Fans of Johnny Ryan and/or vintage horror movies and/or black metal will want to get their hands on this Lord Foul t-shirt featuring Johnny's rendition of "The Man" from the 1962 horror film Carnival of Souls.

Kati With An I (trailer) from prewarcinema on Vimeo.

It should come as little surprise that Leslie Stein, whose debut book Eye of the Majestic Creature premieres at MoCCA Fest next month, is also a musician, seeing as how one of the main characters in the book is a talking anthropomorphic guitar. Leslie's music is featured in the new documentary film Kati with an I — in the trailer posted above, it begins around the 1 minute mark. (Thanks to director Robert Greene for the scoop.)

Gary Panter did this sweet flyer for an upcoming show with his band Devin Gary & Ross (info at the link).

Northwest residents won't want to miss out on the action after the Emerald City Comicon in Seattle on Saturday, March 5. Captain Kirk, Riker, Data, Crusher... hell — half the crew of the Enterprise will be guests at the convention. After the convention, beam yourself down to the Jewel Box Theater at the Rendezvous for the fabulous "Con Artists" concert. The show is FREE with convention credentials.

The party opens with a solo music set by Matthew Southworth, co-creator of Stumptown (with convention guest Greg Rucka.) Before concentrating on his comics career, Southworth made a splash with the Capillaries. Also on the bill is Peter Bagge's Can You Imagine? Bagge will be at the con on Saturday, and will entertain revelers at the Jewel Box with his pop combo featuring legendary musician and producer Steve Fisk. The festivities conclude with a set by the Rheas, fronted by our dreamy associate publisher Eric Reynolds. The lovely Janice Headley will spin spacey platters, and the Rendezvous, located at 2322 in Seattle's lively Belltown neighborhood, features fantastic food and affordable drinks. 21 and over with ID.

A limited number of advance tickets to the convention are still available at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery at 1201 S. Vale Street. Phone 206.658.0110. See you soon.

Seattle's own alternative comics pioneers Fantagraphics are bringing their award-winning wares to the 9th Annual Emerald City Comic-Con, March 4th - 6th, 2011 at the Washington State Convention Center. Tickets for the Emerald City Comic-Con are available at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Georgetown.

Visit our table at space #808 and check out new titles, such as Twilight of the Assholes: Cartoons & Essays 2005-2009, FUC_ __U, _SS __LE: Blecky Yuckerella Vol. 4, The Strange Case of Edward Gorey, King of the Flies Vol. 2: The Origin of the World, Stigmata, Unexplored Worlds: The Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 2, Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition, Special Exits, Little Maakies on the Prairie, Prince Valiant Vol. 3 and Popeye Vol. 5.

Special guests include:

Peter Bagge, the funniest cartoonist of his generation. Bagge is probably best known for the 1990s comic book series Hate, which followed the exploits of the slacker ne'er-do-well Buddy Bradley. Bagge will be signing copies of the latest Hate Annual #8, and additional works, such as Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me and Other Astute Observations, on Saturday, March 5th from 10:00 am to Noon.

Jacques Boyreau, editor and cultural historian of the book Portable Grindhouse: The Lost Art of the VHS Box, a celebration of some of the most louche, decadent, minimo-pervo artwork to ever grace a VHS box. Boyreau will be signing, and showing footage from Portable Grindhouse films, at our table on Friday, March 4th from 4:00 to 6:00 pm.

Megan Kelso, Ignatz Award-winning artist who has returned to Seattle after a period in New York, where she published a weekly comic strip in The New York Times magazine. Kelso will be signing copies of her acclaimed novel Artichoke Tales, and other titles, on Sunday, March 6th from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.

Fantagraphics & Top Shelf Presents: Con Artists, the Emerald City Comic-Con After-Party

Fantagraphics Books Inc. teams up with fellow indie-comic publishers Top Shelf Productions for an Emerald City Comic-Con after-party on Saturday, March 5th at the Jewel Box Theater at the Rendezvous.

Performers include:
Can You Imagine?: featuring Peter Bagge, and legendary local producer/musician Steve Fisk
The Rheas: fronted by Eric Reynolds, Associate Publisher at Fantagraphics
Matthew Southworth: frontman for The Capillaries, and co-creator of the comic Stumptown

DJ'ing between sets will be DJ Janice, aka Janice Headley, Events Coordinator/Publicist for Fantagraphics (and Programming Assistant at Seattle radio station KEXP).

