Fantagraphics Blog Larry Reid

[Artwork by Jim Woodring — click for larger version and see below for more photos] Comics connoisseurs can view "Counterculture Comix: A 30-Year Survey of Seattle Alternative Cartoonists" for free this Friday, September 3 from 11:00 [correction:] noon to 7:00 PM in the Olympic Room on the Northwest corner of the Seattle Center grounds near Key Arena.) The exhibition features 3 generations of cartoonists from the city that gave birth and momentum to the alternative comix movement. More than 250 artworks and artifacts are on display, with a comix reading lounge, a continuous screening of David Moore's seminal Hooked on…

The Seattle Art Museum's popular Remix series at the sculpture park continues this Friday, August 27. The event features the public debut of the Bureau of Drawers, Seattle's new cartooning salon, which includes Fantagraphics friends David Lasky, Marc Palm, Jen Ralston, Tom Dougherty and many other fine cartoonists. (This provides a preview for the big "Counterculture Comix" exhibition at Bumbershoot when Bureau of Drawers will join Friends of the Nib in cartooning demonstrations over Labor Day weekend.) Also on the bill at Remix is a major new work and gallery talk by Houston artist Trenton Doyle Hancock whose amazing narrative…

Influential comix artist Carol Tyler will appear in at Fantagraphics Bookstore in Seattle on Saturday, September 11 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM to present her two-volume graphic memoir YOU'LL NEVER KNOW with an exhibition of original art and book signing. This will mark Tyler's fist visit to the Northwest. Carol Tyler's career in cartooning began as a graduate student in painting at Syracuse University in the early 1980s. She later moved to San Francisco and began a lasting relationship with underground comix legend Justin Green. Her work soon found its way into seminal female comix anthologies Twisted Sisters and Wimmen's…

The COVER STORY book launch party at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery last Saturday was great fun. A steady stream of visitors viewed the display of otherworldly album art and visited with contributors Aja West and Cheeba. The book is pretty amazing, and will inspire you to peruse your vinyl collection for the cardstock covers. If you missed this wonderful event, you can still check out the COVER STORY exhibition and pick up a copy of the book at Fantagraphics Bookstore through this Wednesday, August 18. We're located minutes south of downtown Seattle at 1201 S. Vale St. in the heart…

Everyone has seen the strange graphics that grace the covers of obscure albums while flipping through used record bins at garage sales, flea markets and records stores. Some of the weirdest are collected in COVER STORY Vol. 2: Odd, Obscure, and Outrageous Album Art published by Wax Poetics/powerHouse Books. Fantagraphics Bookstore, in association with Georgetown Records, celebrates the publication of this delightfully odd volume with a publication party this Saturday, August 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. The party will feature a display of many of the most outrageous album covers from the book, as well as DJ sets of…

The tradition of cool art in a hot neighborhood continues with the Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack on August 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Fabulous food, fine art, friendly bars and a few surprises are in store at this colorful monthly event in one of Seattle's most compelling communities. Among the many free visual and performing arts events: Georgetown Records and Fantagraphics Bookstore present the book launch party for "Cover Story: Odd, Obscure, and Outrageous Album Art" featuring an exhibition of album art from the book, a book signing, and DJ sets from contributors Aja West and Cheeba; The…

More than 3.000 maniacal bicycle enthusiasts descended on Georgetown last Friday for the annual Dead Baby Bike bash. Mayhem and merriment ensued as bone crushing bike stunts and ear crunching rock collided on the streets — sometimes literally — right outside Fantagraphics Bookstore. Another exquisite evening in the "Summer of Hate." [Above photos by John Ohannesian; click here for more – Ed.]

This Friday evening in Seattle marks the spectacle of the Dead Baby Bike Club's 14th annual downhill bicycle race. The contest itself is insane, but the real action begins at the finish line in Georgetown. Their apocalyptic party is like the Road Warrior on about 10 hits of acid. Not-to-be-missed: Tall bike jousting (really), bicycle powered carnival rides, music by Tad Doyle's Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, Kurt Danielson's Misericords, a sea of liquid refreshment, and more. If the relentless action gets too intense, take a break at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery in the heart of the party. Check out…

The "Summer of HATE!" continues at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery with a fresh batch of signed copies of Peter Bagge's HATE ANNUAL #8 available for cover price. If you haven't read this awesome issue yet, you're in for a thrill. If you have, pick one up for a friend. And while supplies last, you can also spread the HATE with a set of 10 collectable HATE postcards for the special price of only $2.48. The cards include beloved Bagge characters like Buddy and Valerie, explosions, demolition derby crackups, and more! When you're in Seattle, drop by our store for a…