The Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery will feature an installation honoring the late underground cartoonist S. Clay Wilson from April 10 to June 9.
Fantagraphics Bookstore Best of 2020
Time for a belated list of 2020 favorites from Fantagraphics Bookstore curator Larry Reid. This was a tumultuous year and the independent comix community was hit particularly hard. New titles were delayed and some were simply overlooked. In the struggle to keep the bookstore viable, I missed a lot of new titles completely. As a result, this list is far from comprehensive. Still, some stellar work appeared despite the dire circumstances. Below, in no particular order, is a baker’s dozen of the books that most appealed to me Daniel Clowes: Original Art. The latest in Fantagraphics’ series of deluxe studio…
What’s in Store: Patrick Moriarity and special guest Dame Darcy
Join us on Saturday, March 9 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM at Fantagraphics Bookstore for an exhibition of drawings, prints, and paintings from Patrick Moriarity’s spectacular new 3D anthology Deep Artwork, together with special guest Dame Darcy reading from her recent memoir Hi Jax & Hi Jinx. Moriarity relocated to Seattle from Minneapolis in 1991 to work as an art director at Fantagraphics Books. His popular series from that era, Big Mouth, illustrated stories by luminaries like Henry Rollins, Charles Bukowski, Harvey Pekar, R. Crumb, Dame Darcy and many more. His latest project, Deep Artwork, adapts his cartoon imagery into…
What’s in Store: 12th Anniversary Gala feat. Jeremy Eaton
Celebrate the 12th anniversary of Fantagraphics Bookstore on Saturday, December 8, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM with an exhibition by Jeremy Eaton, HOW NOT TO DRAW COMICS, featuring musical entertainment from Fantagraphics friends and staff – Bounty of the Wayside (Nancy Clarke, Kyle Hanson, and Eaton) with The War of Northern Aggression (Keeli McCarthy and Donna Brown.) Cool art, live music, complimentary refreshments, and holiday cheer galore! Eaton’s comix work, published by Fantagraphics Books in the 90s, was an important contribution to the alternative comix movement of that period. He has since turned his attention to painting, examining the…
What’s in Store: Ben Horak’s Daydreamin’ Dave release party!
Join us at Fantgraphics Bookstore on Saturday, May 26 from 3:00 to 5:00 PM as we celebrate the publication of Daydreamin’ Dave by Ben Horak with a book signing, urban barbecue, and complementary refreshments. Dave is a mild-mannered, imaginative, anthropomorphic, joke-spewing day dreamer. Dave is constantly breaking the fourth wall to speak directly to the delighted audience, ending every quip with a friendly wink. This is Dave’s world, we just live in it. But what happens when Dave is suddenly gone? How can the story continue? Who will entertain the audience? As the comic itself begins to break down and…
Celebrate Free Comic Book Day with Ellen Forney and Simon Hanselmann
Celebrate Free Comic Book Day at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery as Ellen Forney presents her latest project, Rock Steady: Brilliant Advice From My Bipolar Life, with an exhibition and book signing this Saturday, May 5 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Her appearance will be preceded by Simon Hanselmann signing copies of Fantagraphics’ free sampler, World’s Greatest Cartoonists, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. Rock Steady is a sequel to Forney’s widely acclaimed graphic memoir Marbles, which addressed the artist’s experience with bipolar disorder. Her highly anticipated companion volume turns the focus outward, offering a self-help guide of tips, tricks, and tools by…
What’s in Store: Record Store Day with Sky Cries Mary
Celebrate Record Store Day this Saturday, April 21 as Georgetown Records and Fantagraphics Bookstore host a live concert by Sky Cries Mary. This group features musicians that were pivotal to the “Seattle Sound” of the 1990s, including our good friend Jack Endino, widely considered the architect of grunge. DJ Jody McKane spins platters from 1:00 to 3:00, Jo Smitty from 3:00 to 6:00, with the band at 7:00 PM. Record stores continue to play an important role in the social fabric of American culture. Like many creative retail enterprises, their very existence is imperiled by our increasingly on-line economy. (Sadly, comix…
What’s in Store: Art, Media, Music & More!
Join us for an evening of art, comix, media, and music this Saturday, May 13 at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. We’ll host a reception and exhibition of original art by cartoonist Cathy Malkasian. She will discuss her new graphic novel Eartha in conversation with Fantagraphics Books publisher Gary Groth at 6:30 PM, followed by a book signing. The event will also include the video installation Patience, Atlas. This dance performance documentary from Marion Walker is presented in association with Georgetown Records. The stop-motion video captures a dancer stranded in the waiting room where patience is…
What’s in Store: Comic Book Day
This Saturday, May 6 marks the 15th anniversary of Free Comic Book Day. Or, as we at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery like to call it, Comic Book Day. We’ll offer complimentary copies of Fantagraphics Books’ World’s Greatest Cartoonists collection featuring new work by Noah Van Sciver, Simon Hanselmann, Jason, Ed Piskor, Liz Suburbia, Matt Furie, Anya Davidson, Dash Shaw, Richard Sala, Emil Ferris and more! We couldn’t help but notice over the years that calling this Free Comic Book Day seems to discourage patrons from purchasing any products. This situation has been accentuated coming on the heels of successful celebrations…
Re/Read: Prince Valiant Volume 8
Re/Read is a regular feature by Fantagraphics Bookstore curator Larry Reid drawing attention to backlist books you may have missed or are worthy of another read. This time we’ll visit a classic by Hal Foster, Prince Valiant Volume 8, 1951 – 1952. I have long maintained that midcentury America’s fascination with medieval folklore owed more to Hal Foster than Chaucer. Foster’s colorful Sunday comic strip, “Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur,” captured the country’s imagination as it was delivered directly into millions of American homes. A Prince Valiant feature film was produced in 1954, starring Robert Wagner, Janet Leigh,…
