* Other People's Publications
** Yeah, You Know Me.

Once Upon A Time... the FLOG kicked off an occasional column titled "Down With OPP," where we spotlighted books from other publishers that you can find at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle. And this week, we're looking at The Brothers Grimm's Snow White, as illustrated by our own Camille Rose Garcia, out now on Harper Design, an imprint of HarperCollins.

I love the way Camille captures the classic story with her whimsical watercolor illustrations! The colors are vibrantly reproduced on glossy pages in this petite hard-bound book, with some fanciful font treatments narrating the story. You can watch video of Camille working on the book here.

Camille will be celebrating the release of Snow White with a signing at Roq La Rue here in Seattle this Saturday, March 31st. And then join us down the street at Shorty's [ 2222 2nd Avenue ] for the Emerald City Comicon Pinball Party! Camille will be a special guest, and a signed copy of her wonderful Fantagraphics title, The Magic Bottle, will be just one of our many excellent prizes!

And find your "happily ever after" at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, 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.

* Other People's Publications
** Yeah, You Know Me.

Hey, it's the very first 2012 edition of "Down With OPP," our occasional column where we spotlight books from other publishers that you can find at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle!  And I was thrilled to get to the store this past weekend to find the latest volume of the celebrated Kramers Ergot anthology, from our friends at PictureBox.

It's chock-full of Fantagraphics artists: It opens with a great "Jimbo" strip from Gary Panter. There's also a wonderfully-drawn one-page gag from Tim Hensley. Kevin Huizenga re-draws a sci-fi story originally written decades ago by Bill Molno and Sal Trapani. And Frank Santoro & Dash Shaw turn in a beautiful collaboration on, well, catching pedophiles. 

Reading Johnny Ryan's story, I found myself thinking, "This might be the most romantic thing he's ever written," but then I ended up nearly laughing out loud by the end. It complements Sammy Harkham's marital comic, in a weird way.

I couldn't help reading the comic from Ben Jones in an "Alfe" voice, and the dialogue is so hilariously quotable, I just wanted to post random lines from it on Twitter.

And there's still more I haven't even mentioned, like the glossy full-color photography, the 70's Penthouse reprints, and the intro from Ian Svenonius, who will forever be to me "The Sassiest Boy in America."  

Get a copy for yourself at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, 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.

* Other People's Publications
** Yeah, You Know Me.

It's been a long time since our last edition of "Down With OPP," so for those of us who've forgotten (me), it's a column where we take a look at books from other publishers that you can find at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle!

And, of course, what could inspire me to revive the column faster than a new title from the great Lynda Barry!!! I was beyond the moon to get to the store yesterday and see we had Blabber Blabber Blabber: Volume 1 of Everything (Drawn & Quarterly) in stock!

It opens with this beautiful quote from Gahan Wilson's Nuts, I mean COME ON.

And here's Lynda's take on a ZAP Comix cover, wowie! The book begins with Lynda talking about her introduction to comics, which I loved reading since she was one of MY introductions. I fell in love with her work from the back pages of the alt-weeklies, and, um... may have collaged some of them into my zines in the '90s. (Sorry, Lynda...)

ANYWAY! The book then goes on to collect her very first Ernie Pook's Comeeks from the late '70s/early '80s, to a strip called Two Sisters that I had not even heard of before! It also includes some mail art and comics that Matt Groening sent her in the late '70s, including some collaborations with Gary Panter, eee!

It ends with a reprint of Girls + Boys and Big Ideas, as seen in the 2010 Bumbershoot Counterculture Comix exhibit, curated by Fantagraphics' own Larry Reid! 

Larry and Lynda go way back in the Seattle underground comix scene, so swing by the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery and ask him all about the good 'ol days! Blabber Blabber Blabber: Volume One of Everything, and a coupla other Barry titles, are currently in stock 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. See you there!

Fantagraphics resident genius Jim Woodring outdoes himself in the new annual edition of The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror. Li'l Bart discovers a shopworn copy of "Harvest of Fear" — an E.C. knockoff in the tradition of Four Color Fear — at a yard sale and all hell breaks loose. Woodring works within the Simpsons canon while cleverly incorporating his own idiosyncratic sensibilities. In the story, our mischievous protagonist sets out to solve the mystery of the mid-century comic book and finds the last page is the missing piece. Spooky.

* Other People's Publications
** Yeah, You Know Me.

Is it a cheat to spotlight Life with Mr. Dangerous by Paul Hornschemeier? I mean, technically, the book was released last month by Random House/Villard, but we did serialize it first in Mome.

Obviously, I think it still counts, as there's something different about reading Life with Mr. Dangerous collected in this stylish hard-bound edition. Without the stops-and-starts of serialization, I found myself far more immersed in the world of Amy Breis, a lonely 26-year-old stuck in a dead-end job, living alone with her cat, and obsessed with the TV show "Mr. Dangerous."

