Wednesday, September 5th

• Seattle, WA: Our exhibit Game Over: Failed Alternative Video Games is finally, well, over at the Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery! It's your last chance to see these hilarious adaptations for yourself! (more info)

Friday, September 7th

• Dallas, TX: Josh Alan Friedman will be signing copies of the newly-reissued Any Similarity to Persons Living or Dead Is Purely Coincidental, as well as playing some blues at The Mason Bar! Despite being a bar, it's an all-ages shindig! (more info)

Saturday, September 8th

• Seattle, WA: Help us welcome the great Gary Panter to the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery for a signing of Dal Tokyo! We will also debut a exhibition of original drawings and colorful prints by Gary. The reception begins at 6:00 PM! (more info)

 

Many of you were first exposed to Gary Panter through his early "Jimbo" comix in Slash and RAW magazines. Or maybe through his brilliant work as set designer for Pee Wee's Playhouse. Old school Seattle residents recall his ubiquitous posters for the Screamers, plastered all over town by the late punk performance artist Tomato du Plenty. An industrial-strength adhesive allowed this alluring image to remain visible for the better part of a decade, becoming one of the enduring motifs of the Northwest punk school. Panter's comix appeared prominently in the seminal Seattle music magazine The Rocket. (Coincidentally, he later married former Rocket art director Helene Silverman.) Come meet Gary at his Dal Tokyo art exhibition and book signing this Saturday, September 8 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. We'll be taking attendance.

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

While we all eagerly await the release of Barack Hussein Obama, Larry has somehow unearthed an older title from cartoonist Steven Weissman!

Originally released in 1999 on Alternative Press, The Lemon Kids, Book 1 is a collection of stories that Steve was self-publishing under the Yikes title, and some stories that were included in the Last Gasp Comix & Stories anthology.

Fans of our other Yikes titles like Chocolate Cheeks and Chewing Gum in Church will definitely want to get their hands on this lost classic while supplies last!

The 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. Closed this Labor Day, Monday, September 3rd.

The newly folded and stapled Online Commentaries & Diversions:

• Review: The Quietus enjoys The Furry Trap. Mat Colegate says, "Put simply, [Josh] Simmons understands the pace of nightmare. That hideous inexorability that stops you from screaming yourself awake, the slow thudding heartbeat of moment on terrifying moment that, if you think about it, comics are a perfect medium to provide."

• Review: Indie Wire and Leonard Maltin take a look at Volume 3 of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: "High Noon at Inferno Gulch" by Floyd Gottfredson (edited by David Gerstein with Gary Groth): "The latest in this handsome, lovingly-edited hardcover series of Mickey Mouse daily comic strips (covering 1934-35) is, again, a tribute to the artistry and storytelling skill of the long-unappreciated Floyd Gottfredson."

 

• Review: Comics Heroes of the UK chimes in on some Hernandez Brothers books. After reading The Adventures of Venus by Gilbert Hernandez Matt Bielby says "...in fun little adventures full of rests, comic books, football and sci-fi daydreams. Kids may not love it, but we certainly did." In regards to God and Science by Jaime Hernandez, Bielby states, "It's a lightweight, bouncy superhero. . . but there's some touching stuff about madness, motherhood and the dangers of getting what you want along the way."

• Review: Tom Spurgeon of The Comics Reporter describes a variety of consumer options that come before purchasing the series Beyond Watchmen. These include buying Love and Rockets in addition to some Popeye or Barnaby from Fantagraphics. "These [Love and Rockets] paperback books they've been doing strike me as super-accessible, lovely little volumes. You can get them for cheap enough that I'm also tossing in the first four issues of the New Stories iteration of the title, which has included some of the best work anywhere over the last half-decade. Los Bros forever."

• Plug: Steven Weissman's got some graphic novel love art for you. Uncut vinyl sheets featuring campaign fun from Barack Hussein Obama are available to purchase here!

• Commentary: We missed this but more praise to Larry Reid for being an example on the Huffington Post on how to save bookstores! By effectively hanging regular shows and inviting guest community curators, you bring in new and/or different audiences. Yay, Larry!

August 23, 2012 – Seattle, WA. Cartoonist Gary Panter has indelibly influenced four decades of American popular culture. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery celebrates this remarkable artist with an exhibition of original drawings and colorful prints on Saturday, September 8, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Panter will appear to sign copies of his new collection Dal Tokyo, published by Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books.

Gary Panter’s manic “Jimbo” comix and dense illustrations were emblematic of California’s punk movement in the 1970s and later became fixtures in Art Spiegleman’s avant garde RAW Magazine anthology. In the 1980s, Panter cultivated a broader audience as set designer for the unlikely hit children’s television franchise Pee Wee’s Playhouse, where his singular aesthetic was recognized with multiple Emmy Awards. He is widely regarded as one on the most innovative artists in contemporary comix, and in 2006 was included in the sensational “Masters of American Comics” traveling exhibition. In recent years, his work has been published by Matt Groening’s Bongo Comics, Drawn & Quarterly, Picture Box, and two previous volumes from Fantagraphics Books: Jimbo in Purgatory and Jimbo’s Inferno. Panter was the recipient of the prestigious 2012 Klein Award, presented by the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in New York.



The ambitious Dal Tokyo concept occurred to Panter in the early 1970s – (the title is an amalgam of Dallas in his native Texas, and Tokyo, which he once considered an exotic faraway land.) It imagines a frenetic future society on Mars combining cultural motifs from America and Japan. Visual puns, punk, and psychedelic imagery coalesce in this alluring allegory. The strip was serialized for a year in the weekly L. A. Reader and later published monthly in the Japanese magazine Riddum for more than a decade.



