♪♪
-I want visitors to be able to experience comics
in a sort of a different environment,
with a different approach to the medium.
Comics have been sort of stigmatized,
and the work that we show is more based in reality
to appeal to adults,
and my goal is to have people come visit the store
and leave with an appreciation of comics on a different level.
I'm the curator and manager at
Fantagraphics Bookstore in Georgetown.
♪♪
Fantagraphics Books is a publisher
of alternative comics and graphic novels
aimed at adult audiences.
We based in Seattle since 1989.
Here's a recent work we published by Charles Burns.
Imaginary comic book covers of comics
that were never actually existed.
That covers themselves, sort of tell a story.
One of my personal favorites is Peter Bagge.
Peter Bagge is known for chronicling
the grunge phenomenon in the '80s in his comic serial "Hate."
This is Peter Bagge's earlier work, "The Bradleys."
It was sort of a story of a dysfunctional family,
sort of maybe loosely based on his own upbringing.
I've been a comics fan since since I was a child.
Let me rewind back to the beginning.
[ Tape whirrs ]
I started my career in 1978
after graduating with a degree in art history.
I opened an art gallery
in Pioneer Square called "Rosco Louie."
Interestingly enough, that gallery opened
at the same time as three very gifted artists
from The Evergreen State College.
Lynda Barry, Charles Burns, and particularly Matt Groening,
who was later the creator of "The Simpsons,"
and it had just started my gallery
as those artists were entering the field
and I was able to exhibit their work.
♪♪
In addition to showing visual art at my gallery,
I also started booking alternative music.
One of the earlier bands that I embraced was The U-Men,
described as being somewhere between punk rock
and performance art that included a number of
really gifted musicians, among them, Tom price.
And I developed a close relationship with them,
eventually managing the band.
[ Music plays ]
[ Tape whirrs ]
Fast forward to 2006,
when Fantagraphics opened the showroom here in Georgetown,
I became the curator and manager and the first employee.
There's your books.
-It's a foreign edition? -I have no idea what it is.
-The bookstore here is showroom
for all of Fantagraphics Publications,
but our mission has expanded
to support local independent artists,
and I'm the curator of that selection.
♪♪
We host hundreds of art exhibitions,
artist talks, workshops, concerts.
[ Music plays ]
My name is Larry Reid.
I've been a cultural worker and advocate
for experimental art in Seattle since 1978.
My thought is to just make it a punk rock, you know,
like something that would have come out in 1981 or 1982.
You know, don't feel pressured to be like the U-Men, you know?
It's not... That's not what this is.
♪♪
"Hot Off The Press Books Fair" started 12 years ago
as an opportunity for local artists
to expose their work to broader audiences.
This year, we are paying homage to some of the past artists
that helped create the environment we enjoy now --
among them, the U-Men.
Tribute to one of the great proto-grunge bands
in the Pacific Northwest.
[ U-Men's "They!" plays ]
♪♪
-♪ Stare at the shadow of myself [indistinct] ♪
♪ Turned 18 and [indistinct] ♪
♪ Said it was a shame the way that poor boy died ♪
♪ When he hit the wall he lost his mind ♪
♪ Woahhh, whooooo ♪
♪ The winner was human ♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
-My presence in Georgetown predates the bookstore here.
I began working with artists and doing productions in here.
I'd like to think that residents here
consider me a cultural asset.
-Some people think Larry is the mayor of Georgetown,
which he may be reluctant to express himself,
but I do believe that is an apt description.
-He always has his ear to the ground with
either the coolest old thing or the coolest new thing.
-It would be tough to replace Larry.
He's really, he's one of a kind.
-At 72 years old, I'm not quite ready to retire yet.
I still have things to say.
You know Al Williamson? This is early stuff.
Really an important artist
and that's a great book.
I'm really pleased that I was able to
make a living working in my chosen field of visual art.
It's not easy.
I guess I'm proud that
I was able to stick with it
through lean times,
and establish a reputation for being a subversive element
of Seattle's art community.
♪♪
-Fantagraphics is open for business seven days a week.
Hours and location are on their website.