Well, baseball and softball season in the city leagues of Seattle started recently and we couldn't help but draw a little inspiration from the man who helped elevate baseball to its on-high status, Willard Mullin. The Golden Age of Baseball Drawings 1934-1972 collects for the first time Mullin's best drawings devoted to baseball — depictions of players like Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Yogi Berra and the story of Mullin creating the Brooklyn Bum, the bedraggled mascot of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Whether you're in the dugout...
Out ready to turn a play in the infield...
Or catching fly balls in the outfield... (see me, I'm that little green and pink-banged blob on the right)
…this hardcover book is full of great baseball gags and political comics from a time when the nation needed something to keep up their moral. Our team, Scared Hitless, even decided to get uniforms to match the beautiful book jacket (or did Jacob Covey design it to match us?).
Pull up a stool to our entry in Hazradfactory's famous Power Tool Races at the Georgetown Carnival this Saturday. The Fantagraphics Bar Car blends Pina Coladas while leisurely tooling down the track. (The resulting cocktails will be served to race officials following each run.) Inspired by the mid-century motifs of Shag, Fantagraphics Bookstore's annual entry is going for cool, not speed. Come watch us win.
The Power Tool Races commence at noon and continue all afternoon, concluding with a delirious demolition derby. Enjoy an afternoon of free entertainment including acrobats, aerialists, brass bands, tall bikes, belly dancers, stiltwalkers, fortune tellers, burlesque acts, beer gardens, drag shows, interactive art, carnival games, and 17 bands on 4 stages (featuring Bonneville Power and Tom Price Desert Classic with Fantagraphics own Martin Bland.) Noon to 8:00 PM in Seattle's festive Georgetown arts community.
The colorful Georgetown Carnival arts festival enters its 7th year with an eclectic array of entertainment reflecting the sensibilities of one of Seattle's liveliest neighborhoods. This free, family friendly event features diverse music, interactive art, acrobats, circus acts, carnival games and confections, as well as Hazardfactory's world famous Power Tool Races. The fun is from noon to 8:00 PM on Saturday, June 8 in the heart of the historic Georgetown industrial arts corridor.
Don't miss stiltwalkers, aerialists, tall bikes, brass bands, and rock ‘n' roll. Young performers from Georgetown's School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts will be joined by youthful musicians from the Seattle Drum School on the Carnival Stage. Artists from Georgetown's Equinox Studios present intriguing art activities. Sandbox Sports hosts a children's beach party. Students from nearby Cleveland High School screen short films. "Minions" from Despicable Me 2 wander the Carnival grounds. Kids win wonderful prizes at creative carnival games.
Thrill to the spectacle of customized power tools drag racing side-by-side in Hazardfactory's infamous Power Tool Races, concluding with a cacophonous demolition derby. This year's Fantagraphics entry will be unveiled at Fantagraphics Bookstore on Saturday, June 1. Sweet!
More than 15 bands perform on 3 stages, including Tom Price Desert Classic (featuring Fantagraphics own Martin Bland), Cute Lepers, The Billy Joe Show, Rocket Surgery, The Gum, Dead Man, and more, along with the grand opening of the Sub Pop Mega Mart in advance of their Silver Jubilee celebration in Georgetown on July 13. The Stables Midway Sideshow and Georgetown Brewing Beer Garden features mature entertainment including burlesque dancers, drag queens, and lounge acts. An additional beer garden is located at the Georgetown Trailer Park Market of Curiosities and music stage.
Plan to spend your whole summer in the enchanting Georgetown district!
VikingCon describe themselves as, "a cultural convention that serves as a place for individuals involved in the comic world across all levels of experience to come together and engage in meaningful conversations and explorations." And with that in mind, go engage in meaningful conversations with Gary and Mike in the following panels!
11:00 - 12:00 PM // The Age of Modern Comic: The Modern Age of Comics is a period in the history of American comic-books that began in the mid-1980s around the time of the publication of Watchmen, and has gone on to see the revival of the comics industry in the twenty-first century. This panel is a round-table discussion about the Modern Age, focusing on the multimedia popularity of comic books and addressing key issues about the changing nature of comics today. (Room VU 565A)
1:45 - 2:45 PM // Getting Into the Industry: Come meet industry professionals from many different aspects of the comic world, and learn what it takes to get in the business. Whether you’re an aspiring writer, artist, publisher/editor, or simply interested in how to get a career in the film, gaming, comic and graphic novel-inspired industry, this panel is a unique opportunity to ask and learn from people who have been in your shoes. (Room VU 565A)
• Seattle, WA: It's your last chance to see Jen Vaughn's exhibit (with her best friend Nomi Kane) at Chocolati Cafe [ 1716 N. 45th Street ]. Not only is she an amazing Marketing/PR/Outreach Fiend, but she's a kick-ass artist, too! (more info)
Our artists will be partaking in programming throughout the weekend, so check out their panels!
