Join us at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery this Saturday, January 12 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM for the book launch party of Jim Woodring’s Problematic. An exhibition of imagery not included in the book will be displayed, as well as the artist’s original sketchbooks, including examples of Woodring’s inventive pop-up drawing constructions. Get a rare glimpse inside the creative process of this iconoclastic master of modern cartooning. The artist will be available to sign copies of his exquisite new book.

This event coincides with the colorful Georgetown Art Attack, featuring festive art events and exhibitions throughout the neighborhood. Fantagraphics Bookstore is located at 1201 S. Vale Street in the heart of Georgetown’s historic arts community. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone 206.658.0110. See you soon.

Yesterday, the Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery hosted Koyama Press's Nathan Bulmer (born-and-bred Seattlite). With Zachary David Jammin' signing and laughing in the background, it was a beautiful time with I must say, a lower age median than usual. Larry Reid, Janice and excellent new intern Lilly hosted a great time. Nate's mother provided tasty tiny cookies so you could like, totally five and the platters still looked full.

Not one to cut in line just because I work at the company, I waited in line and undulated with the rest of the crowd to the music. My typical line at artist signings is "Jen with one 'n' – don't waste the ink." Lucky for all, Nate is a funny man at heart and pulled out a pencil instead of a pen. He proceeded to "waste lead like a boss." Sunday afternoons have never been more adorable.

Why are there so many cups?! It was party, please ignore the cups. Pick up your copy of Eat More Bikes at the Fantagraphics Bookstore or from Koyama Press.

While trampsing around the suburbs and backwaters of Texas, I happened to find the majestic Webb Gallery in Waxahachie for there lay a treasure trove of Esther Pearl Watson paintings. With fading painted trim in still vibrant oranges and teals matched with iron statues and odd toys from people long since dead, it reminds you of an open range and that mix of culture which is a side-step from Southwestern.

Watson's paintings, unlike her Unlovable comics Fantagraphis printed, are deeply personal and autographical. As the daughter of the local color, Watson watched her father build several large-scale UFOs. Out on the lawn. 

Bitter-sweet nostaglic scenes in dirty brown skies and abandoned women's clinics, Watson paints a darker time in her childhood. But that ever-hovering presence, the idea of 'what-if', the UFO. (They Might Be Giants might have called it her 'hovering sombrero') 

Compared to Watson's Unloveable, which also runs in Bust Magazine, the unapolagetic Tammy Pierce is nearly the opposite of these quiet moments with tension bubbling under the surface. Each canvas, most of them wooden, are akin to a diary page created in paint, dirt and the occasional glitter patch instead of words. Notes are scribbled in the corners of most of the paintings to enhance or detail the scene. Often a new town, a new landscape to explore.

Details of the paintings. They practically vibrate.

So all these gorgeous paintings hang on the high-ceilinged walls of the Webb Gallery amongst their antique carnival posters, including Coney Island originals. The perfect place for the painted recollections of hazy memories. Something almost most too incredible to believe.

The Webb Gallery is open Saturdays and Sundays from 1-5 or by appointment, (972) 938-8085. A quick 30 minute drive from downtown Dallas or 2 hours up from Austin, be sure to see it! 209 West Franklin Street Waxahachie, TX 75165. The current exhibition by Esther Pearl Watson will be up through January 20th, 2013.

For more pictures of the show or to purchase see Esther Pearl Watson's website.

The comics world lost a great cartoonist this month as Spain Rodriguez drove his wild hog one last time. As an influential members of underground comics, his reach was large. The New York Times wrote an excellent obituary on Spain and Bruce Weber profiled him as "part of a wave of artists — including R. Crumb, S. Clay Wilson and Bill Griffith, who created the character Zippy the Pinhead — who established the irreverent, profane, highly sexed, antiwar, anti-capitalist spirit of underground comics (often, in this context, spelled comix)." Below is a sketch Spain made for Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds.

From the Latino Comics Expo, Ricardo Padilla remembers some of his favorite moments. "We were touched by his generous spirit, his kindness, and his willingness to support and encourage artists and their dreams. He even agreed to be part of our Art Show, LA RAZA COMICA, which premiered at the Cartoon Art Museum after our Expo. . . I will always treasure these memories of Spain Rodriguez and will never forget the encouragement and support he lent to the Latino Comics Expo. He was a True Revolutionary and and an honorable man. My fondest memory is of him in the Museum's 'green room' after his panel discussion, smiling with his wife and daughter. . . savoring one of my mom's 'chile verde' burritos. . ." 

