Seattle Twist

TONY MILLIONAIRE PRESENTS DRINKY CROW’S MAAKIES TREASURY AT FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKSTORE & GALLERY ON MAY 9

Celebrated cartoonist Tony Millionaire will appear at Seattle’s Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday, May 9 for an exhibition of original artwork and signing of his new book Drinky Crow’s Maakies Treasury.

Millionaire’s “Maakies” is among the best and most popular weekly comic strips in America, running in over a dozen of the largest U.S. weekly newspapers including the Village Voice, L.A. Weekly and Seattle’s The Stranger. The strip has also been adapted into the hit animated series “The Drinky Crow Show” on the Cartoon Network.

“Maakies” chronicles the intoxicating high-seas adventures of alcoholic corvid Drinky Crow and his equally-inebriated simian sidekick Uncle Gabby, blending vaudeville-style humor and a magnificent rendering quality that recalls the glory days of the American comic strip. Designed by publishing’s foremost graphic artist Chip Kidd, with an introduction by acclaimed author Dave Eggers, Drinky Crow’s Maakies Treasury collects the second five years of the strip (previously reprinted in Fantagraphics Books volumes When We Were Very Maakies, The House at Maakies Corner and Der Struwwelmaakies) in a deluxe landscape hardcover format that complements the strip’s classic style. According to the New York Times Book Review, “Millionaire is the closest thing we have to George Herriman of Krazy Kat.”

Millionaire’s appearance on Saturday May 9, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM will include an exhibition highlighting 10 years of original Maakies strips, complemented by a screening of episodes of the animated “Drinky Crow Show.” The artist will be available to sign copies of his many books and informally discuss his influential body of work. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street at the corner of Airport Way S., just minutes south of downtown. This event coincides with the festive Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts presentations n dozens of locations throughout the historic arts community. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone 206.658.0110.

Roq La Rue Gallery will be hosting a book signing by OG Lowbrow goddess Lisa Petrucci this Friday from 6-8pm! Swing by the gallery, pick up your signed copy of Kickass Kuties, and have a cupcake!

Lisa Petrucci
“Kickass Kuties” book signing
6-8 pm Friday April 24th
2312 2nd Avenue in Belltown

Walk through a sparkling world of make-believe, a cotton-candy-colored dream world of hearts, flowers, and switchblades, of dewy-eyed cartoon pinup gals, kutie-pie kowgirls, leopard-skinned sweeties, hatchet-wielding honeys, and the cuddliest devil kitties Hell has to offer. The art of Lisa Petrucci is a honey-coated maelstrom of contradictions–the innocence of lost Americana, childhood nostalgia, and traditional feminine iconography all presented with a rebellious spirit. Kickass Kuties: The Art of Lisa Petrucci is the first collection of the artist’s remarkable catalog, a hallucinatory tour through an emporium of cultural chaos, a bipolar gallery of imagery both sacred and profane.

A Tribute to Jini Dellaccio at Crocodile Café on Friday April 24!

Photography Exhibition, Book Release Party and Original Northwest Garage Rock

 Long before the birth of grunge, the Northwest was home to an equally primitive and original sound born in the basements of the working class industrial towns of Bremerton and Tacoma. The regional music of Seattle’s seminal garage rock is celebrated in a handsome new photography book JINI DELLACCIO: ROCK & ROLL. An extraordinary exhibition of Dellaccio’s photographs of this period, together with the debut of the book, will be held on Friday, April 24 at the Crocodile Café in Seattle. Highlights include a musical tribute featuring some of the original practitioners of the first “Seattle Sound,” who will be joined by the next generation musicians influenced by the music of the era. This occasion also celebrates the artist’s 92^nd birthday. Dellaccio will attend the reception.

