MoCCA, Jason, Seth, Adrien Tomine, David Mazzucchelli, Nicolas Mahler, old-time comic strip songs, plus the usual more, more more! It’s another week full of wonderful comic events…
Tuesday, June 2
Los Angeles, CA, 7 PM – Guillermo del Toro at Borders Westwood
Has Guillermo Del Toro ever scripted a comic book? At any rate, the HELLBOY director has co-authored a new novel, THE STRAIN, with Chuck Hogan, which is the first book in a planned vampire trilogy. Del Toro will talk about this literary endeavor at the Borders at 1360 Westwood Blvd in Los Angeles.
Wednesday, June 3
New York, NY, 6:30 PM – What is Funny Anyway? with Mark Newgarden and Nicolas Mahler
American cartoonist Mark Newgarden (RAW, WE ALL DIE ALONE) talks in dialogue with Austrian cartoonist Nicolas Mahler (SPAM, LONE RACER, VAN HELSING’S NIGHT OFF) about making comics, where their ideas come from, and just what is “funny” anyway. Moderated by Mark David Nevins. Admission is free.
Wednesday, June 3
Montreal, QC, 7 PM – Drawn + Quarterly 20th Anniversary Concert
Drawn + Quarterly celebrates two decades of publishing with a concert featuring the widely-acclaimed post-rock band TV on the Radio and Dirty Projectors. Even if the only comics connection turns out to be Adrien Tomine’s sweet gig poster, it should be a worthwhile. Tickets are $27.
Thursday, June 4
New York, NY, Noon and 7 PM – Guillermo del Toro at Barnes and Nobel
Guillermo del Toro crosses costs and bookstore chains to make a pair of appearances at NYC branches of B&N to continue promoting his vampire novel THE STRAIN — first at Park Slope in Brooklyn at noon, then at Union Square at 7 PM. Then, we assume, it’s back to preproduction on The Hobbit. The man must only sleep on airplanes.
Thursday, June 4
Portland, OR, 6 PM – 8 PM – Comic Noir: The Art of Joëlle Jones
The Art Institute of Portland opens a gallery show featuring Joëlle Jones’ art from the upcoming graphic novel YOU HAVE KILLED ME, written with Jamie Rich, which drops next month from Oni Press. Jones and Rich will both be on hand at the gallery opening to talk about the book and their creative process.
Wednesday, June 3
New York, NY, 7 PM – Jason at The Strand
Norwegian master cartoonist Jason makes a rare stateside appearance for the world premiere of his new book LOW MOON, featuring his serial from The New York Times Magazine and four new stories, at NYC’s The Strand bookstore.
Thursday, June 4
New York, NY, 7 PM – 8:30 PM – Seth and Adrian Tomine in Conversation at The Strand
Also at The Strand this week: famed indie cartoonists and New Yorker illustrators Seth and Adrian Tomine will be celebrating their own new releases–Tomine’s new editions of SHORTCOMINGS and 32 STORIES and Seth’s new graphic novel GEORGE SPROTT 1894-1975–as well as the releases of the books they have each edited and designed–Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s A DRIFTING LIFE (Adrian Tomine) and THE COLLECTED DOUG WRIGHT: CANADA’S MASTER CARTOONIST (Seth). The two authors will present slide shows, chat with each other, take questions from the audience and sign books.
Friday, June 5
New York, NY – Paul Hornschemeier at Desert Island
Cartoonist Paul Hornschemeier (THE THREE PARADOXES) will sign books at Brooklyn retailer Desert Island Comics. We were unable to unearth what time the event is at, but copies of the above limited-edition print will be available.
Saturday, June 6 – Sunday, June 7
New York, NY – Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival
It’s MoCCA Fest time again! New York’s Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art will hold its 7th annual convention at the 69th Regiment Armory from 11 AM – 6 PM Saturday and Sunday. Guests include John Green, Tom Hart, Charles Hatfield, Al Jaffee, Arnold Roth, Tom Kaczynski, David Mazzuchelli, Dave Roman, Frank Santoro, Gary Panter, Seth, Raina Telgemeir, Adrian Tomine, Marion Vitus and more! Admission is $10 per day or $15 for the weekend. The lovely octopus poster was painted by Molly Crabapple.
Saturday, June 6
New York, NY, 7 PM – 9 PM – Sounds and Pauses: The Comics of David Mazzucchelli
Coinciding with the MoCCA Fest, the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art presents a new exhibition highlighting the work of David Mazzucchelli (BATMAN: YEAR ONE, CITY OF GLASS) to celebrate the release of his first solo graphic novel ASTERIOS POLYP from Pantheon. Advance copies of the book will be available at MoCCA. The exhibition runs through August 23 and was curated by PictureBox editor Dan Nadel.
Sunday, June 7
New York, NY, 9 PM – Comic Strip Serenade
After MoCCA closes shop, Jalopy Theatre hosts a rare opportunity to hear forgotten songs inspired by unforgettable comic strip characters. Mark Newgarden and Bill Kartalopoulos have curated this event, which presents some of the best and most obscure songs written about comic strips like Krazy Kat, the Katzenjammer Kids, Barney Google and more, many which were never recorded and haven’t been publicly performed for decades. Admission is $10.
Posted by Aaron Humphrey.
Don’t forget Chris Ware and Lynda Barry in Chicago: http://tinyurl.com/lcspnv. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it, but that’s not too terrible, since I’ll be at Mocca instead.
Adrian Tomine and Seth are at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA tonight (June 2) as well.
Aw, at first I was hoping “The Strain” was a new del Toro movie starring Chuck Norris and Hulk Hogan. Oh, well!
Isn’t that movie called “The Stain”?