading of Gilbert Hernandez's Julio's Day. Jacob Anderson-Minshall writes "Hernandez is able to illustrate that those events had a global reach and dramatically impacted the lives of everyone — including the people in Julio’s life…A remarkable accomplishment that is likely to find its way on numerous Best of 2013 lists and garner Hernandez more well deserved awards and accolades, Julio’s Day is, at its heart, a gay story."
• Plug:Philip Nel plugs our latest volume of The Comics Journal #302 and it's interview -- the last interview-- with children's book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak. "Above all, in reading Groth’s interview, it’s great to hear Maurice’s voice — his salty, funny, grumpy, insightful, irascible voice — just one last time."
• Review: Neal Wyatt of the Library Journal looks at the new books coming out this year from Fantagraphics. "Browsing the Fantagraphics spring catalog underscores the myriad of styles and literary approaches that graphic novelists and artists explore—be it Anders Nilsen’s near metaphorical images or Dash Shaw’s crowded and kaleidoscopic landscapes." He singles out Good Dog by Graham Chaffee, The Amazing, Enlightening and Absolutely True Adventures of Katherine Whaley by Kim Deitch, Lost Cat by Jason, New School by Dash Shaw ("Known for his frenetic and inventive artwork…") and The End by Anders Nilson.
• Plug: Dash Shaw appeared on Tumblr's Editorial Tumblr. He looks very nice, all working hard on comics and such.
• Plug: The Austin Public Library highlighted two of our books on their blog. On Jordan Crane's The Last Lonely Saturday, Betsey Blanche described as "The artwork is simple – drawn in mostly red and yellow – but full and effective." They also pulled out Lilli Carré's The Lagoon: "It’s another haunting but beautiful book about a family, mysteries, and the power of legends."
• Review:The Comicbook Pusherman looks at 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente by Wilfred Santiago. "…as a comic it absolutely crackles. The art is stunning. Santiago clearly captures baseball's (and Clemente's) unique energy and the Americas of the '50s and '60s and most distinctly the Puerto Rico of the 30s and 40s," says Jeffrey O. Gustafson.
• Plug: Get ready, MoCCA tablers. Gary Groth is on the esteemed jury for the Awards of Excellence starting up this year so reported by The Beat. Bring your A-game books printed on some uncoated paper.
• Plug (video): Our own Publicity Director, Jacq Cohen, is captured on film at Comic Con India on the Wandering Violinist talking about Joe Sacco's Palestine.
• Plug: Peter Bagge writes an article on cartoonist Al Capp at Reason.
• Plug: Bob Temuka and the Tearoom of Despair pick the perfect albeit spoiler of a panel from Hate by Peter Bagge.
