• List:Politics and Prose, perhaps the most graphic novel-friendly bookstore in Washington DC, lists their Favorite Graphic Literature of the Year:
"Every few years a graphic novel comes around that is so good you have to stop reading for a while, because if you read anything else you'd only be disappointed. ... The Squirrel Machine... is a masterpiece of comic fantasy. When I finished this book, I immediately returned to the introduction and read the whole book again, and again. Read this book to see what heights serial art can achieve in narrative and in the creation of worlds that exist in one character's mind. Read it if you think you can handle it, for it abandons the typical narrative structure and accomplishes its ends as only serial art of the highest quality can. This is a fine, gut-wrenching book, written and drawn by a true master." – Thad Ellerbe
"West Coast Blues is an unflinching story, perfect for any fan of the thriller." – Adam Waterreus
"C. Tyler's You'll Never Know, Book One: A Good and Decent Man... is also an impressive and beautiful history of the era; Tyler creates a panorama of images that sweep across the page as she documents her father's childhood, her parent's engagement, and her own young life. Her pen, ink, and color transform her creative panels (at times evoking a scrapbook) into vibrant memories intertwined by her restless imagination." – Adam Waterreus
"[With Abstract Comics] it becomes a treat to take a page of art — or a simple panel — and consider how the shapes, texture, depth, and color interact with one another; to reflect on how, when one takes the time, the enjoyment one ordinarily finds in reading a purely textually-oriented, narrative-driven written story can — with the graphic form — be translated into something completely different." – Adam Waterreus
"From Wonderland with Love: Danish Comics in the Third Millennium... is fantastic! This amazing collection just blew me away. There was not one moment when reading this book — in one sitting, slouched and unblinking on my couch, coffee going cold — that I did not completely love. ... Mythic and dreamlike, meditative and fantastical, this is a superb and surprising collection." – Adam Waterreus
• Review: "...[F]rom the moment he showed up [Michael] Kupperman was a master of stomping around the living room of modern reality and shoving pieces of conceptual furniture next to one another to awesome, knees-out-from-under effect. Kupperman's work has always had that charge that the really good stuff has... Kupperman doesn't get enough credit for building a comic book vehicle in Tales Designed To Thrizzle that serves to facilitate those skills. ...I'm not certain anything under heaven or earth could make something greater than Kupperman's peerless ability to craft funny moments." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter
• Review:The Oregonian's Steve Duin, while professing "I am not on the board of directors of the Gahan Wilson fan club," nonetheless finds some pleasures in Gahan Wilson: Fifty Years of Playboy Cartoons, declaring "This is a stunning collection, gloriously presented."
• Review:superhumanoids writes of Dash Shaw's "eccentric little Animated Web Series That Could" The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D., "Disparate animation styles and simple, hand drawn production value is the perfect vessel for a world where future-artists hone their still life sketches on rigid, unmoving droids."
• Review: "Unclothed Man delivers just the right amounts of story, whimsy, art, and heft for four two-minute entries. It offers actual nutritive cultural substance, as opposed to so much web filler one often gets. And you’ll want to go back and watch them a few more times. There’s a lot of variety behind the series’ simple elegance." – Michael Shaw (no relation), Tubefilter
• Plug: "Compiled by Portland, Oregon-based trash cinema expert Jacques Boyreau, Portable Grindhouse honors the pulp video era that inspired Quentin Tarantino." – Hugh Hart, Wired
...this time in Norway, under the translated title Værverk, from our good friends at Jippi Forlag. North Americans can secure one of twenty "scalped" signed and sketched-in copies direct from Mr. Woodring, and/or wait for the Fantagraphics edition this coming Spring.
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKSTORE & GALLERY CELEBRATES THIRD ANNIVERSARY ON DECEMBER 12 WITH ART, MUSIC, COMIX & MORE!
November 25, 2009 - SEATTLE, WA. The third anniversary celebration for Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday, December 12, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, promises to be an unforgettable affair. The event features appearances by an international cadre of compelling cartoonists and artists as well as the world premiere of PORTABLE GRINDHOUSE with editor Jacques Boyreau. An entertaining panel discussion will be held the following Sunday afternoon, December 13.
