Songs of the Abyss

Baltimore cartoonist Eamon Espey’s beautiful new graphic novel, Songs of the Abyss, has just been published by Secret Acres.

Eamon’s stunning graphic work has appeared in art shows in Los Angeles, Istanbul, New York and Sweden, as well as in magazines across the planet. Songs of the Abyss continues Espey's fascination with the spiritual and grotesque - ancient Egyptian gods birth Biblical giants; Santa Claus is an agent of the Devil; A scientist performs sadistic experiments in search of enlightenment.

Eamon collaborated with sculptor and puppeteer Lisa Krause to promote the book through a puppet show adaptation of one chapter of the new comic, titled "Ishi’s Brain," based on the true story of a man often been referred to as “the last wild Indian.” The show includes shadow puppets, masks, marionettes and lots of painted cardboard.

Eamon and his puppet show come to Seattle for one performance only. This Thursday, April 25, at the Richard Hugo House. Presented by the ever-expanding Short Run Literary Collective. Tickets are just $5 and available at the door.

Ben Katchor

Cartoonist Ben Katchor pays attention to the forgettable things all around us. Tags on women's clothing, sugar packets, boxes of cheap second-hand postcards... all of it is the raw material from which Katchor conjures his panoramas of wistfullness and nostalgia.

His most recent book, Hand-Drying in America, is a compilation of monthly comic strips created for Metropolis magazine. True to form, Katchor ruminates on dancing schools, bars of soap, and the sound of the common light switch. "The architect spent hundreds of hours designing burnished brass switch plates for his new office tower, and then left it to a contractor to install these 79-cent switches behind them. ... The sound we are greeted with ... recalls to mind the dirty men's room in the rear of a Babylonian coffee shop."

Katchor says that his strips are "graphic notations of dreams that I have about the city." He often writes, he says, just before going to bed, when he's in a half-waking state. "This concentration on these minute details is not just to be willfully obscure. It's like a scientist looking at the molecular structure of things. If you really want to see how things work, you have to go down to the small scale."

Katchor appears on Tuesday April 9 at the University Book Store. Free of charge, beginning at 7 pm.

Ware & Burns

Chris Ware and Charles Burns are two of the brightest lights in the world of contemporary comics. Ware - whose work is marked by exquisite attention to the smallest details of sorrow - and Burns - who uses stark imagery to paint haunting pictures of everyday paranoia - both have new books out this fall. Ware's "Building Stories" is being hailed as a masterpiece by no less than the New Yorker magazine. Burns' "The Hive" is the 2nd in a 3-part nightmare homage to Tintin. The two giants of graphic literature will be at Town Hall Seattle on Monday October 22 as a joint presentation with Fantagraphics.

Tickets are just $5 over here, and the price of admission may be used toward the purchase of either book.

Real Comet Press

Real Comet Press was founded in 1981 by Seattle arts activist, and owner of the legendary Comet Tavern, Cathy Hillenbrand. This prescient enterprise published an amazing array of books that formed the bleeding edge of Seattle’s cultural rise. Fantagraphics was just one of the publishers who followed Real Comet's lead, and this Saturday, March 10, the Fantagraphics Bookstore Gallery celebrates the legacy of Cathy Hillenbrand with Real Comet Press: A Retrospective which runs through April 10. Among the many highlights of the retrospective will be displays of Lynda Barry's first four books and rare public appearances by cartoonist Michael Dougan, and graphic artist Art Chantry. On March 30, Hillenbrand joins cartoonists Ellen Forney and Jim Woodring, for a panel discussion on "Seattle’s Legacy of Counterculture Comix” at the Emerald City Comicon.

