Seattle Twist

Join us at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery this Saturday April 14 at 6:00 PM as we celebrate the publication of the important new book, Young Romance: The Best of Simon and Kirby’s Romance Comics. Editor Michel Gagné, curator of the companion exhibition, will discuss this largely overlooked body of work by one of America’s most influential and enduring artists: the incomparable Jack Kirby.

With soldiers returning from long deployments following World War II romance was in the air. The superhero comics that served to inspire patriotism leading up to the global conflict began to lose appeal. Joe Simon and Jack Kirby seized on these emerging sensibilities to create one of the most popular comic book series of all time. Unlike previous comic book genres, the work appealed primarily to women readers. Kirby’s work from this period was mimicked by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein and others, and has become emblematic of mid-century American aesthetics.

Curator Michel Gagné will discuss his delicate restoration process at the opening reception on Saturday, April 14. The exhibition will feature enlarged panels from Simon and Kirby’s romance comics together with the original work that followed, as Kirby helped formulate the contemporary comic book genre. The book and exhibition carefully examine the creative process of these uniquely American masters.

Fantagraphics Bookstore is located at 1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.) just minutes from downtown Seattle. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00. Phone 206.658.0110. This event coincides with the colorful Georgetown Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts presentations throughout the historic arts community. See you all soon.

A musical edition of the notorious Georgetown Art Attack will be staged on Saturday, March 24 from 5:00 to 9:00 PM throughout the historic Georgetown industrial arts quarter. The Georgetown Music March features more than 20 diverse performances in 20 unlikely locations. This event is free and most venues welcome guests of all ages.

The eclectic line-up features musicians that have ties to the Georgetown community. Rock, jazz, electronica, lounge, punk, bluegrass, alt country, folk and just about everything in between will be heard in spaces along the Airport Way business corridor. Performers include the Tom Price Desert Classic, Panabrite, Bang Sha Bang, Rat City Brass, Moonspinners, Adam Hicks Trio, Spirograph, Faith, Leif Totusek, Steve Kim, Andre Feriante, Rats in the Grass, Earl Brooks, Lonesome Shack, Tamlin, Creeping Time, Dolly Rottens, Aja West, Tony Diaz, Brian Bullock, Kayla and the Dangerous Flares, and more.

Maps and schedules for this early evening event will be available at participating venues including Georgetown Liquor Company, Two Tartes Café, American Pie, Calamity Jane’s, The Firm, Jules Maes, Georgetown Trailer Park, the Stables, Georgetown Records, All City Coffee, 9 Lb. Hammer, the Mix, Via Tribulali, Ground Control, La Catrina, Georgetown Music, and Fantagraphics Bookstore.

The Georgetown Music March is a production of the non-profit Georgetown Merchants Association. For more information on the GMA visit: www.georgetownmerchants.org.

The idiosyncratic work of Seattle cartoonist Lynda Barry is the subject on a new book by Portland author Susan E. Kirtley. Lynda Barry: Girlhood Through the Looking Glass represents the first comprehensive critique of this influential American artist. Kirtley will present her book – from the University Press of Mississippi’s Great Comics Artists Series – in conversation with Real Comet Press publisher Cathy Hillenbrand on Saturday, March 24, at 6:00 PM at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery.

Kirtley examines the influence of Lynda Barry’s youthful experiences on her diverse creative output through personal interviews and rigorous analysis of published work. Kirtley’s thought-provoking conclusions invite readers to reassess Barry’s body of work though the lens of an often-tormented adolescent girl. Kirtley is associate professor of English at Portland State University. University Press of Mississippi’s Great Comics Artists Series includes critical assessments of the work of cartoonists such as Chris Ware, Alan Moore, Carl Barks, Jack Kirby, Garry Trudeau, and Walt Kelly.

The author will be joined in conversation by Cathy Hillenbrand of Real Comet Press, publisher of Lynda Barry’s first four books. “From Comix to Critiques” was the slogan of Real Comet Press, which is the subject of the current retrospective exhibition at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery featuring original art, graphics, and book works by Lynda Barry, Michael Dougan, Art Chantry, and Ruth Hayes. An informal reception and book signing will follow the discussion.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.) Phone 206.658.0110. This event coincides with the inaugural Georgetown Music March featuring free performing arts presentations throughout the historic arts community.