PORTABLE GRINDHOUSE: The Lost Art of the VHS Box collects colorful cover art from a selection of vintage exploitation genre films. Cleverly packaged in a VHS slipcase, this anthology celebrates the film format that changed pop culture forever. On opening night Portland-based editor and B movie aficionado Jacques Boyreau will unveil a monumental site-specific "Portable Grindhouse" mural designed by Candice Schroeder. Boyreau commissioned Schroeder to create an equally impressive mural for his "SuperTrash" movie memorabilia exhibition currently on display at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.
December 12 also marks the third anniversary of Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. To celebrate the occasion, Fantagraphics Books has assembled an amazing group of cartoonists to socialize and sign books. Among the stellar line-up of guests: Femke Hiemstra (ROCK CANDY) from Amsterdam, Paul Hornschemeier (ALL & SUNDRY) and Jay Ryan (BEASTS!) from Chicago, Portland's Dame Darcy (MEAT CAKE), and Seattle's own Peter Bagge (HATE), Jim Woodring (FRANK), Scott Musgrove (THE LATE FAUNA OF EARLY NORTH AMERICA), and Jim Blanchard (TRUCKER FAGS IN DENIAL.) Musical entertainment will be provided by Bagge's pop combo CAN YOU IMAGINE? featuring Steve Fisk and an opening set by the enchanting DAME DARCY.
On Sunday, December 13 from 4:00 to 6:00 PM, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery presents a panel discussion focusing on PORTABLE GRINDHOUSE. Five distinguished experts in the field will screen short clips from their favorite exploitation film and discuss its influence on their work, as well as the broader social implications of the genre.
Panelists include artist Lisa Petrucci (KICKASS KUTIES ) of Something Weird, cartoonist Marc Palm of Scarecrow Video, Seattle Times pop culture critic Mark Rahner with film critic and curator Robert Horton, co-writers of horror comic ROTTEN. The panel is moderated by PORTABLE GRINDHOUSE editor Jacques Boyreau and will be followed by a book signing and reception. Admission is free as always.
LISTING INFORMATION
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery Third Anniversary Celebration Saturday, December 12, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Featuring
PORTABLE GRINDHOUSE Book Launch Party Featuring Editor Jacques Boyreau
Music by
CAN YOU IMAGINE? featuring Steve Fisk And DAME DARCY
Starring:
From Chicago Paul Hornschemeier (ALL & SUNDRY) & Jay Ryan (BEASTS!) From Amsterdam Femke Hiemstra (ROCK CANDY) From Portland Dame Darcy (MEAT CAKE) Seattle's own Peter Bagge (HATE), Jim Blanchard, Jim Woodring (FRANK) and more!
Sunday, December 13, 4:00 to 6:00 PM
PORTABLE GRINDHOUSE PANEL & BOOK SIGNING
Screening and panel discussion on vintage exploitation video with
Lisa Petrucci (KICKASS KUTIES) Something Weird Video. Mark Rahner (ROTTEN) Seattle Times pop culture critic Robert Horton KUOW film critic and Frye Art Museum film curator Marc Palm (AKA Swellzombie) Scarecrow Video Moderated by PORTABLE GRINDHOUSE editor Jacques Boyreau
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 www.fantagraphics.com
...in Denmark, under a different title (Alkymisterne), from our pals at Aben Maler (co-publishers of From Wonderland with Love — ooh, they've got previews). Jim Woodring shares his thoughts on the occasion on his blog, along with a link to this translated review from tegneseriesiden.dk ("To go into [Weathercraft] is like sticking your head deep in a witches' pot and letting your brain cook slowly. It is an attack that has the ability to flush from the visual into your other senses, it is like to smell and hear and above all feel with the eyes, synesthesia in cartoon form"). Meanwhile, North American readers will have to wait until our version, which will look different, comes out this Spring.
