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

I almost hesitate to spotlight this book, 'cause we can hardly keep it in stock! Thanks to rave reviews in Time Magazine and Seattle's own The Stranger, no one is forgetting The Carter Family: Don’t Forget This Song, out now from Abrams ComicArts.

It's been an honor watching this book unfold from local fellas, cartoonist David Lasky and writer Frank M. Young, and the finished product is even more beautiful than I could've imagined!

Don’t Forget This Song is more than just an "graphic novel" bio on country music legends The Carter Family; it's a really lovely, sensitive look at the bond of family. As our own Kim Deitch says on the back of the book, "Young and Lasky do a winning job presenting this absolutely charming tale of romance, compulsion, anthropology, great meteoric success, and all the ironic baggage that usually goes with that kind of success."

The dialogue is written in the Southern dialect of the time, which gives the book an added dreamy, transportive feel. And the whole dang thing even comes with a CD of rare Carter Family radio recordings, so you can listen to the music as you follow their lives!  

And, oh, hey, whaddaya know... David Lasky will be signing The Carter Family: Don’t Forget This Song at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery this Friday, November 2nd, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM!  He'll be joined by Noah Van Sciver, who'll be signing his latest The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln. And we'll be joined by K Records artist Dennis Driscoll, who promises to cover some Carter Family material! Be sure to join us for this very special celebration!

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. Um, don't forget this event!

Fantagraphics Bookstore and Georgetown Records are pleased to announce a sensational series of music, comix, and literary events for the remainder of this year. Don't miss a minute!

On Friday, November 2, David Lasky and Noah Van Sciver appear for a joint exhibition and book signing from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Musical entertainment will be provided by K recording artist Dennis Driscoll, who promises to cover some Carter Family material. The following Saturday, November 10 at 7:00 PM, newly christened "Stranger Genius" Ellen Forney will present her courageous new graphic memoir, Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, & Me in the Microsoft Auditorium of the Seattle Public Library Central Branch. On Saturday, November 24 at 6:00 PM, we host a book launch party for The Last Vispo Anthology, edited by longtime Fantagraphics staffer Nico Vassilakis. The evening features readings by many contributors and music by another "Stranger Genius" honoree Lori Goldsten (former Earth and Nirvana cellist), joined by former Black Cat Orchestra bandmate Kyle Hanson. On Saturday, December 8, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, Fantagraphics Bookstore commemorates its 6th anniversary in style with Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez celebrating 30 years of Love & Rockets. Special guest artist and musician Geneviève Castrée will perform for the occasion. The series concludes on Sunday, December 30 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM with Nathan Bulmer signing Eat More Bikes collection from Koyama Press. All events are all ages and free. Make plans to move to Seattle now.

Acclaimed alternative cartoonists David Lasky and Noah Van Sciver have mined American history to produce two remarkable graphic novels – Lasky’s The Carter Family: Don’t Forget This Song and Van Sciver’s The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery hosts an exhibition of original art and book signing by these amazing artists on Friday, November 2, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.

Don’t Forget This Song chronicles the colorful career of The Carter Family, country music legends of the 1920s and '30s. Written by Southern-born Seattle resident Frank M. Young in the dialect of the day, this engaging narrative parallels the turmoil of that period. It portrays the family’s perseverance in the face of rural poverty, bigotry and isolation, as well as the myriad problems brought by sudden success. Meticulously rendered in full color by veteran Seattle cartoonist David Lasky, the book includes a CD of vintage Carter Family radio recordings. Both Lasky and Young will be available to sign copies of the book at the reception.

The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln documents the troubled young adulthood of one of America’s most beloved leaders. The book follows Abe Lincoln as he arrives in Springfield, Illinois to begin his life in politics and law. A promising career is sidetracked by a series of professional and emotional setbacks that result in a crushing cloud of depression Lincoln described as "The Hypo." Van Sciver’s attention to detail and emotive drawing technique combine to create a compelling story of irrepressible ambition overcoming all obstacles — laying the foundation for a figure bound to alter the course of history. Van Sciver will appear at the reception to sign copies of his new book, as well as his popular self-published Blammo comix.

The opening at Fantagraphics Bookstore in Seattle’s historic Georgetown arts community on Friday, November 2 is associated the Short Run Small Press Fest activities. A coinciding exhibition of work from Seattle alternative comix tabloid, The Intruder, will be held next door at One Night Stand gallery from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.

