Peter Bagge collectors! People who like fun! Get yerself some merch from Peter's band Can You Imagine? in the Can You Imagine? merch shop! T-shirts! Buttons! Mugs! 'N' more!

This Friday evening in Seattle marks the spectacle of the Dead Baby Bike Club's 14th annual downhill bicycle race. The contest itself is insane, but the real action begins at the finish line in Georgetown. Their apocalyptic party is like the Road Warrior on about 10 hits of acid. Not-to-be-missed: Tall bike jousting (really), bicycle powered carnival rides, music by Tad Doyle's Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, Kurt Danielson's Misericords, a sea of liquid refreshment, and more.

If the relentless action gets too intense, take a break at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in the heart of the party. Check out Dame Darcy's lovely art exhibition and pick up some Peter Bagge comic books featured in our "Summer of Hate" promotion. Fantagraphics curator Larry "The Love God" Reid will be spinning discs, including a few tunes from the brand new CD by Bagge's combo Can You Imagine? We'll be open a little later than usual for this one, so stop by and say hi.

This sounds awesome. At her blog, Ellen Forney says:

I have several posters, some original ink drawings, and a 6′ hand-painted black light banner in this show.

Thunderbitch: Women Designers in Northwest Rock 1966-2010
Opening party August 5, 5-8pm
Exhibit runs August 5 – 27
Tether Design Gallery , 323 Occidental Ave S

From DIY Xerox flyers to album covers to silkscreened posters, women designers have shaped the visual identity of music in the Northwest for decades. Artists include: Lynda Barry, Ellen Forney, Lisa Orth, Alice Wheeler, and dozens more!

With live music by Barbara Ireland + Stone Gossard and Visqueen, plus an appearance by The Piston Packin’ Mamas, Seattle’s all-girl car and motorcycle club. Immediately following the opening party, Damien Jurado will perform a free, all ages show in the gallery.

Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Tunes: At Largehearted Boy, Cathy Malkasian provides a musical playlist for her new graphic novel Temperance

• Interview: Snap Judgment's Stephanie Foo talks to Mome contributors Jon Adams & Robert Goodin, among others, about their superhero juvenilia in a slideshow with audio

• History: At Comics Comics, Tim Hodler posts a 1954 letter from Charles M. Schulz to Walt Kelly provided by Jeet Heer

• Plug: Eat, Sleep & Read! spotlights Artichoke Tales by Megan Kelso

• Reviewer: For the Wall Street Journal, Alexander Theroux reviews Gary Shteyngart's new novel Super Sad True Love Story

Georgetown Records and Fantagraphics Bookstore Host a Party for COVER STORY: Odd, Obscure and Outrageous Album Art on Saturday, August 14.

Spend a hot August night with cool music and art at Georgetown Records and Fantagraphics Bookstore in Seattle. The party celebrates the publication of COVER STORY Volume Two: Odd, Obscure and Outrageous Album Art on Saturday August 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Contributors Aja West and Cheeba preside over the festivities with a show of album art from the book, a book signing, and a rare combined DJ appearance.

COVER STORY Volume Two: Odd, Obscure and Outrageous Album Art continues a graphic narration of the vibrant subculture of record collecting through the art of the album cover. This edition examines strange and bizarre record covers from across the country and around the globe, illuminating the imaginative past of twelve-inch masterpieces - sadly absent in this era of digital downloads. Published by Wax Poetics in association with powerHouse Books, this colorful 228 page volume celebrates an eccentric era when artistic visions were often so absurd and grandiose they frequently extended beyond the boundaries of the recording and onto the album covers themselves.

The artwork for the COVER STORY series is selected by the staff of Wax Poetics magazine, including Seattle siblings Aja West and Cheeba. Both brothers have colorful backgrounds, recording music together and separately, collaborating with an amazing assortment of players along the way. Both also associated with celebrities early in their careers: Aja as the music assistant to comedian Conan O'Brien and Cheeba with the illustrious Dust Brothers production duo. Their first recording together was a remix for the Fight Club film that appeared in the Japanese and European version of the soundtrack. They now play in each other's projects: Aja's The Mackrosoft and Cheeba's Cheebacabra.

First published in December 2001, Brooklyn-born Wax Poetics was originally created for a concentrated market of music aficionados. It has since expanded to make musical anthropologists out of average music listeners — illuminating the dark corners of our sonic past while also striving to give new and innovative artists broad exposure.

Georgetown Records and Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery share retail space at 1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.). Phone 206.658.0110. This event coincides with the lively Georgetown Art Attack featuring free visual and performing arts presentations at several locations throughout the historic industrial arts district.

