FLOG! Entries tagged 'Fantagraphics history'

Hateball Tour 20th anniversary memories

mike

Holy smokes, has it really been 20 years since the "Hateball" tour with Peter Bagge & Dan Clowes? Our old pal Devlin Thompson of Bizarro Wuxtry in Athens, GA shares memories and photos of their stop there.

Fantagraphics Commemorates Sub Pop's Silver Jubilee

LarryR

Make hotel reservations now for the alternative music event of the decade. Sub Pop celebrates 25 years of rockin' the world with a free concert featuring 15 bands right outside our Georgetown bookstore on July 13. The official line-up as announced by Tad Doyle, Kim Thayil, Mark Arm, and Jack Endino will be complemented by some amazing guests. (We'll leave it to your imagination, but read Tad's lips at the end of the video for a clue.)

While serving as director of Seattle's Center on Contemporary Art in 1989, I somehow coerced Sub Pop moguls Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman into programming a weekend of music at our downtown space. The show featured Nirvana, Mudhoney, Gwar, TAD, Dwarves, Dickless, Supersuckers, and other awesome acts. CoCA intern Owen Connell created this memorable poster and wheat pasted them all over town. These shows seemed cathartic somehow. Maybe you had to be there. If you weren't, you're in luck...

I'm reviving this concept for an exhibit at Fantagraphics Bookstore coinciding with Sub Pop's Silver Jubilee on July 13. Focusing on the formative years of Sub Pop, the show examines the intersection of comix and music in Seattle beginning with the birth of Sub Pop in 1980. It includes art and artifacts by Charles Burns, Lynda Barry, Peter Bagge, Art Spiegelman, Charles Peterson, Daniel Clowes, and many more. Danny Bland will read from his new novel In Case We Die set in Seattle's grunge era. This'll rock hard! More details will be revealed later, but schedule your summer vacation accordingly.

You don't have to wait until summer to enjoy Sub Pop's contribution to modern music. This Saturday is Record Store Day and our retail partners Georgetown Records will have the special Sub Pop 1000 vinyl LP, as well as exclusive Record Store Day offerings from local label Light in the Attic including Roky Erickson, PiL, and Mercury Rev. Please come by, and wherever you are -- support your local record store!

Sub Pop Rocks

LarryR

A flock of rock stars descended on Fantagraphics Bookstore yesterday following a video shoot for the forthcoming Sub Pop Silver Jubilee celebrating 25 years of the storied Seattle record label. From left: producer and musician Jack Endino, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, brother TAD Doyle, and (former Fantagraphics staffer) Mudhoney front man Mark Arm.

Mark your calendars - and make hotel reservations - for Saturday, July 13 when Sub Pop presents 15 bands on two stages of free, all-ages entertainment right outside our bookstore. Inside the store, Fantagraphics curator Larry Reid is teaming with Sub Pop founder Bruce Pavitt for an exhibition focusing on the formative years of the Sub Pop phenomenon, including seminal works from cartoonists that would later become legends in their own right. This event also marks the world premiere of Danny Bland's highly anticipated first novel In Case We Die, from the world's greatest pop culture publisher. Time your summer vacation accordingly.

March Music at Fantagraphics Bookstore

LarryR

Join us this Saturday, March 23 from 4:00 to 8:00 PM for the 2nd annual Georgetown Music March. Just as the monthly Art Attack draws attention to the visual arts in Georgetown, the Music March features the many musicians that live, work, and play in the historic arts community. Over a dozen eclectic acts will perform all over the neighborhood. All shows are free and most venues are all ages.

Among the many highlights will be Clyde Petersen's Your Heart Breaks at Fantagraphics Bookstore, Blue Star Creeper on the Trailer Park Stage, Earl Brooks at Calamity Jane's, and Jack Endino's Rocket Surgery, featuring former Fantagraphics marketing assistant Allison Maryatt at the MIX. Come early for comix and stay late for another evening of raucous revelry in Georgetown.

Cheers to the Year 2012

LarryR

We'd like to thank everyone involved in making 2012 a spectacular success at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. Gifted artists, authors, musicians, and curators coalesced to create a stimulating cultural atmosphere at the space.

Thanks to artists Peter Bagge, Gabrielle Bell, Jeffrey Brown, Nathan Bulmer, Charles Burns, Art Chantry, Jack Davis, Michael Dougan, Ellen Forney, Camille Rose Garcia, Ruth Hayes, Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, Tom Kaczynski, David Lasky, Tony Millionaire, Gary Panter, Joe Sacco, Noah Van Sciver, Chris Ware, and Jim Woodring; authors Jim Demonakos, Susan Kirtley, Mark Long, Pat Thomas, and Nico Vassilakos; musicians Geneviève Castrée, Zachary David, Dennis Driscoll, Lori Goldston, Kyle Hanson, and Molly Nilsson; guest curators J. Michael Catron, Max Clotfelter, Michel Gagne, Ben Horak, Cathy Hillenbrand, Tim Miller, Kristy Valenti, and Jen Vaughn; bookstore interns Lillian Beatty and Lillian Morloch; bookstore staff Janice Headley and Russ Battaglia, as well as our retail partners at Georgetown Records.

Most of all we want to thank you - our wonderful patrons - for your enthusiasm and support over the past six years. Cheers!

Love and Rockets Rocks Seattle

LarryR

To commemorate Fantagraphics Bookstore's 6th anniversary and 30 years of Love & Rockets, we commissioned Clone Press to publish a silkscreen print of the image pictured above. Signed copies of this 18" X 24" edition of 100 will be available at the event for only $25 on Saturday evening at 6:00 PM. Since the Hernandez Brothers appeared in Seattle at Fallout Records on their 10th anniversary tour, we thought it appropriate for the proprietor of that legendary establishment to DJ two decades later. Russ Battaglia will spin vintage punk rock vinyl and demented holiday hits. Don't miss what promises to be the season's most festive party.

Taking Punk to the Nordstrom!

janice

The flagship Nordstrom store in downtown Seattle is currently hosting The Seattle Music Project, an exhibit of photos and ephemera commemorating five decades of Northwest music, curated by renowned local photographer Lance Mercer!

The exhibit is on display in the Mens Shop, downstairs...

... next to the rounder of plaid flannel shirts...

...and by the escalators, you'll find this photo by Cam Garrett of the legendary Fallout Skate Shop! Can you spot the employees of the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery? Yup, that's our very own Larry Reid and Russ Batagglia above, circa 1985! Fashion icons!

[ ETA: Eric informs me, "there's also two ex longtime-employees in that pic: Tom Price and Tim Hayes!" Nice! ]

"We love the grunge music..."

The Seattle Music Project exhibit will be on display at the downtown Seattle Nordstrom location [ 500 Pine Street ] through this Sunday, September 30th.

For more excellent photos and stories of the grunge-era, get yr hands on a copy of Taking Punk to the Masses: From Nowhere to Nevermind! And stop by the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery [ 1201 S. Vale Street ] to say hi to Larry and Russ!

A Final Bow for Heather Hughes

LarryR

Fantagraphics lost our dear friend and creative colleague Heather Hughes yesterday following a courageous battle with cancer. Heather played the role of Babs Bradley in a one act play of Peter Bagge's story "You're Not the Boss of Me" directed by Steven Jesse Bernstein at the opening of the "Misfit Lit" comix art exhibition at CoCA in Seattle in 1991. She later performed at Fantagraphics Bookstore with her saucy musical comedy group the Fraus for the 2008 opening of Alex Chun's pin-up exhibition. We'll remember her fondly for this appearance with Bridget Fonda in Cameron Crowe's 1992 feature film Singles. Cute and clever - like Heather herself. (Note the cameo by young Tim Burton as "Brian.") Heather Artena Hughes, beautiful inside and out. We're unspeakably sad and miss her terribly.

Ghosts of the Past

LarryR

Seeing Enid and Rebecca on the cover of the current issue of Juxtapoz art journal reminded me of a similar feature I wrote on Daniel Clowes in the same publication in March of 2001. The Ghost World film was about to be released. Clowes was thrilled at the artistic freedom he and filmmaker Terry Zwigoff enjoyed. "We're below the radar at MGM," he observed. I was unfamiliar with young Scarlett Johansson, describing her as "a former child actress who played opposite Robert Redford in The Horse Whisperer."

Who would've guessed that Clowes and Ghost World would go on to have such a profound effect on American pop culture? Not me.

