by | 07/07/2014 · 7:47 PM

Comics Underground: Over. FOREVER

Comics Underground, June 12, 2014. Photo by <a href="http://patmoran.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Pat Moran Photography</a>.

Comics Underground, June 12, 2014. Photo by Pat Moran Photography.

… BUT WE’RE REALLY GLAD you came out to see it! Thanks to Pat Moran, we’ve got a slew of photos from the final Comics Underground ever—featuring Paul Tobin, Ben Dewey, Cat Farris, Jeff Parker, Joëlle Jones, and Matt Fraction. They’re available for your perusal right here.

Thanks to everybody who came out—whether it was to just one of the shows or to all 12 of them. Thanks to all of the phenomenal creators who worked with us to make sure the event one was we could all be proud of. Thanks to the Jack London Bar for hosting us, to our trusty sponsors at Bridge City Comics and DC Vegetarian, to Bobby Roberts and Grant Peterson for helping out with the details, and to… I don’t know. Comics and basements in general? We had a good run.

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by | 05/28/2014 · 12:49 PM

EXCITING UPDATE ABOUT JUNE 12 COMICS UNDERGROUND! OH MY GOD

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HAVE WE GOT NEWS for you, folks: In addition to the already-overcompensating lineup for our final show, we’ve just added two names to June 12’s bill that we couldn’t be more thrilled about.

PAUL TOBIN is the writer of the Eisner-winning Bandette, with artist Colleen Coover; his newest book just so happens to be a collaboration with another Comics Underground guest, Ben Dewey. It’s called I Was the Cat, out in June from Oni Press. It’s about a cat. I LOVE CATS. SOLD.

CAT FARRIS is a Portland-based illustrator, web cartoonist, and artist on Dark Horse Comics’ upcoming Emily and the Strangers miniseries; she’ll be presenting her adorable minicomic Flaccid Badger. It’s about a badger. I am… badger neutral, but I LOVE THE WAY CAT DRAWS BADGERS. SOLD. I also love the way she draws tiny Wolverines.

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All the details about the VERY FINAL FOR ALL TIME Comics Underground—including who the guests are who aren’t Paul and Cat—can be found right here. It all goes down soon—Thursday, June 12—and we’ll see you there.

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by | 05/12/2014 · 1:11 PM

Announcing the Final Comics Underground!

Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky

Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky

SINCE WE STARTED Comics Underground, waaay back in 2011, Alison and I have been lucky enough to work with some of the world’s greatest comic book artists and writers to produce an event that—if we do say so ourselves—has turned into something pretty special.

And now we’re going to stop doing it. Quit while the quitting’s good, we always say. (Okay, we’ve never said that before, but we’re saying it now.) For the final installment, we asked four of our very favorite creators to return to Comics Underground to help us blow the goddamn roof off the joint. They graciously agreed.

• BENJAMIN DEWEY (Planet of the Apes, Star Wars: The Clone Wars) will be presenting work from The Tragedy Series, which is, as everyone knows, the single best thing on the internet.

• JOËLLE JONES (Helheim, You Have Killed Me) is creating something just for this. GO BACK AND READ THAT AGAIN, and to reiterate: Joëlle Jones is making something just for this, the final installment of Comics Underground. Shit. That more or less justifies the existence of the entire event, doesn’t it?

• JEFF PARKER (Batman ’66, Agents of Atlas) will help us fix a glaring and humiliating problem that has plagued Comics Underground from the very beginning: a critical deficit of Aquaman. I probably should’ve mentioned before now that Parker is currently writing DC Comics’ super-fun Aquaman series.

• MATT FRACTION (Casanova, Hawkeye) will be bringing his beloved Sex Criminals to Comics Underground. There’s a reason everybody can’t stop raving about the funny, sweet, sexy Sex Criminals, even though just typing the title probably puts you on some government watch list.

So mark your calendars: The final Comics Underground will be on Thursday, June 12, at 8 pm at the Jack London Bar (529 SW 4th, Portland, Oregon). 21+, admission $5. Be there.

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by | 02/23/2014 · 2:50 PM

Announcing March’s Comics Underground: Douglas Wolk, Zack Soto, and Jeannette Langmead!

Judge Dredd: Mega-City Two by Douglas Wolk, Ulises Farinas, and Ryan Hill.

Judge Dredd: Mega-City Two by Douglas Wolk, Ulises Farinas, and Ryan Hill.

OH MY GOD. IT’S TIME! FINALLY!