Stephen R. Bissette and Skip Williamson taught me everything I needed to know about the history of underground comics including Zap comics and Spain Rodriguez, from there I went on to read his collected comics, thanks to Last Gasp and Fantagraphics. While not everyone was able to meet this amazing creator, we can remember him through friends' stories of Spain and the stories he created. Tom Spurgeon of the Comics Reporter made a thorough list of all the links, stories and pictures of Spain in his collective memory.

For the curious, a retrospective of Spain's career has been hanging at the Burchfield Penney Center in Buffalo, NY since September and will be up through January 20th. Jack Foran of ArtVoice recently visited the exhibit and had this to say, "Rodriguez was a kind of incorrigible rebellious type. . . when abstract expressionism with its two-dimensionality principle was dogma—he was into three-dimensionality, in spades—and his blue-collar employment in Buffalo area manufactories, where the curriculum was the much more interesting subject to him of simmering socioeconomic class warfare." His art will live on.

(The first photo is a panel from Cruisin' with the Hound by Spain released earlier this year while the last on is page six from Hard-Ass Friday Nite).

We're reminding you to check out The Art Institute of Chicago's exhibition entitled Rarely Seen: Contemporary Works on Paper, that is up from now until January 13, 2012. Organized by the Prints and Drawings Department of the museum, the show also includes comics from the Ryerson Library collection including Blexbolex, Mat Brinkman, Charles Burns, R. Crumb (Zap and Weirdo), Hairy Who, Humbug magazine, Al Jaffee, Rory Hayes, Jay Lynch, David Sandlin, Art Spiegelman, S Clay Wilson (Zap), and issues from Raw magazine.

The non-comics but still amazing part of the show includes artists such as Ed Ruscha, Martin Kippenberger, Carrol Dunham, Jim Nutt, and Romare Bearden and the whole show is located in Galleries 124–127.

"Whether centuries old or the latest contemporary creations, works on paper are extremely light sensitive and can only be displayed in the galleries for short and infrequent periods of time before they must be returned to the safety of the dark, climate-controlled vault."

So jump on the chance, Chicago, to see some brilliant works on paper in THIS lifetime.  The museum is open daily from 10:30am-5pm, open late until 8 on Wednesdays. Admission to the Art Institute of Chicago is free to Illinois residents the first and second Wednesdays of every month.

Visitors to "The Horror: Selections from the EC Comics Library" on Saturday, October 13 at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery will have the added pleasure of viewing "Apopalyptic America," an exhibition of new works by Jem Eaton. His postmodern paintings combine pop culture motifs with fine art techniques to create colorful comments on classic cartoon characters. The show is at the One Night Stand Gallery space directly above the bookstore and Georgetown Records, the site of a free concert that evening by Berlin-based recording artist Molly Nilsson. These events coincide with the lively Georgetown Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts presentations throughout the historic arts community. See you all then. 

photo courtesy of KVAL.com

Happiness is an art exhibit honoring the work of Charles M. Schulz, and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon in Eugene, OR has just that!

Exhibition curator Ben Saunders has chosen 25 originals spanning all five decades of PEANUTS that he hopes will allow the viewer to take in the origins, maturation, and final years of this great American masterwork.  

Our own Gary Groth will make a visit on Thursday, November 8th to discuss the importance of Charles Schulz's work within the larger tradition of newspaper strip comics. This event begins at 5:30 PM, and is co-sponsored by the UO School of Journalism.

And on Tuesday, October 23rd at 5:30 PM, Saunders interviews Jan Eliot about her experiences with Charles Schulz and her own career as the artist of the nationally successful newspaper strip "Stone Soup."

Don't be a blockhead and miss this exhibit! GOOD GRIEF! Original Art from 50 Years of Charles M. Schulz's PEANUTS runs through December 1, 2012. The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located in Eugene, Oregon on the western side of the University of Oregon campus next to the Knight Library.

Get haunted with the latest exhibit at Giant Robot's GR2 Gallery in Los Angeles, featuring our own John Pham alongside Rob Sato. Here's a sneak peek at one of John's paintings that I swiped from his Facebook page (sorry, John):

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.

"A bunch of large, intricate drawings" by Ron Regé Jr. from his upcoming Fantagraphics release The Cartoon Utopia are on exhibit as part of the "Shangri-LA" art show curated by Mike Kelley opening at Synchronicity Space in L.A. tonight which explores notions of... Utopia! Turn your head upside-down and you'll see that Ron is also giving a lecture at the gallery next Friday, August 24 at 7PM. More info here.