We're proud to announce the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery Fall Schedule! Come find out why New York Magazine listed us in their Urbanist's Guide to Seattle! See why the Seattle Weekly named us Seattle's Best Comic Book Store, adding "it's a gallery, bookshop, and thriving arts community all in one." But, hopefully, you know how great we are already, so just c'mon out and buy some books!

• Saturday, September 8th: GARY PANTER Dal Tokyo exhibition and book signing. Exhibition continues through October 10.
 
• Saturday, October 13th: THE HORROR: EC Comics Library exhibition with music performance by MOLLY NILSSON. Exhibition continues through October 31.
 
• Saturday, October 20th: CHARLES BURNS signing The Hive in association with Elysian Brewing’s Great Pumpkin Brew Festival.
 
• Monday, October 22nd: CHRIS WARE, CHIP KIDD, and CHARLES BURNS artist talk and book signing at Town Hall.

• Friday, November 2nd: NOAH VAN SCIVER The Hypo with DAVID LASKY The Carter Family exhibition and book signing. Exhibition continues through November 22.
 
• Saturday, November 10th: ELLEN FORNEY Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo and Me presentation and book signing at Microsoft Auditorium, Seattle Public Library.
 
• Saturday, November 24th: NICO VASSILAKIS The Last Vispo Anthology exhibition, book signing and performances.  Exhibition continues through December 6.
 
• Saturday, December 8th: Spectacular 6th Anniversary Celebration with very special guests, including musical guest GENEVIÈVE CASTRÉE.

You won't want to miss a minute of the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery Fall Schedule! We're located at 1201 S. Vale Street at Airport Way South. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. 

A+ B, Down, Down + Forward, Down + Back, Pencil, Ink, Fail. GAME OVER.

To celebrate Geek Girl Con and PAX Prime, Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery presents “GAME OVER.” This exhibition, opening on Saturday, August 11th, will feature the “box art” of some of our most famous graphic novels reimagined as failed videogame adaptations. No set of killer button combos or brute force could make these “graphic novels as games” playable, but Prison Pit for Nintendo 64 is even gorier than Mortal Kombat, and you can bemoan Pete Bagge's Hate-come-to-virtual-life as a CD-ROM. You can even draw your own failed videogame adaptation!

The opening on Saturday, August 11, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, coincides with the Georgetown Art Attack, which features visual and performing arts presentations throughout the historic arts community.

Come see why readers voted Fantagrahics Bookstore & Gallery “The Best Comic Book Store” in the current “Best of Seattle” edition of the Seattle Weekly. 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.

Max Clotfelter, Ben Horak, Tim Miller, and a student from their comics class with 826 Seattle. // photo credit: Kelly Froh

While we were at Comic-Con, the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery launched the “The Massive World of Mini-Comix,” an exhibition featuring art created by young students who attended an 826 Seattle workshop! 

I finally had a chance to view the show this past weekend, and it was so inspiring! I loved getting to see artwork by 12-year-olds next to work by people 2-to-3x their age, their teachers, Seattle cartoonists Max Clotfelter, Ben Horak and Tim Miller. 

The show closes on Thursday, August 9th, so if you live in Seattle, you still have a chance to see it! The Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street at Airport Way South. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM.

Local artists Eroyn Franklin and Max Clotfelter check out the show! // photo credit: John Ohannesian

Or, if you live outside of the Seattle area, you can check out more photos of the show on the Fantagraphics Flickr!

Gee, sure is a slow week for events at Fantagraphics... cough.

Monday, July 9th

• Berkeley, CA: Our own Tim Kreider will be doing a reading at 7:00 PM at Books, Inc. (more info)

Tuesday, July 10th

• Brooklyn, NY:  Join Michael Kupperman at Littlefield for another fine edition of his monthly comedy series The Crime Stoppers Club, with special guests Julia Wertz, James Adomian, Matthew Thurber, Annie Lederman, and special guest Adam Warrock! (more info)

• New York City, NY: It's the launch party for Significant Objects, hosted by editors Joshua Glenn & Rob Walker at The Strand! Starting at 7:00 PM, writers Luc Sante, Matthew Sharpe, Mimi Lipson, Ben Greenman, Annie Nocenti, Shelley Jackson, Jason Grote, and more will share their extraordinary stories of ordinary things! (more info)

Wednesday, July 11th

• San Diego, CA: Oh right, it's Preview Night at that San Diego Comic-Con thing! (more info)

Thursday, July 12th

• San Diego, CA: Hurry! Quick, get to Booth #1718 at the San Diego Comic-Con and check out all our awesome debuts before they sell out!  (more info)

 • San Diego, CA: Mome-vet Malachi Ward is part of The Crazy Rattlesnake Treehouse Gang live comics reading at Space 4 Art [ 325 15th St ]! No badge required to attend! The fun starts at 8:00 PM! (more info)

• San Diego, CA: Comedian Patton Oswalt is doing a show at the awesomely-named Spreckles Theater at 8:00 PM. Patton wrote the introduction for The Complete Peanuts 1985-1986 (Vol. 18) which happens to be debuting aaaaaat... (more info)