Saturday, April 27th
12:00-12:45 pm // Meathaus Reunion: Becky Cloonan, Brandon Graham, Farel Dalrymple and Dash Shaw: A reflective spotlight on Meathaus luminaries, Becky Cloonan, Brandon Graham, Farel Dalrymple and Dash Shaw whose work has appeared in various Meathaus anthologies since 2002. These artists have each maintained their own strong modern stylistic identity receiving both critical and commercial acclaim. Marc Arsenault (Alternative Comics) will introduce the panel with a look at the SVA art groups and graduates that led to the creation of the Meathaus comics collective. (Room B114)
1:00-1:45 pm // Angels and Demons: The Mythology of S. Clay Wilson: Mythology may be the key to understanding the work of highly influential underground cartoonist S. Clay Wilson, from the self-mythology that Wilson invented and polished over the years as a dashing and dangerous figure, to his personal inner landscape where his archetypal characters dwell when they arena gracing the pages of Zap Comix, Thrilling Murder, or Insect Fear, to the body of language and lore passed down from his hillbilly ancestors. With Patrick Rosenkranz. (Room B117)
2:00-2:45 pm // Two-Faced Artist Lives Double Life in Single Body!: The joys and perils of straddling the worlds of fine art and comics with cartoonists Jon McNaught, Julia Gfrörer, and Daniel Duford, moderated by Chloe Eudaly. Join us for a conversation with our panel of artists, each of whom are experienced in the realms of fine art and comics. We'll explore how they came to work in two seemingly disparate mediums, how their work in each converges with, diverges from, and influences the other, and the the sometimes arbitrary or artificial distinction between the two. (Room B117)
5:00-5:45 pm // Dylan Williams Tribute Panel: Share some time with the friends and colleagues of comics' best friend as we all recount our favorite stories about the late Sparkplug publisher's life and celebrate his philosophy and work as an artist, scholar and publisher. Time permitting, we will also attempt to make sense of his passion for unsettling any and everyone who dared point a camera at him at festivals like this one. Panelists include: T Edward Bak, Julia Gfrörer, Tim Goodyear, David Lasky, Tom Neely; moderated by Milo George. (Room B114)
Sunday, April 28th
1:00-1:45 pm // Submissions Do's and Don'ts: Jen Vaughn (Fantagraphics), Jamie Rich (formerly Oni Press), Bob Schreck (Legendary Comics), Allison Baker (Monkeybrains Comics), and Sina Grace (Image/Skybound) will share their experiences slogging through the submissions pile, everything from finding a diamond in the rough to bartering with the mailman to stop delivering submissions. Your questions? Answered! Your comics published? We'll see. (Room B114)
2:00-2:45 pm // Dash Shaw's New School: Dash Shaw is a cartoonist and animator whose graphic novel New School debuts at Stumptown from Fantagraphics Books. In this spotlight presentation, he will screen and discuss his animations, including his Sigur Ros video and Sundance short Seraph, and show slides of the process behind creating New School as well as some of his other comics. Moderated by Fantagraphics' Jen Vaughn. (Room B111)
4:00-4:45 pm // DIY Publishing: For many micropublishers, making good books is easy; it's the marketing and the selling that's hard. Panelists Tom Kaczynski (Uncivilized Books), Zack Soto (Study Group), Chloe Eudaly (Reading Frenzy), Jason Leivian (Floating World Comics), Keenan Keller (Drippy Bone), and moderator Milo George will look at different printing processes and their costs and compare notes on production/distribution issues including pricing and sustainability. (Room B111)
5:00-5:45 pm // Spain Tribute Panel: Spain Rodriguez, legendary underground cartoonist, tore his way into hearts of readers like the beloved motorcycles that grace the pages of his comics. Patrick Rosenkranz, Jen Vaughn, Eric Reynolds, and Charles Brownstein take you though the wild days of Spain's work from his groundbreaking ZAP anthology contributions to adapting the life of Che Guevara. Get acquainted with this revolutionary cartoonist and his award-winning work. (Room B117)
So, stop by the Fantagraphics Booth this weekend at Stumptown, Booth Q1 right down the aisle when you first walk in!