R. I. P. (the other) Eric Reynolds

LarryR

The Fantagraphics family is saddened by the loss of Australian musician Eric "Ren" Reynolds. Former bandmate of current Fantagraphics sales manager Martin Bland (Lubricated Goat) and former warehouse worker Mark Arm (Bloodloss), Reynolds was a longtime Seattle resident. Known affectionately as "Ren," [and commonly as Renestair E.J., Martin informs us � Ed.] we trust people won't be alarmed by his sharing the name of our very-much-alive associate publisher Eric Reynolds. "Ren" was a funny dude and talented musician. We'll miss him.

Mike Catron, back in the day

mike

Todd Klein posted this great photo by José Luis Garcia-López of Fantagraphics co-founder and current editor Mike Catron freelancing in the DC Comics offices in 1979. Mike is currently in the process of making his arduous cross country move back to Seattle. We miss ya Mike! (Hat tip to Robot 6.)

Daily OCD: 4/6-4/9/12

mike

A few days of Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Everything Is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson by Salt Lake City native Kevin Avery is a fitting testimonial to a man who pioneered rock 'n' roll criticism. Those familiar and unfamiliar with the culture of the '60s will appreciate this finely written tribute.... Overall, Everything Is an Afterthought will break your heart and inspire you to be a better person. It is a wonderful story of a man who deserves his chance in the spotlight." – Shelby Scoffield, Deseret News

• Excerpts: On his blog, writer Rob Trucks has a couple of bite-sized excerpts from Kevin Avery's Everything Is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson, here and here

• Review: If you've ever wondered what Tucker Stone might say about Love and Rockets #1, TCJ ahoy

• Review: "A little impenetrable in that wordless story kind of way, even when there are words. I like the stories – actually read them – but I’m more interested in studying the way each page sports a new texture or approach. The art is simply fantastic. Some stories retain a color scheme for their entirety and some switch up the limited palette within the story itself. Totally my kind of thing. I like the coloring, the line drawing, the combination of both. The graphic, printmaking quality of it and the 'classical' drawing are also attractive to me. I found myself just flipping through this collection for a long time.... High class stuff. Also, this book gets an award for best endpapers. Check it out." – Frank Santoro, The Comics Journal

• Review: "Lost and Found is the sort of retrospective project that begs summary statements. The introduction reads like a compressed memoir. The book, while extremely dense and a bit overwhelming to read, testifies to Griffith’s heroic output of underground comics, and his commitment to a lifetime of making work that is challenging, inventive, and beautifully drawn. His signature narrative discombobulation and linguistic elasticity unite all these disparate pieces into a cohesive statement of surprise and protest. It is ridiculously quotable. Also, it is very funny. Lost and Found delivers wholesale entertainment value with a socially redeeming dose of satire." – Matthew Thurber & Rebecca Bird, The Comics Journal

• Interview (Audio): Inkstuds host Robin McConnell says of his latest episode, "One of the most prolific cartoonists of the underground generation, Bill Griffith, joined me to chat about his new collection, Lost and Found. It is an interesting conversation that touches on a number of different topics, ranging from his Zippy the Pinhead work, to discussing his contemporaries like Rory Hayes."

• Interview: Paul Gravett chatted with Robert Crumb for Art Review magazine; he presents an unexpurgated version at his blog: "In the last few years, I’ve got so deeply involved investigating scandalous shit that goes on in modern business and culture. It’s very difficult to interpret in comics, I’m trying to figure it out. There’s not a lot of action or humour, it’s serious, grim shit. You could get your ass in trouble doing that, too. I remember when I did this thing in the Seventies, ‘Frosty the Snowman’, where I had him being this revolutionary who throws bombs at the Rockefeller mansion and shortly after that was published, the Internal Revenue Service came after me."

• Interview: Chris Mautner's Q&A with Zak Sally at Robot 6 is a must read: "I’m no Pollyanna, nor am I a hippie; the world is NOT cut and dried with stuff like this, nor do I view it that way — if, for instance, Fantagraphics (who I love dearly) decided to print all their stuff over here, they’d probably have to kill important books by artists who don’t sell as well to ameliorate that extra cost. Or, hell, i don’t know — maybe they’d go under. Do i want either of those things? Heck no. I want Noah van Sciver and Chris Wright’s new books to get out in the world, and to reach their audience. I want Fantagraphics to be around for … forever. BUT: let’s also not fool ourselves that this 'lowest cost' imperative isn’t fucking up our world significantly, all day every day, as an economic paradigm. It’s a real thing, and that can’t be ignored either."

• Profile: At HiLobrow, Norman Hathaway puts the spotlight on Guy Peellaert: "Years later I realized that Peellaert had also been responsible for one of my favorite pieces of power-pop comic art; Jodelle (and later Pravda), which plastered hip, mid-’60s fashion drawing into a dystopian landscape of the future, done in a completely different linear graphic design-based style."

• Profile: Dan Taylor of The Press Democrat chats with Monte Schulz: "'My dad is actually mentioned in a very subtle way in The Big Town,' Schulz said. 'The main character, Harry, is in a barber shop. It says, "Back in St. Paul, he'd gotten his hair cut in the Family Barbershop on North Snelling Avenue by a cigar-smoking German fellow, whose young son drew funny little pictures."'"

• Profile (Video): Enjoy a brief video spotlight on the great Kim Deitch presented by Seth Kushner at Trip City

• Tribute/History: From last week, at The Stranger, rememberances of our former art director, the late Dale Yarger

Daily OCD: 3/8/12

mike

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• History: If you'd like to know more about the late Dale Yarger's tenure as Fantagraphics Art Director, this tribute by another erstwhile Fanta staffer Robert Boyd is a great place to start

• Review: "Bill Griffith, the one prominent figure of underground comix to reach the daily comic page mainstream, has delivered again with a phone book-sized volume both odd and pleasing.... Griffith, with his Zippy the Pinhead cartoon, which has been carried in dozens of daily newspapers since 1984, has had numerous reprint books, but none so exhaustive as Lost and Found. Day by day, week by week, year by year, Zippy reveals the oddness of post-modernity and opens up a large view of civilization both berserk and humorous, when viewed from what has been called 'the Zen of stupidity.' Nor has any previous collection contained such a substantial memoir as the artist’s introduction to this volume, 'Inside the Box.' Not even Griffophiles (or is it Zippophiles?) like this reviewer knew most of the details offered here..." – Paul Buhle, The Jewish Daily Forward

• Review: "...It is splendid news that a book compilation of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's romance comics has appeared. Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby's Romance Comics is both significant for its content and memorable for its quality of production." – Santiago García, Mandorla (translated from Spanish)

• Profile: Jim Woodring's in Homer, Alaska again for another residency at the Bunnell Street Arts Center; Michael Armstrong at HomerNews.com finds out what Jim's up to up there: "Sit down before him, and he might draw you. Hang with him, and he'll talk about art and cartooning. Walk around town on a nice day, and you can join him on an sketch tour, looking for cool things to draw."

Goodbye to Our Friend Dale Yarger

kimt

It is with a heavy heart that we must report that Dale Yarger, a beloved and influential figure on the Seattle alternative-press and design scene with whom we had the pleasure of working for a number of years in the 1990s (he was Fantagraphics' senior designer for the first half of the decade, as well as on a later occasion), has passed away after a long, courageous battle with cancer.

Dale was a man of uncommon skill, grace, and sweetness and his premature departure leaves a hole in the world and in our hearts. Our sympathy goes out to all the people who knew and loved Dale, of which which there are -- as you can tell from the steady stream of updates to this Facebook tribute page to Dale -- many.

Daily OCD: 1/10/12

mike

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• List: Publishers Weekly announces the results of their 2011 Comics World Critics Poll, with these titles garnering 2 votes each...

"Love and Rockets: New Stories Vol. 4, Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez: Jaime Hernandez tops his 30 years of peerless storytelling with the conclusion to 'The Love Bunglers' in which two characters we’ve watched stumble through life make a final lurch — that may bring happiness or doom. Heartbreaking yet without a trace of manipulation." – Heidi MacDonald

"The Man Who Grew His Beard, Olivier Schrauwen: This graphic novel is exceptionally inventive, with each story being so very different from the one before." – Glen Downey

...and the following books receiving an Honorable Mention with one vote each:

Nuts, Gahan Wilson
The Cabbie Vol. 1, Martí
Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: Race to Death Valley, Floyd Gottfredson