As a fine art photographer, Jini Dellaccio brought a remarkable degree of sophistication to her portraits of blue collar rock musicians of the early- to mid-60’s. Her iconic images of seminal proto-punk bands such as the Sonics, Wailers, Daily Flash, Don and the Goodtimes, and countless others, capture both the aesthetics and attitudes of these influential groups. Many of Dellaccio’s photographs were shot among the lush landscape of her Gig Harbor property, and reflect the conventions of the dominant “Northwest School” art movement of the region. Her candid concert photographs – featuring local groups as well as legendary touring acts including the The Who, Yardbirds, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels – mirror the raw, energetic, and often menacing music that characterized early Northwest rock ‘n’ roll. A slide show of images from the book and exhibition can be viewed at: http://www.jinidellaccio.com/

Following a private reception for Dellaccio’s many friends and family, the public is invited to join the festivities at 9:00 PM. A nominal $10 admission fee may be applied to the purchase of the book. Deejay Dave will spin period platters, followed by the musical tribute to Dellaccio. Headlining the event is contemporary garage act the Tom Price Desert Classic featuring former members of the U-Men, Monkeywrench, Gas Huffer and the Derelicts.

Proceeds from this event will benefit Jini Dellaccio Collection (JDC), founded in 2008 as a private trust dedicated to the restoration, preservation and archiving of Jini Dellaccio’s photographic images. The JDC’s mission is to establish an arts grant in the name of Carl and Jini Dellaccio. The JDC is working collaboratively with Artist Trust to administer this grant, which will be awarded to an outstanding Washington state visual artist.  

Seattle yoga instructor Brenda Bryan is the creator of Doga and the author of the new book BARKING BUDDHA: Simple Soul Stretches for Yogi and Dogi. Doga combines massage and meditation with gentle stretching for dogs and their human partners, and is featured in yesterdays New York Times article “Bonding with their downward-facing humans”.

Cult cartoonist Dame Darcy appears for music performance and book signing at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle on Saturday, March 14.

Charismatic cartoonist and counterculture maven Dame Darcy will grace Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery with her presence on Saturday, March 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. She will present an acoustical music performance and sign copies of her popular comic book MEAT CAKE as well as her new graphic novel GASOLINE.

Currently in its 17th issue, Dame Darcy’s MEAT CAKE is a visionary blend of gothic horror, Victorian fantasy, and punk romance rendered with the artist’s singular graphic sensibility. Published by Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books, MEAT CAKE has developed a devoted following among a dramatically diverse readership. Her recently released graphic novel, GASOLINE, is a post-apocalyptic gothic fairy tale of suspense, heartbreak, and redemption.

Dame Darcy has achieved national recognition through her creative associations with counterculture personalities including Courtney Love, Lisa Crystal Carver, Thurston Moore, Tori Amos, and Alan Moore, among countless others. Currently residing in Portland, OR, she remains active in visual arts, comics, video, film and music.

Dame Darcy will perform on vocals and banjo with her acoustic trio, followed by a reception and book signing. Patrons will also enjoy the exhibition of original art by the MAD geniuses behind Harvey Kurtzman’s HUMBUG. Admission is free. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street at Airport Way S. in Seattle’s colorful Georgetown arts community. Open daily, 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sunday until 5:00. Phone 206.658.0110. This event coincides with the lively “Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack” featuring visual and performing arts presentation throughout the historic neighborhood.

DAME DARCY
Saturday, March 14, 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Music performance and book signing
All ages. Admission Free.
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA 206.658.0110
Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM

• Art by Tim Silbaugh

Wednesday, February 25, 2009, 7:30 – 9pm
Downstairs at Town Hall, enter on Seneca Street.

Veteran journalist and third-generation Seattleite Knute Berger thinks Seattle is turning into the civic equivalent of a Starbucks’ Frappucino. Holding forth as “Mossback” over the years on the pages of Seattle Weekly, Seattle Magazine, and on Crosscut.com and KUOW, Berger’s contrarian and libertarian view of life in Seattle have been compiled into a new book, Pugetopolis: A Mossback Takes on Growth Addicts, Weather Wimps, and the Myth of Seattle Nice. He appears with his friend, award-winning journalist and author Timothy Egan (The Worst Hard Time), to argue about the implications of our pretensions to “world class city” status. David Brewster moderates.

Being a Seattle native myself, I’m particularly fascinated by discussions of Seattle, its history and projections for the future. I loved reading Knute’s contributions in the Weekly and now on Crosscut. And Tim was the featured speaker at the 10th anniversary of History Link.

