Fantagraphics Blog Larry Reid

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…

(click image to enlarge) A fitting Pogo sentiment on a day after elections. The original art from this strip will be on display at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery along with 15 others for "Playing Possum: The Pogo Art of Walt Kelly." The show opens on Saturday, December 10 — the centerpiece of our festive 5th anniversary gala. Pogo party, indeed!

Short Run exhibition at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery features small press comics and art by emerging regional artists. In this age of ubiquitous digital media and gadget fatigue, it's refreshing to find a community of artists working with their hands to produce tactile works of art on paper. Such is the case with the young cartoonists in the Short Run exhibition at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in Seattle. This art party on Saturday, November 12 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM follows the Short Run Small Press Fest at the Vera Project at the Seattle Center earlier that day. The Short…

It's official! Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery will be celebrating its 5th anniversary on Saturday, December 10 with an exhibition of Walt Kelly's original Pogo artwork. Look for a dozen dailies and several Sundays along with some appropriately swampy musical entertainment. Save the date and make your way to the bookstore where you will, indeed, be "confronted with insurmountable opportunities."

  Fantagraphics Books is offering a tasty treat this Halloween season — a FREE Donald Duck mini-comic by cartoon genius Carl Barks! In the "Jet Witch," our plucky duck buzzes Duckburg on a jet-powered broom. Predictably, all manner of hilarious Halloween havoc ensues. This story from 1961 provides a preview of the delicious treats to come in Fantagraphics forthcoming series The Carl Barks Library, with the first volume Walt Disney's Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes arriving next month. For information on where to find this Halloween favor visit Comicshoplocator.com.

Help Buddy Bradley stay upright in this interactive poster for the Georgetown Art Attack designed by Tim Silbaugh. Approved by Peter Bagge. [See our Tumblr blog for more recent Things to See.]

  Fantagraphics resident genius Jim Woodring outdoes himself in the new annual edition of The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror. Li'l Bart discovers a shopworn copy of "Harvest of Fear" — an E.C. knockoff in the tradition of Four Color Fear — at a yard sale and all hell breaks loose. Woodring works within the Simpsons canon while cleverly incorporating his own idiosyncratic sensibilities. In the story, our mischievous protagonist sets out to solve the mystery of the mid-century comic book and finds the last page is the missing piece. Spooky.

  Join us this Wednesday, October 5 at 7:00 PM in the Microsoft Auditorium of the Seattle Public Library central branch as we welcome Craig Thompson discussing his latest graphic novel Habibi. Don't miss this opportunity to meet one of the most celebrated cartoonists in recent years as he presents his highly anticipated new work. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery curator Larry Reid will introduce the artist and offer a selection of Thompson's work for sale following his slide talk. Admission is free, but you may want to arrive a few minutes early to guarantee seating. The library is located at 1000 Fourth…