Category: Local writer/artist

  • Beth Hetland Celebrates Tender, In Conversation With Kyle O'Connell, March 30th

    Quimby’s welcomes Chicago cartoonist and educator Beth Hetland, in conversation with Kyle O’Connell for what’s sure to be an enlightening discussion on Saturday, March 30th at 3pm.

    Tender is a psychological thriller about a woman obsessed with her vision for a picture-perfect, curated life. Carolanne wanted a perfect wedding, a perfect husband, a perfect family. She carefully performs her own roles (gal pal, bestie, girlfriend, wife, and expectant mother) and in trying to enact agency over her life, sacrifices it completely. Her desire to control the uncontrollable ultimately becomes her undoing. When things don’t go her way, she exerts dominance over the one thing she does have total control over: her body; until that “betrays” her. After suffering a horrible loss, Carolanne spirals into a literal, all-consuming delusion that will engross comics readers and horror aficionados alike. Hetland’s graphic novel debut is a brilliant psychological thriller that tears down the wall of a genre — body horror — so often identified with male creators. Heady and visceral, Tender uses horrific tropes to confront women’s societal expectations of self-sacrifice despite those traditional roles often coming at the expense of female sexuality and empowerment.

    “Hetland gets under the skin in her nimble and unsettling graphic novel debut. … [Her] ability to maintain a sinister atmosphere in scenes both mundane and monstrous will keep horror fans turning the pages.” — Publishers Weekly

    “A strong debut with powerful visual storytelling, Tender digs into the existential dread of getting everything that you thought you wanted and still not being satisfied.” — Diabolique Magazine

    “A brutal critique of gender roles, social media, cultural pressures & expectations, Tender is a triumph.” — Rob Clough – High Low Comics

    “An incredibly paced horror story that’s equal parts sardonic, gruesome, and tender. A Jeanne Dielman for the Instagram generation.” — Katie Skelly

    Beth Hetland is a Professor, Adj. at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she teaches several comics and comics adjacent courses. She holds an MFA (2011) from The Center for Cartoon Studies and BFA (2009) from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Find her on IG here: @bethhetland and at all sort of other links here. Kyle O’Connell can be found at kyle-oconnell.com.

    As always, this event at Quimby’s is free.
    Want a link to the Facebook event invite for this event? Here ya go.

  • Zine Club Chicago: Bodies on the Page Panel + Zinemaking Workshop, Nov. 19th!

    A red-and-blue infographic flyer, with a black-and-white drawing by Jude R. Bettridge of front and back views of two people’s nude bodies and lettering that reads “Bodies on the Page,” with flyer text that reads: “Zine Club Chicago: Panel and Zinemaking Workshop featuring moderator Jamie Kadas + panelists: Katie Armentrout, Jude R. Bettridge, Megan Kirby, and Andrea Pearson; 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023; Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Avenue in Wicker Park. Free! In Person!”

    Zine Club Chicago: Bodies on the Page Panel + Zinemaking Workshop
    3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19
    Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave.
    Free!

    This month, Zine Club Chicago is excited to welcome five of our favorite local zinemakers for a panel and zinemaking workshop! Moderator Jamie Kadas and panelists Katie Armentrout, Jude R. Bettridge, Megan Kirby, and Andrea Pearson will discuss how they explore experiences and emotions regarding their own bodies in their work. A generative workshop for folks who’d like to make a zine about their own bodies will follow the panel.

    Join us in person for Zine Club Chicago: Bodies on the Page Panel + Zinemaking Workshop, 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19 at our shop. Free!

    Zine Club Chicago will supply all the zinemaking materials and provide a list of prompts, and also will have snacks on hand, as always!

    Please note that our discussion will include words and images that are appropriate for folks 18 and older only.

    Zine Club Chicago is a mask-supportive environment; we’ll have masks available if you’d like to wear one.

    Jamie Kadas uses personal experiences to create comics that focus on body image, anxiety, and all her fat girl insecurities. Additionally, she creates curvy pin-ups that reimagine pop culture in a more inclusive light.

    Katie Armentrout gives voice to the everyday and spotlights the extraordinary in the lives of fat babes who radiate confidence and charisma. Katie’s work is a testament to the power of embracing one’s own uniqueness and finding beauty in the horror of daily existence.