Listing Information:

David Lasky and Noah Van Sciver art exhibition and book signing
Friday, November 2, 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Exhibition continues through November 22.
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street, Seattle
206.658.0110 | www.fantagraphics.com

In anticipation of their exciting book release party this coming Sunday, October 28th, we've been asking our artists Steven Weissman and Ron Regé Jr. about the genesis of their friendship. You can read Steve's answers on Ron here. And now, today, it's Ron's turn...

Do you remember the first time you met Steven?
No, I don't remember the first time I met Steven! It was probably at a comic convention? One of the 3 or 4 early memories I have of Steven must be the "first time," but unraveling it now, it feels like I already knew him all of those times. It was around the turn of the century. Who is this Steven character, anyhow? I thought his name was Ribs?

Do you have any funny stories of Steven?
Steven used to live in a little house in Chinatown in San Francisco. It was on a really steep hill. It was a little shack in between all these big buildings, like that old Warner Bros. cartoon. As I came up the hill, there he was at his desk, looking out the window. I think it was at this moment that I stopped calling my peers "cartoonists" and just started calling them "cartoons." All them funny cartoons. haha.

Write me a haiku about his brand new book Barack Hussein Obama!
ribs new book is art
makes sense if you just read it
stories get told all drawn 

Angelenos, do not miss this incredible event. Now is your chance to ask them much better questions than the ones I asked! The book release party starts at 5:00 PM at Skylight Books [ 1818 N Vermont Ave. in the Los Feliz neighborhood ]. 

Now in its third year, our own Lilli Carré proudly co-presents the Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation, at the Chicago Cultural Center and DePaul University School of CIM. (Plus, the fabulous programs were designed by the great Ivan Brunetti!)

This weekend, Saturday, October 27th and Sunday, October 28th, the festival focuses on abstract animation and unconventional character animation. The festival showcases outstanding experimental animation of all sorts: classic films, new works and rare masterpieces.

Check out a trailer for the event below!

Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation 2012 Preview Trailer from Eyeworks Festival on Vimeo.

flyer designed by Steven Weissman!

We could not be more excited about our forthcoming event with Steven Weissman and Ron Regé Jr., this coming Sunday, October 28th!

What will happen when these two incredible talents collide at Skylight Books in Los Angeles? Will time stop? Will doves cry? You'll have to find out for yourself at 5:00 PM!

To prepare everyone for the awesome, and to give those outside of the L.A.-area a glimpse of what we'll be missing, I asked the guys a few questions about the other. Today, we start with Steven:

Do you remember the first time you met Ron?
Ron and I met at Wonder Con '99. I traded him a copy of Hi-Yo Silver #21 I'd just spent all my money on for The Dum Dum Posse Reader. He was really cool about it, so we exchanged numbers.

Do you have any funny stories of Ron?
A few of us were driving around L.A. a couple of years ago when Ron's car started smoking like crazy. Luckily, we were near a mechanic I knew, and he was willing to take a look at it while we waited around. It was really hot out, so Ron bought us ice-cream from a passing cart vendor. After a bit, we wandered back to the garage where the mechanic was just finishing up, and he said it looked like Ron had blown a seal.

"What? No!" Ron told him, embarrassed. "We just had some ice-cream."

Write me a haiku about his brand new book The Cartoon Utopia!
Ron Rege
Stole my squeegee

Skylight Books is located at 1818 N Vermont Ave. in the Los Feliz neighborhood of L.A. Someone go and tell Steve what a haiku is!!! And stay tuned for The Squeegee Thief's answers on Steven, coming tomorrow... 

After an amazing 70th birthday bash, visual poet John M. Bennett is bringing  The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008 to Minneapolis, MN!

Join John on Saturday, October 27th for an afternoon of avant poems, group sounds, collaborations, and more at the Cheap Theatre at the Black Forest Inn [ 9 East 26th Street ].

He'll be joined by special guests Scott Helmes, Michael Jacobson, and Tom Cassidy. Recommended admission is $5, and the event is free for Cheap Theater season ticket holders.