• List: Who says we don't publish superheroes? Tom Spurgeon of The Comics Reporter counts several of our publications among his 83 Best Superhero Projects of the past decade: Supermen!, the two Fletcher Hanks books, Eightball #23, and"Ti-Girls Adventures" by Jaime Hernandez from Love and Rockets: New Stories (also mentioned: Josh Simmons's unauthorized self-published mini-comic... you know the one)
• Review: "[Pim & Francie]'s spine calls its contents 'artifacts and bone fragments,' as if they're what's left for a forensic scientist to identify after a brutal murderer has had his way with them; Columbia obsessively returns to images of 'bloody bloody killers.' ... Many of the pieces are just one or two drawings, as if they've been reduced to the moment when an idyllic piece of entertainment goes hideously awry. But they're also showcases for Columbia's self-frustrating mastery: his absolute command of the idiom of lush, old-fashioned cartooning, and the unshakable eeriness of his visions of horror." – Publishers Weekly
• Review: "With [Pim & Francie], Al Columbia has created not only one of the more unsettling works of horror in the medium of comics, but it also happens to be one of the greatest myth-making objects... Whether Columbia planned more complete stories for any of the efforts collected here is an interesting question, but for my money he has instead come up with dozens of nightmarish scenarios that have a greater cumulative effect by skipping set-ups or endings. The ending, one suspects, is always going to be a variation of horrific death and dismemberment." – Christopher Allen, Comic Book Galaxy
• Analysis: The Funnybook Babylon podcast discusses the upcoming changes to The Comics Journal. I haven't screened it; I hope they're nice about it
• Analysis: Oliver Ho of PopMatters compares the new book Celebrating Peanuts to other landmark Peanuts publications, including our Complete Peanuts series
The third anniversary celebration for Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday, December 12 promises to be an unforgettable affair. The event features appearances by an international cadre of compelling cartoonists and artists as well as the world premier of PORTABLE GRINDHOUSE with editor Jacques Boyreau.
Guest stars include the lovely Femke Hiemstra (ROCK CANDY) from Amsterdam, Paul Hornschemeier (ALL & SUNDRY) and Jay Ryan (BEASTS!) from Chicago, Portland's Dame Darcy (MEAT CAKE), and Seattle's own Peter Bagge (HATE), Jim Woodring (FRANK) and - just added - Jim Blanchard (TRUCKER FAGS IN DENIAL.)
Musical entertainment will be provided by Bagge's pop combo CAN YOU IMAGINE? featuring Steve Fisk and an opening set by the enchanting DAME DARCY. Art, comix, music, movies, and more!
Watch this space for updates on the holiday season's wildest party on Saturday, December 12, 6:00 to 9:00 PM at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle.
"Jim Woodring has finally finished drawing WEATHERCRAFT, a sprawling Manhog epic chock full of torture, tyranny, enlightenment and amnesia, and will celebrate by bringing a carton of Devil Dogs (the confection, not the wurst) to Cafe Racer tonight. Come on down!"
Weathercraft is scheduled to come out Spring '10. Photo by Mary Woodring.
Holy smokes -- collector alert! We had 8 great comics from past years that, due to record-keeping error, have not been available for sale for years but were really in stock all along! Now you can buy them again -- quantities are limited so act fast:
(1993) Before he killed Captain America, Eisner winner Brubaker racked up his first nomination for this tale, delineated in rich, realistic detail by Shanower. Was a teenage girl's death accidental, or obsession-fueled murder? $3.50
(1992) The second of the four-part authorized adaptation of Tod Browning's classic horror film, written by Woodring and drawn by Solano Lopez. In this issue, the seeds of jealousy and intrigue are sown among the circus folk. Highly recommended. (Issue 3 is also available.) $2.25
(1995) The voice without makeup, survival tips for real life, letting off steam, love songs to the one that got away. Girltalk publishes underground heroines and money-making illustrators along with diamonds in the rough. $3.50
(2002) Elegant society reveals its true nature with tales of deflowering demons, tea with a couple of Playboy Bunny virgins, a running commentary on Romanians, delinquent dolls, and what happened when Fashion Week met the apocalypse. $3.95
(1985) Classic Love and Rockets in full color! This miniseries reprinted the early, sci-fi adventure "Mechanics" stories with the addition of artful color embellishing. Plus in this issue, a Rocky & Fumble adventure! $2.00
(1991) Where it all began! The long-running, eye-opening series kicks off. Can you handle "Crazy Bitches," "Female Problems," and "Bitchy Bitch Gets Laid"? How about "Bitchy Bitch Goes to Fantagraphics"? Classic venom and hilarity! $2.50
(1988) Cop-turned-P.I. Alack Sinner takes on a shocking case from a young socialite that revolves around a questionable retirement home and discovers there's more to this whole affair than meets the eye! Plus a thought-provoking backup story. $2.95 (Issues 4 and 5 also available)
(1999) Everyone's favorite depraved child alcoholic stars in his own comic book. Let's eat some paste and rejoice! "Dumpy" offers advice on trash-digging, the "supporting" characters battle it out to see who's the biggest loser & more. $2.95
