Category: Off-site event

  • Weekly Top 10 Quimby Bestsellers


    Before we jump into this weeks Top 10, just a note to let you know we will be tabling at The MDW Fair this coming weekend (Oct 21st-23rd). This fair showcases solo and duo exhibitions curated by small not-for-profits, artist-run spaces, independent galleries, collectives and curators from around the country and a whole lot more. The fair starts on Fri the 21st, but we’ll be tabling on Sat/Sun. For more info: mdwfair.org

    That makes a full month that Optic Nerve #12 has been in the top 10, slowly but surely moving up from where it debuted at #3, then hanging out at #2 for a few weeks, and then this week #1. A bunch of the usual suspects (Bust, Hi-Fructose) but then some that I don’t think have been on our top 10: Likes Dislikes and Piano Rats. Congrats small publishers!

    1. Optic Nerve #12 by Adrian Tomine (D&Q) $5.95 – Two pitch-perfect stories of rejection, imperfection, and relationship drama, each ending on a surprisingly uplifting note. “Hortisculpture” pushes Tomine into a stylistic camp with Sammy Harkham, Jordan Crane, Chuck Forsman and Kevin Huizenga – perhaps more than ever before. The story works with a “Chalky White”-ish suburban everyman and his tempered ambitions, but camps up the visual style into a Marmaduke-y newspaper strip aesthetic. The effect is similar to the trickiness of his wedding planning comics. The second half is a repolishing of his “Amber Sweet” college girl mistaken for porn star plot. Plus we get a glimpse into Tomine’s sad-sack mailbox, and some self-aware griping about putting out comics issue by issue.  -EF

    2. The Death Ray by Daniel Clowes (D&Q) $19.95 – Coming-of-age-as-comic-book-parable-told-as-comic-book. Another Clowes mindfuck, conveniently in gorgeous hardcover.

    3. Bust Oct Nov 11 $4.99

    4. Hi Fructose #21 $6.95

    5. The Logan Square Literary Review #8 Fall 11 $5.00 – Don’t miss the release event here at Quimby’s Fri 10/28 for this issue Halloween weekend with the Logan Square Literary Review Reads: Halloween Edition! Grab your pumpkin beers and trick-or-treat bags and prepare yourself for the spooky, scary and creepy as read by: Lara Levitan, Michael McCauley, Alicia Hilton and others!

    6. Likes Dislikes #1 by Lacey Hedtke $2.00 – As per the Microcosm website: A great little slice of personality from Lacey’s via her extensive lists of likes and dislikes. Some highlights include: Likes: “The thought that Aliens and Humans might someday become one.” “What Illegal things arose out of prohibition” “talking about conspiracies” Dislikes: “Having to break into a place you have the key to.” “Realizing you like your boyfriend’s friends more than you like him” “Playing with silly putty after someone with warts” “Undressing a man only to find he has creepy underwear” With things like this, we get a gradual growing depth into what Lacey is all about and even her seeming contradictions. We smile at shared feeling and cringe at a horrible experience we haven’t yet lived through.

    7. Everything Dies #7 by Box Brown (Microcosm) $5.00 – “Issue seven is a comic retelling of the pan-cultural “flood myth.” Here we see Sumerian wind god Enlil (a total badass jerk  a la an evil pro-wrestler) setting out to destroy the newly-created people of the Earth. The “Noah” of this polytheistic ark story is King Ziasudra, and his trajectory and fate are much different than the Christian Biblical version. Beautifully drawn and deep-packed with “the things that make you go hmm,”  Everything Dies will keep you reassessing who we are and what we’ve built our shared narrative from.” – Microcosm Synopsis

    8. Gaylord Phoenix by Edie Fake (Secret Acres) $17.95 – All-Gaylord-All-Phoenix-All-In-One, Dr. Bronner’s Style.

    9. Just Kids by Patti Smith (Ecco) $16.00

    10. Piano Rats by Franki Elliot (Curbside Splendor) $10.00 – Elliot’s poems dissect the 9,000 year gap between the breakfast and the bus ride, the eons between bodies and the slick sopes of memory.  -EF

    Want your zine, comic or book to be in the top 10 and get some exposure? Tell your friends to come in and get it.

  • Anders Nilsen Celebrates Big Questions at Lula Cafe with Quimby's 8/30

    Anders Nilsen’s graphic novel collection of Big Questions is coming out, and we’re going to celebrate with him at Lula Cafe on August 30th at 7pm.

