Seven inches of superhero splendor from Seattle band Ancient Warlocks will be available at the Charles Peterson exhibition reception and Peter Bagge signing this Saturday, May 14 at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery.

Says Warlock Darren Chase, "The Superwizard single features two songs inspired by the comic books of yesteryear. The title track is a rock n roll tribute to Fletcher Hanks' mighty hero of the early 1940's, The Super Wizard Stardust. Thrill to the heavy sounds of Superwizard as Ancient Warlocks take you on a mission to stop the fiends bent on wrecking civilization! This pressing is on black vinyl with silkscreen cover art. It's limited to 300 hand numbered copies in three different sleeve colors. Grab yours before the supervultures snatch 'em all up!"

Darren will be on hand to sign copies and I'm sure we can convince DJ Russ to give it a spin during the Taking Punk to the Masses bash on Saturday from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.

Gary Panter will be in Paris for the opening of his art show at Galerie Martel on the 29th of April. On his blog he says "I am excited. I have many friends in France and it has been decades since I was there." 

Seattle's Experience Music Project is hosting festivities all weekend to launch their ambitious Nirvana exhibition  and companion book Taking Punk to the Masses, published by Fantagraphics in association with EMP. The celebration begins with a private reception, followed by a members preview, this Friday evening with celebrity DJs including Fantagraphics friends Steve Fisk, Mark Pickerel, and Charles Peterson. Activities continue all weekend, including a panel on the origins of grunge at 2:30 on Saturday, with panelists including Peterson and former Fantagraphics frontman Tom Price, moderated by curator and the book's author Jacob McMurray.

The EMP exhibition focuses on Nirvana, while the book takes a broader view of Seattle's grunge counterculture, primarily through artifacts and oral histories provided by many of the principals of the movement. It reads like a chronicle of my misspent youth. (I'm quoted on Page 1 along with Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Wayne Kramer of the MC5, and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam.) Every page reveals another fascinating step in an evolving punk subculture that would eventually alter the course of popular music worldwide. Who would've guessed at the time? Not me.

It's appropriate that Fantagraphics published this document. Comix played an important role in shaping the attitude and aesthetics of Seattle's grunge movement. I often compare Seattle in the late 80s and early 90s to San Francisco in the mid-60s. Like the hippie movement in the Bay Area, the Northwest had distinctive rock music, poster graphics, and fashion (or anti-fashion) sensibilities. We also had an army of talented and perceptive alternative cartoonists to disseminate the emerging scene, none more influential than Peter Bagge. The book establishes that many Fantagraphics artists, friends and future employees were central to the development of Seattle's domination of the counterculture of the era.

I commissioned this poster by Weirdo and Real Stuff contributor Ashleigh Talbot (formerly Ashleigh Raffloer, AKA Triangle-Slash) for a 1988 show I promoted with the U-Men, a legendary proto-grunge outfit. This bill included famed illustrator Ed Fotheringham's Thrown Ups featuring Mark Arm on drums. Mark and Ed are pictured prominently in Peterson's cover photo for the book. Both Mark and Tom Price of the U-Men would later work for Fantagraphics. Tom is playing guitar with the U-Men on the announcement for Peterson's May 14 show at Fantagraphics Bookstore below.

The Nirvana exhibition at EMP continues through 2014. To supplement the EMP show, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery will mount an exhibition of seminal work by accomplished Seattle photographer Charles Peterson opening May 14. He will be joined by Peter Bagge signing copies of Hate Annual #9 (featuring Buddy's return to Seattle) and the Yeah! collection. The show will be followed by a concert by Bagge's band Can You Imagine? featuring Steve Fisk on keyboards. You should just move to Seattle. OK?

'Cause if you did move to California, you could have the chance to see some shows debuting this weekend from Esther Pearl Watson!  (It's also the title of one of my favorite Times New Viking songs...)

If you're in the San Francisco area, you can attend the exhibit Land of Magic: Artists Explore Make Believe at the Bedford Gallery. The show spotlights thirteen artists capturing fantasy-scapes in a variety of media, from paintings (like Esther's, seen above) to photography and video.  The show runs from April 10th to July 12th, and a reception will be held Thursday, April 14th from 6:00 - 8:00 pm.

And Valencia residents, you are also in luck!  Esther is finishing up her first year at the California Institute of the Arts, and you can be among the first to see her latest work in her MFA-1 studio (room A202E) this Sunday, April 10th, from noon to 5:00 pm!

Turn Handle by Gary Panter, part of the Gumption art show at the ZieherSmith gallery opening tonight. (Via Gary's blog.)

Peter Does New York!

Comics legend Peter Bagge returns to his east coast roots with a release party at Desert Island on Friday, April 8th, signings at MoCCA that weekend, AND the opening of a new exhibit at the esteemed Scott Eder Gallery!

This exciting exhibition will feature published drawings and works on paper from all phases of Peter's long career in alternative comix and non-commercial illustration, including his album and CD art.

Join us on Saturday, April 9th from 6:00 to 9:00 pm.  (If you can't make the opening reception, you have until May 5th to view the show!) The Scott Eder Gallery is located at 18 Bridge St. #2-I, Brooklyn.

A Stacy Fisher / Gary Panter art show opens at Cleopatra’s in Brooklyn on Sunday. See/click the invitation for more info. Via Gary's blog.

This weekend, our friends at Giant Robot kick off a very important exhibit to raise money for the devastation in Japan. Funds will be donated to UNICEF, to help children impacted by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

There are so many wonderful, generous artists involved in this show, including Fantagraphics' own Andrice Arp, Renee French, and Esther Pearl Watson.

And not only will Giant Robot donate proceeds from the sale of artwork, they'll also be donating:

1. Proceeds from the sale of water bottles featuring labels created by artists and signed by celebrities.

2. Fifty percent of proceeds from Giant Robot’s small restaurant, gr/eats, on Saturday, March 19.

3. A percentage of all sales at Giant Robot, GR2, and GRSF during the weekend of March 18-20.

4. Raffles for donated merchandise including designer- and artist-signed items, GR gear, horseback rides, and other items.

5. Cash donations accepted for UNICEF.

On top of all that, Intertrend Communications has pledged to match the first $10,000 raised by proceeds and donations through Giant Robot. 

Seriously... please help Giant Robot reach this goal, and help the children impacted by this terrible catastrophe. Opening reception is this Saturday, March 19, from 6:30 - 10:00 pm at GR2 [2062 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA], and the show runs until April 13th.

Giant Robot gets a "1UP" with Game Over IV, their latest group show paying homage to video game culture, with several Fantagraphics artists at the joysticks, including Andrice Arp, Jeffrey Brown, Paul Hornschemeier, and Steven Weissman. That's a sneak peek at Paul's work up there, and below, we've got a piece from Steven.

The show opens Friday, March 4th at GRSF [618 Shrader Street, San Francisco] with a reception from 6:30 - 10:00 pm.  Is the princess in another castle?  You can catch the show until March 30, 2011.