Please join us on Saturday, September 8 to welcome this extraordinary artist to Seattle. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street in Seattle’s Georgetown arts community. This event coincides with the colorful Georgetown Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts throughout the historic neighborhood.

Questions? Contact store curator Larry Reid at 206.669.9059. The exhibition will continue through October 10th, 2012.

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

I'm super-excited to announce that the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is now carrying work from Koyama Press, one of my absolute favorite small press publishers, run by the lady I've deemed "The Nicest Woman in Comics"™, Ms. Annie Koyama.

And one of the titles we now have in stock is Root Rot, the forest-themed anthology edited by Annie and Michael DeForge last year, featuring Mome-vets like T. Edward Bak, Joseph Lambert, and Jon Vermilyea, alongside some other excellent artists like Derek M. Ballard, Dan Zettwoch, Hellen Jo, and many more.

Some of the contributions are singular drawings over two-spreads, like T. Edward's gorgeous opening piece, or Robin Nishio's hilarious squirrel sketches. Others submitted short strips, like Joe Lambert and Angie Wang's family portraits. They all do what a good anthology should do: which is leave you wanting more!

Get some Root Rot and other Koyama Press titles while supplies last at the 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.

Sadly, I was out of town when the show first opened, so yesterday was my first look at our latest exhibit Game Over: Failed Alternative Video Games, and holy heck -- it's a winner!

Inspired by video game journalist Bob Mackey's piece for 1Up.com, our very own Jen Vaughn conceptualized the “box art” of some of our most famous graphic novels reimagined as failed videogame adaptations. For example...

How about Prison Pit for the Xbox 360? As Jen puts it, "even gorier than Mortal Kombat!" The box detail that cracked me up? "No quests here." Ain't that the truth!

Speaking of quests, who wouldn't want to try out Dungeon Quest: Book Three for the Wii? Introducing new playable character, Lou the Little Forest Man! The box detail that made me laugh here: "Skip that next bag of weed and save up for Dungeon Quest 3..." HEE!

If you live outside of Seattle and can't make it to the show, you can check out more of Jen's hilarious and awesome adapations over on the Fantagraphics Flickr. 

But if you do live around Seattle, don't let it be game over for you! You have until Wednesday, September 5th to check out the show. The Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street at Airport Way S. 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.

Hark! It's Kate Beaton calendars! And, you can get them now, only at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, fresh from their debut at the Drawn & Quarterly booth at San Diego Comic-Con!

Before you scoff and say, "No one uses calendars anymore," I want to point out that at my day job, my officemate and I each have paper calendars at our desks, (his, a boring Office Max one; mine, an excellent Apak Little Otsu one) and we work in the same room!!! Everyone needs a calendar!

There are two different designs to choose from: one has a literature theme and the other has a more general theme. Both feature page after page of Kate's delightful strips that landed her on the New York Times Bestselling Graphics Novels list and on the Best of 2011 list in Time Magazine!

Get 2013 off to a great start, and get one today! The 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.

 Thursday, August 9th

• Portland, OR: Our lovely editor Justin Hall will be signing No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics at Floating World Comics with special guests Erika Moen, Robert Triptow, and Vaughn Fricke! (more info)

Friday, August 10th

• Brooklyn, NY: The great Lewis Trondheim is coming all the way from France to help Bergen Street Comics celebrate the world premiere of Ralph Azham Vol. 1: Why Would You Lie to Someone You Love?!!! (more info)

Saturday, August 11th

• Seattle, WA:  Join Fantagraphics at Booth 214 at the 2nd annual GeekGirlCon! Signing with us today will be Ellen Forney, Megan Kelso, Justin Hall, and Roberta Gregory! (more info)  

• Seattle, WA: To celebrate GeekGirlCon and PAX Prime, Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery presents “GAME OVER,” an exhibition of “box art” of some of our most famous graphic novels reimagined as failed videogame adaptations. (more info) 

 • Montreal, QB:  He just can't stay away from Canada! Beloved artist Jason will be signing at the Planète BD! (more info) 

Sunday, August 12th

• Seattle, WA:  It's your last chance to visit Fantagraphics at Booth 214 at the 2nd annual GeekGirlCon! Check it out! (more info)   

 

In December of 2006, the Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery opened its doors. Several hundred signings, shows and new comic Wednesdays later, alt-weekly comic The Seattle Weekly awarded this Georgetown storefront as the Best Comic-Book Store in this year's "BEST OF SEATTLE" issue. Above, the Best of Seattle mascot reads Love and Rocket: New Stories #1 as comic book store curator and impresario Larry Reid looks on in the  fantastic photo popping from the newsprint. Gwendolyn Elliot says, "With current and vintage titles at times political, whimsical, or just downright dirty, this isn't some geeky, grimy comic book store—it's a gallery, bookshop, and thriving arts community all in one."

 

In addition to the Seattle Weekly, NY Mag.com's The Urbanist lists the Fantagraphics Store as a place to browse obscure comics while in Seattle. The Venn diagram below illustrates just how hip Georgetown is by way of New York neighborhoods.

 

 

So pick up a nice copy of The Seattle Weekly for a list of great places to see and visit the "Best Comic Book Store" today! We have a new gallery show coming up next week and a whole fall schedule full of the best cartoonists coming by the store.