“From Comix to Critiques” was the focus of seminal Seattle publisher Real Comet Press. Founded in 1981 by arts activist Cathy Hillenbrand, then owner the Comet Tavern, this prescient enterprise published an amazing array of books that foreshadowed Seattle’s ascendance to the forefront of international pop culture. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery celebrates the legacy of Cathy Hillenbrand with “Real Comet Press: A Retrospective” opening Saturday, March 10, continuing through April 10, 2012. This exhibition features art, graphics and book works by regional artists nurtured by Real Comet Press including Lynda Barry, Michael Dougan, Art Chantry, and Ruth Hayes, among others.

As owner of the Comet Tavern in the late 70s, Hillenbrand became an advocate for Seattle’s avant garde artists. In 1980, Lynda Barry won a contest to design the Comet’s matchbook cover, beginning a long association with the young Capitol Hill cartoonist. A year later, Hillenbrand published the text to “Propagandists Lament,” a performance work by Seattle artist Annie Grosshans. She soon sold the tavern to devote full time to publishing. Real Comet Press went on to publish four books by Lynda Barry – Girls + Boys, Big Ideas, The Good Times Are Killing Me, and Naked Ladies, Naked Ladies, Naked Ladies – as well as East Texas by Michael Dougan, Instant Litter by Art Chantry, and a series of animated flipbooks by Ruth Hayes. In addition, Real Comet Press published catalogues, criticism, and feminist theory by artists, curators and critics such as Lucy Lippard, Jo Spence, Douglas Kahn, Rini Templeton, Ernst Friedrich, James Turrell, and countless others. Many of Hillenbrand’s books and memorable marketing materials were designed the brilliant graphic artists associated with The Rocket magazine.

Join us on Saturday, March 10 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM to fete the former publisher. Real Comet alumni Hayes, Dougan and Chantry will host the celebration, which includes an exhibition of art, books and ephemera from the Real Comet archives. A limited number of out-of-print Real Comet Press titles will be available for sale (including the iconic Lynda Barry poster “Poodle with a Mohawk”). This reception coincides with the colorful Georgetown Art Attack featuring arts presentations throughout the historic neighborhood.

On Saturday, March 24 at 6:00 PM Fantagraphics Bookstore presents Susan Kirtley, author of Lynda Barry: Girlhood Through the Looking Glass from University of Mississippi Press, in conversation with Cathy Hillenbrand. This enlightening discussion will be followed by an informal reception and book signing.

On Friday, March 30 at 6:00 PM, Hillenbrand joins cartoonists Ellen Forney and Jim Woodring, and Fantagraphics associate publisher Eric Reynolds on the panel discussion “Northwest Noir: Seattle’s Legacy of Counterculture Comix” moderated by Fantagraphics Bookstore curator Larry Reid at Emerald City Comicon at the Washington State Convention Center.

Join STart, Sound Transit art program, to meet the artists for Brooklyn Link Light Rail Station

Friday Feb. 17, 2012 | 6 – 8 p.m.

Henry Art Gallery auditorium

University of Washington

15th Ave NE and NE Campus Pkwy (entrance on east side of pedestrian bridge)

Lead Pencil Studio was commissioned through a national call-to-artists process, organized by STart, Sound Transit public art program.  The artists will discuss their previous work and how they will prepare for creating public art at Sound Transit’s future Brooklyn Link light rail station in Seattle’s University District.

Meet the artist:

Lead Pencil Studio creates an interdisciplinary overlap of architecture and site-specific art. With training in ceramics, photography, sculpture and drawing as well as architecture, Han and Mihalyo explore spatial conditions in the built environment. Lead Pencil Studio recently completed the empty billboard sculpture near Peace Arch Park on the Canadian border.

Learn more

For more information about this event, contact Mylinda Sneed at (206) 689-4978 or mylinda.sneed@soundtransit.org. Find more information about STart, Sound Transit public art program at: www.soundtransit.org/start

To stay informed about the North Link Light Rail project, visit our website at www.soundtransit.org/NorthLink or contact Ellen Blair, Sound Transit Community Outreach, at 206-398-5043 or northlink@soundtransit.org

Please joins us this Saturday, February 11 at 6:00 PM and pay homage to one of the masters of our medium. “Funny Valentines” is a tribute to Jack Davis, the Mad genius of American comix.

To celebrate the publication of Fantagraphics’ retrospective Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture, a stellar group of cartoonists, visual artists, graphic designers and illustrators are exhibiting “Funny Valentines,” inspired by the card sets he produced in the late 50s and early 60s, and other influential works. The show includes Peter Bagge, Nikki Burch, Art Chantry, Tom Dougherty, Jesse Edwards, Ellen Forney, Art Garcia, Roberta Gregory, Charles Krafft, Jason T. Miles, Pat Moriarity, Tom Neely, Joe Newton, Ries Niemi, John Ohannesian, Augie Pagan, Eric Reynolds, Bob Rini, Johnny Ryan, Frank Santoro, SHAG, Matthew Southworth, and Jim Woodring, as well as original pieces by Jack Davis himself.