    A haunting postmodern fable, Big Questions is the magnum opus of Anders Nilsen, one of the brightest and most talented young cartoonists working today. This beautiful and minimalist story, collected here for the first time, is the culmination of ten years and over 600 pages of work that details the metaphysical quandaries of the occupants of an endless plain, existing somewhere between a dream and a Russian steppe. A downed plane is thought to be a bird and the unexploded bomb that came from it is mistaken for a giant egg by the group of birds whose lives the story follows. The indifferent and stranded pilot is of great interest to the birds–some doggedly seek his approval, while others do quite the opposite, leading to tensions in the group. Nilsen seamlessly moves from humor to heartbreak. His distinctive, detailed line work is paired with plentiful white space and large, often frameless panels, conveying an ineffable sense of vulnerability and openness.

    Big Questions has roots in classic fable–the story’s birds and snakes have more to say than their human counterparts and there are hints of the classic hero’s journey, but the easy moral that closes most fables is left here as open and ambiguous. Rather than lending its world meaning, Nilsen’s parable lets the questions wander out to go where they will.

    Paperback, 7.25 x 9.25, colour, 658 pages

    Anders will be joined by John Porcellino of King-Cat Comics and Stories, and local fiction writer Kyle Beachy (The Slide) and Zak Sally (Like a Dog Recidivist, former bassist of Low, editor of La Mano Press).

    Please note that this event is NOT AT QUIMBY’S!

    It is at Lula Cafe which is at 2537 N. Kedzie Blvd, Chicago
    lulacafe.com
    773-489-9554

  • Save the Date! Chicago Zine Fest 2012 Dates Announced!

    The 2012 Chicago Zine Fest will take place Friday and Saturday, March 9th & 10th of 2012!  For Saturday’s Zine Exhibition, it will return to Columbia’s Conaway Center as the first two years.

    Stay tuned to chicagozinefest.org for updates.

    Also, perhaps you attended last years? Fill out a short survey to provide feedback to help make 2012’s extra awesome here: http://bit.ly/kL7sIz

    And hey! Here’s some highlights from Chicago Zine Fest 2011:

    flickr.com/groups/czf11/pool/

    youtube.com/watch?v=sPscJYW_7Ak

  • Not at Quimby's, but check it out: Obbityfest

    Tastee records and The Earth Program present: Obbityfest 2011! Obbityfest is Chicago’s best DIY / Punk / Psychedelic festival featuring 21 local, national, and international acts, visual art, and a whole bunch of other goodies. July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at The New Rock Theatre 3393 N. Elston Ave, Only $5! Visit Obbityfest.webs.com for more information or find them on facebook.

  • Off-Site Event: The Return of the Geek @ Words That Kill 6/16

    Every year Words That Kill celebrates everything nerdy and geeky through literary, visual and performance arts. In the past, this meant love letters to Mr. Spock, comedy sketches about surviving zombie apocalypse, and poetry about inner Jedi and addiction to video games, amongst others.

    This month the Geek is back once again and he has planned an even more mind-boggling extravaganza with features by The Former Fat Boys (Mixtape release party), The Great Luke Ski and art installation by Rotofugi, John Campbell (Pictures For Sad Children), and many more artists and performers.

    Lethal Poetry Presents  W O R D S  T H A T  K I L L –  a comedy / poetry series & omni-slam featuring local, national touring, and award winning comedians and poets.

    Return Of the Geek on Thursday, June 16th and W O R D S  T H A T  K I L L every 3rd Thursday
    @ creative lounge CHICAGO (1564 N. Damen Ave 3rd Fl., Wicker Park)
    Doors / Sign-up 7 PM
    7:00 – Open Mic (geeks only please this month)
    8:00 – Show
    ALL AGES
    Admission: $5 or FREE with canned goods donation.

    Featured Performers:

    The Former Fat Boys: are the creators of YouTube sensation “I’m a Dinosaurus” and “Nerdapalooza.” Their sound resembles that totally pumped up noise you make when you’re watching the original Power Rangers and Tommy the Green Ranger blows his knife flute and the Dragonzord comes up and you just know there’s some ass that is about to be kicked, so you jump out of your seat and punch the wall and scream! Since they understand that they are continually awesome and timeless they call their genre: Shatnercore. The group will be releasing a mixtape called, “Wanna Buy Beats” – the idea spawned from all of the spam on MySpace, Twitter and Facebook to buy beats. So they bought a bunch and created an album.