The Oregon Convention Center is located at 777 NE ML King Blvd, several blocks away from the Lloyd Center Shopping Mall, and conveniently located next to a Portland Tri-Met MAX Line stop for accessibility.
• Seattle, WA:Well, read the sign! Jen Vaughn, our most marvelous Marketing/PR/Outreach Fiend, is teaming up with her best friend Nomi Kane for a comics art show at Chocolati Cafe [ 1716 N. 45th Street ]. Join them for the opening reception tonight from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, but even if you can't, you'll still have until Friday, May 3rd to see their exhibit! (more info)
• Brooklyn, NY: It's your last day to check out A Little Knotty, an art show by our own Dave Cooper showing at the Cotton Candy Machine! Take in the original watercolored drawings, inkings, new prints and fun merchandise while you can! (more info)
• New York City, NY: And it's your last day to visit us at MoCCA, at tables B64, B65, C80, C81 -- right in front as you walk through the main entrance! (more info)
A flock of rock stars descended on Fantagraphics Bookstore yesterday following a video shoot for the forthcoming Sub Pop Silver Jubilee celebrating 25 years of the storied Seattle record label. From left: producer and musician Jack Endino, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, brother TAD Doyle, and (former Fantagraphics staffer) Mudhoney front man Mark Arm.
Mark your calendars - and make hotel reservations - for Saturday, July 13 when Sub Pop presents 15 bands on two stages of free, all-ages entertainment right outside our bookstore. Inside the store, Fantagraphics curator Larry Reid is teaming with Sub Pop founder Bruce Pavitt for an exhibition focusing on the formative years of the Sub Pop phenomenon, including seminal works from cartoonists that would later become legends in their own right. This event also marks the world premiere of Danny Bland's highly anticipated first novel In Case We Die, from the world's greatest pop culture publisher. Time your summer vacation accordingly.
• Vancouver, BC: Our awesome Marketing/PR/Outreach Fiend Jen Vaughn will be on an Inkstuds panel at the Vancouver Art Gallery, discussing art and tradition of comics, as well as reflecting on their own work. (As she puts it, "I'm very stoked to be talking about periods/menstruation inside a place called VAG." Haw!) She'll be joined by fellow artists Emily Carroll and Brandon Graham, with your host Robin McConnell. This event is free for museum members, and for non-members, Tuesday night are "Pay What You Can," so don't miss this! (more info)
Friday, March 22nd
• St Catharines, ONT:The Last Vispo Anthology: Visual Poetry 1998-2008 will have its Ontario launch party at the Niagara Artists Centre from 7:00 to 11:00 PM. There will be readings by derek beaulieu, Sharon Harris, Jenny Sampirisi, and Karl Jirgens. It is also the launch party for derek's book, Please, no more poetry: the selected works of derek beaulieu, and his accompanying art show How to Read. (more info)
Kim Thompson has been my partner at Fantagraphics Books for 35 years. He's contributed vastly and selflessly to this company and to the comics medium and worked closely with countless fine artists over that time. This is a tough announcement to make, but everyone who knows Kim knows he's a fighter and we remain optimistic that he'll get through this and report back to work, where he belongs, doing what he loves.
– Gary Groth
I'm sure that by now a number of people in the comics field who deal with me on a regular or semi-regular basis have noticed that I've been responding more spottily. This is because of ongoing health issues for the past month, which earlier this week resolved themselves in a diagnosis of lung cancer.
This is still very early in the diagnosis, so I have no way of knowing the severity of my condition. I'm relatively young and (otherwise) in good health, and my hospital is top-flight, so I'm hopeful and confident that we will soon have the specifics narrowed down, set me up with a course of treatment, proceed, and lick this thing.
It is quite possible that as treatment gets underway I'll be able to come back in and pick up some aspects of my job, maybe even quite soon. However, in the interests of keeping things rolling as smoothly as I can, I've transferred all my ongoing projects onto other members of the Fantagraphics team. So if you're expecting something from me, contact Gary Groth, Eric Reyolds, or Jason Miles and they can hook you up with whoever you need. If there are things that only I know and can deal with, lay it out for them and they'll contact me.
On behalf of Kim, we would like to encourage anyone who would like to reach out to him to feel free to send mail to him c/o Fantagraphics Books, 7563 Lake City Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115, or email.