    Jude R. Bettridge is a jack-of-all-trades artist based in Chicago who specializes in zinemaking, fiber arts, and printmaking. Their work is a conglomeration of themes that always touch on mental health and feature soft horror.

    Megan Kirby is a writer, illustrator, and zinemaker who likes to make art about bodies, feelings, Chicago, and niche pop culture. She writes lots of fanzines, a long-running perzine called Coffee Spoons, and a graphic memoir called Another Day in Paradise that came out in 2022.

    Andrea Pearson is the Chicago cartoonist behind the comic zine series No Pants Revolution. She also runs the small press comic and art zine distro Aquatic Panda.

    Online friends, Zine Club Chicago will be back on Zoom with y’all in December for a year-end celebration of zinemaking! More info coming soon.

    Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago. This free monthly event series is produced by Cynthia E. Hanifin and sponsored by Quimby’s Bookstore. Anna Jo Beck designs our monthly flyers, created our logo, and made our Zine Club Chicago Shout-Outs site, where folks can peruse and recommend zines we’ve discussed at our events.

    Facebook event link here. More info on the Zine Club Chicago social media channels: @zineclubchicago

    A red-and-blue infographic flyer, with an abstract image of a human body, and text that reads: “Zine Club Chicago: Bodies on the Page Panel and Zinemaking Workshop featuring moderator Jamie Kadas + panelists: Katie Armentrout, Jude R. Bettridge, Megan Kirby, and Andrea Pearson; 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023; Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Avenue in Wicker Park. Free! In Person!”

    Image description #1: A red-and-blue infographic flyer, with a black-and-white drawing by Jude R. Bettridge of front and back views of two people’s nude bodies and lettering that reads “Bodies on the Page,” with flyer text that reads: “Zine Club Chicago: Panel and Zinemaking Workshop featuring moderator Jamie Kadas + panelists: Katie Armentrout, Jude R. Bettridge, Megan Kirby, and Andrea Pearson; 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023; Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Avenue in Wicker Park. Free! In Person!”

    Image description #2: A red-and-blue infographic flyer, with an abstract image of a human body, and text that reads: “Zine Club Chicago: Bodies on the Page Panel and Zinemaking Workshop featuring moderator Jamie Kadas + panelists: Katie Armentrout, Jude R. Bettridge, Megan Kirby, and Andrea Pearson; 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023; Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Avenue in Wicker Park. Free! In Person!”

  • Jeremy Kitchen Discusses Mr. Crabby You Have Died with Kirin Wachter-Grene, Oct 14th

    JEREMY KITCHEN

    discusses his new book

    MR. CRABBY YOU HAVE DIED

    with literary scholar

    KIRIN WACHTER-GRENE

    Saturday, October 14th, 7pm

    Free Event at Quimby’s Bookstore

    Mr. Crabby You Have Died is the first full-length work by Jeremy Kitchen — a public librarian, former dope fiend, and U.S. Army artillery observer in Desert Storm. Swaying between memoir and fiction, Kitchen lays bare his world through a series of interlocking exorcisms that deny linear time and good taste. Lost years in the Sarin-laced Persian Gulf drift backwards into Detroit’s acid trash landscape, only to corkscrew forward again into a seemingly endless Chicago night of heroin, handguns, and idiot pranksterism.

    Comic as it is horrifying, Mr. Crabby You Have Died is a collection of parables about the stupid beauty of youth, the boredom of addiction, and the intensity of dreams.

    On Saturday nite, October 14th, Kitchen will discuss all things Mr. Crabby with Kirin Wachter-Grene, a writer and scholar based in Chicago. Wachter-Grene is Assistant Professor of Liberal Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she teaches classes on literature, history, and gender & sexuality studies.

    Mr. Crabby You Have Died has been published by First To Knock out of Michigan City, Indiana. First To Knock titles have been featured in outlets such as Los Angeles Review of Books, Hermitix, CrimeReads, The Washington Post, Apocalypse Confidential, Rain Taxi Review of Books, Cinepunx, Tulsa Public Radio/NPR, KCRW Los Angeles, and Weird History. Chris Via of Leaf by Leaf has called First To Knock “one of my favorite presses.”

