Remember that fantastic David B. show that was up in our gallery earlier this summer that you missed? Well, if you are anywhere near New Orleans, you'll have another chance. Throughout the month of November, LSU Museum of Art, in conjunction with the College of Art and Design, is presenting David B.'s "My Story / My Stories", featuring over 20 original pages of comic art from the acclaimed author of Epileptic throughout the month of November.

David B. will visit LSU and New Orleans in mid-November in conjunction with the exhibit, featuring over 20 pages from Epileptic, MOME, and more. The author and artist will appear at the museum Thursday evening, November 13 from 6 - 8pm. 

David B.: My Story / My Stories was originally curated by Cynthia Rose & Kim Thompson for the Alliance Française de Seattle, Fantagraphics Books and 4Culture of King County. David B. and his exhibition have been brought to Baton Rouge through the support of the Book Office of the French Embassy and the French Consulate in New Orleans.

Cynthia Rose, co-curator of La Semaine de la Bande Desinée, presents this excellent summary website with information about the project and hundreds of photos from the events (Kim Thompson's presentation and David B.'s talks and appearances) by photographer Steve Sampson. (This image of Jim Woodring at the David B. signing is particularly unmissable.)

"La Semaine de la Bande Dessinée - A Week Celebrating the French Graphic Novel" is now over and was a rousing success by any measure. We have many photographs from the events to browse, from Wednesday's opening lecture by Kim Thompson (previously posted); Friday's opening of the David B. "My Story, My Stories" exhibit and book signing at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery:

...Saturday's David B. discussion at Seattle Central Library:

...and Sunday's "Romans Graphiques Meet the Graphic Novel" panel discussion at the Henry Art Gallery with panelists (L to R) Peter Bagge, David B., moderator Kim Thompson, and Jim Woodring:

David B. super-fan Karl Dotter, a.k.a. k4rl on Flickr, flew up from San Francisco for the events and has a bunch more photos and a few video clips:

Photographer Steve Sampson of the Alliance Française also took many, many great photos over the week; we'll be sure to post a link when they're up on the Alliance's website. And we recorded audio at all these events (and the Library is going to be podcasting theirs), so we should be able to bring you MP3s and possibly some multimedia in the near future.

Special thanks to all of the individuals and organizations who worked so hard to put together this fantastic week of events, and of course to the gracious and phenomenally talented David B. for making the journey, tirelessly signing and sketching, and providing such fascinating discussion. It's a great month to be a graphic novel fan in Seattle.

"La Semaine de la Bande Dessinée - A Week Celebrating the French Graphic Novel" got off to a great start last night at the Alliance Française of Seattle, as a standing-room-only crowd gathered to see our own Kim Thompson present his slide lecture "Vingt sur 20: French Comics from Goscinny to Satrapi," an informative and entertaining overview of 20 artists who transformed la bande desinée from a children's medium into "the ninth art." We are working on presenting this slideshow in interactive format, with audio, here on the Fantagrahpics website in the near future, so stay tuned! And don't forget that this week-long event continues tonight with screenings of Tintin et Moi at Northwest Film Forum and David B.'s "My Story, My Stories" exhibit opening and book signing at our bookstore tomorrow!

I just can't resist pointing out this editorial boo-boo by our pals over at The Stranger, mistakenly placing the graphic for next Wednesday's David B. event with today's item for the Museum of Bad Art on their SLOG blog. I'm trembling in mock outrage!

Here's the official flyer announcing "La Semaine de la Bande Dessinée - A Week Celebrating the French Graphic Novel," supported by Fantagraphics Books, the 4Culture King County Lodging Tax, the Alliance Française of Seattle and the Cultural Development Fund of the Federation of Alliances Françaises USA. Click here for our previous announcement.

AUGUST GETS HOT AT FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKSTORE & GALLERY WITH ZAK SALLY, DAVID B., AND DANIEL CLOWES!

