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  Honk Fest West on Friday was a blast! Over 30 cacophonous brass bands from across the country descended on Georgetown for this annual gathering. As was the case last year, the event began on a somber note with a funeral march in front of Fantagraphics Bookstore in memory of Kim Thompson on the first anniversary of his passing. The concerts climaxed with a pitched percussion battle between the Super Bowl champion Seahawks Blue Thunder and the Garfield Drumline (alma mater of musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Quincy Jones, and Macklemore.) Too much fun! Our good friend and former Mayor Mike McGinn dropped in to…

  Al Columbia fans, get ready for our Friday Flash Sale! While supplies last, we're including a FREE copy of Biologic Show #0 with every purchase of Pim and Francie: The Golden Bear Days! Did you catch that? That's a FREE copy of Biologic Show #0 with your purchase of Al Columbia's Pim and Francie. Do you just want to buy Biologic Show #0 to complete your Al Columbia collection? We have very limited quantities remaining in stock, now selling at $10 a pop.   

Shipping now from our mail-order department: Bomb Run and Other Stories (EC Comics Library)by John Severin, Will Elder, Harvey Kurtzman 264-page black & white 7.25" x 10.25" hardcover • $29.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-749-9 See Previews / Order Now John Severin draws war stories so starkly, stunningly realistic, you'll want to hug the ground to dodge the bullets whizzing around your head. With Severin's eloquent artistry, Harvey Kurtzman's precisely paced scripts, and Will Elder's heroic attention to detail, these 32 taut, dramatically expressive tales of combat set a new standard for accuracy, emotional authenticity, and psychological impact. Severin's astounding versatility takes you down…

Saturday, June 21st Usually art shows open with a fancy party, lots of chatting, wine drinking, art looking. But Jim Blanchard and the Dwelling Spaces Gallery in Tulsa, OK are mixing it up! Though the show opens this Saturday (June 21st), they're going to close out strong on July 17th at 6pm, the last day of the show, with Jim Blanchard in attendance to meet, greet, and have a good time. Jim Blanchard has carved an impressive mark in the Seattle punk, art, and comics scene with original illustrations, band flyers, album art, The Stranger covers, and comics featured in books like Newave! and Treasury of…

  Sunday, June 22nd    Celebrate LA cartoonists at the opening reception for Beyond Baroque's first ever comic show, Going Graphic! Sponsored and organized by enthusiastic champion of the comic's medium, Comics Juice. Meet and mingle with artists Ron Rege Jr., Jordan Crane, Tom Neely, and others. Then settle in for laughs as the attending artists read pieces from their work.    Beyond Baroque is a renowned literary and arts center/performance space/theatre/gallery/bookstore, located in the gorgeous old city hall building of Venice, CA. And they are pleased to be venturing into new territory with their first comic art gallery exhibit, highlighting LA's leading talent,…

From the Eric Reynolds archives: Kim Thompson hanging out with Eric, Rhea Patton, and Gary Groth, all celebrating Groth's 50th birthday. Kim passed away one year ago today. He still is and will always be missed by his family, friends, co-workers and the comics community. 

Shipping now from our mail-order department: Strange Suspense: The Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 1 (Paperback)by Steve Ditko 240-page full color 7" x 9.75" softcover • $28.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-739-0 See Previews / Order Now Over 200 Pages of Pre-Spider-Man, Pre-Comics Code Horror Comics by Steve Ditko "This book is chock-full of intense faces and monsters and colors. Strong blacks, horror comics, mean revenge, strange surgery…It's all horror comics from before Fredric Wertham illegalized good-time comic books." – Vice "The tales in this tome are sheer pre-Comics Code Authority horror, complete with stabbings, decapitations, mutilations, and disintegrations. …Ditko's talent jumps off the page…

  In one of the cooler videos to hit the internet lately, comics enthusiast and scholar Allen Rubenstein created a video of the 1000 Greatest Comics of all Time AND set it to "Wipe Out" by the Sufaris (so already won a place in our hearts). At home on Comics Juice, Rubenstein's video contains some great heavyweights like Maus, Blankets and bunch of Fantagraphics' titles from Nancy by Ernie Bushmiller to the newer Eisner-nominated Good Dog by Graham Chaffee.    Think you were able to see all the comics, like the Fanta-ones? Check the list and see if you won this game! And is there anything more…

Friday, June 20th Charlotte, NC:  Soak up some Southern charm at the 2014 Heroes Con! Known for being almost solely comics centered, there are too many amazing artists and writers attending for me to list them all. But here are some Fanta greats that'll be holding it down in the invitation only, Indie Island: Rich Tommaso! Noah Van Sciver! Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez! Plus so, so, so many others. The convention runs from June 20-22, with tickets  still available! (More details)     Saturday, June 21st Charlotte, NC: Continues through the weekend! Just as awesome as yesterday, maybe as awesome as tomorrow. Don't miss the…

This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new titles. Read on to see what comics-blog commentators and web-savvy comic shops are saying about them (more to be added as they appear), check out our previews at the links, and contact your local shop to confirm availability.  witzend by Wallace Wood and various artists 656-page black & white/color 9" x 12.5" x 2.75" two-volume slipcased hardcover set • $125.00  ISBN: 978-1-60699-744-4  "Boxed together in a deluxe two-volume set, here are the irascible voices of a medium far more outré than Hollywood blockbuster movies." –Carlo McCormick, Art News   Bomb Run and Other…