    For more info: www.firsttoknock.com

    Facebook event link here.

  • Robbie Q. Telfer reads from new weird chapbook at Quimby’s 8/17

    Robbie Q. Telfer’s lonely line breaks: ChatRQT (Bottlecap Press), came about when Robbie Q. Telfer asked ChatGPT about his poetry, and it replied with entirely made up poem titles and synopses that Robbie Q. Telfer had not written. Telfer wants to defend ChatGPT’s integrity, so he has written some of the poems that it has said he has already written. Now ChatGPT is no longer a liar, but a prognosticator. This collection is proof that poetry is really very easy to write and all you need is a helpful robot to get you started. Welcome to the future of art!

    “…a creative and inventive approach to writing poetry! It’s fascinating to see how you’ve used the fictional titles and synopses generated by our conversations as a starting point for your own poetic exploration.” –ChatGPT, AI Powered Chatbot, coauthor

    Robbie Q. Telfer has performed and taught in hundreds of places in nine different countries. His work appears in places like SEISMA, Connecticut River Review, cream city review, Sinking City Review, The New Territory, and many others. He’s been an individual finalist at the National Poetry Slam and has a poetry collection from Write Bloody Publishing. He currently works for The Morton Arboretum and Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves trying to protect and celebrate what’s left of our wild spaces.

    For more info: robbieqtelfer.com, bottlecap.press

    Robbie will be joined by poet and teacher Tim Stafford. His work has appeared in The Offing, Taco Bell Quarterly, and 68to05. He is the editor of the Learn Then Burn anthology series (Write Bloody Books). His debut collection “The Patron Saint of Making Curfew” was published by Haymarket Books in 2021.

    Here’s the Facebook Event Invite if you get into that type of thing.

    Thursday, August 17th, 7pm – Free Event

  • Quimby's Offsite: Hit Girls: Women of Punk in the USA, 1975-1983, Chicago Book Party at GMan Tavern, April 27th

    Join us at the GMan tavern on while we sell books for a very special Chicago Book Party!

    Deep Eddy Vodka welcomes
    Hit Girls: Women of Punk in the USA, 1975-1983
    Author Reading with Jen B. Larson * Q&A hosted by WBEZ’s Jill Hopkins
    Thursday, April 27th
    Doors: 7pm / Show: 7:30pm
    $10 Adv. / $12 Door / 21+
    Jen Lemasters (aka She Bop), Clare Kelly, and Jill Hopkins DJ
    at GMan Tavern, 3740 North Clark Street Chicago, IL.
    (Note: this event is not at Quimby’s.)

    Click this link to buy tickets at etix.com.

    About Hit Girls (published by Feral House):

    Think punk was only a boys club? Read about the women who were the punk revolution!

    Women have been kicking against the pricks of music patriarchy since Sister Rosetta Tharpe first played the guitar riffs that built rock-n-roll. The explosion of punk sent shockwaves of revolution to every girl who dreamed of being on stage. Punk godmothers Suzy Quatro, The Runaways, Patti Smith, Poison Ivy, Tina Weymouth, Debbie Harry, The Go-Gos, and Fanny’s Millington sisters provided the template for thousands of girls and women throughout the United States to write and record their songs.

    Hit Girls is the story local and regional bands whose legacy would be otherwise lost. Despite the modern narrative labeled women anomalies in rock music, the truth is: women played important roles in punk and its related genres in every city, in every scene, all over the United States. The women and bands profiled by Jen B. share their experiences of sexism and racism as well as their joy and successes from their days on stage as they changed what it meant to be in a band. These pioneering women were more than novelty acts or pretty faces–they were fully contributing members and leaders of mixed-gender and all-female bands long before the call for “girls to the front.”

    The women of Hit Girls are now rightfully exalted to cult status where their collective achievement is recognized and inspiring to new generations of women rockers. Included are interviews with: Texacala Jones, Stoney Rivera, Mish Bondaj, Alice Bag, Nikki Corvette, Penelope Houston, and many more formidable and infamous women who made their voices heard over the screaming guitars.

