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Behold! A never-before-seen Daniel Clowes sketch from 1992 provided to us by the great Barbara Manning, who (as previously noted) is playing a show at the Sunset Tavern here in Seattle in mere hours, sharing the bill with Peter Bagge's band Can You Imagine?! It's all a big circle of comics and music and love! Thanks to Barbara for sending us this image!

Peter Bagge sends word that the self-titled debut CD from his band Can You Imagine? is now available on CD Baby. Hooray! (And don't forget, there's more CYI merch available right here.)

CYI is playing a show this Friday, Dec. 4, at the Sunset Tavern in Seattle to celebrate. Also on the bill: the great singer-songwriter (and known comics fan) Barbara Manning (playing her first Seattle show in almost 10 years!) and Seattle's Midday Veil. Get more info on the show and RSVP on Facebook. Don't miss it!

Zack Carlson and Bryan Connolly will be signing copies of Destroy All Movies!!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film, with musical performances by local bands The Creamers and Cruddy, at a release party at Austin, TX record store End of an Ear this Saturday, Dec. 4, 6-8 PM. More info/RSVP on Facebook here!

Since opening in December 2006, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery has become a treasured civic asset. In addition to feeding Northwest residents' insatiable appetite for challenging contemporary culture, the space has attracted visitors from across the country and around the world. Saturday, December 11 marks the bookstore's 4th anniversary, and to celebrate the occasion we're once again hosting the season's most festive party featuring amazing music, comix, art, and more!

The evening includes solo music sets by Zak Sally and Mark Pickerel. Zak was a founding member of alternative music legends Low and continues solo music endeavors while publishing great comics with Fantagraphics as well as producing exquisitely crafted small press projects on his own La Mano 21 imprint. This event will mark the debut of his ambitious Kim Deitch File portfolio project, among other recent La Mano offerings. Zak will be joined by Fantagraphics friend Mark Pickerel, who began his musical career with the highly acclaimed Screaming Trees and now fronts Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands, in addition to being the proprietor of Seattle pop culture emporium Damaged Goods.

An exhibition of comix art curated by Jason T. Miles and Max Clotfelter, in association with Friends of the Nib, features promising emerging cartoonists. together with masters of the medium. "Medieval Thinkers" includes original works by Peter Bagge, Bruce Bickford, D. J. Bryant, Chris Cilla, Max Clotfelter, Eleanor Davis, Kim Deitch, Heidi Estey, Kelly Froh, Justin Green, Gerald Jablonski, Megan Kelso, Jason T. Miles, Nate Neal, Bob Rini, Zak Sally, Dash Shaw, Matt Tamaru, Drew Weing, Jim Woodring, Mary Woodring, Max Woodring, Martine Workman, and Chris Wright. According to Friends of the Nib co-curator Miles, "Many of these artists work with antiquated materials most commonly associated with 19th and 20th century cartooning, specifically the metal dip pen or crowquill pen nibs, although use of these tools was not a requisite for inclusion. What brings these artists together is an imagist approach to picture-making and a willful ignorance of the aesthetics, fashion, and politics of the fine art industry. Medieval thinkers organize their experience by executing lessons in perspective, balance, humor and alchemy."

All this plus screaming deals on comix, celebrity guests, holiday libations, demented Christmas platters spun by DJ Russ Fallout, and a few surprises makes Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery's 4th anniversary party the place to be on Saturday, December 11. This event coincides with the colorful holiday version of the Georgetown Art Attack with amazing visual and performing arts presentations throughout the historic arts community.

Listing Information:

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery's 4th Anniversary Celebration
Music, Comix, Art and More!

Saturday, December 11, 6:00 to 9:00 PM

Music by
ZAK SALLY and MARK PICKEREL

Medieval Thinkers original comix exhibition featuring
Peter Bagge, Bruce Bickford, D. J. Bryant, Chris Cilla, Max Clotfelter, Eleanor Davis, Kim Deitch, Heidi Estey, Kelly Froh, Justin Green, Gerald Jablonski, Megan Kelso, Jason T. Miles, Nate Neal, Bob Rini, Zak Sally, Dash Shaw, Matt Tamaru, Drew Weing, Jim Woodring, Mary Woodring, Max Woodring, Martine Workman, and Chris Wright.
Curated for Friends of the Nib by Jason T. Miles and Max Clotfelter.