    The Great Luke Ski: is the 21st century Weird Al Yankovich, but with better hair and no mustache! At Dragon*Con 2004, Dr. Demento declared “the great Luke Ski” to be his program’s “Most Requested Artist of the 21st Century”. Since then, he’s held that title by having songs on “Dr. Demento Show’s” annual year-end “Funny 25” countdown of his most requested songs for nine years running, two of which ranked #1 (“Peter Parker” 2002, “Stealing Like A Hobbit” 2003), & two ranked #2 (“You Don’t Know Jack” 2006, “Too Much Stuff” 2009). His song parodies, originals, and sketches about pop culture make him a popular act at sci-fi and geek conventions nationwide. In his 9 albums and 1 DVD release he’s covered: Lord of The Rings, Star Wars Star Trek, Battlestar Gelactica, Anime, Marvel, Spider-Man, and much much more!

    John Campbell: is best known for a popular web comic Pictures For Sad Children, but he is no stranger to gallery art. His work is satirical by nature and his humor has been described as “…mostly dark, incorporating elements of magic realism…” Campbell, began his work in 2007 while he lived in Zacatecas, Mexico, but has since moved to Chicago, released a book of the first 200 comics and continues to exhibit his gallery work with great success.

    Rotofugi Artists: Rotofugi is a fantastically geeky store notable for carrying a culture of toys whose origins trace back to China and Japan. Established in 2004 by husband and wife Kirby and Whitney Kerr, the store is a staple destination for geeks and nerds of Chicago. The store runs a gallery that will be exhibiting work from various artists that they represent (including Shawnimals and Squibbles Ink)

    That Juggling Guy aka Brad French: will make his second appearance at Words That Kill. A juggler and comedian, Brad is known to wonder off into ontological and existential discourses while trying to keep several objects in the air.

    Corey Arcangel is a digital artist from Brooklyn, NY. His work is concerned with the relationship between technology and culture, and media appropriation. He uses many different media including drawing, sculpture, video, and photographs but is best known for his video game ROM hacks.

    DJ Limbs: Nerdcore and Top Geek 40’s all night!

    Additional visual artists include: Seamus P Burke (of web comic Oh Goodie!) and Sara Brumlick (of Dikkers Animation)
    Hosted by Lethal Poetry’s President Mojdeh Stoakley as William Shatner!
    __________________________________________________________

    Words That Kill has been repeatedly selected for Metromix’s “Best Bets” column, written about in Sun-Times, and reviewed in NewCity. Our past performers include such distinguished comedians and poets as Marc Kelly Smith, Javon Johnson, Cameron Esposito, Marty McConnell, Michael Lebovitz, Chad Briggs, Robbie Q. Telfer, Brian Babylon, Shannon Matesky, Avery R. Young and others!

    Lethal Poetry is an arts/entertainment company and label built to support non-profits through the arts. LP produces interdisciplinary art exhibitions, music, comedy & poetry events, and seeks to utilize arts & entertainment as means to provide public service.

  • Not at Quimby's, but you should go to this: Neon Marshmallow Fest


    Don’t miss the experimental/psychedelic music event Neon Marshmallow Music Festiva, which returns for its second year June 10th, 11th & 12th at The Empty Bottle. Featuring full performances by: synth creator/legend Morton Subotnick, Pelt, OneOhTrix Point Never, Lucky Dragons, Sam Prekop (the Sea & Cake), Lichens, Bill Orcutt, Rene Hell, White Rainbow,  Dylan Ettinger, Sword Heaven and many more. Plus films from Alice Cohen, Amy Ruhl & Experimental 1/2 Hour.

    Complete passes & individual night tickets available at www.neonmarshmallowfest.com

    This is at the Empty Bottle at 1035 N. Western Ave, Chicago.

  • Registration Open for Graphic Medicine Conference

    Registration is open for “Comics & Medicine: The Sequential Art of Illness,” an international interdisciplinary conference to be held June 9–11, 2011 at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Scheduled keynote speakers are Scott McCloud, Phoebe Gloeckner, and David Small. A full schedule of panels and workshops is planned for Friday and Saturday, along with opportunities for informal networking. To learn more and to register, go to www.graphicmedicine.org and click on Conference 2011.

     

    Over 30 panelists from several countries—including cartoonists, comics scholars, literary theorists, healthcare professionals, journalists and academics— will met to discuss the potential value of reading and creating comics for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals. Sessions will include the use of comics in medical and patient education, the use of comics to bear witness to illness, and health care reform through comics, to name just a few. This year’s conference also includes creative workshops by Eisner Award winner Brian Fies, (Mom’s Cancer) Canadian cartoonist Sarah Leavitt, (Tangles) and Australian psychiatrist and comics artist Neil Phillips (Shrink-Rap Press.) The 2011 event in Chicago will be the second annual Graphic Medicine conference, following a successful inaugural conference held in London in June 2010.