• Review: "As [Wandering Son] volume 2 closes, the idyllic childhood Shuichi and Nitori have shared thus far, surrounded by exceptionally supportive family and friends, is showing signs of being breached by thoughtless outsiders.... In the insightful, not-to-be-skipped final essay, 'Transgendered in Japan,' translator (and manga scholar) Matt Thorn writes, 'Shuichi and Yoshino are coming of age, not in an idealized fantasy world, but in a contemporary Japan that poses unique challenges to children such as these.' Indeed, to quote a popular film, 'reality bites,' but in creator Shimura Takako's sensitive world, Shuichi and Nitori have better than a fighting chance at becoming strong, confident adults." – Terry Hong, BookDragon (Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program)

• Review: "In spite of its depressive mood (you know, with it being about the end of the world and such), The Hidden exemplifies the effectiveness of Sala's application of a 'less is more' visual style to broad, complex stories.... I can't recommend Sala's books enough, and The Hidden is one of his best works to date. Be sure to pick up a copy if you're looking for something more than global plagues and cannibalistic zombies in your world-ending entertainment." – Tim Mitchell, Titans Terrors & Toys

• List/Plugs: Andy Mansell of Heroes Aren't Hard to Find names a handful of "creme de la creme," "must-have" classic comic strip collections from 2011: "Do yourself a favor – next time you are in the store take a few moments and pick up a copy of Lost in the Andes or Pogo, either Mickey Mouse collection, ...[and] flip through it. Read a few strips.... These are rich, beautiful books and they deserve to be read by everyone."

• Plug: The A.V. Club's Oliver Sava provides a guide to "What makes a good all-ages comic," saying "Animation-inspired art remains the most popular choice for an all-ages series... Carl Barks’ work with Disney’s duck characters is the pinnacle of this school: Barks’ experience as a Disney animator honed his talent for creating sprawling environments and distinct characters that are instantly charming and incredibly rich. Fantagraphics just published its first hardcover collection of Barks’ classic stories, Donald Duck: Lost In The Andes, a beautiful package collecting some of Barks’ most memorable duck tales."

• Links: Love & Maggie compiles another round of Love and Rockets-related links from around the web

• History: Read Sean T. Collins’s profile of Fantagraphics, originally published in Wizard a few years ago

Daily OCD: 1/9/12

mike

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "...Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby’s Romance Comics isn’t just a book of some minor historical interest; it’s a genuinely entertaining and artful set of comics, and in some ways more readable than Simon and Kirby’s adventure stories.... Simon’s plots deal with jealousy, class conflict, mistaken identity, selfishness, and selflessness — the romance staples — while Kirby’s art makes these tales of passion and deceit especially dynamic, with deep shadows and a mix of the glamorous and the lumpen. ...Simon and Kirby... depict[ed] a world of darkness and heavy emotion, inhabited by clean-looking people in pretty clothes." – Noel Murray, The A.V. Club

• Review: "Though not a novel per se, The Life and Death of Fritz the Cat does tell a story of sorts, about Crumb’s evolution as an artist, from the mild-mannered greeting-card designer who drew cheeky doodles in his spare time, to the prickly satirist who’d use Fritz as a way to comment on the sick soul of the ’60s and his own at-times-unwieldy success." – Noel Murray, The A.V. Club

• Review: "Nuts wasn't action-packed or boldly satirical. Just the opposite, in fact -- it was subtle and thoughtful, with what I'm guessing was a heavy autobiographical element on the part of Mr.Wilson.... You might not have grown up when Wilson did, or when the [National Lampoon] was published, or when I first read these strips years ago, so the details have changed. But I'm willing to bet the emotions our hero felt remain almost exactly the same, no matter what generation is reading about him. And, of course, Gahan Wilson's cartooning is what makes the strips special." – Will Pfeifer, X-Ray Spex

• Review: "There are few collections of comics that you can truly describe as 'beautiful art'; however, Fantagraphics’ series of Prince Valiant trades is absolutely stunning to look at and is easy to write flattering things about, because it is so flattering for a reader’s eyes to behold Foster’s artwork crisp, clear, and huge in all its splendor. The fourth volume of Prince Valiant, which collects all the Sunday pages in full color from 1943 to 1944, is just wonderful, whether you are 4 or 94; it is a totally engrossing experience to dive into the world of the adventurous prince on these pages." – Drew McCabe, ComicAttack.net

