FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS, THE STRAND and ROCKETSHIP PRESENT:

ELLEN FORNEY AND MEGAN KELSO: A MULTIMEDIA TOUR OF THE ACCLAIMED GRAPHIC NOVELS I LOVE LED ZEPPELIN AND THE SQUIRREL MOTHER

Cartoonists Ellen Forney and Megan Kelso celebrate the publication of their provocative comics anthologies I Love Led Zeppelin and The Squirrel Mother with two evenings of interdisciplinary performances in New York City: at The Strand Bookstore in Manhattan on Tuesday, January 9 at 7:00PM, and again at Rocketship in Brookyn on Friday, January 12 at 8:00PM.

According to the Los Angeles Times, "I Love Led Zeppelin is a beautiful book, but it has a sneaky beauty. Amid the post-punk attitudes, the hints of sadomasochism and wry looks on characters faces, Forney offers real laughter and glimpses into the human.  Sometimes you have to trick people into happiness. Forney pulls off this trick again and again."  New York audiences will have the rare opportunity to experience Seattle resident Forney's engaging comics during this lively multi-media presentation.

Of Kelso's work in The Squirrel Mother, The Baltimore City Paper says, "Like the short stories of Charles Baxter or Alice Munro, Kelso's stories resonate long after you've read the last line (or, in her case, panel). She's one of the surprisingly few cartoonists who understand that visual metaphor is the medium they work with, and knows how to use it with subtlety and force." These will be Kelso's first public appearances in New York, as well.

The evenings will feature Forney performing as narrator with flash cartoon clips of her wildly amusing observations on contemporary urban culture, including her elegy to live-fast, die-young ethos The Final Soundtrack, which inspired the title of her book.  The program will also include her collaboration with comedian Margaret Cho How to Be a Fabulous Fag Hag, and her early brush with celebrity in My Date with Camille Paglia.

Kelso will talk about her new book, the acclaimed Squirrel Mother, showing panels from the book that were inspired by her own life. The presentations will be followed by an interview by cartoonist and critic Austin English and an audience Q&A with both artists, followed by a book signing.

In his lyrical introduction to I Love Led Zeppelin, published by Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books, acclaimed author Sherman Alexie describes Forney's work as "eclectic, smart, sexy, funny and hotter than five-star curry."  Salon.com calls the book "bold and badass."  On the equally acclaimed Squirrel Mother, Booklist reports that Kelso "deploys her reductions in stories more like highbrow prose short stories than those of any other alternative comics creator."  Discover how at these exceptional events on Tuesday, January 9 (at the Strand Bookstore, located at 828 Broadway & 12th St. in New York's Union Square) and Friday, January 12 (at Rocketship, located at 208 Smith St. in Brooklyn).

A broad selection of images in a variety of formats is available for publication. For more information, or to arrange an interview with either artist, please contact Eric Reynolds at fantagraphics.com

LISTING INFORMATION:

I LOVE LED ZEPPELIN & THE SQUIRREL MOTHER
A multi-media spectacle featuring cartoonists Ellen Forney and Megan Kelso, in their first New York appearance:

Tuesday, January 9th, 2007, at 7:00PM
The Strand Bookstore
828 Broadway (at 12th St.)
NY, NY. 10003-4805
212-473-1452

Friday, January 12th, 2007, at 8:00PM
Rocketship
208 Smith St.
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718.797.1348