Gary Panter

Two years ago, Gary Panter was featured alongside Charles Schulz, Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Harvey Kurtzman, R. Crumb, Chris Ware, Art Spiegelman and others in the touring museum exhibition “Masters of American Comics.” Lofty company, but the Oklahoma-born Panter earned it; he’s one of the few American graphic artists for whom the term “comic books,” while perfectly valid, just doesn’t quite seem to do the work justice. Perhaps best known for his punk-rock protagonist Jimbo (who does a Dante turn in Panter’s 2006 book Jimbo’s Inferno), Panter also designed the cover of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ first album, won three Emmys as lead set designer on Pee Wee’s Playhouse and won the 2000 Chrysler Design award.

Panter will be autographing copies of his brand-new, two-volume career retrospective slipcase set (one volume contains more than 700 of Panter’s paintings, drawings, posters and sculptures, while the other contains never-before-seen work from his sketchbooks). After the signing, Panter will narrate a slideshow of some of his most famous images. 6 p.m. signing, 8 p.m. slideshow. Domy Books, 1709 West-heimer. For information, call 713-523-3669 or visit www.domystore.com. Free.
Fri., June 13, 6-8 p.m., 2008