Guests will be honored with a virtual visit by Davis via Skype promptly at 6:30 PM. Bring your Valentine, or find one, at this memorable event. The exhibition coincides with the festive 4th anniversary edition of the Georgetown Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts presentations throughout the historic district.

Cartoonists will want to arrive early for a free workshop on comic book layout conducted by cartoonist and Comics Journal columnist Frank Santoro at 5:00 PM. Fantagraphics is located at 1201 S. Vale St., just minutes south of downtown Seattle. Phone 206.658.0110.

Nectar Lounge in Fremont, on Wednesday, Feb. 8.

Soul Jelly starts at 8:30 and will play for an hour, followed by Beet Oven and Luau Cinder playung some funky grooves.  And, it is free!

Fantagraphics Bookstore kicks off Black History Month on Saturday, February 4 with the debut of two diverse books. Seattle-based music scholar Pat Thomas, author of Listen, Whitey!: The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965 – 1975, will be joined by Seattle authors Mark Long and Jim Demonakos, who together with cartoonist Nate Powell created the graphic novel The Silence of Our Friends.

While researching this book project in Oakland, archivist Pat Thomas discovered rare recordings of speeches, interviews, and music by noted activists Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Elaine Brown, and others that form the framework of this definitive retrospective. Listen, Whitey! also chronicles the forgotten history of Motown Records’ Black Power subsidiary label, Black Forum, which released politically charged albums by Stokely Carmichael, Langston Hughes, Bill Cosby and Ossie Davis, among others. Obscure records produced by African-American sociopolitical organizations of the period are examined, along with the Isley Brothers, Nina Simone, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Watts Prophets, Roland Kirk, Horace Silver, Angela Davis, H. Rap Brown, Stanley Crouch, and others that spoke out against oppression. Thomas will give a slide and music presentation, and limited number of advance copies of the book will be available to the public. Also making its debut is a companion CD of the same title from Seattle-based Light in the Attic records. The album features rare tracks from African-American activists like Dick Gregory, Eldridge Cleaver, Last Poets, and others, with protest music by Bob Dylan, John and Yoko Ono, Gil Scott-Heron, Roy Harper, and more.

The Silence of Our Friends is the semi-autobiographical tale of Mark Long. Set in 1967 Texas against the backdrop of the civil rights struggle, a white family from a notoriously racist suburb and a black family from its poorest ward cross Houston’s color line, overcoming fear and violence to win the freedom of five black college students unjustly charged with the murder of a policeman. Co-authored by Jim Demonakos (founder of Seattle’s Emerald City Comicon), and drawn by award-winning cartoonist Nate Powell, The Silence of Our Friends is a new and important entry in the body of civil rights literature.

Join these remarkable authors on Saturday, February 4 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, located at 1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.) in Seattle’s colorful Georgetown neighborhood. Phone 206.658.0110.

In celebration of the upcoming Seattle “Elvis” Invitationals that is happening on Saturday, January 14th at EMP, Top Pot Doughnuts has come up with a special commemorative “King’s Rings” doughnut, a raised ring covered in maple cream frosting and smothered in caramelized bacon.

The King’s Rings will be available for sale at the Top Pot Doughnut shops on Friday, January 13th. However, if you’d like to sample these luscious creations for free, plus see a great performance by Billy Joe Huels of the Dusty 45′s, go to the taping of the New Day Northwest TV show at KING-5 on Thursday, 1/12. You’ll need to email the Audience Coordinator Suzie Wiley- newdaytickets@king5.com before 8am Thursday, so they have a head count.

Provocative cartoonist Tony Millionaire will appear in Seattle at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Saturday, January 7 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM for a book signing and art show. He’ll be exhibiting brilliantly sedate work from his new book 500 Portraits, recently released by Fantagraphics Books.

500 Portraits collects over two decades of work by the beloved creator of Drinky Crow’s Maakies, Sock Monkey and Billy Hazelnuts. Tony Millionaire’s gorgeous fountain pen illustrations, which combine naturalistic detail with strong doses of the fanciful and grotesque, include the famous (Bob Dylan), the infamous (Abu Ghraib soldier/model Lynndie England), the fictional (Yoda), the animal kingdom (a cockroach), and everything in between. Literary figures (Hemingway), literary characters (Don Quixote & Sancho Panza), Hollywood legends (Steven Spielberg), comics icons (Hergé, Daniel Clowes, Hernandez Brothers, etc.) and historical figures (Hitler) also figure prominently. Many of these 500 portraits were created for The Believer, the magazine founded by Dave Eggers that Millionaire helped define visually with images of interview subjects in every issue.

