Labor Day just marks the beginning of another week of great comics events, though this week they’re mostly centred on the East Coast. Sunday’s Brooklyn Book Festival in particular looks to be a must-attend event. Here’s what’s coming up:
Tuesday, September 8
Brookline, MA, 7 PM – Josh Neufeld at Brookline Booksmith
Brooklyn-based cartoonist (A FEW PERFECT HOURS) and illustrator (AMERICAN SPLENDOR) Josh Neufeld will speak about his experiences creating the graphic novel A.D.: NEW ORLEANS AFTER THE DELUGE, which saw him venturing to New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to get to know some of the survivors.
Tuesday, September 8
New York, NY, 8 PM – Duane Swierczynski at Comic Book Club
This week’s guest at Comic Book Club, the live comics-based talk show hosted by Justin Tyler, Pete LePAge and Alex Zalben is writer Duane Swierczynski (CABLE). Admission is $5 at the People’s Improv Theatre.
Wednesday, September 9
New York, NY, 4 PM – 6 PM – Tim Gunn & Phil Jimenez at Midtown Comics
Project Runway’s Tim Gunn and Marvel artist Phil Jimenez will sign copies of Marvel’s MODELS INC, which features a story by Gunn and a variant cover by Jimenez. All other comics will be released on Thursday due to Labor Day, but Midtown will have copies of MODELS INC #1 on hand on Wednesday for this event.
Thursday, September 10
New York, NY, 5 PM – 6 PM – Abstract Comics signing
Artists featured in ABSTRACT COMICS, a new anthology published by Fantagraphics, which traces the history of abstract sequential art, will sign copies of the book at the Manhattan location of Jim Hanley’s Universe. On hand will be editor Andrei Molotiu, as well as artists Patrick McDonnell (MUTTS), Richard Hahn, (LUMAKICK), Geoff Grogan (LOOK OUT MONSTERS), HENRIK REHR (TRIBECA SUNSET), Alexey Sokolin and Anders Pearson.
Thursday, September 10
New York, NY, 7 PM – 9 PM – Brown, Rivera and Giarrusso signing
Following the ABSTRACT COMICS signing, Marvel artists Reilly Brown (INCREDIBLE HERCULES), Paolo Rivera (Marvel’s MYTHOS) and Chris Giarrusso (MINI-MARVELS, G-MAN, pictured above) will sign comics at the Manhattan location of Jim Hanley’s Universe.
Thursday, September 10
New York, NY, 7 PM – 8 PM – Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly at The Strand
Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly will be at The Strand, speaking and signing their new book THE TOON TREASURY OF CLASSIC CHILDREN’S COMICS, an anthology of comics for younger readers, including tales of Uncle Scrooge, Dennis the Menace, Little Lulu and other renowned stars, as well as some forgotten gems.
Friday, September 11
New York, NY, 6 PM – Spectrum opening exhibition
Spectrum is an annual exhibition of the world’s best contemporary sci-fi, fantasy and horror art, presented by the the Museum of American Illustration. The exhibition runs through October 17 at the Society of Illustrators. Tickets to the opening reception on Friday are $40, with a percentage of the proceeds benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, and admission is free.
Saturday, September 12
New York, New York, 1 – 5 PM – Art Out Loud
In conjunction with the Spectrum exhibit, the Society of Illustrators will host Art Out Loud, an event that will feature renowned fantasy artists Charles Vess (STARDUST, BALLADS), James Gurney (DINOTOPIA), Sam Weber, Donato Giancola and Greg Manchess (TO CAPTURE THE WIND) together in the same room painting and answering questions. Tickets are $25, or $10 for students.
Saturday, September 12
Worchester, MA, Noon – 6 PM – Women of Comics at That’s Entertainment
Some of the female stalwarts of the comics world will be signing, sketching and demonstrating their skills at the That’s Entertainment’s Worcester store. It’s quite a lineup: Tara Mcpherson, Hilary Price, Becky Cloonan, Hwan Cho and Melissa DeJesus will all be in attendance.
Saturday, September 12
Mechanicsburg, PA, Noon – 2 PM – Comix Connection Creators Cookout
Artist Mike Hawthorn (G.I. JOE ORIGINS) is joined by horror writers Brian Keene (DEVIL SLAYER) and J.F. Gonzalez for a summer cookout at retailer Comix Connection. There will be free hot dogs and hamburgers grilled up by Hawthorn, and a dollar sale of back issues to boot. Comix Connection will be collecting donations of cash or food for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank at the event.
Saturday, September 12
New York, NY, 4 PM – Abstract Comics Panel Discussion
The Musuem of Comics and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) hosts a panel discussion about Abstract Comics: what they are, who is making them and why. This talk is held in conjunction with the exhibition Silent Pictures at James Gallery, CUNY and the new book from Fantagraphics. Panelists include Derik Badman, Richard Hahn, Patrick McDonnell, Andrei Molotiu, Anders Pearson, Henrik Rehr and Alexey Sokolin. Admission is $5 or free for MoCCA members.
Saturday, September 12
Los Angeles, CA, 5 PM – 7 PM – Jaime Hernandez at Skylight Books
LOVE & ROCKETS cartoonist Jaime Hernandez will sign copies of the new hardcover collection of his work, LOCAS II, and discuss his craft with writer Ben Schwartz at Skylight Books.
Saturday, September 12
Brooklyn, NY, 7 PM – Drawn + Quarterly’s 20th Anniversary Party
Publisher Drawn + Quarterly toasts to its 20th Anniversary with cocktails at Brooklyn retailer Rocketship. Many the cartoonists D+Q publishes, including Guy Delisle, R. Sikoryak, R.O. Blechman, Adrian Tomine, Ron Rege Jr., and Gabrielle Bell will be in attendance.
Sunday, September 13
Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Book Festival
Team Comics will be out in full force at this year’s Brooklyn Book Festival. We’ll have a list of comics-related panels later in the week, or you can check out the events on the Festival’s website!
Posted by Aaron Humphrey
I am slowly savoring The Toon Treasury. Some I have read before, but they are classics, and always worth another read. Some I never knew about (Intellectual Amos?), some I had not seen before (Fox and Crow) and some were wonderful surprises!
(And the most delightful surprise of all? DC Comics actually allowed their stories to be anthologized in a collection with other publishers’ material! Thank you, Mr. Levitz. I hope we can see more of this in the future!)