I was pretty excited to get to the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery this past Sunday and see the exhibit is now up for Drawing Power: An Exhibition of Cartoon Advertising!

Where the heck did editor Warren Bernard get all this cool stuff?! Well, we can ask him in person when he makes a special Seattle appearance on Saturday, September 24th at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery!

Make plans now to join us from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Warren will be giving a slideshow presentation and talk. 

And as an extra bonus, we'll be joined by artist Tom Neely, currently on tour for his incredible "painted novel," The Wolf.  I'll be dishing more about that on the Flog later...!

Earlier this month, the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery was thrilled to host a preview screening of the alt-comix documentary series "Hooked on Comix 3," spotlighting our very own Dame Darcy and Tony Millionaire! 

We were very fortunate to have directors David P. Moore and Audry Mandelbaum in attendance, and you can check out an interview David did with Dan Morrill of ComicsForge.com below (or on YouTube)! It's a great look around at our bookstore & gallery, and there's even a lo-fi preview of Tony's interview at the end:

Come visit the Fantagraphics Bookstore and get hooked on comix yourself! We're open daily from 11:30 to 8:00 PM, and open on Sundays until 5:00 PM. You can find us at 1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.) in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle.

Do not miss this! On Wednesday, October 5, Fantagraphics Bookstore, in association with the Seattle Public Library Foundation, welcomes Craig Thompson. He'll be discussing his eagerly anticipated graphic novel Habibi, followed by a book signing. Free admission in the Microsoft Auditorium at the downtown library branch.

Those of you lucky enough to be in Seattle this weekend be sure to drop by Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday, September 3. You'll be among the first in the nation to screen "Hooked on Comix 3." Los Angeles filmmakers Audrey Mandelbaum and David P. Moore have been documenting the masters of alternative comix at the peak of their prowess since 1993.  Meet these exceptional filmmakers and see the latest installment of this truly wonderful documentary series, which features Dame Darcy and Tony Millionaire, two of Fantagraphics' most talented and eccentric cartoonists. The film will run continuously between noon and 3:00 PM. As an added incentive to attend — (like you need one) — we'll be offering 20% off on all books by the two stars on the film, all day long.

Fantagraphics Bookstore will be open Labor Day Monday, September 5 from 11:30 to 4:00 PM. Get all your back to school comix this weekend.

Russ informs us that punk legend Exene Cervenka of X fame dropped by Fantagraphics Bookstore on Monday evening with Phil Alvin of the Blasters to do some record and comix shopping. Visiting Seattle to perform at Neumos with X bandmate John Doe, Exene was reportedly pleased to find a copy of Talk to Her, a collection of interviews conducted by Krisitne McKenna. Exene is interviewed, along with counterculture celebrities like Lou Reed, Joey Ramone, Allen Ginsberg, Johnny Rotten, Joe Strummer, Chrissie Hynde, Joe Sacco, Elvis Costello, Walter Hopps, and Richard Hell, among others. The book includes portraits of interview subjects by Charles Burns, Daniel Clowes, Tony Millionaire and more. Pick one up. You won't be able to put it down.

P. S. Fans of X, The Blasters and other pioneering punk rawk acts would do well to get Destroy All Movies!!!: The Complete Guide to Punks on Film, which includes interviews with Exene and John Doe, a forward by Richard Hell, and chronicles countless cultural milestones. Essential.

Make a habit of visiting Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery this fall as we approach five years of presenting comix culture to the masses. It just keeps getting better:

On Saturday, September 3 between noon and 3:00 PM, we host a sneak preview of "Hooked on Comix 3." Fimmakers David P. Moore and Audry Mandelbaum will be present for a continuous screening of the latest installment of their insightful documentary series on alternative comix. This one features the lovely Dame Darcy and always entertaining Tony Millionaire. Can't wait.

On Saturday, September 10 we open Drawing Power, an amazing exhibition of cartoon advertising curated by Warren Bernard. On Saturday, September 24 Bernard will present a slide talk followed by a book signing from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. He'll be joined by visual artist and cartoonist Tom Neely presenting his latest "painted novel" The Wolf.

On Saturday, October 1 we'll host a special preview of the topical graphic novel Oil and Water with journalist writer Steve Duin from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.

Don't miss a minute of the action. Visit Fantagraphics Bookstore daily. If you don't live here, with local housing prices remaining soft and the Seattle job market improving, now's a good time to move. See ya'll soon.

One of the great pleasures of working at Fantagraphics Bookstore in Georgetown is the amazing people I meet. Like Pam, from Classic Helicopters at the south end of Boeing Field. She treated me, John and my daughter Bella to a 45-minute chopper tour of the region on Tuesday morning. Highlights included a breathtaking look down Snoqualmie Falls, a bird's eye view of the Space Needle, and a spectacular look at the Seattle skyline from above the stadiums. Here we are hovering near Lake Washington with hella Bella at the controls. Look out below!

We were totally thrilled to have In the Red / Volar Records band Christmas Island stop by the Fantagraphics Bookstore during their West Coast tour this past weekend!

Ajax and I actually met their awesome drummer Lucy at the San Diego Comic-Con late last month, and she had mentioned that her band was gonna be playing The Funhouse in Seattle for Pizza Fest 2011! [Full disclosure: Ajax works the door at The Funhouse when not workin' the warehouse at Fantagraphics.] But I totally suck, and I missed the show and the ensuing pizza-eating contest! Dammit.