    Hit Girls includes over 100 rare and never-before seen images. Author Jen B. includes a comprehensive playlist of all the artists. Foreword by punk journalist, Ginger Coyote.

    About the author:  Jen B. Larson is a writer, musician, and public art schoolteacher living in Chicago. She holds a B.A. in English literature and creative writing as well as an M.Ed. in special education. Her bands, Swimsuit Addition, beastii, and Jen and the Dots, have performed and recorded extensively over the last decade. Visit Jen on the web at instagram.com/conspiracyofwomen.

    Wanna buy the book in advance? Come in to the store or get it off our website here.

  • New Quimby's 30th Anniversary T-shirt!

    Check out our new shirt! This year we turn 30 and we’re excited to unveil one of a few fun things we’re unveiling this year, including this new t-shirt!

    Happy anniversary, us! To celebrate, Quimby’s employee/cartoonist extraordinaire Caroline Cash designed this rockin’ white shirt, a take on both Chris Ware’s Quimby character as featured on our logo.

    These shirts were printed locally, by our friends at Strange Cargo.

    Thanks to our tshirt model, Quimby’s fiction goblin and vintage clown James Webster.

     

  • New Quimby's Postcard by Jessi Zabarsky!

    We are over the moon with this playful postcard that Chicago-based cartoonist and illustrator Jessi Zabarsky made for us! Its whimsical multi-color take on Chris Ware’s iconic Quimby imagery is such a sweet tribute. We know you’ll love the hidden creatures doing silly things as much as we do! And did you see the mouse pulling the strawberry?! Spend some time with it and take it in, you won’t be able to get enough. And THE THING HAS ROUNDED CORNERS! Perfect for dropping a line to your friends while also spreading the word about your favorite bookstore. Only $2! What a steal! Come into the store and get it or order one from our webstore here.

     

     

     

  • Jim Terry Reads From COME HOME, INDIO with Anne Elliott, a Quimby's YouTube VIRTUAL EVENT, 11/13

    In Jim Terry’s book Come Home Indio (Street Noise Press), a graphic memoir, he talks about growing up between two cultures. Born Irish and Native American, he juxtaposes growing up in the mostly white suburban world with the tug of his Native roots in Wisconsin. Along the bumpy road he fumbles with loneliness, cultural confusion and a healthy dose of alcoholism until he ends up at the Standing Rock Conflict in North Dakota, where he begins to see things anew.

    Join Tim Terry in conversation with Anne Elliott on the Quimby’s YouTube channel on Friday, November 13th, 7:30pm Central Time as they talk about this dynamic new graphic novel. YouTube.com/QuimbysBookstore

    To celebrate the release of this book, buy the book from Quimby’s now and get a drawn and signed bookplate by the author (while supplies last). Buy it in the brick-and-mortar store or at quimbys.com here.

    “Both uplifting and gut-wrenching, beautiful and terrifying. Terry’s account of losing himself between worlds, and finding home in the balance between them, deserves a place among the all-time great graphic memoirs.” -EZRA CLAYTON DANIELS, author of Upgrade Soul and BTTM FDRS

    “Illuminated by bursts of both joy and sorrow. With humbling sensitivity and candor, Jim shares with us his personal journey down emotionally complex paths towards home.” -TIMOTHY TRUMAN, author of Scout

    “As raw, honest and human. The kind of work that can only be done in the form of comics, intimately revealing the black and white lines of a worldview shaped by a life.” -TIM SEELEY, author of Hack/Slash and Revival

    The work of Jim Terry has been featured in such places as: Sundowners, Vampirella, Heavy Metal, Alice Cooper Vs Chaos, Creepshow and more. This is his first work as writer and illustrator.

    For more info, see woundedbutdangerous.com

    Jim will be in conversation with Anne Elliott, the co-owner of Chicago’s own Sideshow Gallery. She is an artist, teacher, tarot reader and lover of all things strange and exotic. For more info, see sideshowgallerychicago.com as well as on IG @sideshowgallerychicago & Twitter @sideshowgallery.

    Here’s the Facebook Event invite for this event.

    Watch Jim tell a quick synopsis of the book in advance!

