May 1st – Christophe Blain and Triple Book Release Party

FLOATING WORLD COMICS PRESENTS:

CHRISTOPHE BLAIN & T. EDWARD BAK
IN STORE READING AND SLIDE SHOW PRESENTATION

May First Thursday, Christophe Blain visits from France to read from his award winning graphic novel, Isaac the Pirate. This is an amazing opportunity to meet one of France’s most brilliant new comic creators.

T. Edward Bak returns to Portland from his residency at the Savannah College of Art to read from his long awaited comic, Service Industry.

TRIPLE BOOK RELEASE PARTY

Floating World Comics is proud to present its debut publication, Diamond Comics. This newsprint anthology features mind blowing experimental comics and art from around the world.

Brandon Siefert and artist Lukas Ketner deliver the first issue of their cutting edge, medical horror comic, Witch Doctor: First Incision.

Capture Release is a new publisher in Portland that features avant garde gallery artists as well as undiscovered artists on the rise. The first issue of their eponymous magazine features Jason Traeger and Peter Lavigne-Chalek.

WHEN: Thursday, May. 1st, 6-10PM

WHERE: Floating World Comics
20 NW 5th Ave 101
Portland, OR 97209
(503)241-0227

Show runs through May. 31st

CHRISTOPHE BLAIN – Blain is best known in America for his award winning graphic novel series Isaac the Pirate, winner of the 2002 Angouleme Award for Best Comic Book in Europe. Isaac is an ambitious but struggling artist who is trying to make enough money to marry his fiancé. Isaac is hired to paint a portrait for a ship captain, but is then shanghaied into a stormy world of adventure and survival. Meanwhile, his fiancé is left behind to contemplate the possibilities of her future. Blain has also worked with French cartoonists Lewis Trondheim and Joann Sfar on the popular Dungeon series. This reading will demonstrate why Blain is considered a superstar among French storytellers.

T. EDWARD BAK – Bak’s comic strip, Service Industry, appeared in Athens’ alternative arts newsweekly, Flagpole Magazine, from 2002-2005. His work has also appeared in the anthologies Studygroup12, Project:Romantic, Orchid and the upcoming Drawn & Quarterly Showcase. He is the recipient of the 2007-2008 Fellowship at The Center for Cartoon Studies and is currently at work on his first graphic novel.

DIAMOND COMICS – Less than two years after opening its doors, Floating World Comics is stepping into the publishing world. What started as a book anthology with Top Shelf, is now taking form as a free newspaper available at over 100 locations around town. Taking cues from the same great material that diversifies the shelves of the store (Rojo, Faesthetic, Picturebox), this international collection of experimental artwork and comics will blow the minds of those lucky enough to find a copy. There are over 100 artists waiting to be printed in the pages of Diamond, preview their work here:

http://humanocolor.blogspot.com/

WITCH DOCTOR – It’s a sick world — literally. The universe is an organism, and the creatures of myth and legend are its parasites. Earth’s antibodies — humankind — have been at war with supernature for all of history. But to fight a disease, you don’t need soldiers — you need doctors.

It’s hard to glance at a newspaper in Portland without seeing Lukas Ketner’s art — he’s responsible for some of the most eye-grabbing covers and illustrations in both Willamette Week and the Portland Mercury. Lukas has a degree in graphic design from the Art Institute of Portland and current pays the bills as a freelance illustrator. Witch Doctor is his first comic, but certainly not his last. His Witch Doctor collaborator Brandon Seifert is likewise a Portland-based Alaskan expatriate and a Willamette Week freelancer, only in the writing realm.

http://www.witchdoctorcomic.com/

CAPTURE RELEASE – Capture Release is a new independent publishing outfit based out of Portland, Oregon. They are currently focused on producing unique and high-quality limited-run Artist Books and Zines. Limited to 200 copies, their first book features 30 works by PETER LaVIGNE-CHALEK, and 28 works (plus a fantastic 2-page spread) by JASON TRAEGER.

http://captureandrelease.blogspot.com/

Floating World Comics
20 NW 5th Ave 101, Portland, OR 97209
(503)241-0227
jason@floatingworldcomics.com
Store hours: Everyday 11-7pm

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