Nerds! Heroes! Creators! Cosplay! Workshops! Manga! KAPOW!
Since you’re asking, yes, there will be a steampunk band led by a 6-foot trumpet-playing rabbit. (Puppets are also rumored to be involved.) Really, was there any doubt? This is, after all the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival we’re talking about (November 4, vegasvalleycomicbookfestival.org). Damn well better be fun, especially now.
It’ll be a little brainy, too. There will be an Oregon professor on hand to talk about college-level comics studies — it’s an academic thing. And because comics aren’t immune to cultural politics, a panel of creators and commentators will examine the enduring gender stereotype of the femme fatale, and ways to get past it. Another panel will acknowledge women cartoonists of the 1960s-1990s who used their work to advance feminist causes. Throw in a movie about Neil Gaiman (Dream Dangerously), information about shepherding your creation from self-publishing to film, workshops on drawing robots, monsters, and Deadpool, plus lots more, and a ton of comics, and, well, KAPOW!
The Hot Seat
Visual ArtsElegant Creatures at Summerlin Library
Lolita Develay’s subject in these paintings is, according to the library’s flacks, “luxury fashion displays as an investigation into consumer culture.” But get an eyeful of the visual pizazz of the painting above — how could you not want to consume it?! Making this, one supposes, both a gorgeous and likably complicated exercise in visual/conceptual dynamics. Nov. 21 through February 4, lvccld.org
TheaterAn Octoroon at Majestic Repertory Theatre
“Bizarrely brilliant” was The Guardian’s verdict on this play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. The plot resists easy summary, but it’s based on, and simultaneously dismantles, a popular 19th-century slaves-and-plantation melodrama titled The Octoroon. (An octoroon is someone with one-eighth African-American blood.) It’s about identity, race, and stereotypes so deeply embedded we’re hardly aware of them. Nov. 2-19, Alios Las Vegas, $25, majesticrepertory.com
Five days of chaos will engulf this landmark for its silver anniversary celebration. Bands galore, from local legend Dirk Vermin to The Dickies. What a legacy it’s marking: 25 years of free shows of punk, garage, surf, lo-fi and more. To say nothing of its status as home base for the city’s misfits. If you’ve tried the Ass Juice, marveled at the bathrooms, or just survived the bacon martini, you know how special this place is. Nov, 22-26, various times, free, doubledownsaloon.com
Family AF Henderson Stroll and Roll on Paseo Verde Drive
You’ll want to Google the word ciclovia for the full urban-theory backstory — it’s interesting — but, in essence, it’s a term applied to a social movement that creates community events on temporarily closed streets. Henderson gets with the no-car program this month with a four-hour closure of a stretch of Paseo Verde Parkway. Families can stroll, dog-walk, skate, or bike on the street, enjoying live music, performers, and other vendors along the way. Ciclovia! Nov. 18, 10a-2p, free, cityofhenderson.com
BooksChris Kraus at The Writer’s Block
Her cult status reinforced by the Kevin Bacon-headlining TV adaptation of her underground novel I Love Dick, Kraus’s latest book examines another cult novelist: transgressive experimentalist Kathy Acker. Sure to be a mind-expanding reading and convo. Nov. 15, 7p, free, but seating is limited; RSVP at thewritersblock.org
MusicLas Vegas Philharmonic at The Smith Center
For Copland in Mexico, conductor Donato Cabrera and the orchestra will mix selections by the emblematic American composer — whose piece “El Salón México” captures the energy of a Mexican dance hall — with works by Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas. A pre-concert conversation sets up the cultural context. Nov. 4, 6:30p, $30-$109, thesmithcenter.com