Someone up there is doing Chicago a solid because amid museum closings and NATO hoopla, cartoon genius and former Chicagoan Daniel Clowes touches down in his hometown tonight for a several events running through the weekend. more ›

About a year ago, we interviewed comic artist Jeffrey Brown about Incredible Change-Bots 2, his wacky parody of the Transformers. We're thrilled to report that his new comic book, Darth Vader and Son is out and ready to be consumed. The book, in the most adorable way possible, poses the question: what if Darth Vader were an involved father? By "involved" we don't mean that Vader earns the award for most attentive and loving father, instead Brown depicts our favorite un-cuddly villain as an annoyed but indulging dad for Luke. The possibilities for awkward father-son moments is limitless, and Brown's humor is spot on. In his lengthy repertoire of work, Jeffrey Brown has had numerous books published which you might be familiar with, including Clumsy, Unlikely, or Cat Getting Out of a Bag and Other Observations. And if you're not acquainted with any of the above, there will be a chance for that to change. more ›

Ever since spotting his first book, Clumsy, at Quimby's, we've been under the spell of Jeffrey Brown. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Brown moved to Chicago to pursue an MFA at the School of the Art Institute. Clumsy was his thesis project. Since then he's created dozens of mini-comics, "graphic memoirs," and other books. He even directed an animated video of the Death Cab for Cutie song "Your Heart is an Empty Room." more ›

After the success of last year’s inaugural Chicago Zine Fest, the zinesters are back for another weekend of readings, exhibitions and karaoke. In case you were wondering, zines are those little hand-drawn, photocopied and folded up books about anything and everything. Before it was hip to use Kindle as a self-publishing platform, zinesters were self-publishing these little books. This weekend’s Zine Fest will give all those DIY self-publishers a chance to come out of their underground holes and unite! more ›

If you’ve had the pleasure of reading Struwwelpeter, you’d know not to suck your thumbs because the tailor with the giant scissors will cut them off. You’d know to eat your soup or else you will die. And you’d know not to tease children who are different than you because such behavior results in getting dipped in black ink. If you haven’t yet learned these important life lessons, no need to worry. Chicago illustrator and Resident Artist at Spudnik Press Cooperative, Sanya Glisic, has created a new version of the 1844 book that uses whimsical and playful illustrations to capture the dark, often morbid sensibilities of the cautionary children’s tales. Since Glisic is presenting Struwwelpeter at Quimby’s on Thursday, we checked in with her to see how she became involved with such a strange piece of literature and how she cut off a piece of her thumb - just like the naughty thumb-sucking boy - in the process. more ›

Joe Meno is an author who lives, loves and breathes Chicago. He published his first novel many moons ago after finishing his undergraduate degree from Columbia College Chicago. He’s since published quite a few many more novels, short stories, plays, fiction, and probably tons of other things. Chicagoist last chatted with Meno back in 2006, and after picking up his most recent book of short stories, Demons in the Spring we decided to check back in with him. more ›

Print is dead. Blah blah blah. The Quimby’s blog says it best: “We’re tired of all the END OF PAPER, the END OF PUBLISHING AS WE KNOW IT stories.” Quimby’s has been open for almost 20 years and has heard about the death of print the whole time. So they’re teaming up with Atomic Books in Baltimore, Xerography Debt and Zine World to do something about it. more ›

The Exquisite Book was born just as things of both the nonexqusite and exquisite variety are often born - with an idea. “We thought it would be fun to play a variation of the exquisite corpse game, with artists collaborating over the Web,” said Julia Rothman, one of the authors of the book and blog BookByItsCover. “Once the concept was more thought out, it seemed like it would be better as a book instead of an online project.” more ›

Catch up with the places to read and be seen on the literary scene with our rundown of local events centered around all things written. more ›

If you've ever been curious about the concept and creation behind the four-audio-channel-demanding glory/mess of Zaireeka, or want to know why AC/DC rocks so hard on Highway to Hell, the good folks at Quimby's Bookstore would like to drop some knowledge on you with one of their always-excellent in-store readings. more ›

Seamus O’Grady is more than an angsty teen. He’s a pissed-off teenager who has a pretty lame social life and even worse family situation. Seamus is not the shy Perks of Being a Wallflower type who will gradually come into his own. Being the main character of 85A Kyle Thomas Smith's new novel is one of the few things Seamus has going for him. more ›

Over 600 DIY literati came out for the Chicago Zine Fest last weekend for workshops, performances, an art show and tons of tables overflowing with zines. The two day affair kicked off Friday night with a series of readings at Quimby's, followed by an art show and film screening at Johalla Projects. Saturday featured a day full of workshops and over 100 zinesters showcased their wares. The fest attracted zines and distros from all over the country and even a few folks from Canada. Afterward, the fest turned into a late night party at the Ball Hall, featuring readings from a few zinesters and music by Eric Ayotte, Letters To The Moon, and World's Smallest Puzzle. More photos of the event can be viewed here. more ›

We needed to balance our sales tax karma after opening the floor to all of you scofflaws escaping to Indy and Gurnee and all points non-Cook in our post about the tax veto from the other day. So we thought we'd open up the floor to a short discussion of exactly what places in our city will be receiving our hard-earned heavily taxed dollars as we start this shopping season. more ›

If you're the kind of person who always comes up with creative ideas — only to then get stuck in the early stages of process — or are simply curious about how artists make their work, then Nadine Nakanishi has created the book for you. In Formal Additive Programs, her first release, Nakanishi (who is one-half of the screen-printing outfit Sonnenzimmer) provides a series of instructions to help readers expand upon ideas, and also shines light on the how's and what's of running a daily art practice. "This is not another portfolio book by an artist ... or at least it’s trying not to be," she says of her 28-page work (which measures seven inches by 9.75 inches and features a hand-printed, silk-screen dust jacket). more ›

Here's legendary music person Steve Albini reading one of his short stories yesterday afternoon at Quimby's. The Medill journalism grad, recording engineer, Shellac frontman and — sorry, womenfolk — newlywed shared three of his works with the public for the first time. Also reading was poet and Kentucky Chrome Revue frontman Brett Eugene Ralph, who read selections from Black Sabbatical — his new collection of poetry out on Sarabande Books. more ›

7 p.m., Quimby's, 1854 W. North Ave., Free more ›

Is the upcoming Terminus too tame for you? Prefer your Harry-Ron fanfic tutoring stories to have a little more "hands-on" action? Lucky for you that Quimby's is hosting "Erotic Harry Potter Night" tomorrow evening, featuring, "short, homoerotic excerpts pairing Harry with Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, and other characters." Critically-acclaimed erotica writer Cecilia Tan, appearing under the moniker "Ravenna," headlines the event. Other appearing writers include: Alchemia Dent and Bugland from Chicago, Kabal from Copenhagen, GatewayGirl from Massachusetts, Mijan from Kansas City, and Mechiaeh from Nashville. Attendees will also be able to purchase Erotic Harry Potter: Volume 1. Anyone have a guess on the over/under of stories featuring Dumbledore? As for us, we're holding out until we get a DeGrassi Erotic Fiction Night. more ›

We love to read and write, and not just our own posts here on the World Wide Webs. We’ve been working on our first novel for years. It’s a love story involving time-traveling unicorns and so far we have about 850 pages of it written, but we don’t know when we’ll get it published (fingers crossed!). As such, we have a soft spot in our heart for local writers who have been a tad more successful. Luckily we live in a city that gives us a chance to here these talented scribes read! more ›