The first rule of a Chuck Palahniuk signing: get there early. The second: get there early.
The bestselling author of more than a dozen novels, including Choke, Lullaby, and Rant, will visit Comix Experience tomorrow, beginning at 11am, to promote his first-ever comic book, Fight Club 2. Published by Dark Horse Comics, the series, which debuted on May 27th, is now on its fourth issue of eight. Written by Palahniuk and illustrated by Cameron Stuart, it's the sequel to Palahniuk's beloved 1996 novel, Fight Club, which was made into an equally popular 1999 film.
Comix Experience owner Brian Hibbs met Palahniuk at the annual ComicsPRO Membership Meeting in Portland back in February of this year, and worked out a deal for him to travel to San Francisco specifically for this signing. (ComicsPRO is the only trade organization for "direct-market comic retailers," and Dark Horse was one of the local sponsors.) Hibbs says that Palahniuk, who lives in the Pacific Northwest, wanted to develop a relationship with comic retailers as well.
Since Comix Experience doesn't have the infrastructure for a "reading" with an author as popular as Palahniuk, they've opted to allow fans in throughout the day for signings and a chance to briefly meet the author. Visitors will be allowed to have any number of items purchased from the store signed by Palahniuk, in addition to two outside items, such as posters or DVD cases.
In preparation for the event, Comix Experience has stocked up on a limited amount of copies of all of Palahniuk's books, along with 200 copies of each issue of Fight Club 2. Anyone who comes in tonight and buys a copy of issue four of Fight Club 2 will be issued a sequential number, allowing them preferential access to the signing on Saturday afternoon. Other fans will be admitted on a first come, first served basis throughout the day. For more information, click here.
Palahniuk's signings can last up to 10 hours, and the shop will do its best to accommodate everyone who would like to attend. "We're going to work to make sure that everyone who comes gets their five minutes with the man!" said Higgs.
Palahniuk is also known for doing unexpected things at his signings. "When we got the first issue of Fight Club 2, he also sent a few boxes of fake severed arms that he signed for us to give away to people. He likes to make his signings an event, so it's not just like listening to NPR," said store manager Doug Slayton.
Photo: Chuck Palahniuk/Facebook
Slayton himself is very excited for the event. "I, like a lot of people in my generation, read Fight Club when I was 16 and saw the movie. For anyone was my age who was alternative, it was really resonant. I'm just excited to meet him and hang out with him."
For fans of Palahniuk's books who aren't sure about trying the comic, Slayton adds that it's worth seeking out. "I can't stress this enough, [Fight Club 2] is fabulous. He's not like a lot of other novelists that switch to comics. It's actually good and he has it down."
Hibbs agrees: "I'm excited to introduce Chuck's fans to the crazy joys of comics. Fight Club 2 is the real deal, it's not some bullshit manufactured tie-in, and Chuck's partners-in-crime on this, Cameron Stewart, Dave Stewart [no relation] and David Mack, are seriously The Shit when it comes to comics-making. This is the gold standard of comics."