Sorry about the longer-than-usual hiatus between shows—Erik hates the holidays, Alison’s cat got sick, and with one thing and another it took us a while to get this thing off the ground. But we did! And we’re so excited to announce the guests for the March 13 installment of Comics Underground: Douglas Wolk, Zack Soto, and Jeannette Langmead!

As always, Comics Underground takes place at the Jack London Bar underneath the Rialto Pool Room (529 SW 4th) at 8 pm; admission is a $3-5 sliding scale. The next show is on Thursday, March 13.

DOUGLAS WOLK reviews comics and music for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Believer, and other fancy places. He recently penned the miniseries Judge Dredd: Mega-City Two (pictured above), which he’ll be presenting at Comics Underground along with the rest of the book’s creative team, artist Ulises Farinas and colorist Ryan Hill.

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ZACK SOTO is the creator of The Secret Voice, publisher of Study Group Comics, and co-founder of Portland’s newest comics festival, Linework NW.
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JEANNETTE LANGMEAD makes “kid stuff for growns” at her website CatsAreGross.com, where in addition to customizable paper dolls and science workbooks, you’ll find autobiographical comics about dating, living abroad, and more.

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by | 11/09/2013 · 10:04 PM

START GETTING EXCITED.

FOR THOSE KEEPING TRACK, this will be the tenth Comics Underground. Alison and I have put together a lot of these goddamn things, so believe me when I say this: This one is going to be outstanding. We’re stoked to welcome back Kelly Sue DeConnick, who’ll be presenting some stuff from her amazing new book Pretty Deadly. There might be some singing.

From Pretty Deadly #1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Ríos

Pretty Deadly #1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Ríos

(This weekend, Kelly Sue appeared on OPB’s “State of Wonder,” discussing Pretty Deadly and Comics Underground. COMICS UNDERGROUND IS NOW RADIO FAMOUS.)

We’ll also be joined by the charming, handsome, and terrifyingly talented Frank Beaton, who—with some assistance from the beloved Atomic Arts crew—will be performing his short story from Outlaw Territory, “Someplace Like Hell.” It’ll be classy!

Someplace Like Hell by Frank Beaton and Brent McKee

“Someplace Like Hell” by Frank Beaton and Brent McKee

And we’ll have Dark Horse Comics Editor-in-Chief Scott Allie—who will (A) present a fantastic short story inspired by Serenity, and (B) give attendees a sneak peek at some of Serenity: Leaves on the Wind—the top secret, eagerly anticipated new series edited by Scott, written by Zack Whedon, and illustrated by Georges Jeanty! I’ve already seen some of it, because I’m fancier than you, and… well, how about I just leave this here.

Serenity: Leaves on the Wind by Zack Whedon and Georges Jeanty

Serenity: Leaves on the Wind by Zack Whedon and Georges Jeanty

Hot damn. This one-time-only, western-themed edition of Comics Underground goes down this Thursday, November 14, at 8 pm at the Jack London Bar (529 SW 4th, Portland). Admission’s $3-5, doors open at 7:30, and I recommend getting there early.

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by | 10/17/2013 · 2:33 PM

November’s Comics Underground Lineup: Kelly Sue DeConnick, Scott Allie, and Frank Beaton!

From Pretty Deadly #1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios

From Pretty Deadly #1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Ríos

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN! We’re happy to announce the lineup for the November 14, 2013 installment of Comics Underground—featuring one of our all-time Comics Underground favorites, Kelly Sue DeConnick, alongside Dark Horse editor-in-chief Scott Allie and writer Frank Beaton! (And this time, we’re doing a western theme! Why? Because it’s our show! We can do whatever we want!)

KELLY SUE DECONNICK is a writer for Marvel Comics and Dark Horse Comics and an all-around badass. Her credits include Captain Marvel, Avengers Assemble, Ghost, and the new western Pretty Deadly. (She was recently profiled in The Atlantic! Fancy!)

SCOTT ALLIE is editor-in-chief at Dark Horse Comics. Scott has worked with Joss Whedon, Mike Mignola, Gerard Way, and other hotshots on titles like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy, and The Umbrella Academy, and has also written everything from Abe Sapien to Solomon Kane. He’ll be sharing the first issue of Dark Horse’s new (and eagerly-anticipated) Serenity series.

FRANK BEATON is a contributor to the Outlaw Territory and 24Seven anthologies, and writer of the Monkeybrain Comics sci-fi/horror series Rebecca, Nevada (coming in 2014). He’ll be presenting his latest western story from Outlaw Territory.

Seriously, look at that lineup. LOOK AT IT AGAIN.

IT’S GODDAMN INCREDIBLE.