The artist will be present to sign copies of his many Fantagraphics titles as well as the recent Encyclopedia of Hell and other works. The bookstore is located at 1201 S. Vale St. in the heart of Seattle’s Georgetown art community. The evening will also feature the premiere of the short live-action film “Everybody Loves Drinky Crow” by Fantagraphics Bookstore curator Larry Reid.

Come celebrate the festive 5th anniversary of Fantagraphics Bookstore on Saturday, December 10 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Holiday cheer galore! Opening reception for “Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly,” music by Sawsome (a female banjo and saw duet), complimentary refreshments, wandering Christmas carolers, and more!

We can hardly believe it’s been 5 years already. This wonderful experiment in promoting comix culture has been an amazing experience. Make plans to join us on this momentous occasion. The party coincides with the lively holiday edition of the Georgetown Art Attack with open art studios, exotic shopping, diverse dining and imbibing throughout the historic arts community.

We’re located at 1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.) only minutes from downtown Seattle. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone 206.658.0110.

Make your way to the Georgetown Art Attack and get into the holiday spirit with holiday spirits on Saturday, December 10. Dozens of artists will open their studios and Georgetown’s many inventive enterprises celebrate the season with colorful exhibitions, sales and special events. A group from Choir of the Sound will wonder through the historic neighborhood dispensing cheer in the form of traditional carols and secular holiday songs. Don’t miss this sensational seasonal urban outing from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.

Among the highlights: Fez-tivities at Georgetown Trailer Park Mall include a multimedia Fez-cast at the Trailer Park Cinema and bizarre holiday bazaars in vintage travel trailers throughout the park; The Firm features Crank-E-Joes: A Mechanical Engagement by Chris McMullen; Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery celebrates its 5th anniversary with “Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly” featuring music by Sawsome; Georgetown Atelier is hosting its annual holiday party, featuring a small works painting sale, art by founder Tenaya Sims, and student work with food and refreshments provided; Miller School of Art presents a holiday show with nothing priced over $100; Sam Hamrick will be showcasing prints and cards at Full Throttle Bottles with a selection of hand made wine charms & champagne key chains by Erika Tedin; Over 40 fine artists at Equinox will host open studios with music and refreshments; Krab Jab Studio presents a holiday show with resident artists Mark Tedin, Milo Duke, Julie Baroh and artist-at-large Kyle Abernethy, featuring original art, unique gifts and holiday cheer; Keli, Roxanne, Denise and Janet invite the public to their inaugural event at the Roving Gallery in the old brewery complex; American Pie will display mixed media candy wrapper art by Eric Edwards; Calamity Jane’s mounts a photography exhibition by Cathleen Shattuck; The Nautilus Studio is having shows by painter Larkin and house artist Yvette Endrijautzki. Alluring dining, shopping, and imbibing opportunities abound in the enchanting industrial arts corridor.

The Georgetown Art Attack is a monthly promotion of the Georgetown Merchants Association. Visit www.georgetownmerchants.org. A printable participants map can be found at: www.georgetownartattack.com.

Sensational Seattle counterculture cartoonist Peter Bagge will appear in Georgetown at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery at 7:00 PM on Friday, November 25. The book signing will be followed by a performance of his power pop combo Can You Imagine? featuring Steve Fisk next door at the MIX nightclub.

We’ve recently seen a deluge of books by earnest young rock journalists chronicling the history of Seattle’s grunge movement. But nothing quite matches Peter Bagge’s authentic observations during that era. Bagge’s work went beyond satire to help shape the attitude and aesthetics of the only significant youth movement to emerge from the Pacific Northwest. His comix still resonate today, as a new generation of readers discover his over-the-top, yet totally accessible approach to cartooning. Bagge will sign copies of his iconic Hate comix anthologies as well as more recent work, including his rockin’ all ages romp Yeah! Pick up some perfect personalized gifts for a song.

Bagge’s signing will be followed by a musical performance at the Mix with Can You Imagine? This mostly female pop combo is eerily reminiscent of the intergalactic rock group depicted in Yeah! Michelle, Rachel and Sue are joined by Bagge and legendary musician and producer Steve Fisk, combining to form a fairly amazing and unexpected delight.