     

  • Busy Beaver Founder Christen Carter & Co-Author Ted Hake Celebrate BUTTON POWER: 125 Years of Saying It with Buttons ONLINE 10/2

    “Social media is today’s most popular platform for self- expression, but the button preceded it as a way to tell others what was on your mind and as a tool to help spread an idea. No other form of wearable expression has yet to replace the humble button – and unlike social media, a button is something you can literally stand behind.” – excerpted from BUTTON POWER: 125 Years of Saying It with Buttons by Christen Carter and Ted Hake

    Punch line. Political Statement. Conversation piece. Souvenir. From the campaign trail to the rock tour, BUTTON POWER (Princeton Architectural Press) collects a people’s history of American culture told through the pin-back button. Lively commentary from two of America’s foremost button experts shows how the small but powerful button reveals the events and movements that outraged, amused, and inspired us over time, from the solo flight of Charles Lindbergh to the Black Power movement. In this chaotic time of protests and presidential elections, this book offers a glimpse into the cultural movements that make up our rich history. Artists, athletes, actors, politicians, punk and pop musicians, and mascots of the past 125 years make cameos, including Rube Goldberg, Muhammad Ali, the Ramones, Shirley Chisholm, and Bette Midler. The first book of its kind, BUTTON POWER is a rich visual feast. Each colorful spread chronicles defining moments in history through colorful photographs and artifacts. This collection will be an essential pick for fans of pop culture, visual culture, and design.

    Don’t miss this virtual event celebrating BUTTON POWER: 125 Years of Saying It with Buttons by authors Christen Carter and Ted Hake!

    ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
    Christen Carter is the founder of Chicago-based Busy Beaver Button Company and has produced more than 50 million buttons for bands, artists, political campaigns, non-profits and more. In 2010, she started the Button Museum, dedicated to telling American history through pin-back buttons.

    Ted Hake is the founder of Hake’s Auctions, America’s first auction house to specialize in popular culture artifacts. He has written seventeen collectors’ guides that span presidential campaign items, vintage Disneyana, and comic character toys. Ted has received the American Political Items Collectors Lifetime Achievement Award and is a member of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Advisory Board.

    Fri, October 2nd, 7:30PM CST.

    This virtual event will be on the Quimby’s Bookstore’s You Tube Channel: youtube.com/QuimbysBookstore

    Stay tuned to quimbys.com/store for book ordering & swag to accompany your book (!!!) while supplies last.

    NO RSVP necessary.

    Here’s the Facebook Event invite for this event.

    In advance, Christen Carter gave a us a preview of what’s going to happen at the event!:

     

  • Postponing Event Until a Undeclared later date: Zine Club Chicago: Food Edition

    Zine Club Chicago is excited to announce that the April meeting will feature guest artist Sarah Becan, a local food fiend dynamo whose work has been a longtime staple at Quimby’s.

    Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago, the city’s only book club-style event for people who read zines. This free monthly series is produced by Chicago Zine Fest/Midwest Perzine Fest organizer Cynthia E. Hanifin and hosted by Quimby’s Bookstore.

    Sarah Becan is a comics artist, illustrator and designer, and the creator of “I Think You’re Sauceome”, a food-centric autobiographical webcomic. Her work has appeared in various publications, including Saveur Magazine, Eater.com, The Chicago Reader, and TruthOut.com.

    She was awarded a Xeric Award and a Stumptown Trophy for Outstanding Debut for her first graphic novel, The Complete Ouija Interviews, and her work has twice been nominated for the Ignatz Award. Becan’s second graphic novel, Shuteye, was funded with a successful Kickstarter campaign and released in early 2012. In 2014, she wrote and illustrated Luna de Cuernos, a long form graphic story for Fifth House Ensemble’s spring 2014 concert series.

    Becan illustrated the cookbook The Adventures of Fat Rice (2016), and Let’s Make Ramen!, a comic book cookbook, published July 2019 by Ten Speed Press.

    Zine Club Chicago: Food Edition, at Quimby’s with Sarah Becan

    Tues, April 21st, 7pm

    Quimby’s, 1854 W. North Avenue in Wicker Park

    Free!