Details: Thursday November 14,at the Jack London Bar (529 SW 4th, underneath the Rialto Pool Room), doors at 7:30 pm, $3-5 , show runs about an hour. See you there!

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by | 07/15/2013 · 2:09 PM

August’s Comics Underground Lineup: Greg Rucka! Terry Blas! Kory Bing!

From Lazarus #1 by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark

From Lazarus #1 by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark

WE’RE THRILLED to announce the lineup for the August 8, 2013 installment of Comics Underground—featuring returning champion GREG RUCKA alongside first-timers KORY BING and TERRY BLAS!

GREG RUCKA, novelist and Eisner-winning comics writer best known for his work on Queen & Country, Whiteout, and Stumptown.

KORY BING, artist and creator of the charming, long-running webcomic Skin Deep, about the mythical beasts who walk among us.

TERRY BLAS, podcast host and creator of Briar Hollow, a webcomic aimed at nerdy LGBT teens.

So! See you there: Thursday, August 8 at the Jack London Bar (529 SW 4th, Portland). 8 pm (doors 7:30ish). Cover charge is $3-5.

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by | 03/02/2013 · 11:31 PM

Two Words About This Thursday’s Comics Underground

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THE LINEUP’S GREAT—Fraction, DeConnick, Bendis, Meconis, Oeming, Nebel—and the content’s even better, with no fewer than six extraordinary stories from the extraordinary Will Eisner.

As someone who’s got the inside track on how this one’s gonna be, believe me when I tell you it’s gonna be something else. More info here. See you Thursday.

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by | 02/15/2013 · 4:33 PM

Comics Underground and Dark Horse Team Up for Will Eisner Week!

vietnamON THURSDAY, MARCH 7, Comics Underground is teaming up with Dark Horse Comics for a Very Special Episode of our comics reading series.

In honor of Will Eisner Week, Dark Horse Editor Diana Schutz hand-picked a lineup of some of the best comics creators in the country to share stories from Will Eisner’s Last Day in Vietnam.

Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, Michael Avon Oeming, Dylan Meconis, and Kelly Sue DeConnick will be reading, and Erik Nebel will be accompanying a wordless story on violin. Basically, it’s a lineup that shouldn’t be allowed to get on an airplane together, because if that plane crashed, so would like 80 percent of the comics industry.

Here’s a bit more info on the participants. LIKE YOU NEED MORE INFO, C’MON.

• MATT FRACTION, architect of the Marvel Universe, writer of The Invincible Iron Man, and creator of the beloved high-concept spy comic Casanova.

• BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, yet another architect of the Marvel Universe, writer of Ultimate Spider Man and creator of the beloved superhero noir comic Alias.

• MICHAEL AVON OEMING, a creator and artist on numerous projects including the Eisner-winning series Powers.

• DYLAN MECONIS, creator of the brainy historical graphic novel Family Man and the vampire-themed spoof Bite Me.

• KELLY SUE DECONNICK, writer of a number of Marvel Comics titles, including the well-received Osborn miniseries and Avengers Assemble.

• ERIK NEBEL, creator of War and Peace: The Comic, which is just what it says it is.

It all goes down at 8 pm on Thursday, March 7, at the Jack London (529 SW 4th, Portland, Oregon). Admission’s $3-5. Yes, it’s going to be as good as it sounds. See you there.

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by | 12/24/2012 · 12:36 PM

January’s Comics Underground Lineup: Colleen Coover, Jake Richmond, and Jen Vaughn!

Oh, the holidays. How you sabotaged our every intention of getting this valuable information disseminated a timely fashion. So here we are, a mere day before Christmas, announcing the all-star lineup for the next Comics Underground, taking place Thursday, January 10 at 8 pm at the Jack London Bar.

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COLLEEN COOVER, illustrator for Marvel Comics and co-creator of the Nancy Drew-esque Bandette and the charming, Portland-set existential mystery Gingerbread Girl.

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JEN VAUGHN, Seattle-based librarian, Fantagraphics staffer, and creator of the hilarious (and informative!) Menstruation Station.

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JAKE RICHMOND, creator of the beloved and adorable web comic Modest Medusa, about a tiny Medusa who came from the toilet and loooooves Chocodiles.
(Yes, only three creators instead of four this time—we’re gonna try eliminating intermission, to make more time at the end for the networking y’all love to do so much.
(So! See you there: Thursday, January 10 at the Jack London Bar (529 SW 4th, Portland). 8 pm (doors 7:30ish). Cover charge is $3, which will be waived for menstruating women and tiny medusas.

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