Mission Mission

[Not actual sign design by Steven Weinberg]

There’s some healthy debate going on in the post about the movement to keep Jack Spade out of the Mission, but there’s no doubt that our buddy Leef Smith, owner of Mission: Comics & Art, is the real deal. A San Francisco native, Leef is dedicated to maintaining a community space to show art, create art and of course talk about, read, discover and buy comics. Now he’s asking for our help to raise some funds to build a new sign so people can spot the store more easily.

He’s looking good on getting his goal, but if you really want to kick this starter into gear you can sign up for your own event at the store!

Tonight, at Mission Comics and Art, my brother Calvin Wong and his girlfriend Hellen Jo are back in the Mission with a release party for their new comics: Ramble On #2 and Deep Cuts. It starts at 7pm.

We recently lost them both when they took a gig working for Regular Show for Cartoon Network in Burbank. The show’s creator apparently likes to poach indie comic talent from the bay, and they also feature Berkeley’s Minty Lewis as voice (for a nerdy racoon) and writing talent. It is a a hilarious cartoon, though.

If you’re into this stuff be sure to pick up these hott, limited-print-run, comics and triple-polybag them immediately. Then obsessively look up their value in each month’s issue of Wizard comic book magazine and price guide.

Oops sorry, thought this was 1994 for a second.

Two Sundays ago it was raining pretty damn hard in the middle of the day. I ducked out of the storm at Mission Comics and Art where I got to watch a delightfully geeky discussion group about how lame the Star Wars prequels were and how epic Jeff Smith’s Bone series was. My kind of people! While I was there, I was finally able to pick up the Comic Book Guide to the Mission.

It’s a really great, intimate look at the Mission from the eyes of local artists. The book covers a lot of ground, including stories about being a lawyer dude trying to fit in at Pop’s, the hunt for the best taco, an anthropological observation of you-know-what-sters, and the history of Mission murals. Oh, and dating of course:

Speaking of Mission Comics and Art, Leef Smith and co. are hosting an art show featuring original panels from the CBGTTM. That would be a swell time to buy the book and meet some of the artists. It’s this Saturday, April 2nd  at 7pm. The store is on 20th and Mission.

This amazing cover was created by Chuck Whelon for an upcoming book called “the Comic Book Guide to the Mission”. There’s a release party for the book this Friday, March 11 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm at Mission Comics and Art.  I’m disappointed that Rob Liefeld didn’t make a submission, though. Maybe next year! Nonetheless, it will be a great time, here are the details:

Come celebrate the BRAND NEW “Comic Book Guide to the Mission”! Gather and meet many of the creators of this fabulous and entertaining neighborhood resource. Food! Drinks! Fun!

Featuring the talents of: Sean Chiki (Wunderkammer), Jamaica Dyer (Weird Fishes), Andrew Farago (The Cartoon Art Museum, William Bazillion), Shaenon K. Garrity (Narbonic, Skin Horse), Justin Hall (All Thumbs Press, True Travel Tales, Glamazonia), Mario Hernandez (Love and Rockets, Citizen Rex), Greg Hinkle, Nomi Kane (Chutzpah!), Jonas Madden-Connor (Ochre Ellipse), Paul Madonna (All Over Coffee), Omar Mamoon (The Mission: Taco), Amy Martin(Bachelor Girl, The Single Girls), John Mathis, Aindrila Mukhopadhyay, Roman Muradov (Sad Comics), Jen Oaks, Ariel Schrag (Potential,Likewise, Ariel and Kevin Invade Everything), Matt Stewart (The French Revolution), Alfred Twu (First Cultural Industries), Dan V. (American Objects), Geoff Vasile (Trackrabbit), Jeff Walker, Mike White (Amity Blamity), Clint Woods (Fernetiquette), and Rick Worley (A Waste of Time). Plus, behold this amazing cover by Chuck Whelon (Pewfell).

RSVP on Facebook

[via Mission Comics and Art]