OH, WHAT?! Comics Underground is only two days away?! Here’s what we have in store for you this time:

1. AN EXHILARATING DEAR CREATURE EXPERIENCE by JONATHAN CASE!

2. NEW HOPELESS SAVAGES by JEN VAN METER and MEREDITH McCLAREN!

3. MR. TAWNY LOSING HIS FAITH IN MANKIND as examined by JOE KEATINGE!

4. LIVE MUSIC and WITTY REPARTEE  from MIKE ALLRED!

{no image available; these things are not visual}

SO. Comics Underground. This Thursday, April 26, 8 pm. The Jack London Bar, in the basement of the Rialto (529 SW 4th, Portland, Oregon). Free. Be there.

• Writer and artist MICHAEL ALLRED is the Eisner-nominated creator of the iconic Madman, not to mention The Atomics and Red Rocket 7. He’s also the lead singer and guitarist for the Gear, and he might—just might—be performing some music at Comics Underground.

• Writer JEN VAN METER is the creator of the much-loved series Hopeless Savages, published by Portland’s Oni Press. She’s also written for Dark Horse, Marvel, and DC. Van Meter will be presenting—wait for it—new Hopeless Savages material.

• Writer and artist JONATHAN CASE recently drew the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Green River Killer. He’ll be presenting material from his first graphic novel, Dear Creature, which Kirkus Reviews called “a funny, bizarre, unexpected pleasure.”

• Writer JOE KEATINGE used to be known as the co-editor of the Eisner-winning anthology Popgun. More recently he’s made a name for himself as a writer, thanks to his work on Glory and Hell Yeah from Image Comics. It’s still up in the air what Joe’s going to do at Comics Underground—but rest assured, it will be legendary.

Yeah. So this thing is gonna be pretty excellent.

Alison and I  worked with the folks at the Stumptown Comics Fest to make this edition of Comics Underground coincide with Stumptown this year; if you like Comics Underground, you’ll like Stumptown, and vice versa. I can’t think of a better way to kick off a weekend full of comics than by watching Allred, Van Meter, Case, and Keatinge all doing their respective things, onstage, in the close proximity of booze, but that’s just me.

I’m excited. See you there.

OH, AND POST-SCRIPT: If you’re so inclined, the Facebook event page for this event is here, and the Facebook group for Comics Underground is here.

Thursday, April 26, 2012. 8 pm.

Huh. That was kind of underwhelming, wasn’t it.

BUT THE EVENT WON’T BE! Very soon, we’ll be announcing the guests for this edition of Comics Underground, and if all goes to plan—which of course it will—it’ll be one of our best line-ups yet. Seriously. (And, for those of you paying attention, no: It’s not a coincidence that the date of our event coincides nicely with that of the beloved Stumptown Comics Fest.)

Stay tuned for details, and don’t make any other plans for the evening of April 26. You won’t want to miss this one.

Comics Underground is something that should always have existed. It brings to mind the salons of the 17th and 18th centuries, with artists gathering to present their work to a patron, but also to one another. Standup comics, too, frequent out-of-the-way clubs where they can showcase their latest material among colleagues.

The Portland comics community is unlike any other, and close interaction of its members (and fans) can only enhance the goodwill towards the art form.

That makes it sound so fancy!

Stay tuned for details on the next Comics Underground.

• Artist and writer Dylan Meconis is known for Bite Me! and Family Man, two books that take place in ye olden times but also feature vampires and werewolves!

• Artists and pals Ron Chan and Sean Kelley’s webcomic, Roy’s Boys, is about Roy Kwong and Shane Conway, two pals who lead suspiciously similar lives to Mssrs. Chan and Kelley. When they aren’t making Roy’s Boys, Chan and Kelley do other comics and videogame-related work.

• Artist and writer Mike Russell is best known for his comic Sabertooth Vampire, about a saber-toothed vampire who can’t catch a break. He’s also written and drawn Mr. Do & Mr. Don’t, written the Star Wars spoof Jaxxon’s 11, and created decidedly un-family friendly holiday fable Santa’s Little Gimp.

• Ryan Alexander-Tanner teaches kids how to make comics! (Also, you know that picture of Dave on Dave’s Killer Bread? He drew that.) He’ll be bringing some of his students’ best work to show off, and if you think it’s going to be merely “adorable,” you have no idea.

Relevant details in soundbite form:
WHAT: Comics Underground, a live comics reading
WHERE: Jack London Bar, 529 SW 4th (located in the basement of the Rialto—21+)
WHEN: Thursday, November 17, 8 pm (venue opens at 5 pm for food and booze)
WHO: Guests include artist and writer Dylan Meconis; artists and writers Ron Chan and Sean Kelley; artist and writer Mike Russell; and artist and comics teacher Ryan Alexander-Tanner
COST: free

See you there.

-Alison

So I’m going to go ahead and call last night a rousing success. Huge thanks to everybody who came out and to everybody who read/performed.

We’ll do it again. Say, Thursday, November 17? Put it in your iCals. Stay tuned for details.

—Erik

Yeah. That. And I should know: For the past few hours, I’ve been putting the final touches on this edition of Comics Underground, and I’m excited—these creators are highlighting some fantastic work, from Tally’s charming-as-hell real-life stories to Jamie, Joëlle, and Nico’s ridiculous teen-witch shenanigans, to Greg’s surprisingly affecting Captain America short, to Kelly Sue’s sweet, funny look at youth and parenthood. I can’t wait to see how each of these creators are going to present their stories onstage, and I can’t wait to experience these stories with a crowd, and in other words? I’m already feeling pretty great about comics, and Comics Underground is still like 17 hours away.

Tonight will be fun. See you there.

—Erik

*Not actually sold out.**

**Yet.***

***Fine. It can’t even sell out. It’s free.

Anyway, all the important stuff should be here. We’ll get around to posting adorable cat pictures and animated .gifs of running skeletons and rotating marijuana leaves soon enough, though. Have a look around.