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery welcomes three compelling cartoonists in August with appearances by artist/musician Zak Sally on August 2, French cartoonist David B. on August 15, and the incomparable Daniel Clowes on August 29. These talented artists further enhance the growing perception of Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery as one of our region’s most colorful and diverse cultural assets.

Zak Sally, a notorious Minneapolis-based musician and cartoonist will perform music and sign books on Saturday, August 2 from 6:00 - 9:00 PM. A veteran of celebrated alternative rock band Low (recently featured at the Sub Pop 20 shindig), Sally is the creator of acclaimed comics Recidivist and Sammy the Mouse, as well as publisher of independent La Mano books. Sally’s work also appears regularly in Fantagraphics Books' highly regarded MOME anthology. This event will feature the debut of the second issue of his Sammy the Mouse comic book published on Fantagraphics Books' international Ignatz imprint. Sally will perform music with his associate Nate Denver and special guests. Denver is author of the amazing Wait, You're Not a Centaur book/CD, and performs with Nate Denver's Neck and Total Shutdown. The event will also offer the public an opportunity to preview the first U. S. exhibition of original art by French cartoonist David B.

Best known by his pseudonym David B., Peirre-François Beauchard is one of the prominent artists of the bande dessinée, a genre whose style and standing he has greatly advanced. The exhibition “My Story, My Stories” includes original art from his critically acclaimed comic memoir “l’Ascension du Haut Mal” (published in English as Epileptic), contributions to Fantagraphics Books’ MOME anthology, works from his Ignatz series Babel, and many pieces previously unpublished in the U. S. This exquisite exhibition runs from August 2 through August 25, 2008. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery will host a reception for this exceptional artist on Friday, August 15 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. This event is associated with "La Semaine de la Bande Dessinée - A Week Celebrating the French Graphic Novel," supported by Fantagraphics Books, the 4Culture King County Lodging Tax, the Alliance Française of Seattle and the Cultural Development Fund of the Federation of Alliances Françaises USA.

On Friday, August 29, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery proudly presents the return of Daniel Clowes. His appearance marks the premiere of Ghost World: The Special Edition. The second in a series of deluxe publications from Fantagraphics Books, this edition of the phenomenal graphic novel includes special features available for the first time. Ghost World first appeared in Clowes’ award-winning Eightball comic book series, and the feature film, directed by Terry Zwigoff, earned the pair an Academy Award™ nomination for Best Screenplay adaptation. This event will feature an exhibition of Clowes’ meticulously rendered original graphics related to the book, as well as a brief discussion of the artists’ cinematic approach to cartooning. Please join us on August 29, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM welcome this extraordinary artist.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S, Vale St. in the heart of Seattle’s historic Georgetown arts community. Open daily, 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sunday until 5:00 PM. Phone: 206.658.0110. A selection of images in a variety of formats is available for publication. For additional information contact Eric Reynolds at Fantagraphics.

Listing Information

ZAK SALLY
Book signing and music performance
Saturday, August 2, 6:00 - 9:00 PM

DAVID B.
My Story, My Stories
Artist reception and book signing Friday, August 15, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Art exhibition August 2 - August 25, 2008

DANIEL CLOWES
Ghost World: The Special Edition
Artist reception and book signing Friday, August 29, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Art exhibition August 29 - October 7, 2008

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street, Seattle
206.658.0110 www.fantagraphics.com
Open daily 11:30 - 8:00 PM. Sundays until 5:00 PM.

The Summer 2008 issue of Art Source, the newsletter of the Seattle-based arts organization the Artist Trust, contains a feature article by curator Cynthia Rose (read a preview on the Artist Trust website) which profiles Epileptic/Babel creator David B. and highlights his upcoming visit to Seattle in mid-August, which is co-sponsored by the Alliance Française de Seattle and includes, of course, a stop and art show at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. Stay tuned for our complete announcement with all the details of this exciting multi-day celebration of bandes desinées, which will also include a talk given by our own Kim Thompson, a screening of Tintin et Moi at the Northwest Film Forum, and a panel discussion with David B., Jim Woodring, Peter Bagge and Joe Sacco at the Henry Art Museum.