Tickets at Town Hall

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery presents Esther Pearl Watson’s UNLOVABLE art exhibition and book launch on Saturday, February 7.

With Valentine’s sentiments in mind, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle is pleased to present UNLOVABLE, an exhibition of original art and book launch celebration by Esther Pearl Watson on Saturday, February 7 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Watson’s visual interpretations of the diary entries of teenager Tammy Pierce will resonate with everyone once afflicted by the eccentricities of adolescent isolation, unrequited love, and other torments of teen angst. The revealing narrative of the protagonist is perfectly suited to the artist’s endearing and empathetic renderings.

Los Angeles-based artist Esther Pearl Watson has exhibited work in prestigious galleries throughout the U. S. and Canada. Her recent paintings are currently featured in a solo exhibition, “Visions of the Future,” at Billy Shire Fine Arts in Los Angeles. She is author of The Adventures of Jules and Gertie (Harcourt Children’s Books, 1999) and The Pain Tree and Other Teenage Angst-Ridden Poetry (Houghton Mifflin, 2000). Watson is co-author of What Cha Mean, What’s a Zine? (Houghton Mifflin, 2006) with her artist husband Mark Todd. Her latest book, UNLOVABLE, published by Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books, is loosely based on a teenager’s diary from 1985 found in a gas-station bathroom, detailing the sometimes ordinary, sometimes humiliating, often poignant and frequently hilarious exploits of underdog Tammy Pierce. Laurie Henzel, creative director at Bust magazine, which serialized portions of the book, observes, “No matter how cool or smart you may be as a grown up, I think there is a little Tammy in all of us.”

Esther Pearl Watson’s first exhibition in Seattle will include original drawings related to the book, which will debut at the event on February 7. The artist will be present to sign copies of the book. Musical entertainment will be provided by Rusty Willoughby, performing a solo serenade arranged for the occasion. Willoughby, currently fronting Llama and a former member of seminal Seattle bands Pure Joy and Flop, has countless recordings on Sub Pop, Frontier, Sony Music and other labels.

Please join us on Saturday, February 7 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM to welcome this remarkable artist to Seattle. The exhibition remains on view through March 4, 2009. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street (at the corner of Airport Way S.) in Seattle’s Georgetown arts community. Phone 206.658.0110. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery Celebrates 2^nd Anniversary on December 13 with a Spectacular Party and BEASTS Art Exhibition!

 Over the course of two years, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery has become woven into the region’s cultural fabric and drawn attention to an impressive array of local, national and international narrative cartoonists, illustrators, graphic designers, and fine artists while providing a showcase for Seattle-based publisher Fantagraphics Books. To celebrate the second anniversary of this stimulating space, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery hosts a festive gala and reception for the phenomenal BEASTS book launch and art exhibition on Saturday, December 13 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. 

Since its publication in December 2006, BEASTS has become a pop culture sensation, quickly selling out two printings and finding an enthusiastic worldwide audience. Meticulously designed, the book combines colorful illustrations of mythical monsters with imaginative text describing the folkloric origins and characteristics of these creatures. The brainchild of Fantagraphics Books design director Jacob Covey, the first BEASTS volume included accomplished contributors including Art Chantry, Tim Biskup, Tony Millionaire, Richard Sala, Martin Ontiveros, and Jordan Crane among many others. BEASTS BOOK TWO, which will debut at the December 13 event, continues the tradition of illustrations from interdisciplinary international luminaries including David B. (France), Jaime Hernandez (US), Femke Hiemstra (Netherlands), Toby Tam (China), Kim Deitch (US), Tatsuro Kiuchi (Japan), and many more. To commemorate the publication of BEASTS BOOK TWO and the simultaneous release of the paperback edition of BEASTS BOOK ONE, Covey has selected 45 representative artists from both volumes for an eclectic exhibition of original works and fine art prints.