• Robert Goodin presents an outtake page from his story "The Spiritual Crisis of Carl Jung" in Mome Vol. 19

• Gary Panter announces a new Jimbo minicomic

• Jim Woodring presents two Frank favorites, Frank in Frizland and Manhog's Holiday, now in full painted color

• It's your all-new weekly installment of "Cartoon Boy" from John Kerschbaum

• From Kevin Huizenga, a new Amazing Facts and Beyond with Leon Beyond, new Fight or Run action, and more process at New Construction 

• From Steven Weissman, this week's "I, Anonymous" and from his sketchbook chopper trike & portait of D. Clowes etc.

• From John Hankiewicz, four versions of two figures

• Drew Weing's Set to Sea pages 110 & 111

• The latest installment of Belligerent Piano by Tim Lane

• Debbie Drechsler draws hawks and other birds at the cemetery ("Cemetery Hawks" — there's your new band name)

• Noah Van Sciver has a plan

• Laura Park & friends "enjoy" summer together

• Josh Simmons gets Woodring-esque with the Haunted Quacker; plus shark attack Quacker (with Wendy Chin), Ecstatic Quacker, Big Time Quacker 

• From Renee French: big worm, running man, fly baby, bulb neck, little kid, cutaway hair rock

• Steve Brodner remembers Gerald Ford

• Page 33 of Hans Rickheit's Ectopiary; also, he reveals his drawing process

• Tom Kaczynski draws the Lightning Bolt show

• This week's Truth Serum by Jon Adams

• Joe Kimball posts a couple more concert posters

• Things to Hear Dept: Stream 5 new songs by Derek Van Gieson's band Ebersole Versus Carberry on their MySpace page

Drinky Crow + TMBG + booze = dook dook dook dook! Now available again, says Tony Millionaire. Only 10 bucks!

[Ed. note: This is the first post to be tagged in our new "merch" category, which we should have started a long time ago.]

Fantagraphics Bookstore 's neighbors Georgetown Records are hosting a free, all-ages musical performance with Terri Tarantula and Low Places on Saturday, July 17 at 5:00 PM. Terri Moeller was the voice of the Transmissionary Six from 2002-2008 and the drummer for The Walkabouts. Terri Tarantula is her new solo project.

The Stranger recently had this to say about Terri's music: "If this were the early '90s, Terri Tarantula would be in prime contention for a 4AD recording contract; she would've slotted ideally between Red House Painters and Heidi Berry. The Seattle singer-songwriter-drummer-keyboardist's deep, lugubrious voice — a sensual truce between Nico's stark, intimate croon and Hope Sandoval's honeyed glumness — would have connected with that British label's fan base's appetite for songs tinted darkest blue."

Opening act Low Places play acoustic guitars and sing plaintive, Americana-tinged folk songs accompanied by keyboards and dark, electronic sound textures.

Drop in for a complimentary cold beverage, some cool music, and see the hot new work from Dame Darcy at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery.

Saturday's Artopia extravaganza was the most festive yet. Thousands of adventurous art patrons strolled through Georgetown taking in everything from Megan's Kelso's Artichoke Tales exhibition to the vintage Georgetown Trailer Park Mall, complete with the mobile Elvis museum and wedding chapel. Circus acts, sideshow routines, carnival games, marching bands, and plenty of food and drink kept everyone wildly entertained.

Fantagraphics Bookstore's entry in the Power Tool Races — a chainsaw-powered 1991 Daniel Clowes-designed Santa Cruz skateboard — won the trophy for... well, some absurd category. Comedian and film director Bobcat Goldthwait dropped by the store after the races to admire the winner before presenting his cult classic feature film Shakes the Clown.

Bands performed on a stage outside the store all day including the Tom Price Desert Classic featuring our beloved Martin Bland on drums. The festivities came to a crescendo with an improvised session of neighborhood musicians including Georgetown Records co-owners Grant Eckman and Martin Imbach, and a cameo appearance by Soundgarden's Ben Shepherd. Don't miss it next year.

Periodic clips & strips — click for improved/additional viewing at the sources:

• Dash Shaw identifies this only as "scrap"

• Mark Kalesniko presents the original art for the cover of Mail Order Bride

• A short autobio strip from poor Noah Van Sciver

• From Renee French: beetle, trap, trap

• Page 30 of Hans Rickheit's Ectopiary; also, this is NSFW

• Why not go look at some Drew Friedman classics over at Golden Age Comic Book Stories?

• Get a daily dose of Dan Clowes at Fuck Yeah Daniel Clowes

• Anders Nilsen presents some things to consider

• Two great things that go great together: Eleanor Davis artwork on the cover of the next Elf Power record, as revealed by Pitchfork — via Drew Weing

• Debbie Drechsler draws a broken butterfly