Sammy Harkham

Sammy Harkham: Everything Together (PictureBox)

Comics artist and Kramers Ergot editor Sammy Harkham will discuss and sign the brand new anthology of his short story work, Everything Together. Sammy Harkham is regarded as one of the most influential cartoonist/editors of his generation. After a decade of work and groundbreaking anthologies, Everything Together collects his short stories. These comics condense vast amounts of emotion and information into nuanced cartoon narratives. Harkham's classic style is both articulate and expedient. At the center of the book are two vastly different tales: Poor Sailor, a sea-faring myth of a man gone to find wealth for his love; and Somersaulting, a kind of fever dream of teenagers in love, wiling away the summer. Around these stories shorter comic strips tackling everything from Napoleon (if he was a tortured artist) to touching examinations of Jewish mysticism and life in a shtetl, to satires of contemporary University life. Through all these works, Harkham maintains a light touch and emotive wit. The works in this book confirm his place among the best storytellers of his generation. Sammy Harkham was born in Los Angeles in 1980, moving to Sydney, Australia, at the age of 14. He soon started making his own comics and a zine, Kramers Ergot, which has evolved into one of the most influential comics anthologies published today. His comic strip Poor Sailor, originally published in Kramers Ergot 4, was subsequently included in Best American Nonrequired Reading of 2004 and has been published in French, Korean and Italian. Kramers Ergot has been on numerous “best of the year” lists including the LA Weekly, Time, The New York Times, Dazed and Confused, The Comics Journal and Publishers Weekly. In 2006 Harkham started the ongoing comic series, Crickets, and edited The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror, and most recently the eighth volume of Kramers Ergot. A partner in both the renowned bookstore Family, and the movie theater, Cinefamily, Harkham lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.

THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS OCTOBER 11, 2012.

Copies of the book can be purchased here:  http://tinyurl.com/acdrgv6