The 2nd Anniversary celebration and BEASTS reception will be hosted by Fantagraphics stalwarts Ellen Forney, Jim Woodring, Jacob Covey, Peter Bagge, Jim Blanchard and special guest Ted Stearn. Musical entertainment will be provided by Peter Bagge’s new pop combo Can You Imagine? featuring celebrated musician and producer Steve Fisk. The public of all ages is welcome and admission is free. Guests can peruse a new crop of bad ass books and exquisite gifts from the Northwest’s most adventurous purveyor of comics, graphic novels and low brow art.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.) in Seattle’s lively Georgetown arts community. Open daily 11:30 – 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone 206.658.0110. The 2nd Anniversary Gala and BEASTS exhibition on Saturday, December 13 coincides with the festive Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts presentations throughout the neighborhood. Please join us for this auspicious occasion.

BEASTS exhibition of original art and prints by 45 artists continues through January 10, 2009.

Website: www.fantagraphics.com

YOW! Legendary Cartoonist Bill Griffith Book Signing and Zippy Art Exhibition at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle on November 8.

“Are we having fun yet?” We will be on Saturday, November 8 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, when Bill Griffith, creator of the iconic Zippy the Pinhead comic strip character, makes a rare public appearance in the Northwest. Griffith will be on hand to sign his new Zippy collection WELCOME TO DINGBURG, present an exhibition of original Zippy artwork, and give a brief slide talk. The public of all ages is invited to Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle’s Georgetown district to welcome this extraordinary cartoonist.

Bill Griffith began his storied career in New York in 1969, publishing comics in the East Village Other. A year later he moved to San Francisco to join his colleagues in the Underground Comix movement. He collaborated with Art Spiegelman to launch Arcade, a quarterly anthology of alternative comics, and Young Lust, a parody of 1950s romance comic books. His signature character Zippy first appeared in 1970 in Real Pulp #1. In subsequent years, “Zippy the Pinhead” was syndicated and currently appears in hundreds of newspapers across the country. Griffith’s creation has entered the cultural lexicon with his sometimes oblique, sometimes pointed, commentary on American political and popular culture. Since 1993, Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books has collected “Zippy the Pinhead” strips in several periodical publications.  The latest of these handsome volumes, WELCOME TO DINGBURG, will make its debut at the event on November 8. 

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street in the heart of Georgetown’s creative community, only minutes south of downtown Seattle – open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Bill Griffith’s appearance coincides with the colorful Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts presentations throughout the neighborhood.  A selection of imagery in a variety of formats is available for publication. For additional information contact Fantagraphics Bookstore curator and events coordinator Larry Reid at numbers above.  

Opening reception and book signing, Saturday, November 8, 6:00 – 9:00 PM.

Exhibition of original Zippy art continues through December 10.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery

1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.) Seattle, WA  206.658.0110

Photo from AP Photo by Ted S. Warren

What started out as a fundraising exhibition for the Humane Society has turned into a genuine phenomenon for Seattle massage therapist and yoga instructor Brenda Bryan. At a Humane society event in 2006, Brenda was asked to provide dog massage at the charity event at Seattle’s Hotel Monaco. The event was a doggie fashion show and Brenda was there to give massage to the “models”.

During the event Brenda spoke with a representative from the shelter who asked about the service she was providing for the dogs and Brenda mentioned she was a yoga instructor as well as a massage therapist and dog lover. She was asked to teach a dog yoga class at Seattle-King County Humane Society in Bellevue, just outside Seattle, and her new career mushroomed from there. Since then Brenda has developed Barking Buddha Doga, a yoga class that incorporates dogs and her book, Barking Buddha; Simple Soul Stretches for Yogi and Dogi will be out spring 2009.

Brenda recently was a guest on the live and local Stay-up Late Show, starring Rebecca M. Davis. Here’s a video of her appearance on the show, complete with well-behaved doggies on stage.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, in association with Payseur & Schmidt, are pleased to host the debut of COSMOCOPIA by acclaimed author Paul Di Filippo, illustrated by Jim Woodring. This event, on Saturday, October 11 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM, will feature an exhibition of new work by Woodring and a reading from the book by Di Filippo, followed by a book signing. This exquisite hardbound literary work is limited to 500 copies housed in a handsome box and includes a 513-piece jigsaw puzzle by Woodring – an extraordinary collaboration by two of the country’s most creative minds. 