Exhibition continues through February 8, 2011.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street, Seattle, WA 98108
206.658.0110
Open daily 11:30 - 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM

Today's Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "Punk and the movies met when the former was very young. When punk eventually grew up, the movies still insisted on viewing it as a child. Their union, nowadays perverted by mutual materialistic bloat, has been rather like an arranged marriage: long-lasting, with moments of real understanding, but fundamentally fraudulent. Zack Carlson and Bryan Connolly's hefty new tome Destroy All Movies!!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film chronicles this tragicomedic marriage in A-Z encyclopedic form encompassing more than 1,100 movies, 450 pages, and lots of vintage promotional imagery." – Dennis Harvey, San Francisco Bay Guardian

• Plug: Punknews.org spotlights Destroy All Movies!!!, calling it "an ambitious, if slightly obsessive take on film and punk rock"

• Review: "The artwork is as beautiful, subtle, and well-crafted as the stories. [...] Significant to Hagio’s stories is her ability to so masterfully communicate emotions in the artwork. Hagio uses body language as well as facial expressions. Her artistic genius is seen in character’s eyes alive with emotions radiating off the page. [...] A Drunken Dream and Other Stories is a wonderful collection of stories for mature readers. The stories embody a complex mix of emotions. Hagio isn’t offering us easily digestible pap, but solid food that will take time to process and absorb properly." – Ed Sizemore, Manga Worth Reading

• Plug: "It's... wonderful to note the imminent publication of Joyce Farmer's Special Exits. It speaks well to comics as an art form that there's a prominent place for powerful work from an older cartoonist that may have more to offer in terms of underground cred than in a modern marketplace track record." – Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter

• Tunes: Bibliodiscoteque, a music podcast specializing in playlists inspired by writers, presents a Jaime Hernandez episode

Mark your social calendars in indelible ink! Saturday, December 11 marks the 4th anniversary of the fabulous Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. To celebrate this auspicious occasion we're once again hosting the season's most festive party featuring amazing music, comix, art, and more!

The evening includes solo music sets by Zak Sally and Mark Pickerel. Zak was a founding member of alternative music legends Low and continues solo music endeavors while publishing great comics with Fantagraphics as well as producing exquisitely crafted small press projects on his own La Mano imprint. He will be joined by Fantagraphics friend Mark Pickerel who began his musical career with the highly acclaimed Screaming Trees and now fronts Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands, in addition to being the proprietor of Seattle pop culture emporium Damaged Goods.

An awesome exhibition of comix art curated by Jason T. Miles and Max Clotfelter, in association with Friends of the Nib, features prominent living legends and emerging cartoonists. "Medieval Thinkers" includes original works by Peter Bagge, Bruce Bickford, D. J. Bryant, Chris Cilla, Max Clotfelter, Eleanor Davis, Kim Deitch, Heidi Estey, Kelly Froh, Justin Green, Gerald Jablonski, Megan Kelso, Jason T. Miles, Nate Neal, Bob Rini, Zak Sally, Dash Shaw, Matt Tamaru, Drew Weing, Jim Woodring, Mary Woodring, Max Woodring, Martine Workman, and Chris Wright. Toldja it was awesome.

All this plus screaming deals on comix, celebrity guests, holiday libations, demented Christmas platters spun by DJ Russ Fallout, and a few surprises makes Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery's 4th anniversary party the place to be on Saturday, December 11. See you all then.

More television appearances of Tony Millionaire's cover art for Elvis Costello's National Ransom (images courtesy Tony):

Okay, a couple of these are straining credulity... I mean, Joe Scarborough??

As Elvis Costello keeps making the talk-show rounds promoting his new album National Ransom, so does Tony Millionaire's cover art. Note how Late Night host Jimmy Fallon holds the album so as not to obscure any of the artwork on Friday night's episode — nicely done, Jimmy. (Screenshot via a well-wisher of Tony's.)

OK, so we got excited when Tony Millionaire's cover art for Elvis Costello's new album National Ransom appeared as an eeny weeny thumbnail on The Colbert Report last week. Well that was just the appetizer to last night's (I suppose inevitable) main course, when Costello was the guest on Colbert's show. The two discussed the artwork (without mentioning the artist... c'mon, guys), which was plastered all over the place during the segment. Watch the episode here.

(Incidentally, Janice has been trying to contact Elvis's people to get him to do an "Under the Covers" interview about Tony's artwork — wish us luck!)

Visitors to the Charles Burns appearance this Saturday evening at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery are in for a treat. Eye candy! While supplies last, we'll have free copies of Stéphane Blanquet's fabulous full color TOYS IN THE BASEMENT mini-comic, which includes a 2-page preview of THE LITTLEST PIRATE KING by David B. For indie music buffs we have a limited quantity of the scary 5-song "Haunted Fang Castle" CD by the sensational Spits, including an illustrated booklet by J. J. Rudisill. And our friends from Frontier Records dropped by with a stack of cool full-color vinyl stickers by Jaime Hernandez commemorating 30 years of pleasurable punk rock. [Hit the Frontier link above for a better look at Jaime's illustration – Ed.]

If that's not enough, with each purchase we'll be giving away free copies of Richard Sala's EVIL EYE comic book. All this and Charles Burns! A Halloween to remember.