• Interview: The Comics Reporter's Tom Spurgeon talks with Zak Sally about his new self-published, self-printed collection of Sammy the Mouse: "I've gotten out three issues of Sammy in five years, and in that five years I've had two kids, I've been married. My life has changed extraordinarily. That's just the way art works, you know. I was doing issue #2 -- maybe #3, I can't remember -- and there was stuff going on in my life. Six months later I look at that issue and I was like, 'Oh my sweet God.' It was absolutely reflective of what had been going on at the time, and I was completely unaware of it. I just think that's part of it, and that's the way it works."

• Interview: At Nummer 9, Erik Barkman has a Q&A (in Danish) with Johan F. Krarups (editor Matthias Wivel describes it as a "commentary track") about his contribution to the Kolor Klimax: Nordic Comics Now anthology

• Plug: Heidi MacDonald of The Beat looks forward to Jaime Hernandez's God and Science: Return of the Ti-Girls: "We can’t help but think that all of the people calling for great superhero stories featuring women will find Ti-Girls a masterpiece, as well, an entire superhero universe made up of nothing but superheroines of various shapes and sizes. It’s jaunty Jaime to be sure, but even so probably one of the best superhero stories of the last decade."

• Plug: "Fantagraphics is still the gold standard for classy newspaper strip collections. I’m afraid people are getting jaded now about how the wonderful Peanuts volumes are chugging right along year after year, but it’s worth pointing out that they continue to be everything anyone could ever want from an archive edition. What’s more, Fantagraphics followed it up with these new Floyd Gottfredson Mickey Mouse collections." – Greg Hatcher, Comic Book Resources

• Plug: Found this nice nugget in Laura Hudson's interview with Chris Onstad at ComicsAlliance: "Jim Woodring is great, and is one of those people who will honestly admit to you that, 'Yeah, my brain's a little f**ked up.' His comics are sort of a manifestation of his brain. It works for him. He's a really wonderful guy. He has this big three-story place with big, gothic abbey rope hanging in front of the front door. The rope rings a little bell to let you know that someone's at the door. One time it rings in the foyer so his wife opens the door, and there's this little cat there that came in from the road. So they let the cat in, shut the door, and we all go about our night. Then we watched Popeye for two hours. That's Jim. And he does all of his work based on hallucination. None of it's set in reality. Uncanny things that make me feel strange happen [in his comics]."

• Analysis: Jordan Hurder, Chance Press examines the collaborations between Jacques Tardi and Jean-Patrick Manchette: "Tardi is a fantastically celebrated cartoonist who has been at the forefront of the industry in France for 35 years. In contrast to his slow burn, Manchette shot out ten crime novels over the course of ten years, redefined and reinvigorated the French crime novel, became hugely influential, and died of cancer in the 1990s.... The compatibility between the two artists is uncanny; maybe a better critic could point out exactly why in just a few words, or maybe it’s one of those matchups that works without needing explanation." – Jordan Hurder, Chance Press

• Commentary: Gary Groth remembers Christopher Hitchens in "My Dinner with Hitch" at The Comics Journal

• History: Speaking of our dear leader, David Hine presents some scans from an issue of Gary's pre-Fantagraphics fanzine, Fantastic Fanzine (hat tip to Dan Nadel at TCJ.com)

• Scene: Our own Stephanie Hayes has a quick recap and some great snaps from Tony Millionaire's appearance at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery this past Saturday

Palestine Revisited

LarryR

For perhaps obvious reasons, I invariably find myself re-reading Palestine this time of year. Twenty years ago, cartoonist Joe Sacco visited the biblical lands of the Middle East and reported his observations in a groundbreaking series of comic books that would help change our perceptions of the troubled occupied territories. It's a sad commentary that reading this book twenty years later, it seems like it could have been written yesterday. With every read — going on a dozen now — I find something new in Sacco's brilliant tale.

I recall not long after beginning work as Fantagraphics marketing and promotions director, co-publisher Kim Thompson handed me a blue-line copy of the first issue of Palestine. "This is amazing," I responded, "but you can't seriously expect me to sell this thing. It's not very funny at all!" (I believe I said something similar when Kim showed me the first issue of Chris Ware's Acme Novelty Library.) Well, after 10 printings of the collection and a special edition hardcover, Palestine seems to have found a readership.