Paul Di Filippo, of Providence, Rhode Island, is a prolific author primarily associated with science fiction’s provocative cyberpunk and steampunk sub-genres. His popular short stories have been collected in The Steampunk Trilogy, Fractal Paisleys, Ribofunk, and A Year in the Linear City. His utterly unclassifiable novels include Ciphers, Fuzzy Dice, A Mouthful of Tongues, and Spondulix. Among Di Filippo’s work in comics is Top 10: Beyond the Farthest Precinct, a sequel to the Alan Moore series on D C Comics’ Wildstorm imprint.  He has been a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, BSFA, Philip K. Dick, Wired Magazine, and World Fantasy awards. 

Seattle-based cartoonist and fine artist Jim Woodring has cultivated an international following with his visionary rendering style and lurid palette. His award-winning comic book series include Jim and Frank, which have been collected in several volumes by Fantagraphics Books. His recent books include Portable Frank and Museum of Love & Mystery. Woodring’s art has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, and he was a recipient of a prestigious United States Artist Fellowship in 2006. His exhibition will include recent paintings, drawings and prints. 

COSMOCOPIA follows fictional fantasy artist Frank Lazorg as he is driven to madness. His failing career is reinvigorated by the discovery of a miraculous drug, which ultimately plunges the artist into an equally disturbing alternate reality. COSMOCOPIA is published by Seattle-based artisan press Payseur & Schmidt. Specializing in speculative fiction, Payseur & Schmidt is the creation of Jacob McMurray and Therese Littleton. McMurray is senior curator at the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame as well as a graphic designer, publisher, and arts activist in the Northwest. Littleton serves as director of curatorial affairs at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame and has been a literary arts advocate in our region for many years. 

Please join us on Saturday, October 11 for this festive celebration. This event coincides with the colorful Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack featuring lively visual and performing arts presentations throughout the historic neighborhood. Fantagraphics Bookstore is located at 1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.), only minutes from downtown Seattle. Phone 206.658.0110. A selection of images in a variety of formats is available for publication.

• Saturday, October 11 
• Book signing and opening reception 6:00 – 9:00 PM
• Paul DiFilippo reading at 7:00 PM

• Jim Woodring art exhibition continues through November 5, 2008

• Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
• 1201 S. Vale St. at Airport Way S.
• Seattle, WA 
• Phone: 206.658.0110
• Hours: Mon. – Sat., 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM

www.fantagraphics.com

www.payseurandschmidt.com

SHAG (Josh Agle), of Santa Ana, CA, is the Andy Warhol of the new millennium. His distinctive artwork is characterized by a deceptively simple fluid line quality and contemporary interpretations of mid-century Americana. His work is simultaneously fresh and familiar, drawing on oddities of American popular culture both past and present. SHAG’s imagery resonates with audiences worldwide, and over the course of the last decade he has become a cottage industry – certainly one of the most prolific and successful artists working today. For good reason. The exhibition opening and book signing on Saturday, May 24 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM will feature work from his new book, SHAG: A to Z, published by Fantagraphics Books, natch. The book is comprised of 26 original paintings corresponding to the letters of the alphabet. Each piece is accompanied by a short verse extolling the pleasures of a hedonistic lifestyle and the virtues of overindulgence. Join us in welcoming this extraordinary artist.
 
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street in Seattle’s Georgetown district. Open daily, 11:30 – 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone: 206.658.0110.

http://www.fantagraphics.com/

 

2nd Featured Artist Coming This Saturday at Fantagraphics!

 THREE BRILLIANT ART STARS SHINE ON CONSECUTIVE SATURDAYS IN MAY AT FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKSTORE & GALLERY!
 
Jordan Crane on May 10, Peter Bagge on May 17, and SHAG on May 24
 
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery springs into action in May with a succession of events featuring three of the country’s most celebrated cartoonists and remarkable illustrators. The public of all ages is invited to join us in an exciting series of exhibitions featuring Jordan Crane on May 10,                 Peter Bagge on May 17, and SHAG on May 24.