Craig Thompson

Cartoonist Craig Thompson garnered widespread acclaim for his beautiful graphic novel Blankets, perhaps one of the best comics of the past decade. Six years later, Thompson has come out with his second book, Habibi, an apocalyptic love story between a prostitute and a eunuch, set in a strangely idealized Oriental landscape. It is a beautiful looking book - rich with intricate line work and lush textures, conjuring the sense of an exotic fairy tale. I haven't read it yet, but the book has already received heaps of strong reviews, and it would not surprise me if Thompson's 2nd book becomes a classic as a par with his first. Craig Thompson is in Seattle tomorrow, October 5th, speaking at the Seattle Public Library main branch and signing copies of his new book. The event is co-produced by Fantagraphics Bookstore and the Seattle Public Library Foundation, and admission is free. Thompson, based n Portland OR, recently gave a short interview to Portland Monthly mag. You can read it right here.

Tales from the Unifactor

Frank is an innocent but not un-knowledgeable cat mouse who inhabits the surreal and unpredictable world called the Unifactor. Brilliant cartoonist Jim Woodring began exploring Frank's world in 1990, and has continued his investigations to this day through an extraordinary series of comics and collected stories. The first full-length Frank graphic novel, Congress of the Animals, has recently hit the shelves and it features our beloved protagonist heading into hard times, falling in with bad company, getting a job and fighting the spiritual battles for which he is uniquely well prepared.

Woodring offers explanations and signs copies of his new book at Elliot Bay Book Company on June 30 at 7pm.

X'ed Out

Charles Burns is a Seattle native who burst forth from The Evergreen State College in the mid-1970s. He contributed his starkly beautiful illustrations to now defunct Rocket weekly magazine and composed album covers for the fledgling Sub Pop record label, before coming to the attention of cartoonist Art Spiegelman, who published his work in the seminal comics anthology RAW. Burns left an indelible mark on regional culture and modern comics in general.

He returns to Seattle on Saturday, October 30 to celebrate the publication of his amazing new graphic novel X'ED OUT which continues Burns' look at the bizarre and horrific consequences of adolescence, while paying homage to the never-aging cartoon character Tintin and his world. In addition to signing copies of his books, Burns will present a slide show, and an exhibition of new work, old work and emphemera. At the Fantagraphics bookstore in Georgetown. From 6:00 to 9:00 PM, all ages, free admission.

Crumb's Genesis in Portland

All 207 individual pages from Robert Crumb's Book of Genesis are on display this summer at the Portland Art Museum. The book was the comics event of 2009, and seeing the artwork in person is awe inspiring. The obsessively perfect brush strokes fill the page with black ink, yet all of his forms are rendered so clearly and naturally. It’s also great to see the human touches on the page, little dabs of white out, a bit of the pencils underneath, the precision and passion that Crumb brings to his work.

In a 2005 public interview with Robert Hughes at the New York Public Library, partially transcribed at Time‘s website, Crumb discussed the challenges of drawing the character of God:

He has a white beard but he actually ended up looking more like my father. He has a very masculine face like my father. My problem was, how am I going to draw God? Should I just draw him as a light in the sky that has dialogue balloons coming out from it? Then I had this dream. God came to me in this dream, only for a split second, but I saw very clearly what he looked like. And I thought, ok, there it is, I’ve got God.

Admission to the Portland Art Museum is free on fourth Fridays from 6-8pm. Check their schedule for a full list of events, including an appearance by film maker Terry Zwigoff and guest speakers from the comics community through August. The show is up now and runs through September 19.

Jim Woodring

Saturday, May 1 is Free Comic Book Day, an annual effort to attract new readers and loyal patrons into comic shops with a free comic book. This year more than 30 new comics in a variety of genres were created to give away.

Fantagraphics Books’ contribution to Free Comic Book Day is a new comic by tortured genius Jim Woodring. The book excerpts Woodring’s forthcoming full-length Weathercraft graphic novel - his first book length story- a sprawling epic of torture, tyranny, enlightenment and amnesia featuring his depraved character Manhog.

Jim Woodring himself will be at the Fantagraphics Bookstore in Seattle on the 1st from noon to 1:00 PM to pass out complimentary copies. Plenty of other comic books available of course, both free and not-free, and it's also your last chance to see a terrific exhibition of original art by Love and Rockets creator Gilbert Hernandez.