If you haven't done so already, please get a copy of this book. Now's a perfect time to peruse its pages. Sacco visits Bethlehem and finds little evidence of the promise of peace we will celebrate this Sunday. But he does discover humanity amid the turmoil of the region. And with it — hope for a peaceful resolution.

If you find yourself in Seattle anytime soon, drop by Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. We have a limited quantity of Palestine #1 first edition comic books signed by Sacco for only $2.95, as well as a large selection of his more recent works. Happy holidays.

Rocket Van!

LarryR

(click image to enlarge)

Every so often I'm asked whatever became of Fantagraphics old delivery van, which was vandalized — I mean decorated — by masters of alternative comix during a 1991 signing at Fallout. (Crumb, Clowes, Bagge, Bros., Mavrides, Woodring, etc.) We spoke to the Georgetown owner last summer and he assured us restoration was underway. On Friday, Georgetown Records unearthed a cache of vintage Rocket magazines. The April '91 issue contained a sidebar on this rolling masterpiece.

Amazing back-in-the-day pics of the Hernandez Bros. & Peter Bagge

mike

Oh, you know, just Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez doing a signing with their pal Matt Groening at Golden Apple Comics in L.A. in 1984 when Dave Stevens stopped by to say hi to them and Gilbert's hotcha gal Carol. ¡Ay carumba! (And is that a turntable under the V poster? Even cooler!) This got posted over at the Love and Rockets/Hernandez Brothers Facebook page way back in March and I've been too flabbergasted for the last 8 months to post it until now.

But lo! Via a Tumblr blog called One-Chair Barbershop comes, unattributed and without context, this vintage photo of Peter Bagge from his NYC street-art stickering days, to pair up and kick the dust off this old Flog draft. Flex those guns, Pete!

The Infinite Kim Thompson: An Explanation of Sorts

kimt

Ah yes, I remember that. 1976 or 1977. My family had just moved from Munich, Germany to Montpellier, France, and my Mother, my brother, and I were cooling our heels in our usual summer vacation spot of Copenhagen, Denmark while my Father was setting up our new Montpellier digs. (That would be the same Montpellier that currently serves as home base for Lewis Trondheim and Jason.) WIth ample time on his hands, my Father, who was (and is) an avid photographer, had just discovered the age-old trick of photographing someone multiple times in front of a black backdrop to create the illusion of multiple iterations of the same person (no, kids, there was no Photoshop then), and had sent us some hilarious fumetti of himself in various goofy disguises interacting with himself.

Around the same time, future Marvel Editor-in-Chief Mark Gruenwald (whom I knew well through correspondence) — at the time still a fan, of course — had self-published his TREATISE ON REALITY, one of the central tenets of which was that the Marvel and DC universes contained an infinite amount of "realities" each of which was created by an individual human decision (a kind of sci-fi version of chaos theory in which the butterfly does AND doesn't flap its wings). So in one reality Peter Parker decided not to go to that science exhibit and didn't get bitten by that spider, or Bruce Wayne's parents didn't duck down that dark alleyway, etc. Those reality-creating "decision points" he dubbed "nexuses" (or "nexi"?). Somehow in my geeky mind this combined with the technique my father had been playing around with and the whole family got together (note my Mother's credit for "flying cucumber" effect) and created this illustration of what would happen if, as I was reading Mark's treatise, I found myself having to decide among continuing to read it, going for a snack, or going to bed (the trifecta of choices pretty much anyone faces when reading late at night).

Everyone got a kick out of it (including Dean Mullaney, who was very much the "nexus" of that group) and I've been lugging around that set of Xeroxes for three and a half decades — until some wisenheimer in the Fantagraphics offices found it in a box and slapped it up on Flog.

Tom Spurgeon's recollection on his comicsreporter.com blog that this ties into a group of round-robin fan correspondents that included Rob Rodi and Jo Duffy (also Ralph Macchio — the future Marvel editor, not the Karate Kid star) is on the nose.

I don't even want to think about how many of this blog's readers weren't even born when I did this.

Rest in peace Mark Gruenwald, a good guy who died far too young. Hopefully there are thousands of other alternate realities where he's still happily editing Marvel comics.