    Scott McCloud is a cartoonist, teacher, lecturer, and the author of Understanding Comics (1993), Reinventing Comics (2000) and Making Comics (2006), which analyze the unique storytelling techniques of the comics medium and ponder its potential, particularly in the digital age. His lecture will be free and open to the public. Click here for more info about this event.

    Phoebe Gloeckner is the author of The Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Words and Pictures (2002) and A Child’s Life and Other Stories (1998). She began her career as a medical illustrator and underground cartoonist, and is an associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Art and Design.

    David Small is an author and illustrator whose graphic memoir Stitches (2009), based on the family and medical traumas he faced as a teen, was a highly acclaimed bestseller. It was named one of the ten best books of 2009 by Publishers Weekly and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

    Comics & Medicine: The Sequential Art of Illness
    June 9-11, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
    Info and registration at http://bit.ly/ComicsMedicine

  • Off-Site Event: Scott McCloud Public Lecture at Northwestern University

    Quimby’s and the Comics & Medicine Conference Present SCOTT MCCLOUD PUBLIC LECTURE 6/11 at Northwestern University, Thorne Auditorium

    Scott McCloud is a cartoonist, teacher, lecturer, and the author of Understanding Comics (1993), Reinventing Comics (2000) and Making Comics (2006). His work analyzes the unique storytelling techniques of the comics medium and ponders its potential, particularly in the digital age.

    Sat, June 11th, 3pm

    Northwestern University, Thorne Auditorium

    375 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago

    This lecture will be free and open to the public as part of: Comics & Medicine: The Sequential Art of Illness , June th9-11th, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago

    Info and registration at http://bit.ly/ComicsMedicine

    Sat, June 11th, 3pm

    Please note: This event is not at Quimby’s. It is  at Northwestern University, Thorne Auditorium

  • Hear ye Hear ye! Opportunities For You

    Here’s some oppportunities to submit your work or ideas that we thought you might appreciate:

    For Version 11 Festival and Related Activity:

    Version 11: The Community
    April 22 to May 1, 2011
    Chicago • USA

    A Call For Proposals.
    Deadline March 26, 2011

    “These years of recession, insolvency, uncertainty, and calamity have affected us in ways we couldn’tve imagined before. The debt crisis, atomized and divisive political culture, a lethargic economy that sees almost one of out of eight people out of work, and attacks on our collective social welfare can only mean one thing: It’s gonna get worse before it gets better.

    But there is hope. In the dusty corners of the world, individuals, friends, collaborators, and affinity groups are cementing bonds and creating methods for survival in this so-called “marketplace” where we all work, play, and inhabit. These artists, art workers, writers, activists, and organizers (also their enthusiasts, supporters, and fans) still believe in growing the gardens of our social and cultural ecology, despite the hardships we collectively endure.

    Version 11 is a celebration of the Chicago communities — projects, spaces, groups, individuals — creating their own strategies for participatory economies,  co-prosperity, and the pursuit of genuine happiness. Version will demonstrate the possible, celebrate the impossible, and showcase the ingenuity, spirit and passion that create The Community we aspire to take part in together. This is an invitation to share your community, your goals, your dreams for a better Community of the Future. It’s all we have left.

    Produced by the Public Media Institute, a non profit 501(c)(3) arts organization, Version is an annual arts convergence that brings together hundreds of artists, cultural workers, and educators from around the world to present some of the most challenging ideas and progressive art initiatives of our day. The ten day festival showcases emerging trends in art, technology and music.

    The festival presents a diverse program of activities featuring an exposition/art fair called The MDW Fair, guest curated exhibitions, a massive reenactment of the Haymarket Square riot, community garden projects, public interventions, video screenings, performances, live art, presentations, talks, workshops, art rendezvous and action.

    Email Proposals with Subject Line: Version 11 to edmarlumpen (at) gmail.com

    Please send us a 100-300 word description of your proposal.

    We are accepting proposals for these platforms:

    Free University (FREE U)
    Each year Version features workshops, presentations, demonstrations, talks, lectures and classes within the framework of the Free University platform. Ideas for provocations and projects as well as instructional guides, lecture and class ideas are welcome.

    Performance/ Interventions/ Mobile Projects
    Performance art in site specific locations, picnics, tours, public interventions, asphalt canoeing, anarchist marching bands, creative disturbances in public space are important components of the festival. Initiatvies by space hijackers and performance artists of all stripes welcome.

