Signings with Junko Mizuno, Joe Ledbetter, Buff Monster, Ron English, Camilla d’Errico (See schedule below)

Play Last Gasp Comic-Con BINGO with prizes!

Plus all the newest books, imports, rare stuff… Our booth is #1616.

SDCC exclusive junko mizuno print

2-print set. Edition of 60. Debossed digital offset.

Signing Schedule

Thursday

Camilla d’Errico – 2pm-3pm
Junko Mizuno 4:30pm-6pm

Friday

Junko Mizuno noon-2pm
Ron English – 2pm
Joe Ledbetter – 3pm
Buff Monster – 4pm
Junko Mizuno 5pm

Saturday
Junko Mizuno 11am

Copies of our HUGE, amazing 11″ x 14″ catalog will be available!

Four decades • 300+ comix • 250+ books • A Who’s Who of Lowbrow Art

Last Gasp turns 40 this year and to celebrate, we are throwing a party and art show at 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco.

The Last Gasp 40th Anniversary Art Show assembles a top-drawer lineup of artists – the haut monde of lowbrow. Over the past four decades, Last Gasp has published hundreds of artists in the underground comix, kustom kulture, pop surrealism and street art movements.

Artists in the show include:

Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Glenn Barr, Mark and Vaughn Bode, Robert Crumb, Richard Corben, Rob and Christian Clayton, Guy Colwell, Ron English, Tony Fitzpatrick, Christopher Felver, Camille Rose Garcia, Justin Green, Charles Gatewood, Bill Griffith, Rick Griffin, Ed Hardy, Jay Kinney, Frank Kozik, Joe Ledbetter, Carol Lay, Adrian Lee, Michael Manning, Chris Mars, Mats,  Paul Mavrides, Scott Musgrove, Albert Morse, Junko Mizuno, Liz McGrath, Laurenn McCubbin, Mitch O’Connell, Annie Owens, The Pizz, Mark Ryden, Michael Rosen, Trina Robbins, Spain Rodriguez, Dori Seda, Winston Smith, Stanislav Szukalski, Larry Todd, Eric White, Robert Williams, Basil Wolverton, Attaboy, Aye Jay, and many more to be announced.

Writers, including San Francisco Poet Laureate Diane DiPrima will do a reading.

Design radicals GAMA-GO will produce a limited edition tee shirt for the event.

21 + over; Free and open to the public

When: April 1, 2010, 6pm until late
Where: 111 Minna Gallery, 111 Minna Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 974-1719   www.111minnagallery.com   Contact: Jay Howell

About Last Gasp
Last Gasp is one of the largest and oldest publishers and purveyors of underground books & comics in the world, as well as being a distributor of all sorts of weird ‘n’ wonderful subversive literature, graphic novels, tattoo and art books.

Last Gasp was founded in 1970 by Ron Turner. Last Gasp’s first publication, Slow Death Funnies #1 came out on the first “Earth Day,” April 15, 1970. Subsequent comics included the all-women’s comic It Ain’t Me Babe, and Skull Comics. Over the years they have published, and in some cases brought to light, some of the most respected and talented artists working today, including such luminaries as R. Crumb, Mark Ryden, Justin Green, Bill Griffith, Frank Kozik, Todd Schorr, Winston Smith, Spain Rodriguez, and Robert Williams to name but a few.

Ron Turner’s enthusiasm for underground comics, and in particular their autobiographical aspect, has been the driving force behind many groundbreaking publications. Last Gasp published Justin Green’s highly acclaimed confessional Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary in 1972, a book that became an inspiration to many artists now working in the autobiographical style. “Art Spiegelman, who won the only Pulitzer Prize for cartooning, has said he would never have started to do the autobiographical story of his family (in the graphic novel Maus) unless Justin had done it first. And Robert Crumb said the same thing,” said Turner.

Today, Last Gasp publishes 12-20 new titles per year, focusing on Lowbrow and Pop Surrealist artists, as well as graphic novels. The company has 18 full and part-time employees and is based in San Francisco. In addition to publishing, Last Gasp distributes for large and small publishers worldwide, providing a steady countercultural stream of books and other printed matter that spreads over six continents.

Last Gasp books have been glowingly reviewed in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Playboy, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, School Library Journal, Juxtapoz magazine, The Guardian (UK), Hi-Fructose magazine, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Austin Chronicle, American Book Review, and The Los Angeles Times.

Co-publishing partners include La Luz de Jesus / Billy Shire Fine Arts, Porterhouse Fine Art Editions, San Jose Museum of Art, Grand Central Art Center, Smokemuse, JaPress, Moulinsart, Presspop Gallery, Ignition Publishing, NewSkool/Analog, Laguna Art Museum, and many more.

The readers of the San Francisco Bay Guardian named Last Gasp the Best Local Publisher in 2009.

First publications: Slow Death, 1970 (comic); Breather’s Guide to Invisible Air Polution (book) 1970

Please join Joe Ledbetter and London Miles Gallery for Shock & Awe, the launch event of Joe Ledbetter’s Amalgamation Tour and his first U.K solo show. Joe will be signing copies of Creatures of Habit, his new book from Last Gasp.

Saturday, October 10, 2009, 5pm to 8pm
London Miles Gallery
212 Kensington Park Road
Notting Hill Gate, London, W11 1NR
Gallery Phone: (44) 0 2077274447

The schedule is as follows:

Friday
Ron English, Noon
Mark Ryden, 2pm
Scott Musgrove, 4pm

Saturday
Joe Ledbetter, noon
Todd Schorr, 2pm
The Pizz, 3:00pm
Mark Ryden, 4:00pm
Joe Ledbetter, 5:30pm (2nd signing)

Sunday
Travis Louie, noon
James Jean, 2pm

LAST GASP and GAMA-GO present
The San Francisco Creatures of Habit: The Art of Joe Ledbetter book signing.

A new, limited-edition Joe Ledbetter and Gama-Go collaboration shirt will be available.
Joe will also bring some new paintings for your viewing pleasure.

WHEN: Thursday, July 2nd, 5:30 – 8:30pm
WHERE: the new Gama-Go store at 8th and Folsom
335 8th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 626-0213

THE BOOK:

Creatures of Habit
For the first time, Joe Ledbetter’s best paintings have been compiled into one book. Influenced by classic animation, graphic design, and daily life, Joe Ledbetter’s art is… well… a lot of things. Light- hearted in its approach, he often combines cute and cuddly creatures with unfortunate — albeit humorous — situations.

With emphasis on the subversive and absurd, these scenarios are all too familiar, questioning our tendency of taking life (and ourselves) too seriously. Creatures of Habit offers a look at Ledbetter’s unique and original painting style during the first five years of his career (2003 – 2008).

The book is arranged chronologically, and the viewer can follow the development of the artist’s trademark visual style of emblematic line- work, vibrant colors, and endearing characters. Throughout the book, Ledbetter includes his favorite paintings from his many solo exhibitions, themed group art shows, collaborations with fellow artists (such as Nathan Jurevicius, Luke Chueh and Greg “Craola” Simkins), and many pieces from private collections previously unseen by most fans. 9″ x 6″, hardcover, full color.