FLOATING WORLD COMICS & PNCA PRESENTS:
PETER BAGGE, J.R. WILLIAMS, MATS!? and DAVID CHELSEA
June First Thursday, Floating World will present a gallery show with the works of Peter Bagge, who will be in town June 28-29 for PNCA’s Graphic Novel Intensive. Fellow alternative cartoonists J.R. Williams and Mats!? will also display their latest works. David Chelsea will also attend to celebrate the release of his latest mini-comic 24×2 and will have original pages for sale.
LISTING INFORMATION:
WHO: Peter Bagge, J.R. Williams, Mats!?, David Chelsea
WHAT: Gallery show and opening reception
WHAT: Book release party – David Chelsea’s 24×2 (Top Shelf)
WHEN: Thursday, June. 5th, 6-10PM
WHERE: Floating World Comics
20 NW 5th Ave #101
Portland, OR 97209
(503)241-0227
Show runs through June. 30th
BIO INFORMATION:
PETER BAGGE – Bagge was born in New York in 1957, three years after the publication of Dr. Frederick Wertham’s Seduction of the Innocent , a scathing examination of comic books that denounced the medium as little more than an inferior form of literature that would rot the minds of children. And while Wertham’s theories proved to be a bit extreme, there’s no denying that comics had a profound impact on many young minds, including Bagge, who was inspired by what he read in his youth. Discovering the underground comix of creators like R. Crumb while he was attending School of Visual Arts in New York City would leave a lasting impression on Bagge.
Carrying on the grand tradition of the underground comix that inspired him, Bagge’s work has evolved over the years into the perfect mix of hilarity and absurdity, the profound and the grotesque. Influenced by R. Crumb and Charles Shultz—an odd study of extremes that makes perfect sense when you really think about it—Bagge created the Bradleys, a dysfunctional suburban family that existed within the pages of Comical Funnies, which he co-published in the early 1980s. In 1985, Bagge created Neat Stuff, published through Fanatgraphics, which further chronicled the Bradleys. Neat Stuff gave way to Hate, the semi-autobiographical exploits of Buddy Bradley. Also published by Fantagraphics, Hate became a critical hit of the 1990s, praised by fans and critics alike for not only its characterizations, but its chronicles of the era itself. According to Rob Zombie, “Hate is the most hilariously depressing comic published today!”
Bagge currently lives in Seattle with his wife and children. He has worked over the years for various publications ranging from Mad to Oxford American to Hustler, as well as for major comics publishers like Marvel and DC. Bagge is a contributing editor and cartoonist for Reason magazine, his series Apocalypse Nerd was recently collected into a trade paperback from Dark Horse Comics, and his working on a new graphic novel for DC.
J.R. WILLIAMS – J.R.’s comics career includes work with Fantagraphics, WEIRDO Magazine, Heavy Metal, Roger Corman’s Cosmic Comics, Snake Eyes, Cool & Strange Music Magazine, Real Stuff, Big Mouth, Duplex Planet Illustrated, Tower Records’ PULSE! Magazine… as well as his own solo titles: BAD COMICS, CRAP, BUMMER, DAMNATION!, COMPLETELY BAD BOYS. For this show he’s prepared dozens of 5×5” paintings of pop art cuties and characters, including cereal box mascots and obscure golden age Fletcher Hanks creations.
MATS!? – Mats!? might be best known for his critically acclaimed book Asiaddict, an amazing cartoon travel log of his bizarre trip through Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. Mats!? has also created art for Last Gasp comix, Comix 2000, as well as the magazines Real Stuff (Fantagraphics) Buzzard (Cat-head comics), Hustler, Screw and BLAB! His darkly humorous style recalls the work of Charles Burns, Kaz, Mike Allred or Dan Clowes.
DAVID CHELSEA – David Chelsea grew up in Portland, Oregon, and later moved to New York City. He is the author of the graphic novels David Chelsea in Love and Welcome to the Zone, as well as the instructional book Perspective!: a Guide for Comic Book Artists. His comics and illustration have appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, the New York Observer, and the anthology Top Shelf Asks the Big Questions.
His newest book 24×2 features two 24-Hour Comics stories (out of a flabbergasting nine he’s produced over the past few years). In “Everybody Gets It Wrong” David makes the argument that all autobiographical comics produced so far, definitely including his own, falsify experience because
they show the author as one of the characters rather than telling the story as seen from his own eyes. Putting theory into practice, David illustrates a number of dreams from his diary while strictly keeping to the dreamer’s point of view. “Sleepless” takes this method further, telling a richly stippled story of lava lamps, time travel, and a mysterious lady cartoonist in blue velvet, all seen through the eyes of a lead character who is never shown.
Floating World Comics
20 NW 5th Ave #101, Portland, OR 97209
(503)241-0227
jason@floatingworldcomics.com
Store hours: Everyday 11-7pm