Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of original artwork and book signing by celebrated cartoonist Gilbert Hernandez on Saturday, March 13 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Gilbert will be Fantagraphics guest at the Emerald City Comicon in Seattle on March 13 and 14. The reception at Fantagraphics Bookstore serves as the official after-party for the convention, so expect to see a wide array of comic book professionals in attendance.

Together with his brother Jaime, Gilbert Hernandez revitalized the moribund comics medium nearly 30 years ago with the inspiring series LOVE & ROCKETS. Los Bros. Hernandez created socially relevant stories illustrated with stunning artwork that would influence generations of cartoonists that followed. Their work reflected America’s emerging multicultural social environment and restive youth culture in an accessible manner that attracted a diverse and devoted readership. Their stories continues to resonate and the Love & Rockets franchise remains a signature of Fantagraphics Books.

The exhibition and book signing celebrates publication of LOVE & ROCKETS BOOK 25: HIGH SOFT LISP. The book follows Rosalba “Fritz” Martinez -  bombshell, former punkette, former psychiatrist, “Z” movie star — in this supremely sexy, constantly surprising graphic novel. Hernandez has taken a suite of stories originally serialized in Luba’s Comics and Stories and the second volume of Love & Rockets, and fleshed them out with new pages, creating an original and inventive that, through its connections to his main character Luba, works both as a standalone graphic novel and a further exploration of his rich, fictional world. Longtime fans and new readers alike will delight in this superbly rendered tale.

This event coincides with the colorful Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack featuring visual and performing arts presentations throughout the historic neighborhood. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street, at Airport Way S. only minutes sought of downtown Seattle. Open every day. Admission is always free.   Listing Information: Gilbert Hernandez: HIGH SOFT LISP Book Signing and Art Exhibition Saturday, March 13, 6:00 – 9:00 PM Exhibition continues through May 5, 2010 Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery 1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.). Seattle, WA 98108. (206) 658-0110 Open daily 11:30 – 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM