Comics / Press Releases

Fantagraphics Bookstore Has Robert Williams

By The Editor
December 4, 2014 - 20:44

The Complete Zap Comix 3D view

Robert Williams and The Complete Zap Comix at Fantagraphics Bookstore

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery welcomes underground comix legend Robert Williams on Saturday, December 13 to celebrate the publication of The Complete Zap Comix with an exhibition and book signing.

This event kicks off a weeklong series commemorating the monumental, multi-volume collection of comix that changed the future of this marginalized medium.

From the time it first appeared in 1968 - peddled from a baby carriage on the streets of San Francisco's Haight Ashbury district - R. Crumb's perversely perceptive observations in Zap altered the course of American counterculture. The Zap Comix collective came to include eight creative misfits, as Crumb was joined by Robert Williams, Gilbert Shelton, Rick Griffin, Victor Moscoso, Spain Rodriguez, S. Clay Wilson, and Paul Mavrides. Over the course of three and-a-half decades they produced 16 issues on an intermittent schedule.
The Complete Zap Comix will include all prior issues plus the previously unpublished #17, and a fascinating oral history of Zap by underground comix scholar Patrick Rosenkranz. A special, limited edition of the anthology will include a portfolio of signed prints from the pages of Zap. The exhibition at Fantagraphics Bookstore will feature prints, posters, drawings and related ephemera from these master cartoonists.

Robert Williams emerged in the American art scene in 1965 as a designer for notorious hot rod celebrity Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. In addition to his later work on Zap and other underground comix, Williams has enjoyed a successful career as a fine artist. His work was featured in MoCA's landmark "Helter Skelter" exhibition in 1992 and the travelling "Kustom Kulture" show, which appeared at Seattle's Center on Contemporary Art in 1994.

Fantagraphics Books has published three volumes of Williams work, including Malicious Resplendence, Hysteria in Remission, and Conceptual Realism. Williams will sign copies of these and other books at the reception on December 13 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, which marks the 8th anniversary of Fantagraphics Bookstore.

This event also coincides with the holiday edition of the Georgetown Art Attack.

On Sunday, December 14 at 4:00 PM, Fantagraphics Books co-hosts the Seattle premiere of Robert Williams: Mr. Bitchin' at Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Avenue on Capitol Hill. This wildly entertaining documentary, directed by Mary Reese and Nancye Ferguson, chronicles the career of this incredibly influential artist. Williams will introduce the movie and answer questions following the screening.

On Thursday, December 18, at 7:00 PM, editor J. Michael Catron will give a slide presentation on the history of Zap Comix and its lasting cultural implications. The festivities will conclude on Saturday, December 20 from 4:00 to 6:00 PM with a Tribute to S. Clay Wilson featuring Patrick Rosenkranz, Dennis Dread and Jim Blanchard. Rosenkranz will sign copies of Pirates in the Heartland: The Mythology of S. Clay Wilson Vol. 1. Dennis Dread will present Entartete Kunts, a collection of contemporary cartoonists and illustrators influenced by Wilson's work, including Seattle artist Jim Blanchard.

The Zap Comix exhibition continues through January 8, 2015. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale Street in the heart of Seattle's historic Georgetown arts community. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone: 206.658.0110.

Listing Information:
Robert Williams presents the COMPLETE ZAP COMIX Exhibition and book signing Saturday, December 13, 6:00 to 9:00 PM.

Fantagraphics Bookstore's 8th anniversary party!

Sunday, December 14, 4:00 PM. Screening of Robert Williams: Mr. Bitchin' documentary at Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Avenue.

Thursday, December 18, 7:00 PM. Editor J. Michael Catron presents the History of ZAP Comix slide talk at Fantagraphics Bookstore.

Saturday, December 20, 4:00 to 6:00 PM. A Tribute to S. Clay Wilson with Patrick Rosenkranz, Dennis Dread, and Jim Blanchard.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale Street
Seattle, WA 98108 | 206.658.0110
Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12