Monday, October 22nd

• Seattle, WA: The Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is pleased to co-present "Building Comix with Charles Burns and Chris Ware" at Town Hall. The modest $5.00 admission fee can be redeemed on the purchase of any book at the signing following the presentation. (more info)

Tuesday, October 23rd

• Eugene, OR: The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon in Eugene, OR is hosting the exhibit GOOD GRIEF! Original Art from 50 Years of Charles M. Schulz's PEANUTS, and curator Ben Saunders will interview Jan Eliot about her experiences with Charles Schulz and her own career as the artist of the nationally successful newspaper strip "Stone Soup." (more info)

• Portland, OR: Editors Nico Vassilakis & Crag Hill will be joined by contributor James Yeary to perform a collage of excerpts of essays from The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008 at Gallery 214 on the campus of the Pacific Northwest College of Art. (more info) 

Friday, October 26th

• Portland, OR: It's your last day to check out pages of The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008 on display at Gallery 214 on the campus of the Pacific Northwest College of Art. (more info)  

• Seattle, WA: Jaap Blonk, revered Dutch voice virtuoso and contributor to The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008, will be performing at the Chapel Performance Space, as part of the annual Earshot Jazz Festival. (more info)

Saturday, October 27th

• Minneapolis, MN:  Visual poet John M. Bennett is bringing The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008 to the Cheap Theatre at the Black Forest Inn for an afternoon of avant poems, group sounds, collaborations, and more. (more info)

• Chicago, IL: See Lilli Carré at the annual Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation. For more Fanta-fantasticness, this year's programs were designed by Ivan Brunetti! (more info) 

Sunday, October 28th

• Los Angeles, CA: Both Steven Weissman and Ron Regé Jr. will be  signing and reading from their brand-new books, Barack Hussein Obama and The Cartoon Utopia, at Skylight Books. Mind-blowing! (more info)

• Chicago, IL: It's your last day to catch Lilli Carré at the annual Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation! (more info)  

Have you heard? Charles Burns, Gabrielle Bell and Tom Kaczynki will be our special guests tomorrow night, Saturday, October 20th, at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery! If you haven't heard, then you're just not paying attention, 'cause we've been talking about it non-stop! 

I'll confess: I'm such a fan of Gabrielle Bell's work that I couldn't even wait for this Saturday's event to get my hands on The Voyeurs, her latest collection out now from Uncivilized Books. I started reading it on the plane home from APE, and finished it last night. No surprise, it's really, really good!

Tom is not only the proprietor of Uncivilized Books, he is also the artist behind our forthcoming release Beta Testing the Apocalypse, a collection of his contributions for Mome with some new material, too! The book won't be ready in time for Saturday, but be sure to check out the Uncivilized titles he'll have in store!

Join us for what's sure to be an incredible night filled with awesome, nice, talented folks, this Saturday, October 20th, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, located at 1201 S. Vale Street in Seattle's Georgetown district.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is pleased to welcome two titans of alternative comix, Chris Ware and Charles Burns, as well as emerging artists Gabrielle Bell and Tom Kaczynki in a lively series of events this Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. This’ll be a blast!

Burns, Bell, and Kaczynski will sign books at Fantagraphics Bookstore, 1201 S. Vale Street, on Saturday, October 20 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. This event coincides with Elysian Brewing's "Great Pumpkin Brew Festival" featuring dozens of pumpkin beers from regional boutique breweries, just up the street at Elysian's Georgetown bottling facility. We'll be serving complimentary samples of the Black Hole-inspired "12 Beers of the Apocalypse," including "Blight" pumpkin ale and a preview tasting of "Omen," not released to the public until the following day. (Burns will appear briefly a block away at Full Throttle Bottles at 5:30 to sign "Apocalypse" bottles to go.) Guests at the bookstore will be the first in the country to receive free copies of our Basil Wolverton Spacehawk sampler to go with other seasonal Halloween treats.

Burns will appear at Elysian Brewing Co. Capitol Hill location, 1221 E. Pike Street, on Sunday, October 21 from noon to 3:00 PM for the tapping party for "Omen" Belgian Raspberry Stout, number 10 in the "12 Beers of the Apocalypse" series. Hang out with the artist in a casual atmosphere in the heart of Seattle’s colorful Pike/Pine corridor.

On Monday, October 22 listen to Burns on Seattle’s NPR affiliate KUOW-FM at 10:00 AM. Then plan to attend "Building Comix with Chris Ware and Charles Burns" at Town Hall, 1119 8th Avenue, at 7:30 PM. Tickets are only $5 and the admission price can be applied to the purchase of any book at the signing following the talk. Ware will discuss his monumental new work Building Stories, and Burns will present The Hive, his anxiously anticipated sequel to X’ed Out. (You can catch the last presidential debate from 6:00 to 7:30 at the Pub at Town Hall for free prior to the event.)