Hot in it’s third year, Linework NW brings together top cartoonists and illustrators to celebrate the graphic medium we love so much. Located in the beautiful Norse Hall of SE Portland, Linework will take place May 21st & 22nd of 2016 and feature debut books, special guests and pizza from Sizzle Pie.
Guests
Matt Furie
Matt Furie was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1979 and graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware in 2001. A Leo, he enjoys long walks in the park, bubble baths, and an occasional glass of wine. He currently lives in San Francisco. Matt Furie’s drawings come from a mix of child-like enchantment and momentary adult situations. His self proclaimed “children’s book illustrations for adults” combines traditional and modern mark-making for his ripe, cartoon-inspired characters. He was awarded best Visual Artist by the San Francisco Bay Guardian in the 20th annual Goldie awards.
His comics and books include Boy’s Club, Dungeon Family, and the children’s book The Night Riders (McSweeney’s). He is also the creator of Pepe the Frog, the character that sparked a 1000 memes.
Jesse Reklaw
Reklaw was born in Berkeley, California and grew up in Sacramento, studied at UC Santa Cruz, and completed a master’s degree in computer science at Yale University. In 1995, while pursuing a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence, he began self-publishing comics in his dream-themed series Concave Up. At the same time, he developed the weekly strip Slow Wave; when he began to have some success in syndicating it, he dropped out of Yale to work as a cartoonist. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his cat, Littles, who appears in many of his strips and zines.
Ed Luce
Ed Luce (pronounced “loose,” like the opposite of tight) has made a huge splash in the comics scene with his self-published comic book series. Wuvable Oaf has garnered a huge following of fans both in the comics world and in the queer art world. Luce lives in San Francisco with his partner and collaborator, Mark, and their kitty, Luna. He can regularly be found either under a pile of drawing paper or at a local comics festival.
Simon Hanselmann
New York Times Best-Selling cartoonist Simon Hanselmann (Megahex) was born in Tasmania, Australia and currently resides in Seattle, WA. He spends his days meticulously watercoloring each page of comics he hand draws. Simon has found international success with his stoner witch comics, which have been translated into over a dozen languages. When not makes comics, Simon can be found smoking cigarettes and walking a one-eyed dog.
Josh Simmons
Josh Simmons hails from Storrs Mansfield, CT, and lives in Seattle, WA.
Debut Books
Megg & Mogg in Amsterdam by Simon Hanselmann
Megg the witch, Mogg the cat, their friend Owl, and Werewolf Jones struggle unsuccessfully with their depression, drug use, sexuality, poverty, lack of ambition, and their complex feelings about each other. It’s a laff riot! Fresh off their star turn in the New York Times best seller Megahex, Megg and Mogg decide to take a trip to Amsterdam for some quality couple time, although the trip gets off to a rocky start when they forget their antidepressants. They need Owl to come and help them save their relationship. But why does he have a suitcase full of glass dildos? And what will they do when they realize that the housesitting Werewolf Jones has turned their apartment into a “f#@k zone”?
Boy’s Club by Matt Furie
Cartoonist Matt Furie’s deadpan comics showcase slacker roommates Andy, Brett, Landwolf, and Pepe in a series of comical vignettes combining laconic psychedelia, childlike enchantment, drug-fueled hedonism, and impish mischief. The perpetually insouciant glaze of his characters belie the sharp verbal and visual wit of Furie, who delivers a stoner classic for the Tumblr generation. In fact, Furie’s wildly popular teenage weirdoes became an overnight internet sensation when Pepe the Frog was widely adopted by users of 4chan and remixed ad infinitum from there (including uses by pop stars like Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry), giving Boy’s Club built-in recognition with many. A spiritual cousin to Simon Hanselmann’s Megahex and Joán Cornella’s Mox Nox, Boy’s Club’s sense of humor will especially resonate with fans of stoner comedies and black humor.
Jessica Farm Volume 2 by Josh Simmons
Jessica Farm fuses serialized adventure, fantasy and psychological horror and stamps it with Josh Simmon’s signature macabre sensibility. Like a Lynchian take on Alice in Wonderland, Jessica Farm opens with an exterior of what could be any Midwestern farmhouse. Once inside, we track our titular heroine as she bounds out of bed on Christmas and goes about her morning routine, eventually breakfasting with her grandparents. The banality of the situation is subverted by a ratcheting sense of dread, as we discover that Jessica’s increasingly nightmarish house is filled with creatures around every corner: some whimsical, some sexual, some despairing and some malevolent. Most terrifying of all is Jessica’s father, whose promise of presents under the tree is loaded with the threat of violence. In Book 2, our heroes come upon the Groovy Room, where the atmosphere is different and if you configure your mind just right, you can hover in the air.
Lovf: The Illustrated Diary of a Man Literally Losing His Mind by Jesse Reklaw
Homeless and broke after giving all his stuff to punk rock heroin dealers, he ends up off his meds and on a secret quest from Portland to Brooklyn, DC, LA, San Francisco, and Seattle. He throws himself into every experience like it was his last; like it should be his last. With wild energy, promiscuity, criminal activity, and substance abuse, this becomes a full-blown manic episode… all of it captured by LOVF, the trusty sidekick. Jammed with cartoons, mad schemes, psychedelic portraits, and notes from the road, LOVF is a travel journal, and a mirror of the post-traumatic dreamworld its author can’t escape from.
Signing Schedule
Saturday
Simon Hanselmann All Day
Matt Furie All Day
Jesse Reklaw 3:00-4:00 PM
Josh Simmons 1:00-2:00 PM
Ed Luce 7:00-8:00 PM
Sunday
Simon Hanselmann All Day
Jesse Reklaw 1:00-2:00 PM
Matt Furie 2:00-3:00 PM
Ed Luce: at his own table
Josh Simmons: at his own table
Panels
All panels take place in the upstairs auditorium area of Norse Hall
Saturday
Spotlight on Matt Furie 3:00 PM
Comics and Cannabis w/ Jesse Reklaw and Matt Furie 3:30 PM
Linework NW
Saturday May 21st & Sunday May 22nd
1:00-8:00 PM
Norse Hall
111 NE 11th Ave
Portland, OR