Fantagraphics Bookstore is located at 1201 S. Vale Street in the heart of Seattle’s Georgetown arts community. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00. Phone 206.658.0110.

Adventurous art mavens will descend on Georgetown on Saturday, November 12 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM for the Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack. Many area artists open their studios to the public for this monthly event, joined by the creative enterprises that support them. The diversity of visual and performing arts programming continues to distinguish Georgetown’s lively Art Attack.

Among the highlights of the November 12 installment: Paintings by Diana Pharaoh at Calamity Jane’s; Regional underwater photography by Tom Radio at the enchanting, nautically-themed Nautilus Studio; Landscape photography by Adria McGrath at American Pie; Krab Jab Studio presents “Lost and Found”, a collection of paintings by Amy Pleasant with additional art by Julie Baroh, Milo Duke, Mark Tedin, Kyle Abernethy, and jewelry by Beau Bond; Art at the Top of the Stairs features bronze sculpture by Louise McDowell and Donna Van Norman, watercolors by Eunice Nammacher, work by Sally Jones, and Evergreen Guardian Imports’ goods from Nepal including a collection of Thangkh paintings with music by Charlie Hiestand and friends; Georgetown Trailer Park Mall kicks off the holiday season with a live Fezzcast Dance Party, Outdoor Cinema, Drunky’s Barbecue and an eclectic preview of local designers in vintage travel trailers; All City Art presents “Bubble Yum” by Mary Enslow and “Art at a Steal” featuring small and affordable art by 9 Seattle artists at All City Coffee; Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery opens “Short Run,” an exhibition of small press publications and artwork by Max Clotfelter, Patrick Keck, Martine Workman, Elaine Lin, Jason T. Miles, Chris Cilla, Andrice Arp, Tim Root, Billis Helg, Marc Palm, Eroyn Franklin, Tom Van Deusen, Tim Miller, Tory Franklin, Jesse Reklaw, Sean Christensen, and Erin Tanner, curated by Kelly Froh; “Derek Bruno Does Work” display continues at The Firm; Georgetown arts activist Amanda Michele Dellinger offers “Heart of the Attack” guided tours at artsenabler@gmail.com.

The Georgetown Art Attack is a monthly promotion of the Georgetown Merchants Association. www.georgetownmerchants.org. A printable map of participants can be found at www.georgetownartattack.com.

Don’t miss the October 8 installment of the Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack. We welcome our newest neighbor Elysian Brewing as they host their annual Great Pumpkin Brew Festival at their new facility on Airport Way S. Over 50 flavors of pumpkin beer from area brewers will debut, including a batch from Georgetown Brewing. Can’t brew too much beer in our little arts community. Nosiree!

Elsewhere in Georgetown: Celebrate the season in the Georgetown Trailer Park of Terror with an outdoor cinema, indie art venues and live music by The Sweet Spots; the Nautilus presents sinister “Games of Pain and Sorrow” and other sculptures of organic materials by James Bassett with performances by Acep the Magician and Orryelle Bascule Defenestrate; legendary underground cartoonist Trina Robbins presents the work of illustrator Nell Brinkley at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery; Calamity Jane’s displays intaglios by Inga Scheibel and mixed media by Kree Arvanitas; shadow boxes by Morbid Anatomy on view at American Pie; Krab Jab Studio hosts a Halloween show featuring artists Jeff Menges, Mark Tedin, Julie Baroh, Milo Duke, Morbid Anatomy, Luke Green, Yvette Endrijautski, Peter Pan, Amy Pleasant, RK Post, Sam Hamrick, Kyle Abernethy, Wendy Wees, and Beau Bond; the Georgetown Art & Cultural Center opens “New Clear,” a show curated by unique families of Seattle’s Joanna Hall featuring Lilly Warner, Joanna Hall, Justin Kane Elder, Karie Jane and Sam Mikolon with a live DJ; Deborah Scott’s “Waiting for Prince Charming” continues at All City Coffee; and “Does Work,” a site specific installation by Christopher Derek Bruno remains on view at The Firm. Our SoDo neighbors at the Sunny Arms are hosting “Art on Airport,” an all day open studio. Georgetown arts activist Amanda Michele Dellinger offers “Heart of the Attack” guided tours at artsenabler@gmail.com.

The Georgetown Art Attack is a monthly promotion of the Georgetown Merchants Association. See www.georgetownmerchants.org. For a map of participants visit: www.georgetownartattck.com. “Like” us on Facebook.