Drove up from Portland, Oregon. Stopped in Olympia, Washington to get coffee and saw this awesome mural (below):
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Got to Seattle. Went up to the Space Needle (below):
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Then we drove up I-5, got off at exit 171, made a couple turns...and thar she blows! Ye olde warship known as the Fantagraphics office. There is an "art installation" next door - and I mean that respectfully (seriously). There is this awesome older woman who has decked out her house and yard in a way that makes it a very satisfying "art experience" (below):
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And look who's here! It's Kevin Huizenga (visiting with his wife Katie from St. Louis) and Jason T. Miles and Eric Reynolds - plus some doofus in the middle who's name I forget (below):
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Eric and that doofus guy checking out the Fantagraphics library (below):
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Kevin's making a face to disguise his enjoyment (below):
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Kevin shared with me his guilty pleasure (below):
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Then Kevin schooled me on Abner Dean (below):
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More Abner Dean (below):
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Jason T. Miles in full effect (below):
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Gary Groth and some schmuck (below):
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Mr. Mike Baehr (below):
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Kristy Valenti and I compared notes on having Italian families (below):
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Jen Vaughn wearing her "Dirty Bird" ensemble (below):
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Eric Reynolds showed off his new office and the newest addition to his library (below). Later, Gary asked me, "When the fuck are you gonna get me a copy of your book?":
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Check out the view of the art installation out Eric's window (below):
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Jacq Cohen and some dork (below):
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Jason took us around front to look at the art installation - that's Kevin and his wife Katie (below):
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Part of the fence next door to the Fanta office (below):
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The front door of the Fantagraphics office. Eric told me that Kim Thompson asked Gary Panter to choose the paint color back in the day (below):
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Then we drove up to Vancouver, British Columbia. It's so vast and beautiful up there. Sarah and I got a hotel down by the waterfront. We got there just in time to have a drink in the old school hotel bar and catch the sunset (below):
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Then we met Robin "Inkstuds" McConnell and Brandon "Multiple Warheads" Graham for drinks. Well, Brandon had coffee. I got loaded and demanded that Brandon show me and Sarah his new crib at the Dogwood Apartments. I took some blurry pictures (below):
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Robin pointed out that no pets are allowed at the Dogwood. It was funny. You had to be there I guess...
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I caught Brandon in the act of checking his mail (below):
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...and wouldn't you know it - the only thing in the box was a check from Image Comics (below):
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Something caught my eye on Brandon's shelf. I said, "Hey Brandon, what's that shiny thing over there?" (below):
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"Oh, it's just my Eisner award." (below):
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Brandon was like, "Look it spins." (below):
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Robin and Brandon initiated me into their comic book cult (below):
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Here's me at the moment after I was converted. Robin said, "Brandon, get out the Matt Howarth comics!"
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To complete the initiation, Brandon made me swear on a stack of Matt Howarth comics (below):
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Here's the secret to Brandon's success (below):
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Brandon is also one of those crazy mofos that still uses a pc (below):
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And now that he got that check from Image maybe he can buy an 11 x 17 scanner :)
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Thanks to the Fantagraphics gang for the tour. And thanks to Robin and Brandon for a great evening.
Over and out!