Don't suck like I did: the band are still on tour, heading back home to San Diego over the next couple of weeks.  If you dig that lo-fi garage-pop thing, go see 'em, and chat with Lucy at the merch table about VHS horror films and Johnny Ryan comics!

8/8: The Tube - Portland (w/Grrrl Friend)
8/10: The Knockout - San Francisco (w/Personal and the Pizzas)
8/11: The Blue Lagoon - Santa Cruz (w/ The Groggs)
8/12:  Thee Davis Big TV House - Davis
8/13: Total Trash Fest - Oakland
8/15: Burger Records - Fullerton
8/16: Studio Danza - Whittier
8/17: Tower Bar - San Diego (w/ Bear Slim)

And, if you're in a band coming through Seattle, why not visit us at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery? We've got your perfect tour van/backstage-reading material in store.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA 98108
206.658.0110
Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM 

We just had Anders Nilsen signing with us at the San Diego Comic-Con, and the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery was thrilled to welcome him back this past weekend, away from the costumes and video game noise of the 'Con! We've got a bunch of pictures from his signing with us up on the Fantagraphics Flickr.

Anders gave a lovely slideshow presentation on the history of his comic Big Questions, in promotion of the 600-page collection just released by our pals at Drawn & Quarterly. I was kinda surprised to learn he used to be the frontman for a band (!), and one of his first self-published zines was a lyric booklet they would hand-out at shows (as seen above!).

And on that "note" (heh), here, upon request, is the setlist to the "Big Questions Mega-Mix" that I DJ'ed at Anders's signing. In honor of his new collection, all the songs I played were questions, natch:

1. "What In It For?" - Avi Buffalo
2. "Who Is Moving?" - Lilys
3. "Don't Ask Me to Explain" - Of Montreal
4. "Where Do You Run To?" - Vivian Girls
5. "Why Is It Always This Way?" - The Ramones
6. "What'cha Gonna Do About It?" - Condo Fucks
7. "What Else Is New?" - Dinosaur Jr.
8. "What Is" - Wipers
9. "Why?" - T. Lance & the Coctails
10. "What More Can I Do?" - The Zombies
11. "Who Loves the Sun?" - Teenage Fanclub, covering The Velvet Underground
12. "Ask" - The Go-Betweens
13. "What Do You Say?" - Pulp (for Steph H.)
14. "Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind?" - Tame Impala (for Eric B.)
15. "What Was That Thing?" - Able Tasmans (for Martin I.)
16. "Where Do You Wanna Go?" - Super Furry Animals
17. "Where Did My Spring Go? - The Kinks
18. "What Am I Supposed to Do?" - Papas Fritas
19. "What Am I Going to Do?" - Pop Art Toasters
20. "Ask" - The Smiths
21. "Hideous Towns" - The Sundays
22. "What's Happening?!?!" - The Byrds
23. "Who Do You Think I Am?" - Woods
24. "What Do We Do With Love?" - Chris Knox
25. "How Loft I Am?" - Guided By Voices
26. "To Where" - Grass Widow

(Oh, believe me, there were other songs I just didn't get to...)

You can find out about all our in-store signings and events by "liking" the Fantagraphics Bookstore Facebook page!

Big Questions is currently in-stock at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, alongside many other excellent Nilsen titles! And we've still got a few of his self-published mini-comics, so hurry over before they sell out.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA 98108
206.658.0110
Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM

Last month, the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery opened our latest exhibit, The Quiet Rrriot: Visual Artists from the Riot Grrrl movement by Megan Kelso, Nikki McClure, Stella Marrs, and the response has been really amazing!

For those of us who live in Seattle, the exhibit will be up for one more month, ending on August 31st.  But for those of you not in the area, here are some pics from our opening night, with artists Megan Kelso and Nikki McClure in attendance!

Here's Megan signing copies of her latest release Queen of the Black Black, a collection of work from her influential self-published comix zine, Girlhero. I know I won't shut up about how great this book is, but seriously, it rules. It may have been borne from the 90's Riot Grrrl scene, but the stories inside are timeless.

And at the register, you may recognize Russ Battaglia from the legendary-but-now-defunct Fallout Records!  When I was going through Megan's zine collection, I'd keep seeing Fallout ads in the backs of zines, usually illustrated by Peter Bagge!

And here's a display of Megan's aforementioned zine collection!  We've got detail shots over at the Fantgraphics Flickr page, and if you've got any interest in the history of Riot Grrl zines, you'll definitely want to check it out.

We were honored to be joined by artist Nikki McClure, who made the trip from Olympia for the day. (That's her, center, in the white shirt, talking with friends and fans.)

She and Megan sat down for an inspiring and educational discussion of the DIY scene in Olympia, and how the Riot Grrrl scene helped propel their own creative projects. You can now watch the entire discussion below (or on YouTube here)! (Apologies in advance for the sound quality.)

Check out more photos of the exhibit and opening night at the Fantagraphics Flickr, and come by the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery before August 31st to see the original artwork, zines, and comix in person!

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA 98108
206.658.0110
Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM