Before Jules Verne’s flying machines and H. G. Wells’s spaceships, there was Frank Reade, globe-trotting inventor and original steampunk hero. Starting in the nineteenth century, Frank Reade magazines were the world’s first science fiction periodicals. Now Frank Reade and his progeny are back in a new book: Frank Reade: Adventures in the Age of Invention! To celebrate the launch of this stunningly designed book, authors Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett—of Boilerplate fame—are hosting a series of events that any Reade family member would be proud to attend.

The events will be held on three consecutive Wednesdays in February, at three Portland comic book stores. Each will have a different theme—Land, Sea, and Air—the three realms Frank Reade explores in his electric vehicles. The authors will also display each of the three model vehicles Guinan himself built for the Frank Reade book, which are rarely shown in public. Attendees will have the chance to talk with the authors and get books signed, as well as meet local steampunks (Land), pirates (Sea), and superheroes (Air).

BONUS: There’s a prize at the grand finale event! The first ten attendees who make it to all three events and get their “Land, Sea, and Air” passports stamped will receive a print of an original Frank Reade engraving signed by both authors, plus custom-stamped Frank Reade chocolate “gold coins” (which will also be available for purchase).

Publishers Weekly predicts Frank Reade will “satisfy even the hardest to please of readers” and praises it as “a stunning multimedia confection of the highest order that creates a detailed and delightful world.”

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Why do some comics read easier than others? Is it the story, the cartooning or the page design? Frank Santoro will demonstrate how some cartoonists such as Hal Foster and Herge used visual harmonies and structures in their page designs much like classical oil painters. Discover the similarities between visual and musical harmonies and how some of the great cartoonists used dynamic symmetry like a map to organize their stories.

Also, after the talk, Frank will lead an informal FREE workshop focusing on formats available for the comic book maker in 2012. Everyone is welcome. Come see what Frank Santoro’s Correspondence Course is all about – or come on down just to argue with Frank – maybe even buy a book and get it signed.

LISTING INFORMATION:
WHO: Frank Santoro
WHAT: Frank Santoro’s Comic Book Layout Workshop
WHEN: Thursday Feb. 9th, 6-8pm
WHERE: Floating World Comics, 400 NW Couch St.

Frank Santoro is the artist behind the acclaimed comic books Storeyville and Cold Heat. His work has also appeared in Kramers Ergot. He has exhibited his drawings and paintings internationally. Based in Pittsburgh, Santoro is well known for his visionary colors and evocative sense of place.

http://franksantoro.tumblr.com/

http://www.tcj.com/layout-workbook/

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This February, Floating World is proud to exhibit original artwork by local artists, Emi Lenox and Natalie Nourigat. Each artist will display pages from their two new books, EmiTown Vol. 2 and Between Gears, which will be released later in the month by Image Comics.

Emi and Natalie have each created a brand new archival print which will also be available at the show.

LISTING INFORMATION:

WHO: Emi Lenox, Natalie Nourigat

WHAT: Art exhibit and print release

WHEN: Thursday Feb. 2nd, 6-10pm

WHERE: Floating World Comics, 400 NW Couch St.

Art on display until Feb. 29

BIO INFORMATION:

Based out of Portland, Oregon, Emi Lenox is a comic creator widely known for EmiTown which was released into a printed collection by Image in Dec. ’10. She has also had work in Mike Allred’s Madman and Jeff Lemire’s Sweet Tooth. She has just finished working on the second collection of EmiTown. Basically, she’s just a nutty girl with a case of the munchies and a deep fond love for comics, cats, bassets, and iPods.

http://emitown.blogspot.com/

Natalie ‘Tally’ Nourigat, is a sequential artist living in Portland, Oregon. Natalie graduated from the University of Oregon’s Clark Honors College in 2010. Her first book, Between Gears, is about to be published by Image Comics. She is currently working on a new graphic novel and a children’s book series. She appeared in Image Comics’ anthology ‘This Is A Souvenir’ in 2009 and is a member of Periscope Studios.

http://natalienourigat.com/

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This January 5th we are proud to present a book signing and art exhibit with Tony Millionaire for his new book, 500 Portraits.