Sacco Wins Ridenhour Prize

For the first time, the Ridenhour Book Prize will be given to a comic book. Joe Sacco's graphic novel "Footnotes in Gaza" has won the award, which carries a $10,000 dollar prize.

Ron Ridenhour was the Vietnam Veteran whose 1969 letter to Congress and the Pentagon brought the My Lai massacre to light. Ridenhour went on to have a successful career as an investigative journalist and the prizes named after him - the book prize, a career prize and a prize for truth-telling - are awarded to writers and journalists who strive to "protect the public interest, promote social justice or illuminate a more just vision of society."

Footnotes in Gaza is the story of two forgotten incidents in Palestine - the 1956 mass killings of Palestinians in Rafah and Khan Younis. The statement from the Ridenhour committee notes that the book is a work of "profound social significance, one that explores the complex continuum of history. At a time when peace in the Middle East has never seemed more elusive, Sacco's illustrations bear witness to the lives of those who are trapped by the conflict." The award itself will be presented in April in Washington, DC.

ComiCon

This weekend brings the annual installment of the ever growing Emerald City ComiCon. It's hard to see how it can get any bigger than it is right now, as this year's guest list features two of the biggest names ever to appear atop a fanboy's list of cult heroes. Both Marvel Comics founder Stan Lee and Mr. Spock himself Leonard Nimoy will be speaking and signing autographs. I'd suggest getting in line NOW if you intend to exchange a little "live long and prosper" with either of them. Further down the A-list, but still exciting enough to send a tremor through this fan's heart, is Love and Rockets co-creator Gilbert Hernandez, who should be somewhat easier to mindmeld with.

Also delighted to see that local hip-hip comics publisher Capstan Media has a booth in this year's Artist Alley. What are you waiting for Homie? Grab your mystic mallet and get down to the convention center! March 13th & 14th, 2010 at the Washington State Convention Center. Advance tickets available here.

Joe Sacco

Joe Sacco occupies a unique niche in the world of books, being both an extraordinary cartoonist and an award winning journalist. Sacco, who hails from Malta and lives in Portland, OR, made his name in the mid 90's with his epic comic Series Palestine, which combined closely observed reportage in and around Israel with comic storytelling. The book won many well-deserved accolades, including the American Book Award in 1996. His second major work, Safe Area Gorazde, was based on his travels in Bosnia, and covers both his observations and a history of the war in that region. Sacco received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2001, followed Safe Area Gorazde with The Fixer in 2003, and recently published Footnotes in Gaza, the story of a 1956 massacre in Palestine. The book, published at the end of 2009, has already received charged and glowing reviews

Sacco will be at Town Hall Seattle on Wednesday, January 13. Advance tickets are just $5 and available here.

Levine

Cartoonist and illustrator David Levine passed away on Tuesday at the age of 83.

Levine was one of the most highly regarded caricature artists of his generation, having started out providing marginalia for Esquire magazine, and by 1963 settling into a long and singular career as the only illustrator at The New York Review of Books. Over 40 years he provided more than 3,800 drawings for NYRB, ranging from illustrations of the day's political figures to historical personalities to scathing editorial cartoons.

Levine's work was part of the signature of one of the greatest American intellectual journals, and will be simply impossible to to replace. Levine's artwork is in the permanent collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Library of Congress, the Cleveland Museum, the National Portrait Collection, the National Portrait Gallery in Britain and the Pierpont Morgan Library & Museum in New York. Many of his drawings for the NYRB are viewable on an online archive that includes 2,500 illustrations dating back to his earliest years at the magazine.

Another Beautiful Goddamn Day in Seattle

Crumb

Today is the birthday of cartoonist Robert Crumb, born August 30, 1943.

Endlessly talented, here Crumb plays Joplin and presents a short film of his comic strip 'A Short History of America'.

