Today's Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Gagne’s selections are first-rate. These stories are fiery fare. Lovers clash like storm-tossed waves on rocky shores. They battle misconceptions and social injustices…. Even stories created under the constraints of the Comics Code pack a wallop. In the skilled hands of Simon and Kirby, love is most definitely a battlefield. The book’s special features are also top-notch…. Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby’s Romance Comics belongs in the personal library of all Simon and Kirby fans and all serious students of comics art and history. It’s a prime example of what…
Monte Schulz Signing in Santa Rosa!
Author Monte Schulz will be signing his captivating novel of the Jazz Age on Wednesday, April 11th in Santa Rosa, California! A novel of the Jazz Age, The Big Town is the story of a failed businessman whose dreams of prosperity hinge on the secret proposition of a millionaire industrialist and a dangerous relationship he finds with a poor orphan girl chasing love in the great American metropolis. Join Monte starting at 7:00 PM at Copperfields Books Montgomery Village [ 775 Village Court ]!
Daily OCD: 4/6-4/9/12
A few days of Online Commentary & Diversions: • Review: "Everything Is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson by Salt Lake City native Kevin Avery is a fitting testimonial to a man who pioneered rock 'n' roll criticism. Those familiar and unfamiliar with the culture of the '60s will appreciate this finely written tribute…. Overall, Everything Is an Afterthought will break your heart and inspire you to be a better person. It is a wonderful story of a man who deserves his chance in the spotlight." – Shelby Scoffield, Deseret News • Excerpts: On his blog, writer…
Cannibal Fuckshirts from Johnny Ryan!
Since we can't walk around covered in blood like Cannibal Fuckface (well, most of us anyway), you can at least have the man himself across your chest! It's the Prison Pit t-shirt by Johnny Ryan, from our friends at Monster Worship! Two-color design on a sinister black t-shirt. Short sleeved for your arms, or an evil worm-like creature. In an addendum to this previous FLOG post, I had no luck tracking down the highly-sought after Johnny Ryan-designed tees from H&M. But a certain someone did, and that would be Miss Bella Reid, the 13-year-old daughter of Larry, our manager and…
Monte Schulz Signing in San Francisco!
Author Monte Schulz is bringing The Big Town to the big town of San Francisco on Tuesday, April 10th! A novel of the Jazz Age, The Big Town is the story of a failed businessman whose dreams of prosperity hinge on the secret proposition of a millionaire industrialist and a dangerous relationship he finds with a poor orphan girl chasing love in the great American metropolis. Join Monte for a signing, starting at 7:00 PM at the Modern Times Bookstore Collective [ 2919 24th Street ]. And, we're pleased to announce that Modern Times invests 10% of the total sales…
T Edward Bak Talking at the Portland Central Library!
I could listen to Mome-vet T Edward Bak talk for hours, and if you live in Portland, OR, you can have the less time-intensive honor on Tuesday, April 24th! The Portland Central Library is proud to present "Cartoonists Talking," an evening event in conjunction with the Stumptown Comics Fest! Bak (or "Tebs," as I like to call him) will deliver a presentation on WILD MAN: The Strange Journey and Fantastic Account of the Naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller, which was serialized in Mome. The artist has conducted his own research in Southeast Alaska and the Aleutian archipelago, as well as St….
Ivan Brunetti at the Art Institute of Chicago!
The Art Insitute of Chicago is holding a panel on "Comic Art and Fine Art," and who better to speak on that than our own Ivan Brunetti! Join Ivan this Thursday, April 12th, along with fellow panelists Neal Adams, Geofrey Darrow, and J.J. Sedelmaier (YES! Saturday TV Funhouse!). They'll be discussing the history and future of this popular — and populist — art form. Richard Holland, co-founder of Bad at Sports podcast moderates. The panel starts at 6:00 PM in the Rubloff Auditorium of the Art Insitute of Chicago [ 111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago ]. Free with museum admission…
This Week in Fantagraphics Events: 4/9-4/16
Tuesday, April 10th • San Francisco, CA: Author Monte Schulz is bringing The Big Town to the big town of San Francisco, signing at the Modern Times Bookstore Collective! (more info) • San Francisco, CA: And uncannily, editor Pat Thomas is also in the Bay Area that day, doing a signing and discussion of Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975 at Booksmith! (more info) • Seattle, WA: This is your last day to check out the wonderful Real Comet Press retrospective at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, featuring original artwork by Lynda Barry, Michael Dougan, Art…
‘I’m seeing a lot of song titles’
So said the mighty and wonderful David Gedge (leader of one of my all-time favorite bands, The Wedding Present) leafing through the copy of Michel Gagné's Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby's Romance Comics I gave him at their Seattle gig on Friday night. He opened right up to that page — I swear I didn't plan this moment! Being able to present our books to folks I admire is one of the best parts of my job. What an absolute thrill. By the way, David is not only an avid comics reader, he's published a comic book…
Listen, San Francisco! Pat Thomas at Booksmith on Tuesday!
Editor Pat Thomas is bringin' it all back home with a signing and discussion at Booksmith in San Francisco this Tuesday, April 10th! Pat was living in the Oakland area nearby when he began researching this project, and he discovered rare recordings of speeches, interviews, and music by noted activists Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Elaine Brown, and others that form the framework of Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975. Their friends from down the street, Amoeba Music, will be on hand to sell copies of the companion soundtrack album on Light in the Attic Records!…