 May 17

Seattle’s Peter Bagge is one of the most accomplished and admired cartoonists in the world. On Saturday, May 17 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM, Fantagraphics Bookstore will host the launch party for a line of skateboards and related product produced by Seattle-based Manik Skateboards. On display will be the debut of skateboard decks drawn from the pages of his landmark comic HATE. Bagge’s grunge-era imagery is ideally suited to the skateboarding subculture. At once hilarious and poignant, Bagge’s work of this era went beyond satire, and helped fashion both the attitudes and aesthetics of Seattle’s only significant indigenous youth movement. In the opinion of Fantagraphics Books’ resident curator Larry Reid, “Peter Bagge’s HATE is the most fully conceived and executed comic book series ever published.” These delightful boards remain as funny and compelling as his comics of the 1990s.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street in Seattle’s Georgetown district. Open daily, 11:30 – 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone: 206.658.0110.

Jordan Crane on May 10, Peter Bagge on May 17, and SHAG on May 24

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery springs into action in May with a succession of events featuring three of the country’s most celebrated cartoonists and remarkable illustrators. The public of all ages is invited to join us in an exciting series of exhibitions featuring Jordan Crane on May 10, Peter Bagge on May 17, and SHAG on May 24.

For this coming Saturday:
 
Los Angles artist Jordan Crane’s evocative and bittersweet meditations on the human condition in comics and illustration have gained him an enthusiastic following among art aficionados of all ages. His economical narrative observations have been published by Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books, including two issues of the comic book series Uptight, and graphic novels The Last Lonely Saturday and The Clouds Above, recently issued in trade paperback. His exhibition opening Saturday, May 10 includes exquisite limited edition prints and original artwork from his comics.

The reception, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, serves as the after-party for exhibitors and guests of the Emerald City Comicon, where Crane is among the featured artists. The opening also coincides with the lively Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack, featuring art, music and more at over 30 locations throughout the enchanting Georgetown neighborhood.

 Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street in Seattle’s Georgetown district. Open daily, 11:30 – 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone: 206.658.0110.

www.fantagraphics.com

Look for posts regarding the next two shows over the next two weeks

 

The public is invited to join a stellar group of accomplished cartoonists in the “Friends of the Nib Comics Jam” at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday, March 8 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Celebrated cartoonist and visual artist Jim Woodring will preside over the activities, which will include a guest appearance by New York underground comix legend Kim Deitch. Aspiring cartoonists of all ages are encouraged to participate in this lively session, which will include a rare screening of Deitch’s 1960 short film “Dial M for Monster.”

Friends of the Nib is an informal cartoonists’ solon formed by Woodring that meets weekly at Café Racer in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood. Acclaimed artists such as Ellen Forney, David Lasky and animator Bruce Bickford regularly attend to mentor emerging cartoonists and network with their peers. The “Comics Jam” on March 8 will feature more than a dozen artists cartooning on-site while offering casual encouragement to public participants.

Kim Deitch is among America’s most prominent and influential alternative cartoonists. The astonishingly sophisticated animated and live-action film short “Dial M for Monster” he created as a teenager with his friend Tony Eastman has become legendary among Deitch fans; it was never released, and has only been shown a handful of times in small venues. Prior to the 7:30 screening, he will introduce the film with a brief media presentation. Deitch’s work has been featured in Art Spiegelman’s RAW and R. Crumb’s Weirdo anthologies. In a recent review of Deitch’s Shadowland graphic novel, New York Times book critic John Hodgman observed, “Few underground cartoonists deserve that subterranean title so fully as Kim Deitch. He was there at the beginning of the movement, drawing for The East Village Other in 1967, and his work retains much of that psychedelic, R. Crumb-like earthiness.” In addition to Shadowland, Fantagraphics Books has collected Deitch’s work in Beyond the Pale and published
comic book series including The Stuff of Dreams, Mishkin File, and Waldo World.

Admission is free to the public of all ages. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale St. in Seattle’s Georgetown industrial arts district. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone 206.658.0110. The “Comics Jam” coincides with the monthly “Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack.” Over twenty-five galleries, studios, nightclubs, boutiques, and cafes participate in this lively showcase of Georgetown’s creative diversity.