Seattle Savants

Here's another idea that's been a long time coming. Seattle has been on the forefront of alternative comics creation since Fantagraphics opened their offices here some 20 years ago. Through good times and bad, Fantagraphics has remained committed to nurturing and promoting Seattle comics talent, regularly both publishing and employing local cartoonists. To celebrate their lengthy paternal relationship with Seattle comics culture, the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is opening "Comics Savants: A Survey of Seattle Alternative Cartoonists" this Saturday, August 8.

This exhibition features original artwork and published material from some of the most accomplished artists making comics today - people like Peter Bagge, Charles Burns, and Jim Woodring; some remarkable up-and-coming cartoonists like Ellen Forney, Eroyn Franklin and Megan Kelso; and a bunch of current and former Fantagraphics Books staffers like Jim Blanchard, Roberta Gregory, and Patrick Moriarity.

Many of the artists will be at the opening reception on Saturday, from 6:00 to 9:00, to say hi and sign books and artwork. Think creatively. Buy locally.

Tony Millionaire

Drunkard, draftsman and cult cartoonist Tony Millionaire will be in Seattle this Saturday, May 9, to open an exhibit of his artwork and sign copies of his new book "Drinky Crow's Maakies Treasury". Millionaire's Maakies is a well known weekly comic strip running locally in The Stranger and across the country in most of the best read weekly newspapers including the Village Voice and the L.A. Weekly. The long running strip is a study in contrasts. Millionaire's subtle drawing skill is a throwback to a more refined era - his exquisite line work brings to mind comics pioneers like George Herriman and Winsor McKay. His subject matter, however, is anything but "comic." The strip is populated by dangerously depressed alcoholic animals who routinely riff on such subjects as domestic brutality, crib death, skin diseases, and the ever present promise of suicide. Despite all odds, Maakies has recently been adapted as "The Drinky Crow Show," an animated series on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

The fearless culture blog Social Stereotype has a very entertaining and revealing interview with Millionaire right here.

Millionaire will be at the Fantagraphics Bookstore from 6:00 to 9:00, showing 10 years worth of original artwork and unveiling his latest collection, designed by the legendary book designer and comics fan Chip Kidd.

Renee French

For about a year, Seattle-based comics creator Renee French has been using her blog to post her daily doodles. Some of the drawings are remarkably detailed and others are simple line drawings, but each of them features creatures, houses and children who look friendly at first, but on closer inspection turn out to be very very disturbing.

Renee’s blog is updated every day, and she also has a website where you can see the books and comics that she’s published, including several titles from Fantagraphics and a very strange looking children's book called The Soap Lady.

Emerald City ComiCon

Gonna try to leave the house this weekend and show my pasty white face to all my house-bound homies at the Emerald City ComiCon. It's an unusually fun convention for us genre-loving geeks, with a strong independent and underground comics presence, thanks mainly to the international profile of Seattle-based Fantagraphics, in addition to all the old school comic books for sale. I'll see if I can find some comics appropriate for a newborn (non-violent and droolproof), stand in line to shake the hand of Love and Rockets co-creator Jaime Hernandez and commission a starving artist or two to create a new drawing for the Punk Rock Flea Market. This Saturday and Sunday, April 4th & 5th, at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle.

Dame Darcy

Cult cartoonist and countercultural force Dame Darcy will be in Seattle for a book signing and banjo performance at the Fantagraphics Bookstore in Georgetown this Saturday, March 14, as part of that neighborhood's "Second Saturday Art Attack."

Dame Darcy, who recently resettled from LA to Portland, is best known for her comic "Meat Cake," an unusual blend of Victorian creepiness and punk romance which has been irregularly published by Fantagraphics for at least 10 years. She recently released a full length graphic novel, Gasoline, described by the publisher thusly: "At the height of a society governed by corporate greed and corruption, a fiery apocalypse rains down. Among the few survivors are a family of orphaned witches. Establishing a utopian commune, they uphold their position of power through the maintenance of their car, the only remaining working automobile. The search for precious gasoline pits them against the conniving nihilists who lurk in the decaying urban sprawl." That sounds about right.

Dame Darcy is also known to play a mean banjo.