And, honestly, I love this character, and I love this book. It truly belongs on your shelf, next to your well-worn copy of Ghost World. I was even suspicious of whether "Amy Breis" was an anagram of "Hornschemeier" somehow. Like Clowes, Hornschemeier is able to craft a character who's painfully relatable, and ultimately, well... loveable.

Oh, and whaddaya know! You can pick up a copy and get it signed this coming Saturday, June 18th at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, as Hornschemeier will be here from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Seattle’s own Eroyn Franklin will also be debuting her highly anticipated book, Detained, for an evening of artists with hard-to-spell names.

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. See you there!

* Other People's Publications
** Yeah, You Know Me. 

It's sub-titled "A Love Story," but somehow Mister Wonderful still managed to depress the heck outta me. Such is the power of the one and only Daniel Clowes!

Mister Wonderful was originally serialized in the New York Times Magazine back in 2007-8, and it was such an exhilirating weekly ride, that I'm glad someone collected it into a nice little hardbound book, complete with extra bonus material.

If you didn't read the online strips a few years ago (I can't even imagine...), the "Mister Wonderful" in question is Marshall, an unemployed divorcé, who's been fixed up with Natalie, a woman with some romantic baggage of her own.

I don't wanna give away the ending for anyone who didn't read it on the NYT website (Really? You didn't?? Sorry, I just...), but somehow, the open-ended conclusion just left me feeling bummed out. I guess we're meant to feel hope for this budding couple, but c'mon... This is Dan Clowes we're talking about.

Mister Wonderful, and tons of other Clowes titles and accessories, are currently in stock at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, 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. See you there!

* Other People's Publications
** Yeah, You Know Me. 

One of the things I like about this writing this column is getting the chance to spotlight some great titles that Fantagraphics didn't publish ourselves.  But, I'm especially thrilled when I get to present books that are self-published, like this week's spotlighted comic, Thunder in the Building #2!  

Admittedly, I wasn't familiar with local artist Margaret Ashford-Trotter until we started carrying her latest comic, that she published herself with funds from the Xeric Foundation. 

Her drawing style reminds me a little of Adrian Tomine, and the storyline was certainly gripping, revolving around a romantic break-up and the terrible secret that becomes revealed in the aftermath... See? You're intrigued, right?  It's an impressive early effort from a talented local artist, and I'm already looking forward to seeing what Ashford-Trotter publishes next!

Thunder in the Building #2, and many other local self-published comics,  are currently in stock at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, 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.  See you soon!  

* Other People's Publications
** Yeah, You Know Me. 

For this special Valentine's Day edition of "Down with OPP," I'm spotlighting one of the most romantic books we have in stock at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery:  Scenes from an Impending Marriage by Adrian Tomine (Drawn & Quarterly).

I had read an interview with Tomine in ReadyMade magazine a few years ago where he talked about how he'd made this mini-comic for wedding guests.  And since my invitation got lost in the mail... (cough, cough -- no, I'm just kidding), the publication of this book meant I could stop trolling eBay for disgruntled wedding guests unloading their copies. 

Tomine fans, be forewarned: this book is really, really sweet.  Even the artwork strays a bit from what we've come to know from him, with charming homages to Peanuts and The Family Circus both. If you prefer your Tomine tortured, it might be better to dig out your well-read copies of Summer Blonde instead.

But, if any of my friends were getting married, you can bet the bride would be getting a copy of this from me at her bridal shower.  From the neat, petite size to the Tiffany Blue cover, it really is tailor-made for gift-giving.

(Of course, the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery has tons of other great gifts, too... cough.)

Scenes from an Impending Marriage, and more anguished Adrian Tomine titles, are currently in stock at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, 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.  See you soon! 

* Other People's Publications
** Yeah, You Know Me. 

If you've got a hankerin' for the finest in local independent comic books, then satisfy your appetite with one of these Combo #1's from Seattle artist collective, The Bureau of Drawers!

Each "happy meal" comes in a hand-screened take-out box, featuring artwork by Dalton Webb, and the prize inside is a countless abundance of lovingly-assembled mini-comics!  (Why "countless"? Uh... 'cause, I didn't wanna count 'em.)

Ingredients include a juicy reprint of Hotwire-contributor David Lasky's 1994 comic Portrait of Ella.  Marc Palm's psychedelic lyric-centric comic comes with a CD in the back.  Calamity Jon's An Hourly Comic is completely endearing and relatable, 'cause who doesn't dream about owning a fat bunny who likes to sit on your feet?  And for me, dessert was Nikki Burch's These Are My Jokes, which is gorgeously rendered, reminding both me and store impresario Larry Reid of the great Julie Doucet. 

And really, that's a mere taste of all the goodness you get in the Combo #1.  Why, just check out this commercial, provided by The Bureau of Drawers:

Just like the fabled McRib, the Combo #1 is limited edition, and we've only got a few of them in stock at the store. But, hey, why not pick yours up on Saturday, February 12th as the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery presents the opening of "Lovesick," an exhibition of original art, books and prints by the master chefs behind the Bureau of Drawers themselves!  You can read more about the opening on the Fantagraphics FLOG here.