Friday, July 13th

• San Diego, CA: Dang, you guessed it! Booth #1718 at the San Diego Comic-Con! Patton, come by and see us! We love you! (more info)

Saturday, July 14th

• Seattle, WA:  The Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery presents the opening reception for “The Massive World of Mini Comics,” an exhibition featuring art created by young students who attended an 826 Seattle workshop devoted to comic zines taught by Seattle cartoonists Max Clotfelter, Ben Horak and Tim Miller, and facilitated by Fantagraphics Books and Alex Bleecker, program coordinator for 826 Seattle! (more info)

• San Diego, CA: Swing by Booth #1718 at the San Diego Comic-Con to see which Fantagraphics employee has cracked from all the loud video game noises! (more info)

Sunday, July 15th

• San Diego, CA: It's your last chance to visit us at Booth #1718 at the San Diego Comic-Con! Will there be amazing deals? You better swing by and check. (more info)

In an ongoing effort to nurture young talent and provide a showcase for emerging artists, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery presents “The Massive World of Mini Comics.” This exhibition features art created by young students who attended an 826 Seattle workshop devoted to comic zines taught by Seattle cartoonists Max Clotfelter, Ben Horak and Tim Miller, and facilitated by Fantagraphics Books and Alex Bleecker, program coordinator for 826 Seattle. The opening on Saturday, July 14, and the work will remain on display through August 9.

Instructors Clotfelter, Horak and Miller are active participants in Seattle’s lively small press and self-publishing comics movement. 826 Seattle is a nonprofit writing and tutoring center dedicated to helping youth, ages 6-18, improve their creative and expository writing skills, in addition to helping teachers inspire students to write. The Seattle chapter is part of 826 National, founded in 2002 by acclaimed author Dave Eggers and educator Ninive Calegari.

The opening on Saturday, July 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM coincides with the colorful Georgetown Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts presentations throughout the historic arts community. 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. Swing on by July 14th or after to experience youth developing their writing skills through the medium of comics!

Please note Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, as well as our administrative offices and mail order department will be closed on Wednesday, the Fourth of July. Back in action on Thursday, July 5.

From our fine colleagues at Éditions Cornélius comes this gorgeous and excellently-titled hardcover collection La Crème de Crumb, of interest to Fantagraphics loyalists because a) duh, it's Crumb and b) it includes the 1988 interview with Crumb from The Comics Journal #121 by our fearless leader Gary Groth, translated into French (as are all the comics, natch). Francophone Seattleites take note, we'll have a couple of copies for sale at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery next week.

Graphic artist Dale Yarger was at the center of activity in Seattle throughout the 1980s and '90s as our city prepared to engage popular culture on a global scale. Yarger's tenure at The Rocket magazine in the 1980s included designing Bruce Pavitt's monthly Sub Pop column, where he refined the look and the ubiquitous logo of the future record label. He moved from there to the position of head art director at Fantagraphics Books during the formative period of alternative comix. He later left to become art director of The Stranger and helped guide that magazine to regional prominence and a national profile. Sadly, Yarger lost a long battle with cancer and passed away earlier this year at the age of 61.

The public is invited to celebrate the legacy of this remarkable artist at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Sunday, July 1st from 4:00 to 8:00 PM. "A Tribute to Dale Yarger" will include an exhibition of Dale's memorable design work, along with testimonials and anecdotes from his many friends and colleagues in Seattle. Please join us. The exhibition will remain on view through July 10, 2012.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street in the heart of Seattle's historic Georgetown arts community. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone 206.658.0110.

photo credit: Fantagraphics editorial intern, Matt Burke

This past weekend, the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery welcomed back the acclaimed Joe Sacco to discuss his forthcoming release, Journalism, out later this month from Metropolitan Books. 

The last time we were lucky to have a visit from Joe was in 2007, when he and our Store Manager/Curator Larry Reid discussed Palestine: The Special Edition. You can watch video from that here. And, as you'll see in the video below, it was another riveting discussion, this time with our head honcho Gary Groth at the helm!

(Sadly, I missed the first couple of minutes of their talk, sorry!)

You can also check out some more beautiful shots from our new Editorial Intern Matt Burke (and some not-as-beautiful iPhone shots from me), both below, and on the Fantagraphics Flickr feed!

Gary Groth rocks the mic // photo credit: Matt Burke

The crowd before the Q&A began // photo credit: Matt Burke

Joe chats with local cartoonist Kelly Froh while Fantagraphics' own Russ Battaglia gives a grin

Joe signs a book for Marketing Director Mike Baehr

If you can't wait for the official release date, the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is the only place on the planet where you can get it before June 19th!  I bet your Dad would like a copy! We're 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.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Wait, what am I saying?  It was earlier this month at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, fer crissakes. 

We were delighted to be joined by Jeffrey Brown, who was in town for a screening of his film Save the Date at the Seattle International Film Festival!  He graciously signed copies of his best-selling new book Darth Vader and Son, and even more graciously (way more graciously), chat with lil' ol me about the new movie, his upcoming books, and, well... cats. Kinda.

[ Warning: lots of giggling... ugh... ]

We still have some copies of Darth Vader and Son at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, so swing on by 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.