This just in from Desert Island

Friday, July 9, 2010
7:00pm – 9:00pm
Desert Island
540 Metropolitan Ave btwn Union and Lorimer:

A pioneer in underground comics and the founder of the CBLDF, Denis Kitchen is one of the most important figures in sequential art. Kitchen will be signing his new book from Dark Horse titled ‘The Oddly Compelling Art of Denis Kitchen’! In addition, Charles Brownstein, executive director of the CBLDF, will discuss Kitchen’s contribution to the history of comics. An important event you won’t want to miss!

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=135106543180795

website: http://www.desertislandbrooklyn.com/

Friday, May 14, 2010
7:00pm – 9:00pm
Desert Island
540 Metropolitan Ave btwn Union and Lorimer

Come celebrate Deitch’s new graphic novel “The Search for Smilin’ Ed.” Ranging across the entire twentieth century, replete with flashbacks, stories within stories, and guest appearances from other Deitch regulars, “The Search for Smilin’ Ed” is a narrative whirligig that shows Deitch at his wildest and woolliest. For those whose heads have started to spin at the complexity of “Deitch world,” Deitch scholar Bill Kartalopoulos offers a lengthy essay on the ins and outs of this ever-evolving, ever-expanding world where fantasy, reality, and satire combine, clash, and are sometimes downright indistinguishable.

—————

Kim Deitch was an important figure in the underground comix movement of the 1960s, regularly contributing comical, psychedelia-tinged comic strips (featuring the flower child “Sunshine Girl” and “The India Rubber Man”) to New York City’s premier underground newspaper, The East Village Other, beginning in 1967. He became editor of EVO’s all-comics spin off, Gothic Blimp Works, in 1969. Deitch was also a publisher, as co-founder of the Cartoonists Co-op Press. In 2008, the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art featured a retrospective exhibition of his work.

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117034684992850

website: http://www.desertislandbrooklyn.com/

BodyWorld Release and signing with Dash Shaw.

Thursday, April 15th at Desert Island, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm:

Come celebrate Dash Shaw’s long-awaited BodyWorld book from Pantheon. The book itself is a must-see work of art.

BODYWORLD / 384 pages / Pantheon / 2010

BodyWorld is a comic that was originally serialized weekly on Shaw’s website from late 2007 to early 2009. It’s about a rogue botanist named Paulie Panther who travels to a remote experimental city where a new plant was found. He discovers that the plant, when smoked, grants the smoker telepathic abilities.

The online and print versions are slightly different. The online version is best if you followed it weekly as it was serialized, or if you want to read it in short bursts online for free. The print version is better if you’d rather read it in print and in a few sittings, since it is 384 pages. It has additional pages and images, and certain sequences were re-drawn and painted by Shaw to favor the print format.

Dash Shaw’s “Bottomless Belly Button” was named best Graphic Novel of 2008 by Publisher’s Weekly

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=109223215774784&ref=nf

website: http://www.desertislandbrooklyn.com/

map: 540 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY

In conjunction with Nordic Book Frenzy,

Friday, April 9th at Desert Island, 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm:

Three great artists, three new books, one great party!

Desert Island favorite JOHN BRODOWSKI celebrates the release of his brand-new Curio Cabinet book, culled from years of self-publishing. His finely rendered pencil art often features horror-movie villains sulking around in the forest and existentially contemplating nature. Amazing stuff.
“One of the best young cartoonists to emerge in years.” – Sammy Harkham

CLARA BESSIJELLE JOHANSSON is a cartoonist born and living in Stockholm, Sweden. She will be debuting her most intricate story yet, The Lobster King, about a happy and eccentric fellow who all the townspeople put up with. Clara exhibited at last years MoCCA festival with Buenaventura Press, and collaborated with Emelie Östergren on the book “Mexicansk Gränsö.”

EMELIE ÖSTERGREN is a cartoonist also living in Sweden. She likes her country even the boring parts, the cold weather and the quiet people. Her first book Evil Dress came out in april 2009. “Mr Kenneth” is Emelie’s new comic publised in English at the Swedish publishing house Optimal Press. The 36-pages comic is about Mr. Kenneth, the man that created the aforementioned Evil Dress. Full of action and humor.

Come meet these folks, have yourself a beer, and buy a book if you feel like it.

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aurora.erickson#!/event.php?eid=321035756963

website: http://www.desertislandbrooklyn.com/

map: 540 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY

Nordic Book Frenzy at Desert Island, Wednesday, April 7, 2010.
7:00pm – 9:00pm:

Featuring artists from Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark – all with new books! Planned in conjunction with the consulates of the respective Scandinavian countries. More information soon.

Finland:
Tommi Musturi, Ville Hänninen, Anna Sailamaa, Mari Ahokoivu, Kaija Papu og Kaisa Leka.

Norway:
Per Jørgen Olsen, Martin Ernstsen, Erik Falk, Espen Holtestaul, Kristoffer Kjølberg, Sindre Wexelsen og Flu Hartberg

Denmark:
Ib Kjeldsmark, Johan F. Krarup, Ingo Milton, Cav Bøgelund, Henrik Rehr, Lars Jakobsen og Søren Mosdal

Sweden:
Jakob Hallin, Sara Granér, Sofia Olsson, Åsa Grennvall,Benjamin Stengård og Johannes Klenell

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aurora.erickson#!/event.php?eid=107343779295689

website: http://www.desertislandbrooklyn.com/

map: 540 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY

Saturday December 5th 2009 11 AM – 7 PM at Our Lady of Consolation Church 184 Metropolitan Ave Williamsburg, Brooklyn

free admission

The first-annual Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival presented by Desert Island and PictureBox
with featured guest artists: Gabrielle Bell R. O. Blechman Charles Burns Anya Davidson Kim Deitch C.F. Carlos Gonzales Ben Katchor Nora Krug Michael Kupperman Mark Newgarden Gary Panter Ron Regé, Jr. Peter Saul Dash Shaw R. Sikoryak Jillian Tamaki Matthew Thurber Lauren Weinstein

PLUS panel discussions at Secret Project Robot organized and moderated by Bill Kartalopoulos

AND Paper Route presents after-party at Death By Audio with performances by comic artists

check us out on facebook

Just back from SPXPO and I’m exhausted.  Had a great time and wish I could have stayed longer. Thanks to everyone who made it possible. TONIGHT you can come to a celebration of John Porcellino and his works, starting at 7:00 p.m. at Desert Island, 540 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211:

Release party for Smoke Signal #2. Saturday, August 29th at Death By Audio, 49 S. 2nd st, Brooklyn.

Featuring new and unseen work by Dash Shaw, Michael Kupperman, Gabrielle Bell, Shoboshobo, Leslie Stein, John Brodowski, Matthew Thurber, Marc Bell, and many others!

Smoke Signal is a free all-comics newspaper published by Desert Island to help expose the work of local and international artists. We aim for a mix of established independent artists and up-and-coming unknowns. Copies are available for free at our shop, through the mail, and at a few locations around Brooklyn.