Stretching their legs for the second year at Fisher Pavilion (in the home of the space needle, Seattle Center) Short Run Comix and Arts Fest returns for their 6th festival of books, handmade zines, mini-comics, prints, patches, a bake sale and more! Join hundreds of artists on November 5th from 11am-6pm and get some holiday shopping done early!
Special Guests & Exhibitors
Dash Shaw – Table B7
Dash Shaw is a comic artist and animator, currently living in New York. We have been fans since “Bodyworld”; and Shaw’s every project, whether it be the amazing 720-page familial adventure “Bottomless Bellybutton” (Fantagraphics), to the animated “Wheel of Fortune”, has delivered inspiration and awe. We are looking forward to his newest film, “My Entire High School Sinking Into The Sea”, and his latest book, “Cosplayers”.
Simon Hanselmann – Table B9
New York Times Best-Selling cartoonist Simon Hanselmann (Megahex) was born in Tasmania 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. He will be attending TCAF in support of his debuting graphic novel Meg & Mogg in Amsterdam and Other Stories from Fantagraphics.
Josh Simmons – Table I49
Josh Simmons hails from Storrs Mansfield, CT, and lives in Seattle, WA.
George Metzger – Table B8
George Metzger (b. 1939) is an American cartoonist and animator. He was an underground comics artist during the mid-1960s and early 1970s in California, eventually relocating to Canada, where he worked in animation. His book Beyond Time and Again was published by Fantagraphics Underground in 2015.
He will be signing at our table from 2-3 PM!
Debut Books
We Told You So: Comics as Art by Tom Spurgeon and Mike Dean 
In 1976, a group of young men and women coalesced around a fledgling magazine and the idea that comics could be art. In 2016, comics intended for an adult readership are reviewed favorably in the New York Times, enjoy panels devoted to them at Book Expo America, and sell in bookstores comparable to prose efforts of similar weight and intent. We Told You So: Comics as Art tells of Fantagraphics Books’ key role in helping build and shape an art movement around a discredited, ignored and fading expression of Americana the way insiders share the saga with one another other: in anecdotal form, in the words of the people who lived it and saw it happen. Comics historian and critic Tom Spurgeon and Michael Dean assemble an all-star cast of industry figures, critics, cartoonists, art objects, curios and groundbreaking publications to bring you a detailed account of Fantagraphics’ first 40 years. We Told You So is a detailed catalog of the look of a cultural awakening. It’s a story that includes appearances by Chris Ware, Art Spiegelman, Harlan Ellison, Jim Shooter, Stan Lee, Daniel Clowes, Frank Miller, Peter Bagge, Jaime Hernandez, Gilbert Hernandez, Dave Sim, Steve Geppi, Todd McFarlane and every other major figure in the arts or business end of modern comics. More than a corporate history or a fond look back, We Told You So: Comics as Art makes the warts and all case for Fantagraphics Books’ position near the heart of the modern reclamation of the comics art form.
That’s us inside that blue lake, table B8! And super close to the bake sale. Sweet.
Parties and Events
Friday, November 4 6:00-9:00 pm
Marathon: Art Show and Pre-Party at the Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery in Georgetown.
Join us the night before the festival at our annual art show and pre-party. Art show features work by Dash Shaw, Vanessa Davis, Brendan Kiefer, Ivana Pipal, Phoebe Wahl, Trevor Alixopulos, Kerascoët & Hatem Imam; also a preview of Dash Shaw’s new full-length animated film, “My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea” and a reading by Tom Van Deusen.
Saturday, November 5 8:00-11:00 pm
Featuring local hip-hop artist DoNormaal and the punk trio Nail Polish, with DJ Green Thumb and Hatem Imam (who will play Arabic dance music). Our photo booth will be designed by Andrew Lamb Schultz with photos by Allyce Andrew! Come dance and socialize! 21+ $7
Advance tickets at link above. Also available at the door.