    Call for TEXTS Proximity 009
    This year     Proximity magazine will be releasing it’s Community themed issue covering the Chicago art worlds. It’s a revisiting of issues addressed in Issue #1. Send a proposal very very soon.

    The MDW Fair: visual arts landing in Chicago
    CHICAGO: threewalls, Roots and Culture and Public Media Institute announce The MDW Fair, a gathering of alternative art initiatives, spaces, galleries and artist groups from the Chicago metropolitan area. Held April 22-23, 2011 at The Iron Studios, 3636 S. Iron Street, The MDW Fair will demonstrate the diversity, strength and vision of the people/places making it happen in the art ecology of our region.

    The fair features for-profit, 501(c)3, and commercial and unincorporated galleries, independent curatorial projects and publishers and media groups in over 25,000 square feet of exhibition space that includes a 10,000 square foot sculpture garden with work by local artists. The MDW Fair is a manifestation of the collective spirit behind the region’s most innovative visual cultural organizers, focusing on the breadth of work done here by artists and arts-facilitators alike. Participants include: threewalls, Roots and Culture, Reuben Kincaid, ebersmoore, Antenna, OxBow, The Suburban, ACRE, Iceberg Projects, The Post Family and more.

    The MDW Fair is currently accepting proposals from independent curators due April 1st. Please send a project description and up to 10 images of proposed work to mdwfair@gmail(dot)com. “


    From The Wunderkabinet:

    “We’ve played our exhibitions close to the heart of late and forgone on the open calls, but the upcoming transformation of The Wunderkabinet into No. 3/The Reading Raum has us wanting to reach out to writers and zinesters around the globe. We’ll be splitting the kabinet into two components: ‘for sale’ & ‘read-only’. This means that if you’re more into the collecting than the making, you could lend or donate zines to the exhibition. Of course, if you’re a maker of zines, books, and related ephemera, we want to hear from you, too! The deadline to get in touch with us is March 25 – please do so if you have any questions. Submission guidelines can be found HERE! No. 3 will open in mid-May and run for the summer.”

    Thanks to Edmar  and Becky for the info!

  • Patton Oswalt! Not at Quimby's, But at Reckless Records 3/18

    Comedian Patton Oswalt will be signing his book Zombie Spaceship Wasteland at the Reckless Records in Wicker Park! And we’ll be there at Reckless too, selling it, as well as an unabridged audio CD version of the book. Of course Reckless will be selling other Patton Oswalt CDs to complete your collection.

    Reckless Records is at 1532 N Milwaukee Ave, just a 5 minute walk from Quimby’s.

    Yes! This event has been updated! It is now, in fact, March 18th at 3:30pm, coincidentally rescheduled to coincide with the C2E2 comics convention. Come to Chicago for the comics. Stay for the Patton.

    Prepare yourself for a journey through the world of Patton Oswalt, one of the most creative, insightful, and hysterical voices on the entertain­ment scene today. Widely known for his roles in the films Big Fan and Ratatouille, as well as the television hit The King of Queens, Patton Oswalt—a staple of Comedy Central—has been amusing audiences for decades. Now, with Zombie Spaceship Wasteland, he offers a fascinating look into his most unusual, and lovable, mindscape.

    Oswalt combines memoir with uproarious humor, from snow forts to Dungeons & Dragons to gifts from Grandma that had to be explained. He remem­bers his teen summers spent working in a movie Cineplex and his early years doing stand-up. Readers are also treated to several graphic elements, includ­ing a vampire tale for the rest of us and some greeting cards with a special touch. Then there’s the book’s centerpiece, which posits that before all young creative minds have anything to write about, they will home in on one of three story lines: zom­bies, spaceships, or wastelands.

    Oswalt chose wastelands, and ever since he has been mining our society’s wasteland for perversion and excess, pop culture and fatty foods, indie rock and single-malt scotch. Zombie Spaceship Wasteland is an inventive account of the evolution of Patton Oswalt’s wildly insightful worldview, sure to indulge his legion of fans and lure many new admirers to his very entertaining “wasteland.”

    This event is NOT at Quimby’s. It is at Reckless Records at 1532 N Milwaukee Ave, just a 5 minute walk from Quimby’s.

    For more info:
    www.reckless.com
    www.pattonoswalt.com

    Please note! This event was originally scheduled for Friday, February 18th. It is now scheduled for Friday, March 18th at 3:30pm.