Fantagraphics Blog Larry Reid

FUNNY VALENTINES: A TRIBUTE TO JACK DAVISGroup art exhibition opens February 11 at Fantagraphics Bookstore Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery celebrates the legacy of legendary artist Jack Davis with a group exhibition "Funny Valentines: A Tribute to Jack Davis" opening Saturday, February 11 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Davis is among the most influential American artists of his time. He created comics art for the seminal EC imprint and contributed to subversive magazines like MAD, as well as illustrating popular record albums, memorable movie posters, trading cards, mainstream magazines, and advertising campaigns. Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books recently published the career retrospective Jack…

Listen, Whitey! Celebrate Black History Month on February 4 at Fantagraphics Bookstore with two new books on the Civil Rights movement. 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,…

  Like the postman making his appointed rounds, we pride ourselves in maintaining normal hours at Fantagraphics Bookstore no matter what the weather. But with TV spokesmodels breathlessly warning of blizzard conditions approaching the Seattle area, we encourage customers to call the store before strapping on their snowshoes. 206.658.0110.  Comix fans should take advantage of the current break in the weather to come pick up a copy of Action! Mystery! Thrills! This book is full of alluring covers from the Golden Age comic books. The imagery bolsters my contention that comix represent the most compelling reflection of the cultural climate of mid-century America. The…

  We were privileged to host another delightful evening with our friend Tony Millionaire at Fantagraphics Bookstore on Saturday. A wonderful cast of characters assembled to celebrate the publication of his exquisite new book 500 Portraits. We were pleasantly surprised to receive a visit by the legendary Charles Burns, whose portrait is among those featured in the exhibition. It was also nice to see comix scholar Hillary Chute, who interviews cartoonists in The Believer, where many of Tony's portraits first appeared. (Hillary also notably edited Art Spiegelman's new book  Meta Maus.) Our colleagues from the University of Mississippi Press were on hand, as…

Our wildly entertaining and talented cartoonist friend Tony Millionaire will appear 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 are pretty amazing. Many of these 500 portraits were created for The Believer, the magazine founded by Dave Eggers that Millionaire helped define visually…

This is the last week to view the sensational exhibition "Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly" at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. The critical and popular response to this show has been nothing short of phenomenal. The exhibition will be on view through next Wednesday, January 4. We'll be open every day 11:30 to 8:00 PM except Sunday, January 1, when we'll be closed for New Years Day.  Kelly's historic strips are being offered for sale at remarkably affordable prices. Several of these wonderful works remain available. If you can't make it to the space, feel free to call Fantagraphics curator…

  For perhaps obvious reasons, I invariably find myself re-reading Palestine this time of year. Twenty years ago, cartoonist Joe Sacco visited the biblical lands of the Middle East and reported his observations in a groundbreaking series of comic books that would help change our perceptions of the troubled occupied territories. It's a sad commentary that reading this book twenty years later, it seems like it could have been written yesterday. With every read — going on a dozen now — I find something new in Sacco's brilliant tale. I recall not long after beginning work as Fantagraphics marketing and promotions…

  For your shopping pleasure, Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery will remain open an extra hour until 9:00 PM this Friday, December 23. So sled down to Georgetown for some holiday cheer. We close at 5:00 PM on Saturday, December 24 and remain closed on Sunday, December 25. Come back and visit on Monday, December 26. We'll be open normal hours 11:30 to 8:00 PM the rest of the week.