Con Artists: Emerald City Comic-Con Afterparty
Sponsored by Fantagraphics Books & Top Shelf Productions
Saturday, March 5th, 2011 at 9:00 pm
Jewel Box Theater at The Rendezvous
2322 2nd Avenue in Belltown
Admission $5 (General Public)
FREE with Emerald City Comic-Con badge
21 and over with ID

Emerald City Comic-Con
March 4th - 6th, 2011
Washington State Convention Center
http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com/
Friday: 2:00pm - 8:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am - 7:00pm
Sunday: 10:00am - 5:00pm

• http://www.fantagraphics.com
• http://www.fantagraphics.com/peterbagge
• http://www.fantagraphics.com/megankelso
• http://www.fantagraphics.com/portablegrindhouse

Dame Darcy appears at Domy Books in Austin TX for a Meat Cake book signing on Thursday Jan. 6, 6-7 PM — more info here, and RSVP on Facebook here.

Following the signing, the Dame's band Death By Doll will be playing at Elysium for the full Dame Darcy multimedia experience! It's all brought to you by the Austin branch of Dr. Sketchy.

Here are some photos (and a video) I took at our 4th Anniversary party last Saturday night. See a whole bunch more (including photos of the entire "Medieval Thinkers" art exhibit) over on our Flickr page.

It was packed shoulder-to-shoulder!

Jim Woodring & Zak Sally greet their public.

Larry Reid chats with Grammy-winning musician and Jim Woodring collaborator Bill Frisell

Jim signs copies of Weathercraft

Mark Pickerel (ex-Screaming Trees) performs a solo set

Zak performs songs from his album Fear of Song accompanied by his 4-track cassette recorder

Watch Zak play his final song of the evening, "My Secret World"

Folks checking out the "Medieval Thinkers" exhibit

Lots of comics from the exhibiting artists for sale

The Kim Deitch Files print portfolio from La Mano 21 makes its debut

Gary Groth checks out the exhibit

Aaaand, as if that weren't enough, there's a whole great big mess more photos to be seen on Medieval Thinkers contributor Kelly Froh's Flickr page. Whew!

(Mark Pickerel)

We'd like to thank the big crowd that braved a biblical deluge to attend the fabulous fourth anniversary at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle on Saturday. Thanks to our talented musician friends Mark Pickerel and Zak Sally — who escaped a biblical blizzard in Minneapolis to appear. Kudos also to Jason T. Miles and Max Clotfelter for organizing the amazing "Medieval Thinkers" art exhibition. Another magical evening at Fantagraphics Bookstore!

(Zak Sally)

If you weren't able to make it, be sure to drop by the store to see the art show, peruse hand crafted publications by exhibiting artists, check out amazing new releases from Zak Sally's La Mano 21 imprint, and wonderful new offerings from Fantagraphics books, natch.

(Jim Woodring)

The store is open every day 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. We have delightful and affordable gifts to suit just about any taste. Ask our friendly staff for suggestions. See you all soon.

[Photos by "Medieval Thinkers" contributor Matt Tamaru — see more on his Flickr page. – Ed.]

Fans of alternative culture in Seattle are in for a wild weekend. This Friday, Mark Pickerel's pop culture emporium Damaged Goods hosts a poster exhibition by Fantagraphics pal and graphic design guru Art Chantry. Later that evening alternative music group Low plays the Tractor Tavern.

The action heats up on Saturday when Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery celebrates its fourth anniversary with an amazing line up of art, music, comix and more. The aforementioned Mark Pickerel, formerly of Screaming Trees, will perform a solo music set, followed by former Low member Zak Sally. Fans will also get a chance to pick up one of six new Jim Woodring tee shirts and view the amazing exhibition "Medieval Thinkers."

To commemorate Zak Sally's appearance, we'll be offering his wonderful comix collection Like a Dog at 20% off. And while supplies last, we'll be giving away a Sally silkscreen print with every purchase of Sammy the Mouse #3. (The original artwork will be on display.)

Complimentary refreshments, DJ Russ spinning delightfully demented holiday platters, and adventurous art action all over Georgetown make Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery a major destination. See you all on Saturday.