Thanks so much to everyone that came out to the show. Al really enjoyed meeting his fans and getting all the artwork together for the show. Anyone who was lucky enough to hear him tell stories as we went through his sketchbook knows that what we’ve seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg. We toasted many times that evening to Al, to Portland, and to new beginnings!

Thanks Wendy, for these great photos:

AL COLUMBIA SHOW

And here’s some more photos from Jamie Rich that show some after party action:

SHOW AND DRINKS

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“To satisfy a woman you need multiple war heads.” So for August’s First Thursday you could say we’ve got a real double header for you. Oni Press’ Brandon Graham and Corey Lewis are taking the trip from Seattle to present new books, mini comics, and original art.

Corey’s comic inspiration is equal parts Paul Pope, Blood Brothers, and that one level from ‘Devil May Cry 3′ that gets him so pumped. His comics, “SHARKNIFE” and “PENG” run on the same operating system as a Scott Pilgrim, Junko Mizuno, or FLCL. Corey will be bringing new zines and unpublished pages from his next Sharknife book DOUBLE ZZ. Tips and Tricks: Caeser Hallelujah’s “Busboy Buster” is the same as Ryu’s fireball motion. To do Chieko Momuza’s “Cookie Throw” press forward, forward and then PUNCH. (more…)

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Thanks to the Willamette Week for recognizing Floating World as a Best of Portland Pick this year! So weren’t voted best comic shop in town, but that’s ok, it’s only our first year right?

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Best “Safe House” For Creative Types

The one place in Old Town to see some eyes bulge without having to call the cops is Floating World Comics (20 NW 5th Ave., Suite 101, 241-0227, floatingworldcomics.com). At this small shop lurking just at the fringe of the “zone,” find everything from Dirty Found to epilepsy-inducing Paper Rad animation screenings to standard-issue DC and Marvel comic-geek fodder—and possibly some twisted combination of all of it. Founder and owner Jason Leivian sums it up: “[It] looks like a comic store, but I like to think of [Floating World] as a front for subversive acts of love and creativity .”

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Hm don’t know why I didn’t bulletin this earlier. That would have been SMART. Later this month is the Platform International Animation Festival, almost a full week of amazing shows all around town. One show I’m particularly looking forward to is the TEKKON KINKREET anime at the Whitsel! I have been in contact with some of the festival organizers and they wanted to involve Floating World in some fashion, to help spread the word about their favorite comic shop.

I thought it would be cool to host a sort of “second stage” animation festival that would focus on more local, lo-fi, avant garde animations to coincide with their events. So Friday June 29th is the night that Platform is taking over the 5th & Couch corner, Monty Wolverton at the Portland Art Center, various parties at Ground Kontrol, Someday Lounge, Backspace… and the Floating World Animation Festival from 7-9pm! Floating World Comics has teamed up with Psilo Design (Portland Fun Book 2 coming soon!) to bring another night of awesome animation to town.

The original deadline to submit a short was May 31st, but there is still time. Basically from now until the week before the show we can still accept submissions.

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This is a special feature that will hopefully give a glimpse into the weird and seedy world that is comics. Perhaps due to prolonged exposure to these obscure magazines I have developed an ironic condition that leaves me unable to hold a comic with my bare hands. This is an exaggeration, (meaning it’s not true) but, yeah, there’s something in my chinese oil that dissolves the ink off comic covers when I hold them. Weird huh? Therefore I’ve enlisted the help of my girlfriend, Rikki, to help me do some comic reviews. She reads lots of comics, but is often confused the nonsensical choices of this medium. Because we comic lovers are so close to the books we read every week, this may offer an interesting perspective.

So, let’s see if we really can judge a book by it’s cover!

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After The Cape #2

“Dumb.”

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