500 Portraits collects for the first time over two decades of portrait work by the beloved and award-winning creator of Drinky Crow’s Maakies, Sock Monkey and Billy Hazelnuts. Tony Millionaire’s gorgeous fountain pen illustrations, which mingle naturalistic detail with strong doses of the fanciful and grotesque, include the famous (Bob Dylan), the infamous (Abu Ghraib soldier/model Lynndie England), the fictional (Yoda), the animal kingdom (a cockroach), and everything in between. Literary figures (Hemingway), literary characters (Don Quixote & Sancho Panza), Hollywood legends (Steven Spielberg), comics icons (Hergé) and historical figures (Hitler) also figure prominently.

Millionaire’s impeccable linework resembles that of Johnny Gruelle (creator of Raggedy Ann and Andy), whom he cites as one of his main sources of inspiration along with Ernest Shepard and “all those freaks from the ’20s and ’30s who did the newspaper strips.”

Many of these 500 portraits were created for The Believer, the magazine founded by Dave Eggers that Millionaire has helped define visually with his signature portraits of interview subjects in every issue since the magazine started. But it also includes dozens if not hundreds of illustrations from various other publications, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Ephemera Press Historical Maps, The Wall Street Journal, and others.

LISTING INFORMATION:
WHO: Tony Millionaire
WHAT: 500 Portraits book release and art exhibit
WHEN: Thursday Jan. 5th, 6-10pm
WHERE: Floating World Comics, 400 NW Couch St.

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Join us and special guests, Matt Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick (close friends of Warren who are featured in the film) for an exclusive screening of the new documentary by Patrick Meaney, WARREN ELLIS: CAPTURED GHOSTS. We will have DVD copies of Meaney’s previous film for sale, GRANT MORRISON: TALKING WITH GODS.

The film features the most extensive interview Ellis has ever given, and spans his life, from his first memory watching the moon landing as a child, to his recent cross-media success with the film adaptation of Red. Along the way, Ellis’s acerbic wit and core belief in humanity comes across like never before.

Complimenting Ellis’s own words are interviews with his artistic collaborators, friends and admirers from across all media, including actress Helen Mirren, Director Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), comedian Patton Oswalt, Adult Film Star Stoya, Musician Claudio Sanchez (of Coheed and Cambria), comics writers Matt Fraction, Kelly Sue DeConnick, and Antony Johnston, and futurist Jamais Cascio. Ellis’s comics collaborators like Marvel Comics CCO Joe Quesada, artists Darick Robertson, Ben Templesmith and Phil Jimenez also provide insight into Ellis’s mind and creative workings. The film features numerous ambient interludes that spotlight Ellis’s prose and writing from both his online columns and his comics.

LISTING INFORMATION:
WHO: Matt Fraction & Kelly Sue DeConnick Q&A after the film
WHAT: Free screening of WARREN ELLIS: CAPTURED GHOSTS
WHEN: Friday Jan. 6th, 7-9pm
WHERE: Floating World Comics, 400 NW Couch St.

Bio info:

Warren Ellis sees the future. He is a comic book writer and cyberpunk philosopher living on the edge of tomorrow. He speaks to a cult audience of artists, journalists, scientists and fans who hail him as INTERNET JESUS.

The film was shot over the course of 2010 and 2011 in England, San Diego and New York. It was completed in Fall 2011 and will premiere at the Napa Valley Film Festival in November 2011, before a worldwide theatrical and special engagement run. DVD release will follow in February 2011.

The film was directed by Patrick Meaney, shot by Jordan Rennert, and produced by Respect Films and Sequart, as a followup to the critically acclaimed Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods.

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